Soon after wrapping its first Lighthouse "U" summer cohort, Lighthouse Labs is on to the next one.
The Richmond startup accelerator has announced the seven ventures accepted into its fall 2019 program.
The cohort's members will join a list of 41 startups that have gone through Lighthouse. Program graduates have collectively raised nearly $70 million in outside investments and created 600 jobs, according to the company.
Unlike many accelerators, Lighthouse Labs is a nonprofit and takes no equity nor fees from founders in the program. It does invest $20,000 in each cohort member, and the program lasts three months.
Lighthouse focuses on scalable, technology-driven services and products in the data science, edtech, enterprise, healthcare and manufacturing sectors. Startups that have completed the program include Tenant Turner, MajorClarity, OccasionGenius, Roundtrip, Blueswipe and Brandefy, among many others.
For the summer Lighthouse "U" cohort, partially funded through a $1 million grant from the GO Virginia Initiative, startups also had to have a founder who currently attends or recently graduated from a Virginia university.
Parameters for the upcoming fall accelerator did not include the university restriction. Hundreds of ventures applied, according to managing director Dan Myers, and seven companies made the cut for fall 2019. Three are based in Richmond (Fringe, Light the Music and Q Media), two have local founding members (NIRSleep and Kamana) and Terravive and Hellofriend are headquartered in San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., respectively.
These are the newest members of Lighthouse Labs:
Fringe provides a benefits platform to help companies offer employees non-traditional benefits they understand and care about.
Hellofriend is a marketplace for social experiences, making it easier for college students and others to find fun things to do together near their location.
Light the Music is an edtech company that empowers students to create, learn and grow through the alchemy of music and art. An interactive set of tools, curriculum and content empowers teachers to engage students in musical learning.
Kamana is a platform that enables healthcare recruiters, agencies, employers, medical professionals and nurses to efficiently fill open contract staffing needs.
NIRSleep is developing a wearable neuroimaging platform to monitor brain activity and calculate sleep indices. By measuring cerebral oxygenation, NIRSleep produces actionable insights without disrupting the sleeper.
Q Media connects inclusive businesses, via education, storytelling and technology, to the LGBTQ community’s $1 trillion purchasing power.
Terravive is a sustainable packaging company that mass produces single-use products for businesses. Terravive’s plant-based materials are used to make fully and cleanly biodegradable products, such as straws, utensils and packaging.
