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StartOut and J.P. Morgan Welcome New Cohort of LGBTQ+ Owned Companies to Growth Lab Accelerator

Program provides founders with six months of mentorship and training to support growth

January 18, 2023 (NEW YORK)  — Today, StartOut and J.P. Morgan welcomed a new cohort of ten high-performing companies to the Growth Lab accelerator, a six-month program that helps LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs grow their businesses through networking, mentorship, and education.

Now in its sixth year and eleventh cohort, Growth Lab has helped 65 early-stage companies raise more than $763 million in funding and create more than 3,650 new jobs across the United States. This incoming cohort of businesses brings together innovators from across the U.S. and Australia, specializing in fields ranging from healthcare and climate to fashion and education.

J.P. Morgan serves as the co-lead sponsor of Growth Lab, providing expert mentors and educational materials to support participating companies. Additionally, J.P. Morgan is making the newly launched Capital Connect, a digital platform that directly connects founders and investors, available to eligible cohort members.

“We are proud to continue our work with StartOut as we work to accelerate the growth of LGBTQ+ owned businesses nationwide,” said David Barbee, Head of LGBTQ+ Initiatives, JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking. “Growth Lab offers a unique opportunity for collaboration and community building, and we look forward to the fresh perspectives and innovative thinking Cohort 11 will contribute to this unique community of entrepreneurs.”

The companies selected to join Cohort 11 are:

  • A Leading Role (Los Angeles, CA): On a mission to create the most iconic and beautifully designed dress-up and costume brand in the world
  • CROOW (Tampa, FL): Built a collaboration platform on software that leverages workflows and efficiencies to streamline video production and change the way that studio-quality video is produced
  • Developmate, Inc. (San Antonio, TX): Simplifies site selection for real estate developers by combining data and analytics onto one easy-to-use mapping software.
  • Detexian (San Diego, CA): Helps modern workplaces to reduce SaaS spend and risk by empowering IT to be trusted advisors of business teams.
  • Dyllen’s College Essay Advice (Los Angeles, CA): Empowers students to discover their sense of self and effectively communicate their personal values, experiences, and potential in well-crafted college admission essays.
  • Ecotone Renewables (Pittsburgh, PA): Building the tools to make sustainable food and agriculture systems accessible to local communities
  • FULL (Middletown, DE): Gives individuals the tools to feed themselves in health-first, tech-enabled community gardens on rooftops and lawns globally
  • Mate Fertility (Los Angeles, CA): Solving fertility access issues in the U.S. through its solution-based focus on equality of access and care.
  • Netfolios (Sydney, Australia): Provides in-depth climate analytics tools and data to help the global investment community manage and report climate impacts. Netfolios supports financial institutions in assessing climate-related risks and opportunities, and reducing their financed emissions to reach net zero.
  • Tinkery (Sydney, Australia): Makes prototyping kits that encourage learners to creatively apply STEM principles and build devices that tackle personal and global challenges

“In partnership with our co-sponsor, J.P. Morgan, we are thrilled to kick-off Cohort 11 with this impressive group of innovators,” said Andres Wydler, Executive Director, StartOut. “The companies who have graduated from the Growth Lab continue to have a substantial impact on their communities. We can’t wait to help accelerate the growth of this next group of passionate entrepreneurs!”

To learn more about the StartOut Growth Lab, including details on the application process for the next cohort, visit: startout.org/growth-lab

For more information on the financial solutions available to guide business growth, visit: jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking

Learn more about JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community at jpmorganchase.com/lgbtq

About StartOut
Founded in 2009, StartOut, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest national organization to support LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs with over 25K members nationwide. Its mission is to accelerate the growth of the LGBTQ+ community to drive its economic empowerment, building a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future. StartOut helps aspiring LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs start new companies; supports current entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their existing businesses; and engages successful entrepreneurs as role models and mentors, on its online portal and through targeted events nationwide. For more information, please visit www.startout.org.

About JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $292 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2022. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

StartOut and J.P. Morgan Welcome 10th Growth Lab Accelerator Cohort

Six-month virtual program provides LGBTQ+ businesses with mentorship, networking, and resources to drive sustainable growth

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, StartOut and J.P. Morgan announced the ten companies selected to participate in the StartOut Growth Lab accelerator program. StartOut, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, launched Growth Lab in 2017 with five participating businesses. Since then, the program has helped 56 early-stage companies raise more than $756 million in funding and create nearly 3,650 new jobs, and counting. As the Steel-level Supporting Partner of StartOut and co-lead sponsor of Growth Lab, J.P. Morgan is proud to help launch Cohort 10 and continue to empower LGBTQ+ business owners nationwide.

“LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs represent one of the most innovative and rapidly growing segments of our nation’s business community, and J.P. Morgan is proud to expand its support for StartOut in its mission to accelerate that growth,” said David Barbee, who leads JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking’s LGBTQ+ initiatives. “We are excited to welcome Cohort 10 to the Growth Lab and know that their growth will catalyze solutions to some of the most pressing issues of the day, from the green economy to enhanced healthcare services and beyond.”

The companies selected to join Cohort 10 are:

  • Carbon Reform (Newark, DE): A manufacturer of modular carbon capture devices for commercial building ventilation systems that improve indoor air quality for occupants, create energy savings for building owners, and directly capture and permanently sequesters tons of CO2 annually
  • CreatorUp Inc. (Los Angeles, CA): A global video production company that allows clients to instantly purchase custom content from more than 700 video solutions
  • Global Policy Leadership Academy (West Hollywood, CA): An EdTech start-up that prepares professionals and civic leaders to advance solutions to societal challenges through the development of shared knowledge, best practices, and collaboration
  • Glyphic Biotechnologies (New York, NY/Berkeley, CA): A biotech startup developing a first-of-its-kind, next-generation protein sequencer to transform the underlying engine of biomedical discovery to move beyond the decades-old technologies based on mass spectrometry and ELISAs
  • Hydrus.ai (San Francisco, CA): A software company spearheading Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) operating systems for enterprise
  • Innovare (Chicago, IL): An application to empower education leaders to use data strategically to positively impact students and communities
  • Reya Health (London, Ontario): A digital platform for personalized contraceptive counseling
  • SmartSuite Tech (Portland, OR): A productivity software company solving challenges in the business presentation industry to modernize speaking notes, workflow and presentation capabilities
  • StayFi (New York, NY): The global leader in WiFi Marketing & Management services for short-term rentals
  • Wise Assistant (Atlanta, GA): An all-in-one platform to help creators get their businesses off the ground with easy-to-use marketing and business tools

“In partnership with our co-sponsor, J.P. Morgan, we are thrilled to kick-off Cohort 10 with this impressive group of innovators,” said Andres Wydler, Executive Director, StartOut. “The companies who have graduated from the Growth Lab continue to have a substantial impact on their communities. We can’t wait to help accelerate the growth of this next group of passionate entrepreneurs!”

Continued Partnership

J.P. Morgan’s co-sponsorship of the Growth Lab is an expansion of the firm’s ongoing relationship with StartOut and a part of its broader commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

In 2019, JPMorgan Chase sponsored StartOut’s Pride Economic Inclusion Index (SPEII), as part of the firm’s $150 million Small Business Forward initiative to invest in underserved entrepreneurs. In 2021, the firm’s Office of LGBT+ Affairs, which advances equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, customers, business partners and communities, announced an additional $500,000 commitment to expand the SPEII, which now provides near real-time, data-driven insights into the US entrepreneurial ecosystem. In addition to the Growth Lab and SPEII, J.P. Morgan provides mentorship for StartOut businesses and co-sponsors the Annual Equality Summit.

“I am proud to further advance our support for StartOut, one of our strategic non-profit partners,” says Brad Baumoel, global head of the Office of LGBT+ Affairs. “Through this expanded partnership, we plan to elevate and create true equity for the next generation of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.”

To learn more about the StartOut Growth Lab, including details on the application process for the next cohort, visit: startout.org/growth-lab.

For more information on the financial solutions available to guide business growth, visit: jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking.

About StartOut
Founded in 2009, StartOut, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest national organization to support LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs with over 21K members nationwide. Its mission is to accelerate the growth of the LGBTQ+ community to drive its economic empowerment, building a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future. StartOut helps aspiring LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs start new companies; supports current entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their existing businesses; and engages successful entrepreneurs as role models and mentors, on its online portal and through targeted events nationwide. For more information, please visit www.startout.org.

About JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking
JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking is a business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $4.0 trillion and operations worldwide. Through its Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries, Corporate Client Banking & Specialized Industries and Commercial Real Estate businesses, Commercial Banking serves emerging startups to midsize businesses and large corporations as well as government entities, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors, developers and owners. Clients are supported through every stage of growth with specialized industry expertise and tailored financial solutions including credit and financing, treasury and payment services, international banking, advisory services and more. Information about JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking is available at www.jpmorganchase.com/commercial.

Contacts

Media Contacts

JPMorgan Chase
Elizabeth Connerat
elizabeth.connerat@chase.com

StartOut
Jonathan Ochart
jochart@thepostcardagency.com

TriNet Supports LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs with Donation to StartOut

Donation Aimed to Help Drive Economic Empowerment of LGBTQ+ Community

Dublin, CA — June 1, 2022—TriNet, a leading provider of comprehensive human resources for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), today announced that StartOut, the nation’s largest  nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs has received a TriNet Foundation donation. The TriNet Foundation, launched in 2021, is a donor-advised fund of TriNet and a key component of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program.

The TriNet Foundation seeks to proactively evaluate and support nonprofit organizations that foster positive change, economic development and the growth of entrepreneurism related to veterans, historically underrepresented businesses, and trade schools/entrepreneurial education programs. Previous recipients of TriNet Foundation donations are Black Girl Ventures and Hire Heroes USA.

TriNet will engage with the LGBTQ+ community through StartOut’s mentorship program, upcoming events, and opportunities for the StartOut community to learn more about TriNet and the incredible HR services that it provides.

“TriNet exists to help small and medium-size businesses succeed, and the TriNet Foundation is an important way to expand our reach outside of our customer base while aligning our corporate social responsibility to our company mission and vision,” said TriNet President and CEO Burton M. Goldfield (he/him). “StartOut does incredible work to give LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs equal access to resources that can help fuel their success. When we make diversity a priority within organizations, the result is more innovation, more creativity and more opportunities for all of us.”

“We are most grateful for the engagement of companies like TriNet that are proactively helping us empower LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs through mentoring, education and networking opportunities. TriNet’s generous support is instrumental in creating more diversity within our startup communities,” said StartOut’s executive director, Andres Wydler (he/him).

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About TriNet
TriNet (NYSE: TNET) provides small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. To free SMBs from HR complexities, TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll, all enabled by industry leading technology capabilities. TriNet’s suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, Benefits, Employee Engagement, Payroll and Time & Attendance. From Main Street to Wall Street, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters most—growing their business and enabling their people. TriNet, incredible starts here. For more information, visit TriNet.com or follow us on Twitter.

About StartOut
Founded in 2009, StartOut, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest national organization to support LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs with over 25K members nationwide. Its mission is to accelerate the growth of the LGBTQ+ community to drive its economic empowerment, building a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future. StartOut helps aspiring LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs start new companies; supports current entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their existing businesses; and engages successful entrepreneurs as role models and mentors, on its online portal and through targeted events nationwide. For more information, please visit www.startout.org.

 

Contacts:

Investors: Alex Bauer, TriNet Alex.Bauer@TriNet.com

Media: Renee Brotherton/Josh Gross, TriNet Renee.Brotherton@TriNet.com Josh.Gross@TriNet.com