Jumpstart Foundry announces latest class

Business accelerator Jumpstart Foundry announced its latest class this morning with companies in industries ranging from online media to prefabricated construction.

This summer, the selected companies will take part in Jumpstart’s 14-week program to further develop and hone their business plans, and eventually pitch to potential investors at the end of the session.

“The selection was especially difficult this year. Because of the vast number of high-quality applicants, it made the evaluation process longer than expected,” said Vic Gatto, partner for Solidus Company and a Jumpstart Foundry managing director. “We are excited to get started with this year's cohort.”

According to the announcement, Jumpstart has enjoyed a 62 percent success rate, with eight of its alumni companies raising follow-up capital and growing operations. The companies selected for this year's program are as follows:

Contigo, a developing short-term loan solution to compete with the existing “pay-day” loan industry. Loans will be delivered through a proprietary underwriting model and online platform.

OKDJ.fm, a fan-engagement platform that gamifies free music releases by incentivizing fans to act as promoters for artists.

The Skillery, an online platform that connects teachers and learners, who offer administrative support for offline classes and workshops.

Evermind, the first caregiver-friendly senior monitoring system. If you can plug-in a surge protector and use Facebook, Evermind is easy.

Wax, an app that allows extreme athletes to compete with one another by completing tricks and challenges.

Westcrete, which converts traditional building plans into a prefabricated formwork that is shipped to jobsite, erected and pumped full of concrete.

Rental Kharma, a destination where Good Owners and Good Renters find Trust, Transparency and Simplicity for their home rental relationships.

PhotoRankr, a new site for serious amateur photography.

OurVinyl.Tv, which allows users to discover new music through video, who want to be the modern day MTV minus the re-runs.

Talkapolis, microcasts new media (mainly talk format) targeted at local markets and distributed on mobile smartphones and smart TV devices.