A Pittsburgh-based startup is among nearly a dozen companies from around the world featured in the latest Growth Lab accelerator cohort, an initiative led by StartOut and J.P. Morgan that helps LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Ecotone Renewables, a local startup that is building tools that aim to make food and agriculture systems more sustainable and accessible to local communities, joins nine other companies as part of this six-month program. Growth Lab touts having helped 65 early-stage startups over its six-year history and claims these companies have gone on to raise a combined $763 million in funding while creating more than 3,650 jobs in the U.S. ever since.
"We are proud to continue our work with StartOut as we work to accelerate the growth of LGBTQ+ owned businesses nationwide," David Barbee, head of LGBTQ+ initiatives at JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking, said in a prepared statement. "Growth Lab offers a unique opportunity for collaboration and community building, and we look forward to the fresh perspectives and innovative thinking Cohort 11 will contribute to this unique community of entrepreneurs."
Dylan Lew is the co-founder and CEO of Ecotone Renewables, which also recently got inducted into the latest PGH Lab 8.0 cohort that looks to combine the resources of the city government with the products being offered by local startups. He holds a master's degree in materials engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and has had prior career experience at NASA and General Electric Co. before he launched Ecotone Renewables.
Other locations of startups included in the latest cohort include several from Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, as well as a few from other locations in California, Delaware, Florida and Texas.
