Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering a robust, equity-centered technology sector that empowers thriving communities, has announced the 32 startups selected for the organization’s Founder Cohort Program.

What: The virtual program – part of the WTIA Startup Program – helps seed-stage startups grow and scale over the course of six months by following a roadmap designed to guide them through their next milestones as they navigate increasing revenue, securing investment and growing the team.

Who:

Selected Companies:

• Acuity PPM – Tim Washington
• AeonCharge – Dwi Sutandar
• AllTruth – Daniel Jahn
• Antengo, Inc. – Matthew Jasper
• Chassi Inc. – Chuka Okoye
• CO2ign Art – Carly Rector
• Collegey Inc. – Syed K. Jamal
• CountOn – Steve Isley
• DocNexus – Mahek Chhatrapati
• DreamCare – John Tintle
• Govonestop – Paul Douglas
• Greenlight Bio Oil LLC – Dan Brown
• Homeostasis Systems Corp – Makoto Eyre
• Huddle Local – Spencer Charles
• Hugsi – Alexander Fairhart
• Jeeva health – Sudhakar Kaushik
• Nomi.care – Andre Stone
• PeerStorage – Casey Krueger
• Pie Trap Studios – Christopher Whitaker
• Planted Materials – Noah Belkhous
• PulseDNA – Stephanie Joyce
• Purpose Platform – Johnathan Buell
• Rowr – Jeff Day
• Serve Reserves Technologies – Jennifer Selvaggia
• SharpArrow Medical – Jay Kim
• Terrantic, Inc. – Trevor Cox
• Thig.io – Alec Maslov
• Unum Game – Jessica Greenwalt
• Ven, Inc. – Daphne de Jong
• VZR, Inc. – Michel Henein
• Ydrive.ai – Udiyan Padmanabhan
• zeroQ Foods – Iris Yong

When: The Cohort runs March 2023 through August 2023.

Why: WTIA continues its commitment to invest in the community and support the next generation of companies doing impactful work. Each startup participating in Founder Cohort features at least one product in development and an annual revenue of less than $1 million. Each company passed a rigorous application process. Led by a committee of seasoned tech founders and entrepreneurs – including five-time founder and author Dave Parker, Susan Preston of SeaChange Fund and Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker – the program will guide them through the crucial stages of fundraising, corporate governance and customer development.

Learn more about Founder Cohort 9 here. 

Key stats:

• $220 million plus raised by cohort alumni combined
• 32 companies
• 14 female founders, co-founders, or execs
• 6 female CEOs
• 19 non-white founders, co-founders, execs
• 16 non-white CEOs
• 9 outside King county
• Outside of Seattle:
  • Bellingham: Unum Game
  • Bellevue: Acuity PPM, Hugsi, ydrive.ai
  • Issaquah: Huddle Local, PeerStorage, VZR Audio
  • Kennewick: zeroQ Foods
  • Lynden: Greenlight Bio Oil
  • Mercer Island: DreamCare
  • Olympia: Govonestop
  • Renton: Chassi, Pie Trap Studios
  • Spokane: SharpArrow Medical
  • Tacoma: Collegey, Homeostasis Systems, Serve Reserves Technologies, Thig.io

Sponsors: Clark Nuber, Fenwick & West, First Republic Bank, NCW Tech Alliance, NowCFO, Pike Place Partners at Morgan Stanley, Premera Blue Cross, Seed Intellectual Property, and Wilson Sonsini.