Last week, we welcomed the arrival of 16 startups to the NYC tech ecosystem.  For the second year in a row, DreamIt NYC will include DreamIt Access, sponsored by Comcast Ventures.  DreamIt Access is a concentrated effort to launch more minority-led startups, and Comcast Ventures has been an investor since its inception in 2011.  Including this summer’s class, over the past two years, DreamIt and Comcast Ventures have worked closely to accelerate the development of 20 startups with highly diverse teams. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the DreamIt model, it is essentially a "boot camp for startups."  In a very intense manner, entrepreneurs are placed under one roof and exposed to a plethora of resources, mentoring, guest speakers, venture capitalists and angel investors and networking.  All of the activity culminates in Demo Day, an opportunity for each startup to pitch their company to a room filled with startup investors and potential business leads. 

I am particularly excited about this new class, largely because of the level of competition each company had to withstand in order to be selected.  We received a record number of quality applications and narrowing the list down to a manageable group of finalists was very difficult.  Each time we have announced a DreamIt Access cycle, the application volume has been overwhelming and this time around was no exception. Please join me in welcoming the following companies to the DreamIt Access family: 

  • Callida Energy: Smart building SaaS solution for commercial facilities.

  •  Perkle: An online community that connects consumers, businesses and charities, and rewards them all with great perks for helping each other.   

  • Serviceful: Makes it easy to find which house cleaning companies are available to clean your house today, without the call or search.

  • TouchBase: Business cards you can tap on any smartphone to download their content immediately and accurately - no camera, no NFC, and no QR codes required.

  • WeDidIt: A web platform and mobile app for nonprofit fundraising. 

 We will have far more information to share about each company and the team behind the idea in the coming weeks.  For now, you can learn more about this summer class here and can get the latest updates on the accelerator experience and upcoming activities at the DreamIt website www.dreamitventures.com.