Manos Accelerator, a startup accelerator with the vision to be recognized as an international hub in Silicon Valley where Latino entrepreneurs from across the globe can come to convert their big ideas into reality, has announced the selected startups that have joined the Manos Accelerator program for the 2015 spring batch.
During this last round, a total of five companies were selected from approximately 73 applications received over a 30-day period. After a screening by a selection committee comprised of business and technical leaders in Silicon Valley, a total of five finalists were chosen. The 3rd class includes one international company from Latin America and four from the United States.
“Over the past year, there has been a lot written about the lack of diversity in tech,” said Edward Avila, Co-founder of Manos Accelerator. “Manos is a real need for a rising generation of Latino and Latina innovators who are jumping into the creation process of technology. Our mentorship program and strategic partnerships enable us to support our founders and startup teams from the program to get to the next level. We can’t wait to start working with our 3rd batch of startup companies and be part of their journey.”
“We’re committed to supporting diverse tech communities and entrepreneurs from around the world,” said Mary Grove, Director of Google for Entrepreneurs at Google. “We share Manos’ vision and passion to support a diverse group of founders in building innovative companies that will change the world. They have been able to work with some amazing talent and we are excited to meet and support these teams as they grow their companies.”
Here are the five startup companies that make up the 3rd class and how they describe themselves in alphabetical order:
DreamTuner (Miami, FL): DreamTuner is an interactive platform dedicated to helping independent and unsigned musicians achieve their dreams
LENS (San Francisco, CA): LENS is creating synergy between digital and physical realities through bio wearable technology.
MakeMyQuince (Sacramento, CA): MakeMyQuince is the first to bring online planning tools and crowd-funding to Quinceañeras.
SmileyGo (Berkeley, CA): SmileyGo is a social enterprise that connects businesses with non-profits via its technological platform in order to generate a win-win situation for both sides of the tech platform: for-profit and non-profit.
Shovel apps (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Shovel apps is a flexible Open Source CMS & App Maker that lets you create awesome mobile applications for Android and iOS, without coding skills.
About Manos Accelerator
Manos Accelerator, an organization that is supported by Google for Entrepreneurs, is a mentorship-driven accelerator that provides education, resources and guidance for promising startup companies led by Latinos/Latinas. Manos Accelerator works side-by-side with early stage entrepreneurs to enable them to build, launch, and finance their exceptional businesses, while helping to cultivate a more vibrant technology ecosystem among the Latino community. For more information, go to http://www.manosaccelerator.com.
About Google for Entrepreneurs
Google for Entrepreneurs provides financial support and the best of Google’s resources to dozens of coworking spaces and community programs across 125 countries. We also create Campuses: physical hubs where entrepreneurs can learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world. To learn more about Google for Entrepreneurs, visit http://www.googleforentrepreneurs.com or follow us on G+ (+GoogleForEntrepreneurs) and Twitter (@GoogleForEntrep).
Note: All images courtesy of Manos Accelerator.