{"id":737657,"date":"2013-02-08T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T21:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=609029"},"modified":"2013-02-08T16:57:09","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T21:57:09","slug":"oregon-accelerator-upstart-gets-hip-to-enterprise-startup-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/737657","title":{"rendered":"Oregon accelerator Upstart gets hip to enterprise startup trend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upstart Labs<\/a>, an accelerator, has teamed up with Rogue Venture Partners in a deal that will provide more funding for enterprise-oriented startups. The partnership coincides with a shift for the Portland, Ore.-based accelerator, which has done several consumer-facing deals.<\/p>

The news falls in line with more interest among investors lately in funding enterprise-facing companies than consumer-facing ones. In November, VC Fred Wilson wrote<\/a> about the trend, particularly in the context of later-stage investments.<\/p>

Upstart has worked with a few consumer-facing startups since it launched in 2011, including Chirpify<\/a>, a mobile social-payment service, and Taplister<\/a>, a website that shows which beers are on tap at your favorite bar. But beginning this year, Upstart will focus mostly on enterprise, mobile and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) plays, said Kevin Tate, a general partner in the accelerator.<\/p>

So far this year, Upstart and Portland-based Rogue Venture Partners have collaborated to fund two companies, one of which, Measureful<\/a>, is aimed at enterprises. Under the new partnership with Rogue, Upstart typically will be able to offer product development, hands-on mentoring and $100,000 to $250,000 in investments in exchange for equity, Tate said. Previous cash investments have come in smaller amounts.<\/p>

While they’re not as popular as general accelerators, enterprise-facing accelerators have been popping up as of late. In addition to Upstart — which has attracted startups from the Northwest, Hawaii and Canada — there’s also Acceleprise<\/a> in Washington, D.C., and Alchemist Accelerator<\/a> in the San Francisco Bay Area, both of which offer $30,000 in funding. Don’t be surprised to see more come online this year.<\/p>
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