The Idea Village has announced the latest startups selected for IDEAx, formerly called IDEAxcelerator, an intensive 12-week accelerator focused on creating scalable and fundable businesses in New Orleans.
The six startups participating in this year’s cohort include Freesource, iSeeChange, Juggle, Lendstand, The Sweat Social, and Grok + Banter.
The IDEAx program will culminate in a Demo Day in December.
IDEAx is part of the larger Entrepreneur Season, which kicks off each year in July and runs through New Orleans Entrepreneur Week in March. Building on the momentum of last year, the organization is executing new and enhanced initiatives to scale local participation, while growing strategic, national networks.
IDEAx runs alongside other accelerator programs run by The Idea Village including ENERGYx and DIGITAL MEDIAx.
The program will culminate in a Demo Day in December, where participants will pitch The Idea Village network of mentors, investors, and professionals.
Grok + Banter founder Staacy Cannon says while the startup has been making strides, a good portion of their time has been spent swimming up stream. “I’m looking forward to the support of the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem, working with the other founders in the cohort and learning from those experienced in navigating the intricacies of high growth tech startups.”
“The Idea Village’s accelerators are the best in the country for those founders looking to grow their business in New Orleans,” said Tim Williamson, co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village.
Meet the IDEAx companies below:
iSeeChange – Julia Kumari Drapkin
iSeeChange is a community-driven almanac to record, compare, and connect local observations to NASA satellite data. We are connecting communities to each other and their changing environment.
Grok + Banter – Staacy Cannon & Keegan Brown
Grok + Banter is an ad-tech company in the Internet of Things and big data space. We have built a proprietary system that intuitively deciphers the offline world through connected devices, which enables us to measure the effectiveness of out of home advertising.
Lend Stand – Aaron DeLong
Lend Stand is an online lender to businesses and nonprofits working in the public enterprise space. Lend Stand provides simple, convenient financing to small businesses working with federal, state, or local government agencies and to nonprofits working with development organizations.
Freesource – John-Michael Alderson, Adam Mitchell, & Dustin Renaud
Freesource delivers a scalable, socially responsible marketing model that rethinks the way services are delivered. By offering an alternative to the traditional ad agency, we increase efficiencies for businesses, support and connect the creative community and offer a self-sustaining resource that helps startup non-profits grow and thrive.
Juggle – Brendan Minard & Sonny Smith
Juggle is an essential tool for mobile companies and their ‘gig economy’ workforce to organize and optimize their daily activities while adjusting for changes on the fly.
The Sweat Social – Rupa Mohan & Manoj Mohan
The Sweat Social provides fitness solutions for travelers visiting New Orleans who want to look their best, energize their trip, connect with the city and go home in shape, feeling great.