[October 14, 2014] |
|
Disney Accelerator Showcases 10 Start-Ups at Demo Day
BURBANK, Calif. --(Business Wire)--
Today, Disney (News - Alert) Accelerator powered by Techstars culminates in a Demo Day
where its 10 participating companies will present their businesses to
the investment and entrepreneurial communities, industry leaders and
Disney executives. The Disney Accelerator participants have just
finished a 15-week immersive program that gave them access to mentorship
from more than 60 Disney executives as well as 70 entrepreneurs and
investors from the business community, up to $120K in investment capital
to develop their companies and special access to Disney resources from
across the company.
The participating companies have reached many significant milestones
during the Disney Accelerator. At Demo Day, Smart Toy, a company that
makes toys that teach, talk, and interact with children, announced today
that it has been acquired by Cartwheel Kids, a Los Angeles-based
manufacturer of children's products. In addition, SnowShoe announced
that it had secured $2.2 million in seed financing and Choremonster and
Codarica both launched mobile apps. Sphero also introduced its new Ollie
product during the program, and Twigtale named as its editor-in-chief
Dr. Harvey Karp, the renowned pediatrician and child development
specialist.
"This group of start-ups has made tremendous progress evolving and
growing their businesses in the past fifteen weeks," said Kevin Mayer,
Disney's Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business
Development. "It has been a fantastic learning experience for them and
an opportunity for Disney to get in on the ground floor with a new
generation of innovators. We look forward to the opportunity to work
with all of these companies moving forward and to meeting a new set of
participants next year."
The companies participating in Disney Accelerator are:
-
ChoreMonster - ChoreMonster unites parents and kids with the
most ridiculously fun and motivating family framework, so every home
is a joyful place. choremonter.com
-
Codarica - Codarica creates seriously fun games that teach kids
to code. codarica.com
-
Jogg - Jogg is a mobile video platform that changes the
direction of how we engage our audience. joggapp.co
-
Naritiv - Naritiv is a marketing and analytics platform for
micro-content, starting with Snapchat. naritiv.com
-
Sidelines - Sidelines is a people-powered content marketing
platform that drives brand influence through discussions by expert
fans. sidelinesapp.com
-
Smart Toy - Smart Toy is a learning toy that talks and listens
to kids. Smart Toy can be customized to know your child's name, teach
lessons, and much more. smarttoylabs.com
-
SnowShoe - SnowShoe creates magic with a touch of plastic.
SnowShoe-powered objects unlock digital content through your
smartphone. snowshoestamp.com
-
Sphero - Sphero is the connected play company, fusing digital
and physical play by creating toys and robots that you control with a
smart device. gosphero.com
-
Twigtale - Twigtale builds happier families through
personalization and expert-fueled storytelling. twigtale.com
-
TYFFON - TYFFON makes entertaining apps that put you in the
center of the fun -- founded by the creators of the ZombieBooth
series, with over 30 million downloads. tyffon.com
About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and
affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and
media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and
resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. Disney
is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $45 billion in its Fiscal
Year 2013.
About Techstars
The massive Techstars interconnected network of over 3,000 successful
entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and corporate partners help the most
promising startups do more faster. With 13 programs worldwide, its
mentorship-driven accelerators fund the best companies in the most
entrepreneurial communities. Since 2006, 80% of the 500 companies from
almost 40 Techstars programs have received funding, representing
approximately $2 billion in market capitalization.
[ Back To Homepage ]
|