Wild Accelerator has selected seven companies to be a part of its third cohort.
The nonprofit aims to holistically support imaginative, innovative founders from historically marginalized backgrounds globally, working on ideas that can transform the world for the better, according to a news release.
Wild Season 3 is a 14-week-long, pre-accelerator program designed to provide a small cohort of Black and Latinx, Femme-identifying founders with access to training, mentorship, funding and community that will position them to "build durable, and successful companies around their innovations and scale their idea into a global business."
Wild, which is chaired by Story founder Natalia Bishop, is led by Program Director Jade Brown.
"I am so excited to help support our Season 3 founders," Brown said in a statement. "This is such an impressive group of women who are doing it up in the 502 and beyond. It's one thing to have dreams, but another to chase them, so I'm honored to be part of the journey of such a dope group of go-getters!"
This year's cohort is:
- The Elephant in the Room, founded by Keionna Baker and Cherena Fox
- The Nori Project, founded by Anora Morton
- Wild Seed Coffee, founded by Maya Van Irvin
- Komiuniti, founded by Lourdes Rosillo
- Black UX Labs, founded by Amber Fields
- Capsoul, founded by Marissa Denise Wilson
- Garden Girl Foods, founded by Whitney Powers
Wild is hosting a kick-off event for its Season 3 founders on Wednesday, March 1. More details can be found by clicking here.
As Louisville Business First previously reported, Wild Accelerator launched in 2018 in an effort to support female founders. It was sold by Louisville design company Kale & Flax to Story, a coworking community at 900 E. Main St., in the summer of 2019.
This is Wild's first cohort since the pandemic began, and follows a $270,000 investment by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) last summer.
According to Wild's website, this year's program will have benefits including access to over $50,000 of cash-equivalent hosting, marketing, accounting and legal support, as well as guaranteed access to up to $50,000 of optional investment from its VC partners upon program completion.
Want to stay up to date on the latest news and features on the entrepreneurial scene in Kentucky and Southern Indiana? Sign up for The Beat, a free weekly e-newsletter, today.
