velocity accelerator

Five of the seven companies accepted into Innovation Depot’s Velocity Accelerator are already Birmingham-based, and the other two (Ziscuit and CuddlyTails) will be relocating to the area for the duration of the program.

Seven startups will be part of the 2022 cohort for Innovation Depot’s Velocity Accelerator.

The program, which provides area companies with 13 weeks of mentoring and intensive support, launches next Monday and concludes at the end of April.

Five of the seven companies are based in Birmingham, while the other two will be relocating to the area for the duration of the program. Innovation Depot invests $50,000 in each company, and all seven will get a chance to pitch to potential investors in April in hopes of securing additional grant funding.

Innovation Depot CEO Drew Honeycutt said the program is “one of the driving forces behind Birmingham’s growing startup ecosystem.”

“We look forward to providing each of these companies the capital, resources and mentorship they need to scale quickly and effectively,” Honeycutt said.

Two of the participating companies were developed by founders who graduated from Innovation Depot’s Voltage idea accelerator program, which began last year and was designed to support entrepreneurs who have an idea for a tech or tech-enabled business.

Kellie Clark, Director of Programs, said companies will also be able to access the Market Acceleration Program from GrowthX, which will allow them to make the connections and gain the knowhow to secure venture capital, so that “our founders will have all of the tools necessary to achieve a year’s worth of progress in just 13 weeks.”

The Velocity Fund, which provides grants for the companies, is supported by Regions Bank, BBVA, Blue Cross Blue Shield/The Caring Foundation, UAB, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Encompass Health, EBSCO, Brasfield & Gorrie, McWane, Altec, Hoar Construction, Protective Life, and Jefferson County.

The 2022 cohort covers several sectors, including browser tech, cryptocurrency, sports tech, consumer apps and healthcare.

CuddlyTails – founded by Rashi Arora and Rahul Arora.

A technology platform designed to help dog owners connect with trusted and verified dog-loving neighbors.

Datalus – founded by Mikhail Kozorovitskiy.

A privacy-focused browser and data marketplace backed by a crypto token.

Fundrage – founded by Maria Underwood.

A Chrome extension allowing for quick and easy donations to relevant nonprofit organizations.

List List – founded by Piyanka Ghosal and Tyler Duke.

An app and content aggregator for users to explore, share, and collaborate on information organized through lists.

Sportsy – founded by Stefan Vaziri and Chie Akiba.

A creator-driven training platform for all sports, partnering with trainers to create, deliver, and monetize best-in-class training experiences.

Vizrom – founded by Emmanuel Umoh.

An electronic whiteboard to connect with hospitals’ electronic medical record systems and pull critical information for clinical staff.

Ziscuit – founded by Mark Peterson.

A grocery search engine providing savings to shoppers and traffic to retailers.

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