Morgan Stanley Announces Innovation Lab for Multicultural and Women-led Start-ups
August 01 2017 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
The accelerator program is designed to help drive positive
commercial outcomes for technology and technology-enabled
start-ups
Morgan Stanley today announced the launch of the Multicultural
Innovation Lab, an accelerator program for technology and
technology-enabled start-ups in the post‐seed to Series A funding
rounds. The program targets companies with a multicultural or woman
founder, co‐founder or CTO who have the potential to develop
innovations that could disrupt sectors. The Lab will make
investments in these early stage high growth companies and will
support the founders’ growth and development through its ecosystem
of internal and external partners.
The Lab is designed to help drive positive economic outcomes for
entrepreneurs of color and women by providing content, visibility,
technical support and connectivity with important stakeholders who
might be essential in accelerating the growth of their
businesses.
“The Multicultural Innovation Lab presents a unique opportunity
for talented and disruptive start-ups led by multicultural and
women entrepreneurs to increase their visibility and gain access to
the capital and collaborations needed to achieve commercial
success,” said Carla A. Harris, Vice Chairman, Global Wealth
Management, and Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group,
Morgan Stanley. “By specifically catering to top high growth
multicultural entrepreneurs, The Lab addresses the market
inefficiency to accelerate their business and maximize economic
outcomes."
The companies will be fully immersed in the program working from
Morgan Stanley’s global headquarters in Times Square, New York, and
receive value‐add content, along with the fundamental and technical
support necessary to accelerate growth. The four‐month program will
begin in July and run through the fall, culminating in an
entrepreneurs’ symposium in mid-November that will expose companies
to potential investors through showcase format presentations.
Designed to bring best in class content and connectivity for the
entrepreneurs, the Multicultural Innovation Lab has enlisted
William Crowder, formerly head of Comcast Ventures, as its
Entrepreneur-In-Residence. Crowder will work closely with both the
entrepreneurs and the Multicultural Client Strategy team throughout
the duration of the lab as a company insider to help address
challenges that will increase and enhance performance and progress.
Additionally, with input from other accelerator partners such as
Newark Venture Partners and Techstars, entrepreneurs in the lab
will have unparalleled access to subject matter experts,
practitioners and investors all committed to their success.
“With less than 3% of venture capital dollars going to
multicultural entrepreneurs, we will use Morgan Stanley’s global
reach to provide the capital, content and connections needed to
help accelerate the growth of these exciting companies and help
bridge that funding gap,” said Alice Vilma, Executive Director,
Morgan Stanley.
The companies that have been selected for the fall 2017 cohort
are below:
- AptDeco connects buyers and
sellers of quality preowned furniture via its peer-to-peer online
platform, offering a complete end to end service including
coordinated pick up and delivery.
- GitLinks protects the integrity
of open source in application development by using its automated
software to monitor and oversee security, updates and legal
compliance for enterprises.
- Kairos leverages artificial
intelligence to provide integrated facial recognition that enables
companies to transform brand experiences, increase discoverability
and secure their businesses.
- Landit provides a two-pronged
approach to increase success and engagement of women in the
workplace, delivering personalized, application based advice at the
individual and enterprise level.
- Trigger Finance allows the DIY
Investor to set “If-Then” statements that can turn any financial or
world event into an action on their portfolio using their
proprietary rules-based investing platform.
Learn more about the Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab
here.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is a leading global financial services
firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management
and investment management services. With offices in more than 42
countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more
information about Morgan Stanley, please visit
www.morganstanley.com.
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Morgan StanleyMedia Relations:Sarah Higgins, 212-296-3648
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