A Birmingham company has been selected for the Techstars Minnesota Twins Accelerator's second cohort.
Magic City-based BACKR, formerly called ProU, will accompany nine other companies from around the world, including one based in Nigeria and one based in the United Kingdom, in the Twin Cities to learn from mentors from the Techstars network, the Minnesota Twins’ front office and the broader sports tech ecosystem and startup community.
BACKR underwent a name change in October but has been based in Birmingham since January 2021 when it went through the Velocity Accelerator. It also won Alabama Launchpad last year.
ProU was started to solve the disconnect between college fans and professional sports. Its mission was to enable fans to keep up with their favorite college players.
The group of startups BACKR is part of represents seven states and features six founders from historically marginalized groups. The program runs through mid-February 2023.
“In the fast-evolving industries of sports and entertainment, fans continuously change the ways they engage. This creates a unique opportunity for innovators,” said Brett Bohl, managing director of the Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars.
The 10 startups offer solutions and innovation centered around the fan experience of sports and entertainment technology. The companies include:
- BACKR, the sports media platform for following athletes — not teams.
- Biiah, a new app that is making musical practice accessible at all levels, from anywhere.
- Brave Virtual Worlds, which helps professional sports organizations assess movement quality to prevent and rehabilitate injuries through wearable sensors.
- FanBants, which caters to African fans by creating fantasy gaming experiences across sports and entertainment and building community.
- Flustr, where users stream their talents, become CG avatars and compete live.
- TicketRev, which helps fans find cheaper tickets to their favorite games and concerts.
- United Market, which provides music creatives and executives with a global platform to collaborate, get discovered and increase their number of placements.
- Vesta, which connects communities by making it easy to promote and discover local events.
- Virtual Tables, which provides fan-engagement solutions through digital event platforms.
- Whitebalance, an AI-powered virtual production studio.
The Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars is headquartered in the historic Ford Center, located steps from Target Field in the heart of Minneapolis’ North Loop.
“We’re thrilled to bring this visionary group of founders to Minneapolis for the next cohort of the Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars,” said Chris Iles, senior director of brand experience and innovation for the Minnesota Twins. “In their own way, each of these companies is working to expand the boundaries of the human experience, and we’re excited about what that will mean for Twins fans in the future.”
