Accelerator Program Names First Cohort

Demo Day will allow nine B-Start teams to deliver a five-minute pitch for their startups.

The Bloomington Economic Development Corp. has named the first cohort for its B-Start pre-accelerator program. The initiative aims to help Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College student startups through the early development stage.

Each B-Start participant will be paired with a local tech entrepreneur and attend workshops covering topics including pitch development, funding and customer discovery.

The startups will each receive a stipend after completing the program and have the opportunity to compete for more cash at an upcoming demo day.

The first cohort includes:

SoundsGood, a recipe and health database
Engine-us, a touch-screen digital electric guitar sound processor
Critique, a peer-to-peer feedback tool for education and e-learning
Gravity’s Edge, an online platform for martial arts tricking
EconomyLoop, a sortable platform for global economic news
SteadyWise, a platform for creating mobile patient engagement apps
MyStartupU, a network to connect student entrepreneurs and investors
CollegeDeedz, a tasking service for subcontracting college students
SwapBeat.co, a social commerce platform for buying and selling instrumentals