Lightship’s ‘Startup Train’ ecosystem tour heads to 5 mid-Atlantic cities this May

Midwest startup-focused organization Lightship is taking a tour of the mid-Atlantic region in May to expand its geographical footprint and its mission of reaching underrepresented founders.

Lightship started as a small program in Cincinnati, but has turned into a multi-city initiative aiming to educate founders from diverse backgrounds to help them grow their venture-backable businesses, CEO Candice Matthews Brackeen said.

“What we’ve recognized over the years is that there are people who are kind of missing from ecosystems or overlooked in ecosystems, even if they’re really big ones,” she said. The 2017-founded org has two arms: Lightship Foundation, which includes an accelerator and bootcamp, and Lightship Capital, a venture firm that invests in founders of color, the LBGTQ+ community, women, and founders with disabilities.

Matthews Brackeen runs Lightship with her spouse, Brian Brackeen, who’s originally from Philadelphia. She told Technical.ly she recently took her first train ride on Amtrak’s Acela, which connects most of the Northeast, and was struck by how connected the Northeast Corridor is.

It’s the foundation for their “Startup Train” series coming next month. Beginning on May 1 and for the four consecutive days after, they’ll be visiting Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC. In each city, they’ll be connecting with startup ecosystem builders, holding office hours and hosting a networking event.

(No relation: Geeks on a Train.)

The Lightship staff have some personal or professional connections to each of the cities. Lightship Capital Principal Alexis Alston went to school in Providence, while Brackeen has his Philly roots. The org has made some good connections with UpSurge Baltimore and counts some portfolio companies in New York City. And the last city, DC, is strategically positioned to help with the org’s ongoing policy work around funding and resources for Black and brown founders, and women in tech.

Currently, Lightship Foundation is operating in Cincinnati, Detroit, Tulsa, Toledo, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Athens, Madison and North Miami. Matthews Brackeen said this tour may inform further expansion.

Philadelphia’s event will be the evening of May 3 in partnership with Philly Startup Leaders and Tribaja’s Diversitech Fest, hosted at Comcast’s LIFT Labs space. The next day in Baltimore, Lightship will host an evening meetup at EcoMap Technologies, and on May 5 in DC, they’ll host a meetup at a TBD location. For more info on each event, and to register, check the link below.