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February 27, 2017 | Tom Ballard

Atlanta BridgeCommunity seeking applicants for second cohort

Atlanta Bridge CommunityThe Atlanta BridgeCommunity is recruiting for its second cohort, and Shane Reiser, Chief Operating Officer, sent the following email late last week: “Do you know any early stage, scale or growth stage start-ups in Knoxville looking for large enterprise customers?”

Obviously, he’s interested in relevant applicants from other parts of our readership area.

The commercialization initiative, founded by Coca-Cola, is focused on FinTech, consumer engagement, and IoT (Internet of Things) start-ups.

“The BridgeCommunity program is designed to engineer and accelerate start-up and corporate relationships,” Reiser explained. Underscoring the point, he said the 2017 corporate partners include COX Enterprises, InterContinental Hotels Group, The Weather Company, Porsche Financial Services, and Capgemini in addition to Coca-Cola.

Start-ups selected for the program receive enterprise sales, marketing, and negotiations training to understand corporate innovation needs and hone offerings, while corporations are coached on minimizing roadblocks to streamline pilots and simplify contracts. The program runs from April to October and only requires a commitment of two hours per week from one person on the start-up team. No equity or IP taken will be taken, and cash is not given to participants.

During last year’s inaugural North American cohort, Reiser said 10 start-ups and five corporations participated. A total of nine pilots and proof-of-concepts were created, and participating start-ups collectively hired 32 new employees, experienced an average increase of 150 percentage in month over month revenue, and raised $2.9 million in venture funding.

The application deadline is March 28. To apply, click here.


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