Manos Accelerator announces 7 startups for its Fall accelerator class

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Google for Entrepreneurs and Manos Accelerator announced the first class of startups to join the Manos Accelerator program for the Fall accelerator class.  A total of 7 companies were selected from approximately 75 applications received over a 30-day period. 

"This is exactly what I wanted to see – big, bold and creative solutions," said Edward Avila, Co-founder and CEO of Manos Accelerator.  "I know there are Latino entrepreneurs out there doing amazing things and I'm pleased to have such a diverse group of startups both in technology and backgrounds as our very first batch."

"Our mission with Google for Entrepreneurs is to grow entrepreneurial communities and equip them with the resources and technology they need to tackle big ideas and build great companies," said Mary Grove, Director of Global Entrepreneurship Outreach at Google. "We're very excited to be partnering with Manos on their 1^st cohort and we can't wait to see these startups pitch their products at Demo Day."

Submissions ranged from ecommerce, entertainment, digital media, education, enterprise, cloud to mobile solutions.  After a screening by a selection committee comprised of business and technical leaders in Silicon Valley, a total of eight finalists were chosen.  The class includes two international companies from Latin America, three Silicon Valley-based companies, and two companies who traveled to San Jose from across the country.  Notably, five out of the seven companies have at least one female founder. 

On Wednesday, September 11th, the seven companies will be officially presented at a kickoff reception at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA. 

The Manos Accelerator Fall participants:

Blyve (San Jose, CA):  Blyve is a real-time marketing platform that brings customer closer to the brands they love via interactive and engaging live events.

BoomZip (Raleigh, NC): BoomZip provides companies with the solution to analyze and manage their cloud utilization in a fast, easy, low cost, and secure way. 

Hemheist (Phoenix, AZ):  Hemheist.com is an eCommerce site that sells women's new and vintage clothing and accessories.  Don't fear the unexpected.  Mix that vintage designer blazer with a steal of a mini dress.

HostSpot (Mexico City, Mexico): HostSpot provides insights that help businesses optimize the performance of their customer engagement, marketing, merchandising and operations.  It does for the brick and mortar stores what Google analytics does for the online world.  They are the 1st place co-winners of the 2013 AngelHack in Silicon Valley.

Interesante (Menlo Park, CA):  Get the most interesante (interesting) news, images, products, people and video delivered to your mobile in real time based on your interests, needs and wants. 

Qritiqr (Mexico City, Mexico) is a crowd mystery shopping network providing insights about services, products and market opportunities in real time. 

Sleek-geek (Oakland, CA):  Sleek-geek is a teacher-led software company building mobile solutions for teachers, students, parents and schools.  They are the 1st place winners of the 2012 AT&T Mobile Education Hackathon.

The 2013 Fall batch, hosted in SVG Partner's 8,300 sq ft state-of-the-art facility in downtown San Jose, CA, started a 12-week immersion program on September 9th which will end with Demo Day at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA in late November.

About Manos Accelerator, LLC
Manos Accelerator is a mentorship-driven accelerator program that provides education, resources and guidance for promising startup companies led by Latinos.  For more information, go to http://www.manosaccelerator.com.

About Google for Entrepreneurs.
Google for Entrepreneurs empowers entrepreneurs around the world through programs, partnerships, and Google products. With over 50 programs in 110 countries, Google for Entrepreneurs seeks to grow entrepreneurial communities and to equip entrepreneurs with skills and resources to pursue their big ideas. To learn about the programs, or to grow your own skills through free online courses, visit Google.com/entrepreneurs or on Google+ at google.com/+GoogleForEntrepreneurs.

SOURCE Manos Accelerator, LLC