MIAMI — Nov. 2, 2015 — Startupbootcamp, Europe’s leading business accelerator operating in eight countries, will launch its first program in the United States with $2 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The program in Miami will focus on supporting and scaling startups in digital health, building on the city’s reputation as a center for health care and life sciences.

Startupbootcamp operates 10 accelerators in Europe and one in Singapore. It has supported 290 startups, of which over 70 percent have received an average of $660,000 in funding and together have created 1,160 jobs.

With Knight funding, Startupbootcamp will bring its proven accelerator and mentorship model to the U.S. for the first time, investing in and helping to grow 30 digital health startups over three years. The Miami program will invite entrepreneurs from across the globe to apply; 10 companies per year will be selected to participate in the three-month program. The chosen startups receive six months of free co-working office space, an investment of $20,000 with up to an additional $100,000 in seed funding and $500,000 of in-kind services from partners such as Google, PayPal and Amazon Web Services, among others. They also have access to one-on-one mentoring with more than 100 top health care investors and seasoned entrepreneurs and partners, and access to Startupbootcamp’s global network and alumni growth program. 

Startupbootcamp will focus its recruiting efforts across the United States, Latin America and Europe to attract global talent to Miami. Historically, eight out of ten companies selected for the program are non-local half of which end up staying in the host city.

“By bringing Startupbootcamp to Miami we intend to create a foundation for a robust accelerator and mentorship base, which is so crucial to a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Christian Seale, managing director of Startupbootcamp Digital Health. “Around the world, emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems have benefited from building ties to rising local industries. We see an immense opportunity to make Miami into a top health-tech destination globally and leverage the city’s diversity to build and scale solutions to help in the eradication of health disparities.”

“We have made great progress in the last few years in expanding Miami’s innovation ecosystem, but there is more work to do. There are still not enough accelerators in Miami to attract and propel early-stage entrepreneurs and help these startups become scale-ups,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “Startupbootcamp will help to fill this gap by bringing world-class talent to Miami and at the same time helping to cultivate our growing community of local innovators.”

Founding investor of Startupbootcamp in Miami Maurice R. Ferré M.D. agreed stating, “my interest [in Startupbootcamp] is to see more multi-billion dollar companies like MAKO Surgical be created in Miami.”

The program will include educational opportunities – hackathons, pitch days, community events – that will be available to the public. In particular, Startupbootcamp will focus outreach efforts for these offerings on diverse and underrepresented communities. It is also partnering with local institutions such as the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, to test products and services from Startupbootcamp ventures, and is working with local universities such as the Idea Center at Miami Dade College to support more local innovation. Startupbootcamp and the Idea Center will be co-hosting a MIT Hacking Medicine hackathon February 20-21, 2016.

Founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, Startupbootcamp ranks among the leading accelerators in the world. It operates 11 accelerators across eight locations in Amsterdam; Barcelona; Berlin; Copenhagen, Denmark; Eindhoven, Netherlands; Istanbul, London and Singapore. In 2014 Startupbootcamp was named Europe’s accelerator of the year by The Europas, a leading tech award in Europe. It has supported 290 startups across 29 programs in both established entrepreneurial communities, such as London, as well as emerging ecosystems such as, Copenhagen and Barcelona. Industries that Startupbootcamp has focused on in specific cities include: smart city and living in Amsterdam, smart transportation and energy in Berlin and financial technology in Singapore and London.

Startupbootcamp is backed by a diverse group of founding partners including Knight Foundation; Microsoft’s BizSpark Program; Miro Ventures LLC; Nicklaus Children’s Hospital; Rokk3r Labs; and Univision; as well as, Maurice R. Ferré (M.D.),  executive chairman of Insightec and co-founder of MAKO Surgical; and Michael Simkins, president and CEO of Innovate Development Group, which is leading the Miami Innovation District project. 

Support for Startupbootcamp is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past three years, Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.

To learn more about Startupbootcamp visit startupbootcamp.org. Apply to the Miami program here. 

About Startupbootcamp

Founded in 2010, Startupbootcamp is a global startup accelerator network with 11 programs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Istanbul, London and Singapore, and a mentor and alumni network in more than 30 countries. To date, more than 290 startups have been accelerated by Startupbootcamp, of which 80 percent are still active. For more, visit startupbootcamp.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

Contacts:

Heath Fradkoff, Principal, Ward 6 Marketing LLC, 718-254-9600, [email protected]

Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2646, [email protected]