Jumpstart Foundry appoints Marcus Whitney as President
Nashville, TN (PRWEB) October 28, 2014 -- Jumpstart Foundry (JSF) announced today that Marcus Whitney will become President of the organization, in charge of marketing and operations of both the accelerator and corporate innovation services, as well as new ventures that JSF creates such as its Charge conference, launched in partnership with Mountain Agency. Vic Gatto will continue in his role as CEO and Chairman of Jumpstart Foundry, focused on management of the company’s investment platform, which has grown significantly since announcing in June that investments in JSF cohort companies will be boosted from $15K to $100K.
Jumpstart Foundry has also decidedly focused its next summer accelerator on Healthcare, the industry that has yielded the best results for the company through its last five classes.
“We have been punching way above our weight from day one at Jumpstart, and that’s what landed us a spot among the top 15 accelerators in the country. We are now fully committed to becoming a top 5 accelerator in the world, and certainly the best accelerator in the world to launch a Healthcare business.” says Whitney.
Whitney leaves his role at Moontoast, most recently serving as Chief Business Development Officer. During his time at Moontoast, he oversaw the development of three iterations of the technology platform from commerce, to marketing and finally advertising. He was named an author on two key patents in the company’s portfolio, and was a key player in sales and partnership efforts with companies like Facebook, Universal Music Group and Proctor and Gamble. Although he spent much of his time at Moontoast in Boston and San Francisco, Whitney has remained very active in the Nashville entrepreneurship scene, co-founding other notable startups like healthcare marketing platform, Clariture, and SouthernAlpha, a media company covering startups in the Southeast.
A co-founder of Jumpstart Foundry, Whitney was a key player in the setup of the first cohort in 2010, hosted at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. He made the initial contact with Techstars to earn Jumpstart Foundry a charter member position in the Techstars Accelerator Network (now Global Accelerator Network) and wrote the first version of JSF’s program curriculum.
Michael Burcham, CEO and President of the Nashville EC, and Co-Chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship said about the appointment, “It is, without question, great news that Marcus Whitney will be serving as President of Jumpstart Foundry. He has been with the organization since the beginning. Marcus has lived the journey of the entrepreneur - from startup to scaling a business. Under his leadership, Jumpstart will take another giant leap forward as will our city.”
In addition to expanding its investment in companies going through its flagship program, Jumpstart Foundry will be powering corporate and privately funded accelerators beyond its healthcare focus in 2015, with one accelerator already committed for the Spring and another lined up for the fall. This year round operation model will have Jumpstart Foundry launching a projected 30 companies next year, up from the typical target of 10 companies.
“I am incredibly excited to be able to attract Marcus to join the Jumpstart team full-time. We plan to catapult JSF & Nashville from a “top 15 city” into the best city for startups in the world. We have the program assets, track record and strategic partnerships in place. Now we also have the team to execute,” Jumpstart Foundry CEO, Vic Gatto says about Whitney’s appointment
About Jumpstart Foundry:
Jumpstart Foundry (JSF) exists to predictably generate value. It operates one of the top 15 startup accelerators in the US, and offers innovation services to corporations and venture capital firms.
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Matt Faulkner, Jumpstart Foundry, http://jsf.co, +1 (404) 723 8616, [email protected]
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