With the current global pandemic causing an uncertain labor market, Boulder-based Techstars has launched a new accelerator to help fill in the gaps.
Techstars announced the first cohort of startups in its Workforce Development Accelerator this week. The class of global startups are all developing products and/or services focused on the advancement of students and a skilled and relevant workforce, with applications to the U.S. market.
The program is led by Managing Director Taylor McLemore, serial entrepreneur and founder of Patriot Boot Camp, a Boulder-based 501(c)(3) corporation that supports active duty members, veterans and their spouses in their entrepreneurial efforts.
"After speaking with hundreds of entrepreneurs throughout the selection process, we identified a group of mission and impact-driven founders, McLemore wrote in a blog post. "With their diverse perspectives and impressive experience, I am confident they will shape the future of workforce opportunity and the future of work for employers."
The accelerator, run in partnership with ZOMALAB, Strada Education Network and Colorado Thrives, accepted 10 startups and two non-profits to the 13-week program in Denver.
"Our goal is to support these founders to improve the lives of millions of people in the United States, enabling economic mobility and agency for those that need and deserve it most," McLemore wrote.
Meet the 2020 class of the Techstars Workforce Development Accelerator, with descriptions provided by Techstars, below:
Caresplit provides community enrichment for kids while filling care gaps for working parents. Built specifically for flexible work patterns, the platform connects families to vetted activities and learning near their new offices: their homes.
FutureFit AI is a reskilling and outskilling platform that partners with employers and governments to provide an AI-powered career GPS to individuals as they navigate career transitions. The company's AI-powered career GPS allows people to understand what skills they have, identify possible career paths in the labor market, and craft a personalized roadmap of learning programs and other support resources to make a successful career transition.
Grit is an educational capital service that increases the fundability of under-tapped communities for the future of work.
Honest Jobs helps people with criminal records find employment more quickly by working directly with employers nationwide as well aggregating fair-chance opportunities from other job sites. The company’s proprietary "PassCheck" technology makes it possible and practical for every employer to offer fair-chance employment by reducing risk and helping companies stay within the EEOC guidelines.
Increment tracks on-the-job training and upskilling for manufacturing wage workers to help fill "Industry 4.0" skills shortages that currently cost the 248,000 manufacturers in the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars in lost additional yearly revenue because they can't reach full production capacity.
International Scientific Advisors, Inc. (ISA)
International Scientific Advisors Inc (ISA) is a marketplace accelerating biomedical commercialization by connecting early-stage biomedical companies with experienced, highly trained, and well-equipped Scientific Advisory Teams.
Mentor Spaces is a virtual mentorship company for emerging Black and Latinx professionals that helps companies scale their diversity and inclusion efforts while advancing the careers of underrepresented minorities. Companies use Mentor Spaces to build a diverse talent pipeline, improve retention and enhance corporate culture.
Talk Hiring offers tech-accessible, fully automated mock interviews across the most common industries, plus dashboards for staff to follow along.
Tassel is building a career readiness community currently focused on helping community college students to support academic and career pathways to middle-skill professions.
TiLT is a leave alignment solution that helps companies improve retention, streamline processes, reinforce culture, support teams, and stay compliant. The idea is to "bring the human back to leave" through its leave experts, software, and proven approach.
Nonprofit participants:
AdvanceEDU is an innovative higher education model that seeks equity gaps in credential attainment and career mobility for “New Gen” (first generation, low-income, and BIPOC) Coloradans.
Climb Hire trains diverse, high-potential talent stuck in minimum wage jobs to break into the “new collar” economy.
