Earlier this year
we wrote about JOLT, a technology accelerator created by the folks at
MaRS Discovery District. Back then, executive director Susan McGill explained that the goal was to facilitate the rapid and efficient development of startups by funding and mentoring them in groups, rather than one by one.
Last week McGill unveiled the first group of startups that have been selected to participate in JOLT. Each will receive $30,000 in seed funding, as well as work space, design and development support, and guidance from an advisor. The participanting start-ups are:
•
tout.it, a social media platform aimed at sports fans
•
SlingRide, a tool for connecting drivers and passengers who want to cut costs by ridesharing
•
eProf, which creates "interactive virtual classrooms"
•
Venngage, a user-friendly tool for creating infographics
•
ShelfLife, a socially-driven e-commerce platform for collectibles
•
Greengage, which wants to help employers help their employees become more environmentally friendly
"These startups beat out dozens of other applicants from all over Canada," wrote McGill in a note introducing the first JOLT group last week.
In a few months they'll try to build on that success, taking what they learn at MaRS in order to pitch venture capitalists on the services and products they've been refining.
Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Susan McGill, Executive Director, JOLT