Techstars Atlanta Announces 2021 Class

Cox Enterprises and Techstars continue to accelerate innovation in Atlanta

News provided by

Jul 19, 2021, 15:41 ET

ATLANTA, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Techstars Atlanta, in partnership with Cox Enterprises, has announced the 10 startups that have earned spots in its 2021 accelerator program. As the sole partner for the sixth consecutive year, Cox offers startup companies critical funding and guidance to strengthen and expand Atlanta's economy and innovative culture. Techstars leaders met with more than 1,000 founders and reviewed hundreds of applications worldwide.

"We're constantly looking for the highest potential companies to join us and this year we didn't have to look far," said David Payne, managing director of Techstars Atlanta. "Half of our 2021 class comes from the region and startup ecosystem and are poised to disrupt their industries."

The Techstars Atlanta 2021 class, includes:

Focal Point (Atlanta, Ga.) | Offers procurement management tools for organizations to maximize spend on third parties, while ensuring safe and secure transactions.
Hello Audio (San Diego, Calif.) | An audio streaming platform for businesses and coaches to share private audio feeds with their customers.
LDR Dates (Charlotte, N.C.) | A platform offering virtual dates for long-distance relationships.
Nectar (Atlanta, Ga.) | Creates innovative economic units, or pods in the co-living, short-term rental, self-storage, and covered parking spaces.
OrderNerd (Atlanta, Ga.) | Online platform that streamlines management of delivery services into an app to improve the experience of staff and customers.
Punchlist (Atlanta, Ga.) | Allows feedback to and from teammates by adding an annotation layer over websites and images to ease collaboration.
ReRent (New Haven, Conn.) | Helps students avoid debt and save money by monetizing their apartments during the times of the year they are away.
ServeScape (Atlanta, Ga.) | A company evolving the nursery business to save landscape professionals time and money and offer better plants delivered sooner.
Upkid (Salt Lake City, Utah) | Network of trained substitutes for childcare providers.
Washbnb (Milwaukee, Wis.) | Eliminates the need for Airbnb hosts to do laundry.

"We are especially excited that this class has five Atlanta companies - our largest local group to date," said Kim MacKenzie, strategy and corporate development director for Cox Enterprises. "This milestone highlights Atlanta's growth in the venture ecosystem since we began our Techstars partnership in 2016."

Techstars Atlanta is a 13-week program that helps founders build their professional network, receive individualized support, and grow and scale their business.

The program kicks off with mentor madness, where leaders from across Cox Enterprises and the Techstars network, as well as regional leading subject matter experts, will provide more than 1,000 hours of mentorship to the companies. The program will culminate on Oct. 18 at Demo Day. Each startup will pitch to investors and community members.

About Cox Enterprises

Cox Enterprises is dedicated to building a better future through our leading communications, automotive and media companies. Our major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Automotive, and we are strategically investing in new industries and emerging technologies, with sizeable interests in clean technology and health care. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Cox is a global company with nearly $20 billion in annual revenues and brands that include Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Cox Homelife. Founded in 1898 by Ohio Governor James M. Cox, the company is a family-owned business committed to its people, communities and planet. To learn more about Cox, visit coxenterprises.com, view our collective impact report at coxcsrreport.com, or follow us on Twitter via @CoxEnterprises or @AlexTaylor_Cox.

About Techstars

The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas—entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,500 companies with a combined market cap of more than $200B. www.techstars.com

SOURCE Cox Enterprises