Three Velocity Accelerator graduate companies have received follow-on grant funding from Innovation Depot's 2022 Velocity Accelerator program.
Six companies pitched to The Depot’s Velocity Accelerator funding committee for follow-on, non-dilutive grant funding. Three of those six companies were selected by the committee to receive funding.
Fundrage, a Google Chrome extension for timely charitable giving, received $75,000. The extension follows along as users read the news, enabling them to donate to relevant nonprofits in response to current events. Fundrage was founded by local nonprofit leader Maria Underwood, who initially came to the Depot through the Voltage program.
“This funding is crucial for Fundrage because it provides us a way to build on the momentum of the Velocity program by increasing marketing, enhancing technology and supporting the growth of the company,” Underwood said in a release. “We are able to be more strategic and thoughtful in this early stage as a result instead of having to focus on where the next funding will come from.”
Sportsy, a creator-driven training platform for sports that is based in Birmingham, received $50,000. Sportsy partners with trainers and provides them with tools to create, deliver and monetize training experiences at scale. The app provides access to the same drills and programs that professional soccer teams use to practice, interactive instructional videos, training plans and challenges.
Sportsy aims to continue building out its team as well as marketing its product with the funds.
Ziscuit, a grocery search engine that delivers savings to shoppers and traffic to retailers, received $25,000. It allows shoppers to build a grocery list based on recipes, set shopping preferences and determine which grocery stores are cheaper.
The funding will be crucial, Ziscuit said, because it is preparing to launch its platform in the Birmingham market within a month.
“We couldn’t be more excited for these companies and their outstanding founders,” said Heather Milam, Innovation Depot’s director of Acceleration, in a release. “We know these grants will be instrumental to helping them take their startups to the next level of scale and success.”
