As we are in the process of accepting applications to our 2015 summer accelerator program and raise funds for the Flashstarts 2015 Fund, we are excited to finally announce the Class of 2014 startups receiving follow-on funding. More details are in the press release below.
Cleveland Startup Accelerator Names 2014 Follow-on Funding Recipients
For media inquiries, contact Grace Moenich
Director of Public Relations, Flashstarts
(440) 539-0930
grace.moenich@flashstarts.com
Cleveland, Feb. 25, 2015 – Flashstarts, a Cleveland-based startup accelerator and venture fund, today publicly announced its decision to award follow-on investments to three of its 2014 program graduates: <remesh, Lufthouse and Vestor.
<remesh, a chat app that enables a group of people to converse as if they were a single person and speak with a single voice, raised a total of $200,000 in seed funding. The funding includes a follow-on investment from Flashstarts, as well as a $100,000 award from the Innovation Fund.
“This seed funding will allow us to validate the commercial applications of our app and expand our team,” said co-founder and CEO Andrew Konya, a chemical physics Ph.D. candidate in Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute®. <remesh will launch its first public beta at Kent State in March.
Lufthouse enables companies to broadcast multimedia content to consumers’ smartphones by leveraging Bluetooth LE and iBeacon technology. Lufthouse is led by CEO Joan Soskin and has deployed its services at Western Reserve Historical Society’s Browns 64 exhibit and Euclid Beach Carousel, as well as City Prowl’s walking tours at the Arcades. According to Soskin, Lufthouse will use the investment to expand its mobile application to a second platform and validate additional use cases.
In addition to <remesh and Lufthouse, Flashstarts has reserved follow-on funding for Vestor, a real estate crowdfunding platform offering investment opportunities in the Midwest. Vestor will receive the follow-on award later this spring when it officially begins its fundraising round.
“These three startups have demonstrated impressive traction and illustrated the vast startup potential of our region,” said Flashstarts co-founder Jennifer Neundorfer. “We are excited to watch their success as we raise our next fund and gather applications for our 2015 summer accelerator program.”
The Flashstarts 2015 Fund will be raising a total of $2.5 million (99 units at $25,000 each). Interested investors can download the term documents or visit www.flashstarts.net to learn more. Participation in the fund is open to accredited investors only.
About Flashstarts
Flashstarts is a Cleveland-based startup accelerator and venture fund focused on unique and innovative uses of software and technology. Startups will benefit from Flashstarts’ executive team’s deep expertise in Enterprise and Healthcare IT, Gigabit Fiber applications, mobile and digital publishing and media. Flashstarts’ rigorous 12-week summer accelerator program is powered by rapid cycles of feedback and iteration, customized guidance from dedicated coaches, an extensive network of top-tier, experienced mentors, and an award-winning internship program. For more information, visit www.flashstarts.com or follow @Flashstarts on Twitter.
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