A Philadelphia-area workplace software startup is among a dozen companies selected to take part in this year’s Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator.
Lluna, co-founded by Jess Podgajny and Aaron Kamholtz, provides a digital version of a personal user manual. The company's personal operating profiles for employees and smart dashboard incorporate technology that gives team members a better understanding of goals and priorities to increase overall efficiency and satisfaction — particularly in remote and hybrid workplaces.
The LIFT Labs accelerator, held in partnership with Boulder, Colorado-based investment firm Techstars, allows participants to gain insight, mentorship and access to experts in their respective fields. The 2022 cohort begins the three-month program at Comcast’s headquarters in Center City on Monday.
Operated under the Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) umbrella, the accelerator received hundreds of applications for this year's cohort and interviewed 20 finalists before extending offers to the 12 participating startups.
“It’s always important that at least one company in each cohort is from Philadelphia,” said Danielle Cohn, Comcast’s vice president of startup engagement and head of LIFT Labs, adding that “as a company, we are really dedicated to trying to keep the momentum of the startup ecosystem in Philadelphia thriving.”
The local participant in 2021 was human resources startup Employee Cycle. This year, Wayne-based Lluna gets the same chance.
“To accelerate the business over a concentrated 12-week period to really launch into that next level is absolutely the aim and we believe that it’s within reach,” Podgajny said. “We’re excited to make it happen and really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Podgajny, who also serves as the company’s CEO, grew up on the Main Line and lived in Center City before moving to Wayne seven years ago. Her previous experience in management consulting led her to conduct research to find companies spearheading technology that would offer purpose, personalization and meaning for workers.
“Because I couldn’t find other tech that were doing what I was envisioning, that was the moment I really transitioned from more of a services lens to a technology lens,” she said.
Podgajny started working to get the business off the ground in 2017 and officially launched Lluna in 2020 when Kamholtz joined on as a co-founder. She said Lluna currently has 15 clients from the professional services, technology, biotech, and pharmaceutical spaces.
“Our belief is that everyone should be operating, utilizing our technology to increase the meaningful connections, increase performance and productivity and ultimately benefit the companies we’re working for,” she said.
The company is currently raising a pre-seed funding round that is expected to close in the next 30 days, Podgajny said. The founders have already amassed 60% of their $1 million fundraising goal.
Lluna’s team of eight works out of an office on Sugartown Road, but the company still takes a “remote-friendly” approach. As they continue expanding, Podgajny said she’d like to continue hiring locally.
“As her product has evolved, and as workforces have learned over the last few years, I think Lluna has never been more relevant to businesses like Comcast and many others,” said Luke Butler, Comcast’s executive director of startup engagement and lead of the LIFT Labs accelerator. “I think the idea of helping managers better understand their teams, better understand different work styles and preferences and how to get the most out of people is something that is incredibly relevant today.”
The 12-week program gives participants opportunities to develop pitches, prepare for investor meetings and gain marketing and branding skills for their products, according to Cohn, who noted that there are further opportunities to form a partnership between the startups and Comcast.
“Seventy percent of the companies that come through our program have secured real proofs of concept, or pilots or commercial deals with a part of our company,” Cohn said. Since its 2018 launch, 43 startups have graduated from the accelerator.
“We’ve been lucky that we’ve had some incredible Philly founders over the last few years, and I think Jess is going to be among the ones that build one of the strongest companies coming out of the program,” Butler said.
Along with Lluna, the following companies will be participating in the accelerator’s fifth cohort: Collectiv.TV of Montréal, Canada; eino of New York; Fade Technology of San Francisco; Imaginario of London; Kosmi of Reykjavik, Iceland; Kyd Labs of New York; Mtion of Toronto, Canada; Neon Wild of Miami; NNext of New York; Parallux of New York; and Visura of New York.
