Having invested in thousands of startups across the globe and catalyzed the growth of more than a dozen of today’s unicorns, startup accelerator Techstars is bringing a new program to Fort Worth to foster the future of physical health.
Its new program will encompass a class of 10 early-stage companies working to build new solutions, treatments and therapies to innovate the physical health space in areas like rehabilitation, physical therapy, performance and exercise. The 13-week program offers participating companies mentorship, entrepreneurial content, access to Techstars’ business personnel network and up to $120,000 in funding.
The physical health accelerator will be led by Trey Bowles, co-founder and president of InnoCity Partners, as well as the co-founder of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center. As the program’s managing director, Bowles will offer insights from his experience founding companies within the media, e-commerce and consumer spaces. The program will launch in partnership with the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC).
“As a deeply embedded member of the North Texas startup community, I see the incredible opportunity we have with the Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator to give startups the advantage they need to succeed by providing access to capital, one-on-one mentorship and knowledge sharing from across Techstars’ global network,” Bowles said in a company blog post.
Techstars is not new to supporting the Texas startup scene. It has maintained a presence in the state for years through its “Startup Week” community events. It has also hosted accelerators in Texas since 2013 and has invested in more than 150 Austin-based startups that have so far raised more than $1 billion in venture funding.
“One of our top priorities at HSC is to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship, and partnering with Techstars, the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and Goff Capital brings incredible opportunity to our startup communities and accelerators,” Dr. Michael Williams, president of HSC, said in a blog post. “This public-private collaboration will change our medical community and spark much-needed innovation through the ability to focus on human movement and rehabilitation as an industry vertical.”
Applications for interested startups opened on Tuesday and will be accepted through May 11. The accelerator program is scheduled to commence on September 12 and end with a demo day on December 12.
