CREATE-X has extended the deadline to submit applications for the summer 2022 Startup Launch program until Monday, April 11.

Georgia Tech students and alumni are being given an additional opportunity to join an elite group of founders who have explored taking their ideas forward through Startup Launch, a summer accelerator where participants spend 12 weeks launching their projects from idea stage (or beyond) into fully functioning and viable startups. Teams who submitted their application by the initial deadline will receive priority to have their interviews scheduled first.

CREATE-X accepts applicants across all majors with ideas from any industry, at any stage, for the program. In addition, only one person from each team must be Georgia Tech affiliated, allowing students and alumni to recruit friends, siblings, or teammates from other schools.

To date, CREATE-X has helped launch more than 300 companies that are now valued at over $1.4B (2018 and 2019 cohorts each valued over $100M). However, startup success doesn’t happen overnight.

Before teams develop their product and get their brand into the minds of potential customers, Startup Launch participants begin their entrepreneurial journey with just an idea that, after time, hard work, and CREATE-X resources, evolves into a successful startup. For example:

• Backbar Solutions, the world's first fully automated cocktail maker, started as a Capstone Design project. Today the company’s product, Backbar One, makes entire orders at the touch of a button, helping bars and restaurants deliver a quality customer experience all the time.
• MedSur, the first birth control case for your phone, began as an Idea to Prototype (I2P) project. Today the company’s product, The BCase, makes sure women never miss a birth control pill again, helping lower the number of unplanned pregnancies.
• StrideLink, a shoelace-sized wearable device, started as a Capstone Design project. Today, with a unique step recognition algorithm, StrideLink collects concrete data about an individual’s walking patterns, helping physical therapists with gait analysis and improving current physical therapy practices.
• ZenVR, a meditation curriculum taught in Virtual Reality, began as a Master’s Thesis project. Today, ZenVR successfully guides novice meditators through their journey, increasing mindfulness and equipping users with tools they can use in their daily lives.

Teams accepted into Startup Launch will receive $5,000 in seed funding and $30,000 worth of in-kind services to put them on the road to startup success. In-kind services include coaching and mentorship, pro-bono legal incorporation services, accounting services, access to co-working office space, and access to prominent investors at Demo Day.

"CREATE-X’s Startup Launch program is an amazing experience for entrepreneurs to pursue a balance of rigor and creativity to solve meaningful problems,” said Michael Buchanan, mentor for CREATE-X Startup Launch and senior lecturer in the Scheller College of Business. “The breadth of coaches, subject matter experts, and resources provided to the entrepreneurial teams via this program are extensive. As a result, we have seen many teams move on to become successful businesses that are reshaping the way products and services drive value throughout the world."

Georgia Tech students and alumni can apply for the summer 2022 Startup Launch program at create-x.gatech.edu. The deadline to apply is Monday, April 11, at 11:59 p.m. EST.