San Antonio’s longest-running startup community has admitted 15 new companies to its latest incubator program cohort.
Geekdom runs a free eight-week incubator program annually. Designed to help first-time founders and early-stage entrepreneurs refine their startup ideas, Geekdom “supports entrepreneurs and their visions at every stage of their journey,” said Geekdom program manager Jon Ryan Garcia.
“Geekdom’s incubator program helps founders cultivate their ideas, conduct market research, refine their product or service, and connect with their first customers. Our goal is to help these companies succeed and grow as contributing members of the San Antonio startup ecosystem,” Garcia said.
The incubator is facilitated in person every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Geekdom’s downtown location. Founders will have access to Geekdom’s mentor network, including entrepreneur-in-residence Ben Jones, who recently sold his startup Skipcart to 7-Eleven.
Participant success in the program will be measured by key milestones throughout the program. The program’s core focuses on conducting customer and market research, refining a product or service, and preparing companies to acquire their first customers.
This is Geekdom’s second incubator of 2023, and the first year the startup community has conducted multiple incubator cohorts in a single year. “We hope to continue the growth of this program and have created a waitlist for those interested in being the first to know about the next cohort,” Garcia said.
Founders in Geekdom’s first incubator cohort of 2023 are working on products ranging from healthy foods to STEM education and Artificial Intelligence (AI) products to innovative service platforms and immersive experiences.
“Of the 15 teams participating in this upcoming cohort, 11 also participated in our monthly Startup Bootcamp Weekend program, validating the program pipeline we’ve been building the past few years,” Garcia added.
Meet the 15 incubator teams
Ray Cantu founded ColdCalr, an AI-powered SaaS platform that helps train sales professionals to improve their performance when making cold calls.
Laura Ruiz’s company is Code Flight, a more affordable and accessible alternative to traditional self-paced coding bootcamps with access to 1:1 mentorship and guidance.
Ryan Carter formed TapNotion, an app for bars and restaurants that replaces typical new-hire training exercises with a fun and effective memorization game to help servers learn the menu.
Rosalind Reeder created Queenie’s Spot as a hospitality service offering an elevated, luxurious, and refined afternoon tea party experience.
Ednalyn De Dios has developed Brave X, a mobile app that makes end-of-life planning simple and straightforward.
Carlos Zayas’s language learning app IdioMasters is designed to provide relevant real-life communication skills focused on specific communities worldwide through an immersive experience.
Carla Mendiola created Historyteller Productions, which focuses on creating educational content teaching the histories of marginalized communities through guided videos, virtual tours, podcasts, graphic novels, and supporting curriculum materials.
Leroy Adams has launched The Buddy Pass, a digital and print travel magazine featuring easy, affordable, and community-driven travel options for African-Americans.
Juan Farias and Jorge Zuniga co-founded Based, a creator-first content platform that provides more equitable economics, democratized monetization, community ownership, and meaningful experiences through a new means of consuming content.
Cade Harger developed GlassBrain, an educational desktop app that teaches about neural networks with an interactive visual playground.
Jair Aldana is launching OID.ai, an AI-powered digital assistant that helps users achieve their goals by focusing on tiny activities at a time.
Alex Barerra founded Goco Goes, a travel service that provides tours led by professional curators who guide travelers to locations abroad.
Gonzalo De La Torre Parra and Peyman Najafirad are launching Terra AI, a software platform that fine-tunes and adapts best-in-class AI foundation models to suit clients’ needs.
Eva Mireles has formed Literacy Simplified Consulting, a service for elementary school teachers that offers in-person workshops with an online group coaching component that provides accountability and support.
Laura Flores is developing Flores Dried Flowers to create dried-flower arrangements for people who want longer-lasting flowers for home decor, parties, and gifts.
The incubator ends with a public showcase where companies will give their elevator pitch and generate leads for their product or service. The Incubator Showcase will occur at Geekdom on July 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The showcase is free and open to the public.
Trinity University student Cade Harger developed GlassBrain and is a finalist in the school’s spring 2023 Stumberg Competition for student-founded startups. He developed his neural networks educational app because he was learning about AI and couldn’t find the necessary tools, so he built it himself. Harger’s reasons for joining Geekdom’s incubator echoed what many of the cohort’s founders said: He created a solution for a pain point he experienced firsthand.
“I hope to access the entrepreneurial resources and Geekdom’s extensive network of mentors to propel me to success during the incubator,” Harger said.
The featured image is of Geekdom’s Summer 2023 incubator cohort. Photo credit: Geekdom.
