Blue Startups mainly attracts web, software, and mobile startups that focus on travel technology, gaming and B2B solutions. “It’s on us to show the world that we can create that quality, competitive company here. We have to create enough companies [in Hawaii] that a VC will see a pattern or trend,” said Farnsworth in a Blue Startup blog post.
The Program
Startups that join the program need one of the founders needs to reside in Honolulu for 13 weeks (not a bad thing) followed by 1 week in Silicon Valley. The accelerator is a member of the GAN that give them access to perks including over $1M worth of free services, a network of investors and companies to connect startups. The accelerator invests $25,000 upfront into each team accepted into the program, $25,000 note based on milestones, and up to $50,000 in follow up funding. If the startup is viable, the founder could expect more interest from outside and Hawaiian venture funds. To date they have graduated eight cohorts with the ninth one currently in session. Check out the startups in the cohort below:
Mahalo! Startup description source: Blue Startups
