The mystartupXX Accelerator Program, A University of California San Diego program aimed at nurturing female entrepreneurs in technology Start-ups, was for the third year in a row, one of the winners of the US Small Business Administration’s National Growth Accelerator Fund competition 2016.
The program was launched in 2012 by UC in collaboration with the California Institute for Innovation and Development at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego and the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.
On being chosen as one of the winners of the competition, the program will receive a $50,000 award from the SBA.
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“It is an incredible honour for the mystartupXX program to be chosen for a third time as one of the winners of the SBA award,” said Lada Rasochova, mystartupXX program director. She is executive director of the California Institute for Innovation and Development at the Rady School of Management.
“This award will enable us to further expand the program to include UC San Diego Health Sciences and continue to increase the number of students and alumni we help launch viable startups and positively impact the innovation economy,” she added.
The mystartupXX program’s mission is to nurture the next generation of female founder and female-led technology startups through mentorship, education and funding.
The program is designed to encourage and aid female students from all across UC San Diego to create innovative, technology-driven companies.
mystartupXX is affiliated with the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur, a new collaboration between the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and Rady School of Management.
“The mystartupXX program has been a magnet for talented students across the UC San Diego campus from undergraduates to postdoctoral scholars to alumni to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into an innovative company,” said Kimberly Davis King, Rady School lecturer and mystartupXX program co-director.
Since its founding, the program has supported four cohorts of female entrepreneurs and 26 female-led teams. Several startup companies have been launched that have raised more than $8 million in funding and have brought several revenue-generating products to the market.
Cypher Genomics, co-founded by 2012 mystartupXX participant Ashley Van Zeeland, was acquired by Human Longevity in 2015. In 2016, mystartupXX company, Clip Diagnostics, won the Life Science track in the UC San Diego E-Challenge competition.
In addition to the SBA grant, the mystartupXX program has been recognized throughout the community for its impact on female entrepreneurs.
The program was recognized with a Pinnacle Award by Athena San Diego for the organization that best personifies Athena San Diego’s mission of fostering the personal and professional growth of women through mentoring, education, recognition and leadership training, thereby enhancing competitiveness and opportunity in the San Diego business community. (Image Courtesy : www.flickr.com)