With 25 years and seven accelerator cohorts under its belt, TiE Boston is ready to move into its next quarter century.
The member-based entrepreneurial organization is kicking off its 25th year with a new accelerator cohort, gala and funding from the state.
TiE Boston was founded in 1997 by a group of entrepreneurs, corporate executives and senior professionals of Indian origin. The Boston chapter is just one of dozens around the world supporting emerging entrepreneurs. The organization will celebrate its 25th year of operations with a gala in May, according to TiE Boston’s Dean Walsh, the details of which are still forthcoming.
“TiE Boston community has an exemplary 25-year track record of fostering entrepreneurship in the Boston area and we are excited to put this rich experience to work for the benefit of the high-potential startups in Cohort 8,” TiE Boston president Anu Chitrapu said in a statement. “Our 25th anniversary is a rallying point for our chapter, and we're planning to use this momentum for tremendous growth across all our programs in the years ahead.”
Walsh manages TiE Boston’s ScaleUp accelerator, a program that aims to take seed-stage companies with some traction and funding to the Series A-stage. Each year, a cohort of founders goes through a five-month program focused on mentorship and curriculum. The founders learn about pitching for venture capital, crafting the story of their business, managing pricing and packaging, and more.
This year’s accelerator is funded in part with a Pathways to Scale grant from the Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative, Walsh said, a public agency that supports technology business formation and growth.
Past participants in the ScaleUp program include MeetCaregivers, which raised over $1 million last year, and Solchroma, named a 2022 BostInno Startup to Watch.
Fifteen companies will participate in ScaleUp’s eighth cohort this year. Nearly half of this year’s companies are in the healthcare and AI industries, but there is also representation in edtech, fintech, life sciences, sports technology and more. The companies have an average funding of $3.16. million and a mean revenue of $895,000, Walsh said.
Meet the TiE Boston class of 2022:
Former MassChallenge participant Aurie is a medical devices company developing reusable catheters. The company plans to use this accelerator to raise a seed round and focus on commercialization of its product.
Breathe BioMedical is a development-stage diagnostics company based in Canada and looking to expand into the U.S. market. It’s first device can analyze organic compounds in one's breath to screen and detect lung cancer.
FanUp is gamifying sports and e-sports with social experiences that blend pop culture with sports teams, players and brands on its app. The company’s app has been live for one year and has 134,000 users.
Quincy-based Gentreo is an online estate planning platform where users can create state-specific documents, and securely store and share their documents. It plans to expand its B2B marketing and user adoption in this accelerator.
Hilltop Bio, a veterinary biotech, has developed a treatment for equine asthma and is looking to expand into products to treat canine soft tissue injuries and canine osteoarthritis.
Leuko Labs is an MIT spinout developing a medical device to monitor white blood cells non-invasively. The company is working toward FDA approval and creating a go-to-market strategy.
The fintech Knudge helps financial advisors stay on top of client outreach by sharing to-do-lists and automated reminders via email, text or push notifications to help clients get things done.
Boston-based Naya Studio was founded by two engineers who met at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. They created an AI-powered collaboration platform for product design.
Nivi created an automated chatbot that WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger users can send questions to about various health topics, get recommendations for health services and products and get referrals to service providers. This service is available in India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Boston-based Noted Analytics created a sales engagement platform for teams to capture, collaborate and close more sales opportunities. It hopes to work with marketing experts to create a system around product-led growth as a SaaS company.
2021 MassChallenge company nuvu helps companies with user onboarding, payments/collections, behavior prediction, document processing and more through its AI and cloud technology tools.
Founded by pediatric occupational therapists, Rahoo uses medically supported children's products and educational programming to help babies and toddlers meet developmental goals. The company is looking to open new sales channels in day care centers and hospitals.
Readlee is using speech AI to reduce the literacy gap caused by racial and educational inequities, and to support English language learners. Its AI is being used in more than 2,400 schools.
Waku makes prebiotic herbal teas that support a healthy gut. Its teas are made using a centuries-old Ecuadorian recipe, natural ingredients, zero sugar and prebiotics to maximize the gut-health benefits. Waku is looking to raise funds and develop retailer partnerships.
Acton-based WatchRX has developed a smartwatch that it says helps seniors stay healthy, live independently and decrease avoidable hospitalizations. The company wants to build its connections in pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, hospitals and medical practices.
