The 2022 class of Cox Enterprise’s “Social Impact Accelerator” powered by Techstars has been announced.
Under the three-month program, 10 companies gain access to Cox business leaders who act as mentors to bring ideas to market, boost early-stage businesses, grow networks and prepare the founders to pitch at a Demo Day presentation on April 21. Techstars also contributes $20,000 to each company; lifetime access to the Techstars network of entrepreneurs; access to over $400,000 of cash equivalent hosting, accounting, and legal support; and other investor connections.
This year’s class — a diverse set of founders of tech startups solving challenges in fields such as cleantech, edtech, workforce development, health and wellness, economic empowerment and community development — includes three from Atlanta, Mini City, WellMiss and Wundergrubs.
The rest of the participating companies — ConConnect, Dreami, Masa, Regó, SenseGrass, Vertru and WeChipN — are from the Northeast and West Coast.
On average, Techstars companies go on to raise more than $2 million of outside capital following the program.
“We choose great founders who are proposing products that solve real problems or create meaningful innovations,” said Maury Wolfe, assistant vice president of corporate responsibility and public affairs at Cox. “An ideal company has a well-rounded team with a diverse skillset, made progress on their prototype or product, can clearly show strides made towards starting their business and can highlight early traction and/or provide data to validate core assumptions.”
Past companies who finished the program include Inclusivv, a business model that brings people together in person to foster complex conversations on societal topics, and Acclinate, a digital company improving health equity through inclusive research.
The program is the second accelerator in partnership between Techstars and Cox Enterprises. Cox also supports startups through other Atlanta-based partnerships, including Techstars Atlanta, Engage, Endeavor and Startup Runway.
