Flashstarts Labs offers a fast track to starting a business

StartMartStartMart

The technology and software business startup accelerator Flashstarts will now offer a way for companies in the formulation phase a way to speed up the process.

Starting today, the organization will begin taking applications for Flashstarts Labs – a way for startups to prepare for the accelerator program.

“It’s a formalization of something we’ve been doing for the last couple of years, where we can work with teams before they are accepted in to the accelerator,” explains Flashstarts co-founder and CEO Charles Stack.  “A lot of teams are missing something – skill sets, market validation, strategy, a co-founder – this will help them get into the accelerator program.”

The idea behind the Labs is to offer the fastest path between business concept and startup formation. Companies accepted into the three-month program will receive access to more than 40 mentors, consulting, business tools and office space in StartMart, Flashstarts’ 35,000-square-foot entrepreneurial co-working space in the Terminal Tower.

Stack explains that in Flashstarts’ three-year history, he has found that a lot of startups need help getting things organized. “We learned that a lot of people and ideas need a high-speed on-ramp,” he says. “Now we have StartMart, so we have a lot of space to bring in Labs. When a good idea bubbles up from the goo, we grab it and put it in the accelerator.”

There's room for 50 people in the Labs, and accelerator companies will be chosen from the Labs teams. "I don't know how many we'll pick for the accelerator, but we will pick from these teams,” Stack says. “We will spend a lot of time working with these teams.”

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Selection criteria will include uniqueness, market opportunity, team background, and likelihood of success.

Karin Connelly Rice
Karin Connelly Rice

About the Author: Karin Connelly Rice

Karin Connelly Rice enjoys telling people's stories, whether it's a promising startup or a life's passion. Over the past 20 years she has reported on the local business community for publications such as Inside Business and Cleveland Magazine. She was editor of the Rocky River/Lakewood edition of In the Neighborhood and was a reporter and photographer for the Amherst News-Times. At Fresh Water she enjoys telling the stories of Clevelanders who are shaping and embracing the business and research climate in Cleveland.