Six South Dakota companies have been selected to to participate and compete in the 2013 Accelerator Program at the South Dakota Technology Business Center (SDTBC).
The accelerator is comprised of six sessions––one each month––where entrepreneurs will develop the skills to grow their businesses and eventually pitch to investors. About $20,000 of in-kind funds and services will be awarded throughout the process as companies learn and compete.
“These companies are learning how to be successful from some of the region’s top experts in entrepreneurship, sales, finance, intellectual property, business law and more,” said SDTBC’s client services manager Pam Boehm in a press release. “We are excited to be working with these entrepreneurs and the more than 20 subject matter experts sharing their time and talents to further entrepreneurship in South Dakota.”
The program is all part of an effort by the South Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (SD EPSCoR) and Forward Sioux Falls. The two groups hope to make South Dakota a hub for technological development in the coming years by providing resources that encourage business growth and catering to young professionals.
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Participating companies vary from Braced with Style, which produces cloth covers for medical braces, to Farmcast––mobile software that allows farmers and ranchers to automate record keeping in their fields.
South Dakota has gained some space in the national tech spotlight in recent years via the Apple App Store, most notably through Montessorium‘s educational apps and Happy Tapper’s Gratitude Journal. Area business leaders hope programs like the accelerator will foster future community development and encourage entrepreneurs to stay local.
