Ethereum Classic Labs, an incubator investing in the future of Ethereum Classic, earlier this year commenced the first cohort of its ‘Accelerate’ program which is focused on funding, educating and mentoring blockchain companies and communities that are building products and services on Ethereum Classic.
Now, Ethereum Classic Labs announced it is currently reviewing additional Ethereum Classic startups to be part of Cohort II that will commence in Q3 of 2019. The Accelerate program will last a total of three months, focusing on a structured curriculum that will guide and mentor startups on technical direction, product development, legal, regulation, positioning, go-to-market strategy, community development, sales strategy, investor pitches, and business modeling.
Ethereum Classic Labs Accelerate
The three-month program focuses on both hard and soft skills that include technical guidance from the ETC Labs Core team, pitch refining for both sales and investment, leadership skills, market research, user research, and business development.
Post-program, all teams are welcome to continue-on as alumni, with a bi-annual all-hands, and an annual in-person meeting. And, startups from the last cohort walked away with great experiences that continue to improve from Cohort to Cohort.
CEO of Monitizr Andris Merkulovs (from the first cohort) said, “I received more investor introductions than a leading global accelerator who’s been around for over a decade.”
Maciej Nowosielski, CTO at Ethernode (also from the first cohort) stated, “Core Developers are both easy to work with and to get a hold of.”
Cohort I Highlights
The first Cohort was born at the beginning of 2019 with 11 blockchain companies and included a combination of funding, mentorship, facilities, entrepreneurship workshops, and development resources. Cohort I was also treated to special guest speakers from prominent legal, compliancy, entrepreneurship, investors, and product designers to give the Cohorts the resources necessary to structure, build and grow successful blockchain companies.
Participating projects included:
Button Wallet received funding, mentorship, and connections to build their crypto wallet, which now has more than 80,000 global users from over 118 countries. Button Wallet is a messenger-based software solution for trading and buying digital assets. A client-side application based on existing infrastructure, Button is built on Telegram messenger with principles of decentralization. With a solid user base and strong technology, Button is currently looking for growth funding to scale customer adoption and usability.
EtherNode’s mission was to make blockchain network connectivity easy for novice users to developers. With its EnKeep hardware and ENOS open-source operating system, it allows users to quickly, easily and securely set up and administer an Ethereum Classic node. As part of Ethereum Labs’ Accelerate program, EtherNode received initial funding, development resources and guidance, and influence over the direction of updates to Ethereum Classic to ensure interoperability and integration.
Cryzen
Cryzen is an algorithmic trading platform for cryptocurrencies, that allows users to develop, backtest, visualize, and deploy trading strategies to the cryptocurrency markets. Now have 10 paying customers, an enterprise customer, and an additional investment from an angel investor, Cryzen is building a solid customer base and momentum.
Monetizr
Monetizr is a marketplace that enables game developers to monetize mobile games by creating rewarding experiences for players with digital and physical rewards right inside the game. Since the first meeting with ETC Las back in December 2018, the Monetizr team has more than tripled in sales revenue. They recently finalized a partnership with Angry Birds 4. The Monetizr team received funding, connections, development support and facilities to build and continue to grow their company.