Element 46 Tech Accelerator Launches Spring 2023 Applications
Tech startup entrepreneurs are invited to apply for a 10-week accelerator program this Spring
Westchester County, New York (February 13, 2023) – On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Westchester County’s Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Cela opened applications for the tech accelerator’s Spring 2023 Program. Each startup selected will experience a world-class accelerator program that connects them with key curriculum, connections to entrepreneurs, investors and mentors and full-time support from the Element 46 staff.
The Fall 2022 cohort of the Program selected the top 11 tech startups that applied to participate, from many that submitted an application. The Program ended in dramatic fashion this past December with a Demo Day in White Plains, where each of the founders took the stage in-person to pitch an auditorium audience full of selected investors, technology experts, press representatives, government officials and other key contacts. See it here!
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The Element 46 Tech Accelerator is an invaluable resource for Westchester County entrepreneurs who are looking to spark growth and further innovation in their emerging ventures. Our talented alumni continue to attract funders, launch new products and services and positively impact their communities. We are immensely proud of our Element 46 graduates and look forward to welcoming a new group of participants this spring.”
Bridget Gibbons, Westchester County Director of Economic Development, said: “Growing tech ventures - and the entrepreneurs who lead them - can benefit greatly from a group of mentors, educators and peers to guide and support them through their early days and years as a business. We strongly encourage tech entrepreneurs in Westchester County to learn more about The Element 46 Tech Accelerator and apply for this dynamic program.”
Deborah Novick, Westchester County Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said: “Entrepreneurs play a vital role in our local economy. From fintech and medtech, to app development, ecommerce and more, The Element 46 Tech Accelerator's alumni demonstrate the success tech ventures can achieve in Westchester County. As we recruit our newest group of participants, I encourage any tech entrepreneur who craves community, camaraderie, constructive feedback and mentorship to apply.”
John Lynn, Co-Founder, Cela Innovation, said: “The Spring 2023 cohort will not only gather some of the best tech entrepreneurs in the County, but will build on the program’s proven ability to attract impactful new entrepreneurial resources into the Westchester startup ecosystem – each program channels startup specific advantages to selected companies, as well as into the Westchester Community as a whole. “
Members of each Element 46 Tech Accelerator cohort are selected in a competitive, county-wide selection process. Up to 12 tech startups from across the County are selected for each program, and must feature committed founders with at least a prototype of their technology or tech-enabled product. In the past, selected startups have additionally been investor-backed, grant-funded, and/or revenue-generating operations.
In the program, each founder is matched with hand-picked mentors who are leaders in technology, finance, business strategy, venture capital, marketing and other key areas. Participants also gain access to a world-class curriculum on fundraising, customer development, executive management, product iteration, branding, marketing and more.
The Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Cela runs for 10 weeks every spring and fall. This is the second program produced in partnership with Cela Innovation, experts in tech accelerator programming and operations.
Tech startup founders are invited to apply here.
The members of Element 46’s most recent Fall 2022 cohort, which included seven minority- and women-owned businesses and six ventures led by female CEOs, are:
Bridget Johns-Pavlopoulos, To&From , With the first comprehensive gifting tool for consumers, To&From solves problems like “I don’t know what to buy”, “I never remember the important dates” or “I try but always end up getting it wrong”. To&From launched in June 2022 and is bringing solutions to this $800B market with its patent-pending Gifting Intelligence. The company collects user preference data from gifters and giftees, curates and assigns gifting attributes to the best assortment of DTC brands, and builds incredible tools for managing gifting experiences. To&From redefines digital gifting by delivering personalized experiences wherever and whenever a gifting need is presented.
Caroline McCaffery, ClearOps.io, The ClearOPS platform automates manual tasks for virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs), accelerating the growth of their business and increasing the number of CISOs they can support. With ClearOPS, virtual CISOs can upload their own gap assessments, benefit from ClearOPS’ patented security technology and automatically manage their clients' privacy and security operations database. By automating the administrative work, ClearOps helps virtual CISOs to scale faster.
Mousa Ahmadi, PHD, Laronix, Laronix is a world-leading Med-Tech startup with effective voice technologies for people suffering permanent voice loss and chronic voice deficiencies. Laronix has two products in its portfolio: (a) Bionic Voice, a breakthrough natural-sounding artificial voice box supporting in-person voice communication (patented, FDA/TGA registered); and (b) Laronix’s Voice App, for supporting phone/online voice communication (e.g., Zoom). The primary market for Laronix’s products in Australia and the US is $5.4 billion. Laronix’s share of this market is estimated to reach $134 million by 2026.
Greg Perlman, EngagePlay Therapy, Engage Play Therapy is a telehealth platform for play therapy. Engage provides a simple and affordable solution for therapists to support engagement with their young clients in therapy. A therapist can connect with their clients on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer while playing games with telehealth clients.
Joshua Nunberg, Urbanvie, Urbanvie has created a simple-to-use and powerful property management software platform that is integrated with a Human Network of local real estate professionals and contractors, to help Do it Yourself Property Owners and Independent Real Estate Investors (DIYs) buy, rent, sell, manage, and fix their properties.
Imani Schectman, Open Market, The Open Market platform allows BIPOC-owned businesses to go beyond their geographic limitations. BIPOC businesses can now competitively participate in the e-commerce ecosystem with Open Market's access to resources, capital, and an engaged audience. Open Market is responsive to new types of demand in conscious retail. Open Market is making it easy for consumers to locate and patronize brands that align with the initiatives they care about -- social justice, equity, sustainability, livable wages and more.
Marc Saulino, StatementGames, StatementGames Inc. is B2B SAAS gaming platform leveraging its own patented sports gaming technology. Through this platform, the company helps sports marketers and content creators address challenges in the areas of customer engagement, analytics and database marketing.
Mark Ferguson, Innervation Finance, Innervation Finance (IF) is a cloud-based Fintech platform focused on addressing the access to capital challenges of small and medium sized businesses, particularly those run by women and people of color. The company’s technology allows it to seamlessly accelerate payments cheaply and efficiently to vendors when their customers demand longer payment cycles. IF’s innovative solution improves working capital, increases cashflow and strengthens the buyer-supplier relationship through the releasing of liquidity locked up in global supply chains.
Michael Bifolco, Sheperd, Sheperd is a personalized recommendation engine that helps people make better decisions. Sheperd gets to know your preferences and what motivates you so it can generate relevant recommendations and advice based on similar users who have already faced the same decision. Sheperd establishes a partnership with the user during the critical first 80% of the decision-making process - a phase not currently being addressed by any other solutions. Guiding users through the earliest stages to the final decision builds confidence and trust, giving Sheperd the incumbent advantage to win downstream monetization opportunities.
Susan Joseph, Healthtrends.ai, Healthtrends combats misinformation by providing critical datasets with integrity. Valda, the company’s data explorer and validation platform, provides a single source of truth that you can trust, so you can make the best investment and strategic decisions possible.
Traci Jones, Everfoam Products, EverFoam’s mission is to provide a solution to dwindling helium availability through our innovative alternatives, and to build products that delight event planners and party decor retailers, while driving down use of critical helium reserves.
To learn more about the Element 46 program, visit the Element 46 website.
About The Westchester County Office of Economic Development
The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County’s economic well-being and quality of life. This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For more information, visit the Westchester Catalyst website.