“I feel like every time we talk, you guys are up to something new,” said Rebecca Turner, host of “Good Things with Rebecca Turner,” when Innovate Mississippi CEO Tony Jeff visited the show in May.
The topic of conversation was the launch of CoBuilders Mississippi, the first-ever statewide accelerator for startup businesses. CoBuilders launched with 21 startup companies in late May, with a 12-week program culminating in Pitch Day on July 28, 2022. At Pitch Day, companies that make it through the accelerator process and prove they’re ready for “prime time” will pitch their companies to a public audience in Jackson, including investors from around the state.
“Instead of doing that once a month as companies get ready … we will bring together a bunch of investors for them to pitch to,” said Jeff. “We’re going to get [these companies] into a systematic approach to pitch on July 28th to all these investors.”
When Turner said, “It’s kind of like a boot camp'” Jeff agreed, saying that the model is called an “accelerator.”
“While an ‘incubator’ is often a building where you get support, an ‘accelerator’ is a program like this,” Jeff said. He noted that with the support of Microsoft, the Mississippi Development Authority and many other sponsors, CoBuilders Mississippi is actually providing cash to companies that go through the process. The companies will get between $7,600 and $12,000 to help with prototyping, customer validation and everything it takes to be “investor-ready” as a startup.
Jeff said that Innovate Mississippi, which has done this sort of work for more than two decades, is Jackson-based, but the state is large, with several distinct regions such as the Gulf Coast, the Delta and the Pine Belt. Bringing together regional partners with a more standardized approach means efficiencies for the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Turner and Jeff spoke for nearly 30 minutes about CoBuilders Mississippi, which you can watch here. Innovate Mississippi invites the public to Pitch Day at Fertile Ground Brewery in Jackson’s Belhaven neighborhood. Learn more at CoBuilders.ms and register to attend Pitch Day.
