Tag: AWS Impact Accelerator

STIGMA is an asynchronous messaging app that connects people who are struggling with strangers who share their lived experience to give them living proof that what they’re going through is something they will get through. Participating in the AWS Impact Accelerator Latino Founder cohort helped STIGMA to come up with solutions that would improve the product experience for their members, while also helping the STIGMA team to hone skills such delivering a compelling pitch to investors.

Reports show that only 1% of venture-backed founders are Black, 1.8% Latino, and 9% women. AWS aims to help change that. Last year, we launched the AWS Impact Accelerator for startups led by underrepresented founders—giving high-potential, pre-seed startups the tools and knowledge to reach key milestones, such as raising funds or being accepted to a seed-stage accelerator program, while creating powerful solutions in the cloud. Read on to find out more about each of the three cohorts we’ve held so far.

As part of our $30 million commitment to provide underrepresented founders with the resources, capital, and community they need to level the startup playing field, we are announcing today the 20 companies that will participate in the AWS Impact Accelerator Latino Founders Cohort. The program kicks off this week in our HQ in Seattle and closes in 8 weeks, with an investor pitching day in New York—including the Nasdaq Closing Bell Ceremony, which is set to foreshadow a successful journey to the Latino-led companies that joined this cohort.

After a week-long kickoff in Seattle, founders bonded through their virtual community, participating in weekly workshops and one-on-one technical and business trainings in partnership with a personally curated mentor. In December, the founders came together again at the AWS Startup Loft in San Francisco to prepare their final pitches to a diverse group of 41 investors from 31 firms.

Check out the video to get a look at the fun, and learn about all the AWS Impact Accelerator opportunities currently available to startups through AWS.

Today, AWS launched applications for the next cohort—Latino Founders. Applications are open to founders located in the US and Latin American countries, as long as their startup is incorporated in the US. Interested in applying? Applications are open March 6 – March 17, 2023, with limited space available. Read on to find out how to submit your application.

Via her participation in the Black Founders cohort for the AWS Impact Accelerator Program, Dr. LaVonda Brown gained access to personalized coaching, capital funding, and technical solutions. Through this connection, she was able to deliver on a key requirement for their app to go to market.

Meet Alyse Dunn, the founder of CareCoPilot and our first featured founder for Black History Month. With her software engineering expertise and caregiver experience, she created the CareCopilot web and mobile app. With the help of the AWS Impact Accelerator program, Alyse and CareCopilot are on the fast track to providing relief to millions of caregivers.

Fresh off the success of the inaugural Amazon Web Services (AWS) Impact Accelerator for Black founders, AWS is continuing its $30 million commitment to provide underrepresented founders with the resources, capital, and community they need to level the startup playing field. Today, meet the 25 women founders selected from a competitive field of applicants and chosen by a diverse committee of AWS Startups experts who are changing the startup landscape with their next idea.

If you’ve been sitting on your application for the AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders, meet Aireka Harvell, founder of Nodat and inaugural member of AWS Impact Accelerator for Black Founders. In today’s post, she shares her best advice for making the most of this unique opportunity and how it is changing the trajectory of her startup. Then, get your application submitted by August 26!