Jul 20, 2018   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Sputnik ATX Announces Its Summer Cohort

Sputnik ATX, an Austin accelerator focusing on growth companies, has selected five companies to participate in its summer cohort. The new cohort is a diverse group of startups representing the fintech, talent acquisition, health and beauty, and technology sectors.

“We are thrilled with our new cohort and cannot wait to dive into our curriculum this summer,” said Oksana Malysheva, co-founder and CEO of Sputnik ATX. “We have chosen founders with the best, most innovative ideas out of hundreds of applicants. They will graduate from Sputnik’s program in a few short months with sharpened skills, refined business plans, and additional funding. We know they will make Sputnik proud.”

The five startups chosen for Sputnik’s inaugural class include:

  • TeacherTalent – TeacherTalent brings intelligent human capital management to K-12 education by connecting qualified teachers to partner school districts. With a simple SaaS solution, TeacherTalent aims to solve the teacher shortage and ensure every child has access to an excellent education. More than 50 school districts currently utilize TeacherTalent.
  • LAMIK – The beauty industry has grossly underserved women of color by not providing shades that address their undertones, complexion, or skin textures with non-toxic cosmetics. LAMIK authentically addresses multicultural women with a vegan, toxic-free cosmetics line that contains natural and organic ingredients.
  • AI Maps – Having more than 40 years of combined experience in the corrosion industry, the founders of AI Maps have introduced an intuitive and robust solution to replace antiquated systems and streamline how oil & gas companies perform their job – in turn protecting the environment, people, and property better than ever.
  • BoardMaps – BoardMaps has an intuitive yet comprehensive software solution to enable better preparation in advance of board meetings. It focuses meetings on decisions and encourages a natural workflow for meetings by transforming agenda items into action items. The software provides traceability between decisions and actions with real time execution reporting. 250 Boards and Committees currently use BoardMaps.
  • NewChip – The "Shark Tank" for everyday Americans, NewChip connects investors and entrepreneurs to investment opportunities around the world. Discover startups, real estate, and pre-IPO companies raising up to $50 million and invest as low as $100.

“Our summer cohort consists of five diverse and uniquely promising companies, each positioned to offer solutions to different societal challenges,” said Joe Merrill, co-founder of Sputnik ATX. “We have a talented team at Sputnik ATX that is ready and eager to provide mentoring and support to these founders. We are confident they will scale their companies and in turn, have a positive effect on the lives of many.”

Each finalist will receive $100,000 in seed money and will participate in a three-month curriculum beginning July 23. At the end of the curriculum, the participating startups will present to a panel of investors on a Sputnik ATX demo day.

Sputnik ATX will open its next application round this fall. Entrepreneurs living within a 300-mile radius of Austin (including San Antonio, Dallas and Houston), or those who agree to move their businesses within that radius if accepted into the program, are eligible to apply. Applicants are required to have a minimum viable product and at least one paying customer.

For more information please visit us at www.sputnikatx.com.

About Sputnik ATX

Sputnik ATX is an Austin, TX based accelerator that funds maker-founders who go out and change the world. Sputnik ATX was named after the first satellite to enter Earth’s orbit, an event that touched off a new era of innovation and competition that still influences the world today. The Russian word ‘Sputnik’ translates to ‘partner,’ which describes this accelerator’s intention: to partner with and mentor chosen startups. The accelerator was born out of a venture fund founded by Dr. Oksana Malysheva and Joe Merrill. After investing in companies around the world, the entrepreneurial atmosphere of Austin inspired Malysheva and Merrill to consider the city as a new home for their efforts. Sputnik ATX launched on Oct. 4, 2017, the 60th anniversary of the Sputnik-1 satellite launch.