For founders, building a startup is often compared to being on an island. It’s a journey few will embark on in their lifetimes primarily because of the risks involved, and rightly so. A staggering 90% of all new startups will fail. Having access to other founders, mentors and avenues for funding are generally key drivers of early success. Though often this access is lacking, especially if you’re not headquartered near a tech hub. Startup accelerators look to change that and Tailored is honored to have been chosen to participate in the Two39 Labs Startup Accelerator for Fall 2020.
The Startups
Here are the six startups that will participate alongside Tailored over the next 13 weeks.
Fayven – Connecting vendors with available commercial space.
Fieldr – Connecting students to meaningful career opportunities.
Learn Robotics – Online robotics curriculum.
My Undercover Agent – A real estate agent’s one-source solution for Google’s information overload.
Propzie – Automated vacation rental management.
Stabilized Steps – A Peloton-like system for helping the aging population maintain their balance and prevent falls.
Two39 Labs
With roots spanning the eastern seaboard, the founders of Two39 Labs bring over 30 years experience in growing startups from early stage through exit to Southwest Florida. The 13 week curriculum boasts a plethora of events to benefit startups at all stages and the space itself is everything you’d imagine a startup accelerator would be. I’d even go as far to say it’s on par with many of the campuses Tailored has visited out west. Meaning specifically the organizations who design their workplace with Google and Facebook in mind.
What Tailored Hopes to Gain
After five days the benefits of participating in an accelerator program are quickly becoming apparent. The first and most obvious is belonging to a community. Although SW Florida is getting there, slowly, it’s not Silicon Valley, the midwest or the northeast. If tech and startups are to continue to thrive here, we need more togetherness. Even more so now that Covid has required us to build our businesses from afar due to social distancing.
At a high level, Tailored is looking forward to learning from those who have done it before. To expanding our network to include those who have relevant industry knowledge, whether it be in marketing, computer science or apparel. I’m a big believer in taking in as many perspectives as possible and devising the best way forward.
Although Tailored has existed in its present form since 2017, gaining feedback from those experiencing Tailored for the first time is invaluable. The Tailored founding team has a strong focus on the customer experience and building relationships. Yet now days it seams companies do anything they can to grow fast, even if it comes at the expense of burning a customer or two. We were pleased to learn the founders of Two39 Labs share our appreciation for relationships.
Week one at Two39 Labs is in the bag. Onward and upward…