Shockwave Motors selected for Cleantech Open accelerator program
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
John McMillan advised us last week that Shockwave Motors was one of two cleantech start-ups selected from the Southeast Region of the United States to participate in the International Cleantech Open accelerator program.
The company, which is focused on bringing the Defiant EV3 and two other electric roadsters to market, was in New York City recently participating in the two-day National Academy that kicks off the program that will end next month.
“Many of the entrepreneurial programs I have looked at provide a good foundation for the typical small business start-up; however, they are general in nature and tend to be a ‘one size fits all’ program,” McMillan said. “We needed more. By providing a high performance, all electric Autocycle, Shockwave Motors falls into a category called cleantech.”
He explained that a traditional hardware start-up is enough of a challenge, but one in the cleantech space like Shockwave Motors is an even greater challenge. The goal of the Cleantech Open is to connect start-ups in that technology sector with the people and resources that will accelerate their success and provide a national platform for public visibility.
“To reach our full potential, we must work with the best experts in our industry,” McMillan said. “We must work with an organization capable of providing focused mentoring, connections with industry partners as well as commercialization resources, and introductions to investors. We needed to be a part of the International Cleantech Open Accelerator.”
Shockwave is not the first local company that has participated in Cleantech Open activities in recent years. Both Jeff Hubrig Jr. of Innovasan and Patrick Hunt of Fiveworx were involved in earlier years.
What are McMillan’s expectations for the Cleantech Open?
“Over the past few years, we have bootstrapped our company,” he says. “The founders have personally invested; friends and family have contributed time and money. As a result of our efforts, we have created three prototype electric roadsters. We have won competitions and international awards, and we are just getting started. Our goal is to meet the right people to help us build the strategies and create the opportunities necessary for us to establish a clear pathway to production in 2019.”
Click here to read previous teknovation.biz posts on McMillan’s efforts.
