ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Engage Ventures, the largest strategic grouping of major corporations and brands in an independent venture fund, has selected eight companies to participate in the firm’s inaugural program, which kicks off today.
“Our mission is to strengthen collaboration and partnership between leading corporations and top entrepreneurs in high growth companies,” said Thiago Olson, Managing Director at Engage Ventures. “What makes Engage unique is the level of access and interaction with our founding corporate partners at the executive and C-suite level to help streamline partnerships and strategic relationships with these startups and growth companies.”
Helping High-Growth Companies Get Product to Market
“Engage selected companies from across the country. The leaders of the chosen eight companies are led by a diverse group of individuals that include both first-time founders and seasoned, serial entrepreneurs who have built and exited multiple technology businesses over the last 25 years,” said Thiago Olson.
The Inaugural Engage Portfolio:
- Bee Downtown (Durham, NC): Rebuilding the vital bee population with a sustainability and employee engagement solution for enterprises
- Cyrano (Atlanta, GA): Leadership communications platform using video to better connect and engage employees
- EmployUs (Raleigh, NC): Platform to help companies hire more referrals by automating the employee referral process
- Fast Radius (Chicago, IL / Atlanta, GA): On-demand additive manufacturing and production for enterprises
- Gauge Insights (Atlanta, GA): Consumer insights platform for companies to obtain feedback from customers in minutes
- Sudu (Atlanta, GA): On-demand and scheduled trucking service that connects companies that ship freight with a network of trucks and diverse carriers
- The Mom Project (Chicago, IL): Marketplace and community that connects enterprises with diverse female talent
- TransRisk (Chattanooga, TN): Financial instruments and market data platform for the trucking and logistics industry
Engage Ventures’ founding partners contributing capital, expertise, time and resources include AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia Tech, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power Foundation, Inc., Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Invesco Ltd., Tech Square Ventures, The Home Depot and UPS.
About Engage Ventures
Engage Ventures is an independent, early-stage venture fund and program that gives entrepreneurs what they need most—customers and market access. Engage companies come from around the world to work with top executives from leading brands, including AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power Foundation, Inc., Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Invesco Ltd., The Home Depot and UPS. These corporate partners, along with the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and Tech Square Ventures, provide tools, hands-on support and resources that help companies develop go-to-market strategies, open doors faster and transform strategies into action. Headquartered in Georgia Tech’s Technology Square, Engage is led by Managing Director Thiago Olson. For more information, visit engage.vc.
