60 Diverse Startups to Participate in Third Cohort of the Founder Fellowship

NYCEDC Announces Selection of 60 Diverse Startups to Participate in Third Cohort of the Founder Fellowship

 

NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today unveiled the selection of 60 diverse tech founder teams from across New York City to participate in the third installation of NYCEDC’s signature Founder Fellowship program. The program is designed to address inequities in the tech ecosystem and empower New Yorkers to seize entrepreneurship opportunities in the industry. Of the 60 teams selected for the 2024 Fellowship cohort, approximately two-thirds have at least one female founder, 77 percent have a Black, Latinx, and/or Asian founder, and 15 percent have at least one LGBT+ founder.

The Fellowship continues after the successes of the pilot cohort with Newlab in 2022 and then significantly scaling to support more New York City-based entrepreneurs in the second cohort that launched in February 2023. During the 2023 program, Founder Fellow companies hired nearly 80 new employees, and their combined valuation increased by at least $112 million. The program builds on Mayor Adams’ “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery,” which prioritizes helping diverse entrepreneurs gain greater access to capital.

“I am thrilled by the announcement of the third Founder Fellowship cohort because it further advances the Adams administration’s goal of creating an equitable and representative tech sector in New York City. Additionally, this initiative is an example of government at its best— de-risking and testing big ideas and then scaling them when they work, in partnership with the private sector and proven program operators,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer.

Click HERE to read more.