Jones + Foster Accelerator Graduates Celebrated in Milestone Year
Five teams received funding after completing the program in its 15th year
Written by: Charles Trillingham, Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
The 15th cohort of the Jones + Foster Accelerator (J+FA) achieved a significant final milestone with their graduation. Each of the five early-stage startups (detailed below) received the max follow-on funding awards available after completing six months of measurable goals. The program hosted by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business annually awards up to $25,000 to graduates — and in celebrating its 15th anniversary, has now provided more than $2.1 million in funding to new ventures.
“Since we first launched the Accelerator at the University of Washington in 2010, we’ve held true to our promise to take zero equity, while providing maximum support to student-created companies,” said Amy Sallin, director of the Buerk Center. “These funds have now given dozens of alumni the runway needed to create real impact in our community.”
The Accelerator began with the goal of helping alumni through the messy and often unpredictable first steps of launching a startup. Its strength is derived not just from the innovative students coming out of UW and other colleges in the state, but from the committed mentors who dedicate themselves to each team year after year.
“For 180 days, we’re privileged to have entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts give their extra time and energy so new ventures can find their way to success,“ said Yuko Oaku, program manager for the Accelerator and the Dempsey Startup Competition. “Incredibly, 11 of our mentors have been with us 10 or more years, and another 19 have been with us for at least five years.”
The teams also receive support from our partners at UW CoMotion and CoMotion Labs through the use of operating space in Startup Hall. The location is one of three that CoMotion Labs provides special offers to early-stage startups to use and grow their innovations in life science, hardware, technology, and more.
The UW Communication leadership consulting program (Comm Lead) also offered expertise in marketing and branding, UX/UI research and design, video and audio storytelling and community outreach to each team for a third straight year.
Accelerator Cohort Shares Journey
Each of the five startups who graduated from the Accelerator has their own unique journey ahead of them. The founders of each team looked back at where they came from and where they plan to go next:
MoodRoom is a mental wellness app powered by immersive game design and evidence-based therapy to help Gen Z practice emotion regulation tools before, during, and after therapy.
Reflecting on the Accelerator:
“In six months, we’ve built a dynamic MVP with 3D environments and animations, secured early investments, and grown a dedicated community of 300+ early supporters. Prior to the Accelerator, we placed 2nd in the 2024 Dempsey Startup Competition, were nominated for the 2025 Microsoft Imagine Cup, and joined Nucleate, a leading biotech incubator. Now we’ve forged partnerships with universities and mental health organizations. And we’re in alpha testing, building toward an official launch and Kickstarter campaign in late 2025.”
Nimble Surgical | Website | LinkedIn
Nimble Surgical is developing the next generation of catheter technology to simplify complex heart procedures for physicians and make them safer for patients.
Reflecting on the Accelerator:
“Under the guidance of our incredible mentor committee in the Jones + Foster Accelerator, we have developed our commercialization plan and go-to-market strategy, performed our first ex-vivo tests, and established a regulatory pathway for obtaining FDA clearance for our first product. We have expanded our team and were recently awarded additional grants that will accelerate our product development.
Rainier Honey Co. | Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Rainier Honey Co. sells locally made infused honey, from raw honey and dehydrated ingredients, to make a truly unique and beautiful product.
Reflecting on the Accelerator:
“During our time in the Jones + Foster Accelerator, we successfully navigated online sales channels and at farmers’ markets over the summer. Rainier Honey Co. is now expanding our reach further into wholesale markets and making it easier for PNW foodies to add impactful flavor with our raw honey and sustainable ingredients. Whether through our wholesale channel or direct to consumers, Rainier Honey Co. is committed to providing a healthier and more eco-friendly alternative to enjoying your favorite flavored honey.”
RFPGo.ai | Website | LinkedIn
RFPGo.ai (formerly CivicImpact.ai) is an AI startup that helps businesses unlock access to government contracts one request for proposal (RFP) at a time.
Reflecting on the Accelerator:
“The Accelerator helped transform an idea into a fully formed business. We are grateful to our mentors, who challenged us to think big and move fast while staying grounded to our core value proposition. As we close the program, we are excited to launch RFP Leads. This service provides businesses with a highly curated list of professional service RFPs in one convenient place, saving them hours of tedious manual work.“
SECONDSITE | Website
SECONDSITE saves construction general contractors time and money using Al job-site documentation.
Reflecting on the Accelerator:
“As we graduate from the Accelerator program, we are in the process of obtaining an NSF SBIR. We also now have partnerships to take data and test prototypes with three local general contractors and have three additional PoC agreements once the technology is ready. We are always interested in speaking to additional construction professionals who can contact us through our website.”
Milestone Accelerator Year Builds on Past Success
Awards have now been given to 97 startups through the Accelerator and more than two-thirds are still in business today — being selected to the 2025 NBA Launchpad Cohort and teaming up with Ticketmaster and the Portland Trail Blazers (OneCourt ’23), earning recognition as a Top Innovator in the Tackling Water Pollution Challenge by UpLink, the innovation platform of the World Economic Forum (Aquagga ’20), and having a feature written about them in the Wall Street Journal while securing over $64 million in fundraising. (A-Alpha Bio ’17).
Others have earned praise at Davos while winning the UpLink World Economic Forum Zero Water Waste Challenge (Membrion ’16), raised $3M for remote work productivity (LifeAt ’21), and reshaped child care in communities across the United States (Bridgecare ’19). Or they have found themselves on the menus of some of the top restaurants in the Seattle area (NoWhere Foods ’23).
Multiple J+FA alumni have also been named to the Seattle Inno Under 25 Class by Seattle Inno and the Puget Sound Business Journal, as well as the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, including most recently CathConnect (’22) for its improved catheter medical device and Nanodropper (’19) for reducing wasted medication .
Alumni have also partnered with the NFL and pivoted to masks when the need was high (Strideline ’12), achieved recognition for disrupting the knitting world and fighting for small business apps (Knitrino ’19), established a community dedicated to empowering thousands of young girls (ZGiRLS ’13), made finding scholarships for college easier for more than 13,000 students (Scholarship Junkies ’15), and built a program for elderly residents to make a therapeutic connection to nature through gardening (Eldergrow ’15).
They’ve been featured in podcasts like 100 Diverse Stories (NaturallyContained ’23), sold their companies to bring their product to even more customers around the globe (Perfect Coffee Water ’20), and grew their school tutoring business by leveraging millions of social media users (Kadama ’19).
Community Involvement Made 15 Years Possible
The Jones + Foster Accelerator was able to grow as a program over its first decade-plus thanks to the support of the Herbert B. Jones Foundation, program incentives like the McAleer Early Start Fund, and a Core Committee (noted below with an asterisk) who provide strategic guidance and act as lead mentors for the teams. Over the past 15 years, the Accelerator has averaged 45 mentors each year while supporting 280+ program alumni.
In particular, the Buerk Center would like to thank the following mentors who have been with the program for 10 or more years:
· Erik Baserman, Ackley Capital Corporation
· Sean Bell, Spring Health
· Bill Bromfield, Fenwick + West
· Liz Callahan*, Liz Callahan Consulting
· Troy Cichos*, Madrona Venture Group
· Terry Drayton, Green Energie LLC
· Geoff Entress*, Pioneer Square Labs
· Lisa Hjorten*, Pacific Edge Properties
· Jesse Proudman*, Betterment
· Adrian Smith, Ignition Partners
· David Smukowski, Whidbey Equity Group
And the following mentors who have been with the program for five or more years:
· Andy Boyer, WIN — With Intention
· Alex Day, Authentive
· Dan deWolff, Luto Vhum
· David Geller, Spryly
· Brian Glaister*, Axon
· Mark Hamachek, Acclara Growth Partners
· Troy Hartzell, Evolution Capital Advisors
· John Hogan, Citation Management Group
· Ken Horenstein*, Pack VC
· Chris Howard, Medical Sensor Systems
· Scott Kushino, formerly IntelliSpex
· Randall Lucas
· Sean MacLeod, FenoLogica Biosciences Inc.
· Greg Newbloom, Membrion
· Dave Roberts, formerly PopCap Games
· Ben Straughan, Perkins Coie
· Jonathan Shallow, Miller Nash
· John Sheppard, John Sheppard, LLC
· Kirk Van Alystyne, Evolution Capital Advisors
Founders, investors and those new to the Seattle innovation and startup ecosystem who are inspired to participate philanthropically or by volunteering can begin that process by contacting Buerk Center Director Amy Sallin at asallin@uw.edu.
For more details on the Jones + Foster Accelerator, please visit startup.uw.edu, or contact the Buerk Center at uwbuerk@uw.edu.
