On Thursday, social entrepreneurship startup hub, the Halcyon Incubator, announced its newest class of companies to join the program. The incubator, which doubles as a home to the startup founders it mentors, is owned by the non-profit S&R foundation and occupies a renovated, historic mansion property with a view of the Potomac River in Georgetown, D.C.
The newest cohort of startups represents Halcyon's fourth group and, according to a spokesman, importantly tackles a new series of humanitarian and social issues that previous member startups have not.
"With every application cycle we see a tremendous wave of talented people," said Kate Goodall, chief operating officer of the S&R Foundation, in a statement.
The eight entrepreneurs admitted to the incubator will begin their 18-month journey with Halcyon this February. Fellows who are granted access into the program receive substantial backing, amenities and a network of contacts to successfully grow the positive influence of their businesses and scale of operations. This includes a $10,000 stipend, free housing and office space, leadership coaching, complimentary strategic, legal, accounting and PR resources.
Halcyon’s corporate sponsors include recognizable brands like Deloitte, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Capital One, KPMG, WeWork and sweetgreen. Their advisory committee is equally impressive, as it includes Katie Bishop, a partner at KPMG, Katherine Brittain Bradley, President of CityBridge Foundation, Kahlil Byrd, CEO of Forward Progress in Politics and Patrick Dowd, Founder & CEO of Millennial Trains Project.
For reference, the 18-month program is structured into three phases. The fellows only spend the first five months in residency, living at the property and using its facilities. After which, the fellows use the incubator as a headquarters for another seven months during the second phase. The last six months, which encompasses the program's third phase, is completed in a local WeWork through a reduced rate.
Here's the 8 companies that are coming to Georgetown this February:
Prasoon Kumar / winterHYDE - developers of a life-saving, insulated and secure shelter that can protect homeless and displaced communities living in cold regions.
Eric Shih / Spendrise - innovating online petitions by building them with an all-or-nothing crowdfunding engine, enabling scalable, intuitive campaigns that leverage actual dollars at corporate, civic and educational institutions.
Yoko K. Sen / Sen Sound Space - alleviating stress and alarm fatigue by re-envisioning sound design in hospitals.
Charlene Brown and Faran Negrestan / ReciproCare - improving the reliability of homecare for elderly and disabled persons by matching the availability, skills and location of homecare workers.
Daniel Hill / Green Impact Campaign - cloud-based tools and training for university students across the country to conduct free energy assessments.
Farah Brunache / Electric Feel - Electric Feel offers an affordable, off-grid, portable solar energy storage device which dually charges electric vehicles and is managed through a mobile application.
Samuel Pressler / Armed Services Arts Partnership - builds and sustains communities around the arts at no cost to veterans and military families. This startup partners with nonprofits and colleges.
Jeffrey Prost-Greene and Kristof Grina / Up Top Acres - the designers of rooftop farms. Up Top Acres seeks to establish agriculture as a fixture of urban life by farming on underutilized rooftops, distributing food locally, and providing educational programming to communities.
*Company descriptions courtesy of The Halycon Incubator*
