New Ventures Accepted into 2024 Jones + Foster Accelerator Cohort
Written By: Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
Variety isn’t just the spice of life, but the strength of the 2024 cohort of the Jones + Foster Accelerator. Founders from six early-stage ventures (detailed below) hope to solve big problems and create impact in everything from youth mental health and cardiovascular surgery, to managing personal expenses, business obstacles, and sustainable, healthy foods. Each will need to complete six months of measurable goals and milestones in order to receive $25,000 in follow-on funding from the program hosted by the Foster School’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington.
“We’re really excited to see this cohort work closely with experienced entrepreneurs and investors from across the region that are as diverse in makeup and interests as they are,” said Yuko Oaku, program manager for the Accelerator and the Dempsey Startup Competition. “Together, this is how a program like the Accelerator helps strengthen the startup ecosystem all around us.”
The teams will also receive space to operate their startups in Startup Hall on the UW Seattle campus thanks to sponsorship from UW CoMotion and CoMotion Labs. The location is one of three that CoMotion Labs provides special offers to early-stage startups to use and grow their innovations in life science, hardware, technology, and more!
Introducing the 2024–2025 Accelerator cohort
MoodRoom | LinkedIn
MoodRoom is a mood regulation app scaling access to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for young adults through interactive game design.
Nimble Surgical | Website | LinkedIn
Nimble Surgical is developing catheters to reduce the procedural complexity of cardiovascular surgeries through its patent-pending technology.
Paisley | Website | Instagram | Twitter
Paisley lets users automatically split and track shared expenses, in real time.
Rainier Honey Co. | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | Facebook
Rainier Honey Co. sells locally made infused honey, from raw honey and dehydrated ingredients, to make a truly unique and beautiful product.
RFPGo.ai | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
RFPGo.ai (formerly CivicImpact.ai) is unlocking opportunities for small businesses by revolutionizing access to public procurement one RFP at a time.
SECONDSITE | Website
SECONDSITE is building total job-site reality capture and AI analysis to help general contractors manage their projects.
2024–2025 Accelerator Cohort Adds to Program Legacy
We’re proud to highlight the early milestones, diversity and inclusivity of the 2024 cohort — from the early-stage ventures led by empowered female entrepreneurs and founders (MoodRoom, Rainier Honey Company), to groundbreaking artificial-intelligence companies with diverse backgrounds (RFPGo.ai, SECONDSITE). From the top to bottom, this cohort brings a strong resume of experience and success from their days as students.
MoodRoom received the $15,000 BECU Second Place Prize in the 2024 Dempsey Startup and features team members from UW and Seattle University. RFPGo.ai (formerly CivicImpact.ai) was awarded the $7,500 Fourth Place Prize and the $2,500 Saara Romu Community Impact Prize at the 2024 Dempsey Startup and features UW Foster Executive MBA students. SECONDSITE took home the $5,000 Glympse Internet of Things Prize at the 2024 Dempsey Startup and was a finalist in the 2024 Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge.
Nimble Surgical advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 in the 2024 Dempsey Startup and its team members have previously worked on projects that received grants from NASA. Rainier Honey Co., a company formed and grown in a capstone class at Green River College, won the $1,000 Audience Choice Award at the Renton Downtown Partnership Mainstreet Pitch Competition this past June and has been a staple at the Kent Farmer’s Market. Last, but not least, Paisley, which features UW and Seattle University founders, has its app featured in both the Apple and Android stores and has an open waitlist right now for new users.
“We’re really excited to see this cohort work closely with experienced entrepreneurs and investors from across the region that are as diverse in makeup and interests as they are.” — Yuko Oaku, program manager for the Accelerator and the Dempsey Startup Competition.
The Jones + Foster Accelerator is open to student-created ventures based in Washington state who intend to launch their business in Washington as well. Awards have now been given to 90 startups through the Accelerator and 70+ are still in business today — earning recognition at Davos and winning the UpLink World Economic Forum Zero Water Waste Challenge (Membrion ’16), raising $3M for remote work productivity (LifeAt ’21), being named to a list of 25 honorees reshaping child care in communities across the United States (Bridgecare ’19), and making the list of top private companies building with AI that will “shape our future” before raising another $22.4M in Series A2 funding for its protein-discovery platform (A-Alpha Bio ’17).
Multiple JFA alumni have also been named to the Seattle Inno Under 25 Class by Seattle Inno and the Puget Sound Business Journal, as well as the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, including most recently CathConnect (’22) for its improved catheter medical device and Nanodropper (’19) for reducing wasted medication (Nanodropper ’19). Alumni have partnered with the NFL and pivoted to masks when the need was high (Strideline ’12), achieved recognition for disrupting the knitting world and fighting for small business apps (Knitrino ’19), established a community dedicated to empowering thousands of young girls (ZGiRLS ’13), made finding scholarships for college easier for more than 13,000 students (Scholarship Junkies ’15), and built a program for elderly residents to make a therapeutic connection to nature through gardening (Eldergrow ’15).
The program is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Herbert B. Jones Foundation, program incentives like the McAleer Early Start Fund, and supporters of the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship. A special thank you also goes out to the 45+ mentors who dedicate their valuable time to helping grow the startup ecosystem in Seattle.
For more details on the Jones + Foster Accelerator, please visit startup.uw.edu or contact the Buerk Center at uwbuerk@uw.edu.
Founded in 1991, the Buerk Center offers an exceptional curriculum, real-world experiences, and connections to the Seattle entrepreneurial community to inspire students from all majors and disciplines across campus to pursue their entrepreneurial passions. Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine ranked UW undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs in the Top 10 nationally for 2024.
