PSLU Accelerator: It’s all about the relationships

We started the PSLU Accelerator with a clear mission in mind: To help Philly startups grow by helping them access the resources in our community.
Two of our companies learned about our program through previous engagement in the community. Andrew Nakkache, CEO of Habitat said, “We found out about the accelerator through Start. Stay. Grow. We’re building Habitat in Philly, for Philly, and couldn’t be happier to have the Philadelphia entrepreneurship community invest in our team and our dream.”
As every successful startup leader learns from experience, a network of relationships is the key to moving the idea from concept to company.

Our recipe for success: Social Capital

Everything we do is “by the community, for the community.” Financial capital is one necessary element of launching a business, but it is not the only ingredient for success.
PSL-U provides the social capital needed to cultivate an idea and transform it into a reality. “We recently raised capital, so keeping the equity while getting some top quality advice is really appealing for us based on where we are right now,” Matt Carey, CEO of Abaris, said. “All of the mentors in PSL-U are founders who are actively working on building their own businesses. As a founder, I’ve found it most helpful to be around people who are a couple steps ahead of me in building their businesses.”

Here’s how it works

We reviewed over 50 applications this year, and we chose the top six startups for our second accelerator class. Each company is paired with the CEO a successful Philly startup who can provide practical advice and help them make the connections they need to scale. PSL-U takes no fee and gains no equity from the companies in the accelerator. Our mission is simply to help companies accelerate great ideas into fundable ventures.
Here are the startups:
Paymetrics
Metrics and sales analysis for Paypal

• Team: Shannon Sofield
• Mentor: SnipSnap founder Ted Mann

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Habitat
An app that provides students with a secure marketplace to buy and sell local goods and services

• Team: Andrew Nakkache, Brandon Bahr, Michael Paszkiewicz
• Mentor: Pet360 CEO Brock Weatherup

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Abaris
Make the process of buying an annuity informative, simple and unbiased

• Team: Matt Carey, Adam Colombo, Nimish Shukla
• Mentor: Guru founder Rick Nucci

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Staffluent
A fast and simple way to  find a replacement staffer for a work shift

• Team: Ann Lee, Charlie Bowden, Ernest Barer, Neeraj Bagga
• Mentor: Arcweb CEO Chris Cera

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NarrativeDx
Helping hospitals learn from patient narratives to improve care and maximize reimbursements

• Team: Senem Guney
• Mentor: CloudMine founder Brendan McCorkle

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Smack Innovations
A smartphone controller within a steering wheel cover

• Team: Gregor Hanuschak
• Mentor: LeadiD founder Ross Shanken