TurnSignl, a Minneapolis-based startup that provides on-demand legal help through its platform to drivers who have been stopped by police, has been selected to be part of Google’s startup accelerator for Black founders.
Selected from hundreds of applicants from across North America, TurnSignl was one of just 12 startups chosen and the only one based in the Twin Cities. This year’s cohort is the third for the accelerator, according to a Google Developers announcement Tuesday.
“It really feels like an honor,” said Jazz Hampton, CEO and general counsel of TurnSignl. It also provides validation, he said, that “the work we’re doing is the right work and we’re on the right path.”
Launched weeks after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center police officer during a traffic stop, the TurnSignl app gives its users real-time access to an attorney after they have been stopped by police or are involved in a car accident, according to the Business Journal. The user’s phone camera also records the interaction.
TurnSignl’s lawyers are screened and trained to de-escalate the situations between police and drivers, its website says.
The service is currently available in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, California, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. But Hampton says the goal is to be nationwide by the end of 2023.
In Google’s announcement, the Mountain View, Calif.-based technology company said it is "committed to building racial equity in the North American startup ecosystem.”
It added that just 1% of venture capital is given to Black founders in the U.S. (where Black women founders receive even less.)
The program lasts for 10 weeks, giving the founders access to advice, mentorship and training on design, marketing and leadership, Hampton said.
“This is an opportunity to make sure that we’re building a really successful company,” he said, adding that the program will lay the foundation for TurnSignl to “scale and grow.”
The program also provides founders with access to new Google products, strategic product support and technical partnerships, Hampton said.
And Google’s announcement comes at a time when TurnSignl is also about to close on a bridge round of fundraising, the CEO added. It has raised $2 million in funds through a simple agreement for future equity, or SAFE, note. The lead investor is San Fransisco-based Trucks Venture Capital, Hampton said.
