From bed bugs to space computers: Early Stage MT announces accelerator series cohort of 5 startups
The program will take place Sept. 20-24 with a focus on fast growth and job creation
Ethan Kanning, founder of Harken Real Estate Solutions, answers a question at the Billings Regional Showcase Competition on August 12. Harken was selected as one of the five companies participating in ESMT’s 2021 HyperAccelerator. Photo via Early Stage MT.
Early Stage Montana, a nonprofit dedicated to growing the tech ecosystem in Montana, revealed the five companies participating in the organization’s annual HyperAccelerator that will take place in late September. The 2021 cohort includes the following startups:
Harken Real Estate Solutions, Billings: a real estate data platform providing solutions for the commercial broker and appraiser markets
Nano Magnetic Solutions, Bozeman: a tissue-scale magnetic force application system that opens new avenues for in vitro neuroscience research
PestNotify, Butte: an early pest alert technology allowing landlords and homeowners to avoid costly bed bug outbreaks
Resilient Computing, Bozeman: a firm creating radiation-tolerant computing solutions and building computers capable of operating in space
SensorLogic, Bozeman: next-generation snowpack monitoring technology to better predict water availability and drought conditions
The cohort was selected through Regional Showcase Competitions held earlier this summer in Bozeman, Missoula, and Billings. Scores were based on the size of market opportunity, solution quality, leadership potential, and the likelihood of creating high-quality jobs in Montana.
ESMT’s HyperAccelerator is an intensive 5-day, 50-hour training program supported by dozens of highly successful entrepreneur trainers and mentors. This year’s training will take place from September 20-24 in Bozeman at Springhill Suites. The program will help the selected entrepreneurs sharpen their business plans, preparing them for faster growth so they can create quality jobs in Montana communities.
“These startups are creating innovative solutions for big industries like real estate, property management, biotech, climate change, and computing from here in Montana,” said Early Stage MT Executive Director Jenni Graff. “We could not be more excited about the potential of this year’s cohort, and we are dedicated to making sure they get a solid start.”
The cohort of five tech startups will gather at the Early Stage MT Statewide Showcase on October 20 to pitch investors and compete for $50k in capital from Frontier Angels. More information on the event, which will take place in Bozeman and streamed virtually, is available here.
Superior Traffic Services, a Missoula-based startup that develops portable traffic control devices that simplify traffic management through work zones, completed the program in 2018.
"The HyperAccelerator was really a catalyst toward big growth for Superior Traffic Services,” said co-founder and President Jeff Hollenback. It put us on a path for expansion we didn’t think possible before. Guidance from experts helped us see the ways we could see our market, and afterward we ended up re-focused and re-energized about the future. There’s a huge community of knowledgeable, experienced business leaders in Montana. We wouldn’t have seen that without the HyperAccelerator."
In the three years since the HyperAccelerator’s launch, companies who have participated in the program have raised over $50M in capital and created more than 50 high-quality jobs for the state.
About the Publisher: Launched in 2014, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance is an nonpartisan nonprofit association of highly-engaged high tech and manufacturing companies and affiliates creating high-paying jobs in Montana. For more information, visit MTHighTech.org or subscribe to our biweekly newsletter.
About the Author: Martina Pansze is the Communications Director for the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. She graduated from Whitman College in 2018 with a degree in Film and Media Studies.