Introducing the 2017 Jones + Foster Accelerator Cohort

The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship accepted nine student-created teams into the 2017 cohort of the Jones + Foster Accelerator (J+FA). These new entrepreneurs will work under the mentorship of top Seattle entrepreneurs and investors for the next six months to become early-stage startups. Those who meet their milestones and complete the accelerator can earn up to $25,000 in follow-on funding. Most importantly–they will learn a framework for defining measurable goals, as well as the skills to navigate obstacles both seen and unforeseen along their entrepreneurial journey

Fifty-six companies have completed the Jones + Foster Accelerator program since its inception in 2010. Forty-one of those have been awarded seed funding through the Accelerator totaling $870,000. Thirty-six are still in business today–raising millions in funding, becoming household names, bringing families together in Haiti, purifying drinking water in Somaliland, and powering cell phones in Kenyan villages.

The nine companies accepted into the 2017 cohort are described below:

A-Alpha Bio: Developed a process allowing drug companies to use a comprehensive preclinical drug toxicity screening kit to perform thousands of screens simultaneously.

DASO Soccer Smart Wall: DASO created a rebounder with lights that allows users to train the fundamentals of soccer alone while analyzing performance.

Discovery Health: Provides a suite of medical services to proactively manage health during a maritime employee’s career–saving lives, livelihoods, and millions of dollars.

EpiForAll: Developing an affordable, reusable epinephrine auto-injector that is easily delivered to low-resource settings by utilizing existing basic medical infrastructure.

Goodwill Hunting: A promotional apparel production company that leverages partnerships within secondhand clothing nonprofits to create one-of-a-kind creations.

LC-Tourniquet Inc.: A medical device startup committed to fighting limb amputations through pre-hospital treatment that saves lives and more than a billion dollars in costs.

NASTEA & Co.: Using carefully chosen ingredients, NASTEA produces a white coffee dirty chai that is a perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and healthy.

ShopSight: Developed an analytics platform that provides brick & mortar retailers with comparable data using patented RFID technology and machine learning techniques.

SwarmFX: A drone-based wildfire response company focused on collecting, monitoring, and distributing data to first responders once an incident is first reported.