StartX

This article is about the Stanford business accelerator. For startx, the X frontend script, see xinit.

StartX

Formation	2011
Legal status	Non-profit
Purpose	Startup accelerator
Website	startx.com

StartX is a non-profit startup accelerator and founder community associated with Stanford University.

It was founded by Cameron Teitelman and Dan Ha in 2011.^[1][2][3] It began as a spin-off of Stanford Student Enterprises, the non-profit financial arm of the Associated Students of Stanford University, which sponsored earlier events called SSE Labs in 2009 and then SSE Ventures.^[4][5] The StartX accelerator differentiates itself from other accelerators in Silicon Valley, such as Y Combinator, in that it is an educational non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that takes no equity in the companies it helps start.^[6]

At least one member of each company must have some Stanford connection, but undergraduates, graduates, faculty and staff are involved in the seminars and advise program.^[7] One of its first ventures, Alphonso Labs, developed the Pulse App.^[6] WifiSlam was acquired by Apple Inc for about $20 million.^[8][9]

StartX's staff is primarily composed of student volunteers from Stanford. StartX received a $800,000 grant from the Kauffman Foundation in August 2012 (which allowed Teitelman to earn a salary),^[10][11] and $400,000 from Silicon Valley companies in February 2012.^[12]

In May 2012, StartX created a specialized track, called StartX Med, for medical-related startup companies.^[13]

In September 2013, Stanford announced a grant of $1.2 million every year for three years to StartX. Along with Stanford Hospital and Clinics, it created a new Stanford-StartX fund (of uncapped amount) to invest in current and alumni StartX companies.^[8][14] To receive the investment from Stanford, StartX companies must raise at least $500,000 on their own from professional angel investors or venture capitalists.^[15] Stanford-StartX approved six companies by 2013.^[16]

Notable Companies

• Nearby
• Boosted
• Protocol Labs
• Centilytics
• LimeBike
• Ethos
• OpenSea
• Patreon
• Branch
• Life360
• Poynt
• Kodiak Sciences

^[17]

References

1. "Stanford 'Accelerator' Nurtures Start-Ups". Wall Street Journal online. October 13, 2011.
2. Max McClure (September 1, 2011). "Stanford students, alumni help each other with their startup dreams". Stanford Report. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
3. Tomio Geron (June 2, 2011). "StartX Launches The Best Of Stanford Startups". Forbes. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
4. "About Stanford Student Enterprises". Website. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
5. "SSE Ventures is Now SSE Labs". Website. Stanford Student Enterprises. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
6. "Stanford Students Build Their Own Y Combinator". Tech Crunch. June 10, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
7. Tomio Geron (June 1, 2012). "NA To Dollhouses: Stanford's StartX Accelerator Launches New Batch Of Startup". Forbes. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
8. Liz Gannes (September 4, 2013). "Stanford Grants $3.6M to StartX Accelerator". All Things D. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
9. Jessica E. Lessin (March 23, 2013). "Apple Acquires Indoor Location Company WifiSLAM". Wall Street Journal blog. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
10. Anthony Ha (August 23, 2012). "StartX, The Accelerator For Stanford Students, Wins $800K Grant From The Kauffman Foundation". Tech Crunch. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
11. Peter Delevett (August 23, 2012). "Stanford startup incubator StartX lands $800,000 grant from Kauffman Foundation". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
12. Ryan Lawler (February 7, 2012). "Stanford Student Startup Accelerator StartX Raises Another $400,000, Bringing Total Funding To About $1.5 Million". Tech Crunch. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
13. Richard Nieva (May 31, 2013). "How Stanford-affiliated StartX began to embrace medical startups". Pando Daily. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
14. "StartX, Stanford University and Stanford Hospital & Clinics announce $3.6M grant and venture fund". Stanford Report. September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
15. Billy Gallagher (September 4, 2013). "Stanford University Is Going To Invest In Student Startups Like A VC Firm". Tech Crunch. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
16. James Mawson (September 9, 2013). "Stanford Sails to StartX". Global University Venturing. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
17. "StartX". startx.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.