Applications Now Being Accepted for 1492 Business Launch Competition

TechColumbus announced today the launch of www.onefourninetwo.com, which includes the online application for the 1492 business accelerator program.   Entrepreneurs have until October 12 to submit their applications to be considered as semi-finalists in this 11-week business accelerator and launch program. 

1492 is a community collaboration among TechColumbus,Columbus State Community College and the Columbus College of Art & Design,with support from the Ohio Third Frontier. The objective of 1492 is to accelerate the creation of innovative startups driven by market need and opportunity in a matter of months, not years.  

“Business accelerators are becoming increasingly significant in the entrepreneurial pipeline,” said Ted Ford, president and CEO of TechColumbus.  “They are a proven method of speeding up the time it takes to launch new ventures.  We saw this first-hand with our first 1492 accelerator program and with the recently completed 10-xelerator program at OSU.”

The inaugural 1492, held in 2009, launched the successful custom applications development company, MobileXpeditions, LLC, which enables venues and brands to extend their marketing and engagement to mobile
phones and tablets.   MobileXpeditions has gone on to win other startup competitions, raise follow-on funding and gain national customers.

Semi-finalists for 1492 will be selected based on the merits of their online applications.  Ten teams will be chosen as semi-finalists to present before the 1492 judging committee in mid-October. From those ten, five finalists will be selected to receive business development and coaching services, along with funding of up to $20,000 each to help launch their startup.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Columbus State and CCAD,” said Ford.  “It is our intention that this will create a platform for an ongoing program of partnering with other universities and colleges throughout our 15-county service area to find budding entrepreneurs and help them launch their businesses.”  

For more information about this business accelerator
program, or to submit an application, please visit www.onefourninetwo.com.