With only two weeks left for applications, Brian Ardinger, managing director of the NMotion accelerator, says they have seen a 25% increase in applications this year compared to last.
Ardinger attributes the growth to the strengthening Midwest ecosystem and their alumni teams, including QuantifiedAg, MusicSpoke, Mowdo, FanStreamm, Nobl and HipPocket.
He also attributes their growth to the Global Accelerator Network, an exclusive membership. NMotion became an official member in September.
Every year Ardinger sees more sophisticated teams trying to get into the program.
“We evaluate the teams on a variety of factors,” said Ardinger. “Is this a big problem/market and are they thinking big enough? Have they built things, made things, done things? Can we help them move forward, faster with the right mentors and connections?”
NMotion is looking for teams that are in the AgTech, SportsTech, HRTech and MarketingTech. The accelerator connects those teams to people like Alistair Croll, the author of Lean Analytics, and Tyler Crowley, known for helping startups like Dropbox, Mint, and Yammer.
“We’ve got rock star talent, mentors and alumni helping teams before, during and after the program,” said Ardinger.
This year’s program will run from April 27 to July 28. The application deadline is March 9th. Interested teams can apply through NMotion’s online application.