From Barcelona to Sarajevo, from Buenos Aires to Bangalore, the startups accepted this week into Venture Hive’s next accelerator class once again represent a United Nations of innovation.
As part of the accelerator at Venture Hive, an entrepreneurial education company in downtown Miami, the companies will get $25,000 no-equity grants, an intensive 13-week accelerator program that starts in late January, mentoring and free workspace for six months. Venture Hive, founded by Susan Amat, draws companies from around the world that are innovating in industries Miami-Dade is strong at: travel/hospitality, healthcare, creative industries, fintech and trade/logistics. The program will finish in late April with “The Swarm,” where the companies will present their startups to a room full of investors and community supporters.
Ten companies, five of them from Latin America, were chosen from among 400 applications from more than 40 countries. “We had to make some very tough decisions because there were so many outstanding companies applying,” said Nelson Fonseca, partner at Medina Capital who helped judge the applicants. “The most exciting thing for me is to see the strong interest from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the world in coming to Miami. This bodes well for the continued development of the Miami ecosystem.”
Venture Hive, which also has an incubator, is home to 31 startups from 21 countries and also offers both onsite and virtual programs for high school students in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. To expand services for its startups, it recently partnered with DLA Piper law firm and Disruption Corporation. In its first 18 months, Venture Hive has created 62 jobs, according to an economic impact study on Miami-Dade County conducted by the Miami DDA. Venture Hive is supported by Miami-Dade County, the DDA and Miami WorldCenter.
The 10 new accelerator companies selected for Venture Hive’s third class are:
Cinemad, from Buenos Aires:Interactive videos for converting viewers into customers.
Clicky, from Cordoba, Argentina:An online booking platform for sports facilities.
FanJam, from Chattanooga, Tennessee:Fantasy basketball contests for cash.
Helpjuice, from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: An auto-updating knowledge base platform allowing companies to scale support and deliver instant answers to customers.
Paganza, from Montevideo, Uruguay: A bill-paying app for the Latin American market.
PRX Control Solutions, from Caracas:Solutions for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, reducing the expense of pharmaceutical treatments in health plans.
Quotanda, from Barcelona, Spain: A student financing marketplace democratizing access to education.
Referrizer, from Deerfield Beach:A total solution to generate new customers and keep existing ones loyal.
Rock N Roll Games, from Buenos Aires:The gaming company for making brands rock.
TommyJams, from Bangalore, India: Innovative technologies to revolutionize live music entertainment.
See related story and photos of the Microsoft Innovation Center inside Venture Hive.
Posted Dec. 22, 2014