Richmond's Lighthouse Labs and Ashland's Dominion Energy Innovation Center, two of Virginia's top support systems for startups and founders in tech, have announced their fall 2020 accelerator cohorts.
Lighthouse Labs
Now in its ninth year, Lighthouse Labs' fall accelerator will partner with Health Innovation Consortium to focus on health tech and innovation.
Eight startups were chosen out of more than 100 applicants: ArchiveCore (Roanoke); Bookclubz (Richmond); Icarus Medical, Lumastic and MIST (Charlottesville); Sunny Day Fund (Falls Church); MindCotine (San Jose, Calif.); and Polycarbin (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Because of concerns about the continued spread of Covid-19, Lighthouse decided to host this year's cohort virtually. It runs from Aug. 24 to Nov. 12. Ali Greenberg, Lighthouse Labs outreach manager, said though they'll certainly miss the face-to-face connections, going online allows the accelerator to include speakers and mentors they may not have been able to secure in person.
"We have tripled the amount of content and educational programming we will be able to provide to our cohort," she said.
Greenberg said the accelerator's goal is to be an essential part of moving these startups forward.
"We want our startups to feel fully supported by the Lighthouse Labs community," she said. "Being a founder, especially in this economy, is not a quick win, and we see the accelerator program as a launching pad for a lifelong relationship with founders who are tackling some of the most important problems of our present and future."
Dominion Energy Innovation Center
DEIC's first-ever accelerator program is an opportunity to build on its mission to support Virginia's clean tech founders.
Seven startups were chosen out of 20 applicants: Ario (Norfolk), Longleaf Conservation Capital and Linebird (Richmond), eCountabl (Alexandria), Mova Technologies (Pulaski), Asoleyo (Herndon) and Lumin (Charlottesville).
The accelerator runs from Sept. 14 through Nov. 20 and will provide intensive mentorship and education through DEIC's partner network. Ian Ragland, DEIC program manager, said the accelerator was designed to be 80 percent virtual, 20 percent in-person, but current conditions surrounding the pandemic may force the program completely virtual, an adjustment they can easily make if necessary.
All seven of the Virginia-based startups are working on products or services related to energy and sustainability, Ragland said.
"We're excited to have a program around a vertical that hasn't been touched by Virginia before," Ragland said. "Local governments are excited and venture capitalists are all for it because it's pulling in different enterprises and companies that we didn't think would be a natural ally."
Ragland said DEIC was impressed and surprised by the number of quality applicants in the accelerator's first year.
"We were hoping for three or four solid companies, and when we put the whole list of [20] companies in front of our board they were blown away," he said.