LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hurdl Inc., the company that provides comprehensive marketing and data analytics for live events, officially announced today its acceptance into Techstars Music, the first-ever music-industry focused program from Techstars, a mentorship-driven accelerator. Hurdl was one of 11 startups chosen from more than 30,000 applicants worldwide to work closely with Techstars Music led by Bob Moczydlowsky, program managing director and former Twitter Music executive, as one of “the best music startups on the planet.”
Recently featured at CES 2017’s Eureka Park, Hurdl revolutionizes the live event industry and entertainment marketing by creating direct relationships with entire audiences. Its PIXL LED wearable turns audiences into interactive event experiences while its patented software provides clients and brand partners a new 1:1 communication network with all attendees for direct, real-time engagement to increase pre-, during and post-event revenue. This Techstars honor comes after Hurdl’s official launch at The 50th Annual CMA Awards, followed by a successful activation at Jack Daniel's Music City Midnight New Year’s Eve Celebration, where Hurdl helped sponsors AT&T Fiber and Nashville Convention and Visitors Center identify that 72 percent of attendees at the ticket-free festivities were in from out of town, nearly 40 percent of whom were first-time visitors to Nashville.
“We are thrilled and extremely grateful to be selected by Techstars as one to watch in the music startup space,” said Zach Shunk, Hurdl co-founder and CTO/COO. “Relocating the team to L.A.’s incredible tech scene opens up a world of opportunities for our business development and customer basis, where we proudly represent Hurdl’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. We look forward to working with Techstars not only to advance our company trajectory but also accelerate our current and future clients’ relationships with both their known and unknown ticket holders.”
Techstars Music opened its applications in October 2016 for startups in the music-technology space creating new types of at-home and mobile-phone fan experiences as well as curation technology and copyright-management solutions, among other things. Program executives closely mentor the carefully curated group of accelerator participants that made the cut and provide them with access to a network of strategics in the industry. The program also provides office space in Los Angeles and back office services such as analytics tools and marketing services as well as access to executives and artists from all facets of the global music landscape.
Bob Moczydlowsky brings his years of leadership experience in the music industry along with connections for program participants to access. Partners of Techstars Music program include Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Sonos, Harmonix Music Systems, Bill Silva Entertainment, Era of the Engineer, and artist managers QPrime and Silva Artist Management. Moczydlowsky’s recent blog post states, “This elite group of participants have managed superstar artists and social media influencers, been named to Forbes 30 under 30 lists, won Apple Design awards, created a global community of more than ten thousand professional DJs, sold a previous company (We Are Hunted) to Twitter, run a child-health organization, managed content for TED, authored New York Times best-selling books, created music and sound design for major film, TV and videogames… even co-created Google Maps. I’m half-amazed they let me hang around with them at all.”
The program began in Los Angeles on February 20, 2017, and concludes with an invite-only Demo Day on May 18, 2017. After closing out a $2.25M round with strategic seed investors, next on Hurdl’s agenda is a variety of arena and stadium events for current partners along with a presence at Techstars’ Nashville Startup Week beginning March 13, 2017, where Betsy McHugh, Hurdl founder and CEO, will be speaking.
For details on upcoming events and Hurdl’s whereabouts, visit www.hurdl.com and www.twitter.com/WeAreHurdl. For more information on Techstars Music accelerator program, visit www.techstarsmusic.com.
About Hurdl, Inc.
Hurdl revolutionizes entertainment marketing at live events by increasing fan engagement and revenue by combining Hurdl’s patented software with it’s unique LED wearable ‘PIXL,’ allowing artists, teams, and event planners a new 1:1 communication network with both the known and unknown ticket holder. The result: interactive experiences that drive increased revenue. Hurdl: Your Audience, Illuminated.
For more information, visit www.hurdl.com.
About Techstars:
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of community programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and do more faster. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey – from early stage grassroots community development to more formal opportunities that provide education, experience, acceleration, funding, and beyond.
