Desai Accelerator Invests Milestone Millionth Dollar

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Desai Accelerator, a joint initiative between the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Michigan Ross and the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, today announced it has officially invested its one millionth dollar with its 2018 cohort of companies, comprised of Canopy, Cheddur, Fluity, Jottful, Mi Padrino and Movatic.

Companies participating in the Desai Accelerator receive guidance during the critical phase between early-stage development and the point at which they seek external investors. The accelerator provides each company with support from mentors and interns, office space in downtown Ann Arbor, as well as a $25,000 - $50,000 investment. Applications for the 2019 cohort are currently open.

"As our mission is to help startups make it to their first million dollars, it is truly satisfying to be hitting our one millionth dollar invested," said Angela Kujava, managing director of the Desai Accelerator. "We're thrilled to continue supporting growing talent and ventures here in Southeast Michigan."

Thanks to the support they have received throughout their journey at Desai, accelerator alumni companies have recently hit significant milestones of their own.

Ash & Erie, a member of the Summer 2016 cohort and the first company to design affordable, stylish, everyday clothing for shorter men under 5'8", appeared on "Shark Tank" and was recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 – Retail & Ecommerce 2019 list.

"The program connected us to some great individuals who had a big impact on us," said Steven Mazur, co-founder and CEO of Ash & Erie. "It meant so much to have people to rely on and to have the extra capital to expand business and get rid of roadblocks that were previously in the way."

MySwimPro, a mobile application that delivers custom workouts, training plans and coaching to help swimmers and athletes of all levels achieve their goals, recently signed on with the FINA World Aquatics Convention as an official media partner and was named 2016 Apple Watch App of the Year.

"The Desai Accelerator helped us refine our pitch, which allowed us to secure the grand prize of $40,000 at the 2017 Michigan GreenLight Business Model Competition and also close a round of equity crowdfunding that includes more than 130 investors from around the world," said Fares Ksebati, co-founder and CEO at MySwimPro, member of the Summer 2016 cohort. "During the program, we worked with a group of rock star summer associates that helped us develop our team leadership skills as we build out our team."

Dawn Verbrigghe, founder and CEO of Jottful, a SaaS solution that reimagines website ownership for small businesses, said participating in the Summer 2018 cohort of the Desai Accelerator opened the door for Jottful to secure its first round of funding.

"In addition to the contacts we made, the advice we received and the work we did to polish our pitch, we received two investment offers as a direct result of participating in Desai," said Verbrigghe.

New programming to support companies throughout the growth process
Recognizing that the need for support does not end when companies exit the accelerator program, Desai is adding a post-accelerator model to its programming that will provide resources to help companies focus not only on traditional venture capital funding, but also on generating revenue.

"Over the course of four years and five cohorts, we have proven the minimum viable product of this accelerator and are looking forward to evaluating how we can better serve startups," said Kujava. "We've learned that the companies we work with can benefit from additional support and resources as they move toward their Series A funding round and generating revenue."

The accelerator will also be hosting a CEO Master Class available in 2019. This comes on the heels of a successful CEO Master Class run in partnership with Ann Arbor Spark and Arbor Dakota Strategies this year. Twelve CEOs participated in the course, a six-week deep dive into CEO development led by Arbor Dakota CEO Ted Dacko. Dacko brought to the class his experience leading the turnaround of Michigan healthcare industry consultancy HealthMedia, which had a successful exit to Johnson & Johnson in 2008.

Additional programming will be added to the roster in 2019.

Since its launch in 2015, funding and support for the accelerator has been provided by the Desai Sethi (DS) Family Foundation, the Davidson Foundation, the Wadhams family and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Visit http://desaiaccelerator.umich.edu/ for more information.

About the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
The Institute and its Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance bring together an impactful combination of deep-seated knowledge, enriching experiences and strategic opportunities from the front lines of entrepreneurship and alternative investment. Students' learning experiences are further enhanced through internships, entrepreneurial clubs, business competitions and campus-wide events that foster valuable networking and engage the business community. The Institute's five student-led investment funds, with over $10M under management, immerse students in the entrepreneurial business sourcing, assessment and investment process. Founding Zell Lurie advisory board members include Samuel Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, and Eugene Applebaum, founder of Arbor Drugs Inc. For more information, visit the Institute's website at www.zli.umich.edu.

About the Center for Entrepreneurship
The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), part of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, provides academic programs, commercialization training and broad support resources for students, faculty and community members. Among its many initiatives, CFE co-developed and co-teaches the undergraduate Program in Entrepreneurship, the Master of Entrepreneurship and the National Science Foundation I-Corps program for faculty research commercialization. CFE co-manages the TechArb student startup incubator and provides overall support to Michigan's economic development efforts. Its teaching philosophy focuses on experiential learning with an emphasis on the development of an entrepreneurial mindset, with resources such as structured venture incubation programs, global access to both internal and external advisors, mentorship, talent and funding. CFE's mission is to ensure support for entrepreneurs from discovery through venture creation, and to enhance and expand an appreciation for entrepreneurial thinking for its students. For more information, please visit www.cfe.umich.edu/.     

SOURCE Zell Lurie Institute

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