Revolution’s “Rise of the Rest” Initiative to Visit 10 New Cities and Invest Additional $1 million in Startups, Beginning with Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Manchester, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine
Washington, D.C. – During an event with President Obama at the first-ever White House Demo Day, Revolution CEO Steve Case will announce a commitment to visit 10 new cities and invest an additional $1 million in startups as part of the Rise of the Rest bus tour, beginning this Fall in Baltimore on September 28, Philadelphia on September 29, Buffalo on September 30, Manchester, New Hampshire on October 1, and Portland, Maine on October 2.
The Rise of the Rest tours are a nationwide effort led by Case, who is an investor and an entrepreneur, to showcase – and invest in – entrepreneurs in emerging startup ecosystems across the U.S. Through the initiative, $1.5 million has been invested in startup businesses across a diverse set of 14 cities including Detroit, Charleston, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans.
“I’m honored to attend the first White House Demo Day in the nation’s history, and I’m pleased to announce the expansion of our Rise of the Rest initiative to level the playing field for entrepreneurs everywhere,” Case said. “I look forward to visiting Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Manchester, and Portland this Fall as our bus travels through the Northeast to visit some of America’s most iconic cities.”
Among the entrepreneurs honored at the White House Demo Day event will be previous Rise of the Rest winners Jewel Burks and Jason Crain of Partpic – based in Atlanta, and Mindy Taylor and Sam Staley of Bidr – based in Charleston.
After logging 3,000 miles, visiting 14 cities, and investing $1.5 million in startups during previous tours since the start of the initiative in 2014, the upcoming tour will be the fourth Rise of the Rest tour. A fifth tour, in 2016, will visit five additional cities in the western part of the U.S.
Joining Revolution as partners, in addition to Google for Entrepreneurs and Salesforce for Startups, will be Engine, Seed Here Studio, Tech Cocktail, Startup Grind, and Village Capital.
During the fall stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Manchester, and Portland, the Revolution team and partners will:
- Meet with local entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profits, universities, and public officials to discuss the opportunities and challenges of fostering startup growth
- Hold a pitch competition open to the public where a local startup will receive $100,000 investment
- Host a happy hour party to celebrate the visit
More information on the Rise of the Rest bus tour including times and locations for specific events in each city is available at www.riseofrest.com and by following #RiseofRest on Twitter and Instagram.
About Revolution
A Washington, DC-based investment firm founded by Steve Case in 2005, Revolution’s mission is to build disruptive, innovative companies that offer consumers more choice, convenience, and control in their lives. Revolution seeks to create significant value for companies that are attacking large, traditional industries with innovative new products and services. The Revolution team brings proven expertise in scaling up companies and helping to expand niche ideas into mass appeal. For more information, please visit:www.revolution.com or follow us on Twitter @revolution.
About Google for Entrepreneurs
Google for Entrepreneurs provides financial support and the best of Google’s resources to dozens of coworking spaces and community programs across 125 countries. The organization also creates Campuses: physical hubs where entrepreneurs can learn, connect, and build companies that will change the world. To learn more about Google for Entrepreneurs, visitgoogle.com/entrepreneurs or follow us on G+ (+GoogleForEntrepreneurs) and Twitter (@GoogleForEntrep).
About Salesforce for Startups
Salesforce for Startups is a program designed to provide tech startups with access to the Salesforce technology, resources and expertise needed to become thriving, customer and community-focused companies. Salesforce for Startups is available globally and open to companies at any stage of their startup journeys. To learn more about Salesforce for Startups, visit salesforce.com/startups or follow us on Twitter (@salesforcestart).
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