The Tampa Bay Wave has been a long-standing champion of startups and it's continuing its push for diverse companies in the area with its second accelerator.
The TechDiversity Accelerator, which is powered through the Nielsen Foundation, unveiled 11 companies from across the nation that will make up the second wave of the program. To apply, the companies simply needed to be 51% owned or operated by a minority, woman, veteran or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender person, or a combination thereof.
The companies will have an opportunity for mentorship, networking and the "Build Launch Grow" framework as well as pitching to the public. Across the accelerator participants, 10 of the companies are post revenue with three of them having over $1 million in revenue. Five of the companies have Hispanic founders, while three of them have veteran founders and the last three are rounded out by companies with women founders.
Here is a list of the companies and what they do, according to Wave officials.
Canduit Headquartered: McLean, Virginia What it does: Canduit is a SaaS (software as a service) platform for experiential learning in higher education, matching students looking to gain real-world experience with companies hosting projects. The company was also selected as top five Ed-Tech startup in LATAM by Seedstars and is currently a semifinalist in the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition at the University of Pennsylvania.
ClienTell LLC Headquartered: Tampa What it does: ClienTell’s mobile first application gives contractors a voice by allowing them to rate their customers.
Gauge Headquartered: Washington, D.C. What it does: Gauge is an artificial intelligence-enabled mobile market research platform connecting brands to diverse consumers and influencers to help them identify opportunities and avoid mistakes. Some of its clients include NBCUniversal, Proctor and Gamble, The Ad Council, and A+E Networks.
Hoy Health Headquartered: Morristown, New Jersey What it does: The Hoy Health platform offers consumer access to care, medications and to chronic condition support programs that they can purchase for themselves or their loved ones. The company was selected as one of the "Fierce 15" for 2019 an award by the editors of Fierce Healthcare for the most innovative health care companies across the USA.
InEvent Headquartered: New York City What it does: InEvent is an all-in-one event management software, with registration, websites, hospitality, compliance, badge printing and live app solutions. It was named the best event technology startup by the UK Tech Awards and the CEO was nominated 40 under 40 by Connect Magazine.
JustProtect Headquartered: New York City What it does: JustProtect is a regulatory compliance SaaS platform that simplifies the distribution and response to compliance assessments and audits. The automation, simplicity and use of industrial psychology removes bias and can deliver assessments in a fraction of the time, at a lower cost than traditional audits. JustProtect is an inaugural member of the DreamIT SecureTech cohort and a semifinalist in the NYC Moonshot.
Lazarillo Headquartered: Santiago, Chile What it does: Lazarillo is a mapping platform and a mobile app that helps visually impaired people orientate through cities and inside public and private venues. It recently was an award recipient by ZeroProject Foundation for innovative and exceptional practice for people with disabilities. It is also a participant in the Microsoft for startups program and the Creative Business Cup in Chile.
NeuroFlow Headquartered: Philadelphia What it does: It is a digital health technology and analytics company promoting behavioral health access and engagement to improve outcomes and reduce overall cost of care. The company was named the 2019 SXSW Hatch Pitch Most Innovative Company and the 2018 Top Mental Health Technology by MedTech Boston.
SafetyPIN Technologies Headquartered: Baltimore What it does: SafetyPIN is a universal trust badge designed for the sharing and gig economies. The company allows users to see if someone they met online is safe to meet offline. SafetyPIN was selected in the top 20 emerging tech companies in Baltimore and has won the Entrepreneur’s Forum Pitch Competition in 2019. SafetyPIN was also named in PeopleMaven’s Up and Coming Female Founders.
SPHER Inc. Headquartered: Gardenia, California What it does: SPHER represents the defense against the daily threat of health care data breaches resulting from inappropriate access to patient protected health information. As required under HIPAA user activity monitoring guidelines, SPHER completes a strong cybersecurity framework model and compliance strategy for covered entities and business associates.
TheIncLab Headquartered: McLean, Virginia What it does: TheIncLab focuses on innovating human-centered interaction. Its team specializes in future intelligent interfaces for human-machine interaction, with a focus to create a new breed of environments, experiences, devices and applications engineered around how people react and interact with emerging technology and artificial intelligence.
