(Ridgeland, Miss.) – Education-based startup company Brydge, of Jackson, was recently accepted into two national accelerator programs that will further substantiate and fast-track its growth. The company was formalized, vetted and launched as a functioning business by the completion of Startup Weekend Jackson held April 29-May 1, 2016. Startup Weekend events are designed around a compact experience of company creation and are powered globally by Google for Entrepreneurs, with Mississippi’s events organized by Innovate Mississippi.
The Brydge mobile and web app platform leverages technology to encourage collaboration between teachers and parents by connecting households with access to classroom curriculum. The innovative concept behind Brydge was created by its three co-founders – Mehreen Butt, Richard Pettey and David Wilson, all Teach For America alumni.
Both accelerator programs Brydge is participating in are education-focused and poised with strategic resources for outlining a comprehensive roadmap for innovators to ultimately impact and shape the future of education. The 4.0 Schools Essentials program in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a three-daylong curriculum providing entrepreneurs valuable opportunities such as piloting and testing ideas with teachers and parents, individual coaching, peer-to-peer support and professional feedback. The Lean Lab fellowship program in Kansas City, Missouri, is a nearly five-weeklong program that also delivers a valuable set of learning resources as well as an initial $10,000 in seed funding.
“This is the kind of activity we hope to see for Startup Weekend participants,” said Tasha Bibb, entrepreneurial development manager at Innovate Mississippi. “This is the perfect scenario for a success story in the making – for an idea to be developed over the weekend into something that captured the attention of these accelerators, providing even more opportunities for fine-tuning and development. It’s that type of extra guidance and testing that a Startup Weekend company really needs in order to take their venture to the next phase of development.”
“As former teachers, David, Richard and I are passionate about proactively developing solutions to problems in educational inequity that we experienced firsthand,” said Mehreen Butt. “We are thrilled to continue our work with Brydge in both the 4.0 Schools Essentials and the Lean Lab accelerators and to explore ways in which our venture can improve education for all children.
“We are incredibly appreciative to Innovate Mississippi for organizing Startup Weekend Jackson and bringing together creative players in the innovation and entrepreneurial space,” added Butt. “We were ultimately able to accelerate our idea into a product that will change the game in education, and we owe much of our success to their mentorship. We’re excited about maintaining a partnership with Innovate Mississippi as we move forward with our business.”
Please contact Tasha Bibb at tbibb@innovate.ms or 601-960-3610 for more information.
Innovate Mississippi is a nonprofit organization with the mission to drive innovation and technology-based economic development for the State of Mississippi. Visit www.innovate.ms for more information.
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