These two local startups have been selected for the Techstars Atlanta Accelerator

Two local startups have been selected to participate in the 2020 Techstars Atlanta Accelerator program.

Techstars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program, which runs 13-week accelerators across multiple markets, including in Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Austin, Boston, Chicago and more. During the program, selected startups will gain access to gain access to funding opportunities and the organization’s network. The Techstars Atlanta Accelerator is in partnership with Cox Enterprises, a conglomerate of communications, media and automotive companies.

Dave Payne, managing director of Techstars Atlanta, said in a press release that the program received hundreds of applications and ultimately only 10 startups were selected for the 2020 class.

To recruit for this class, Payne visited nearly 10 startup markets in the Southeast and met more than 1,000 founders, the press release states. The accelerator accepts business from anywhere, and this new class includes Ivy City-based Poppy and our #6 RealLIST 2020 startup Please Assist Me.

Due to COVID-19, the program will be run virtually.

“The Techstars network is very strong, and we are constantly being introduced to founders all over the country and world,” Payne said. “Every Techstars program is very competitive and fortunate to receive many high-quality applications from founders, but this year’s application pool for Techstars Atlanta was particularly strong.”

Tech-enabled flower company Poppy is a a direct-to-consumer, ecommerce company with a mission to make picking event flowers a fun and easy process. Since the pandemic hit, the company launched a new initiative to offer at-home floral arranging kits with shipping nationwide.

Please Assist Me is the curator of a tech platform that connects people with reliable assistants to help them manage day-to-day chores and tasks. Cofounder Stephanie Cummings, took the #dctech startup community by storm last year when she won the $20,000 grand prize at the 2019 Vinetta Project final and first place and $25,000 at the HERImpact DC pitch competition.

Cox Enterprises team members will work with the ventures individually, kicking off the program with some mentor hours. The founders will pitch their ventures to investors and an audience at a demo day on Oct. 19.