Fast Forward is excited to announce the organizations participating in this summer’s accelerator program. The groups in this inaugural class leverage technology (open source software, always connected devices, inexpensive variable cost web infrastructure, APIs for most anything) to address health, education, and poverty issues in the Bay Area and around the globe:
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Medic Mobile: Mobile communication platform for remote health workers, started in a Stanford dorm room and now helping reach the 1B people who will never see a doctor in their lives
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MoneyThink: Tech-enhanced personal finance mentorship for under served teens, targeting those under 25 (America’s fastest growing group filing for bankruptcy)
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Noora Health: Low-cost interactive patient care education platform, lowering hospital readmissions and saving lives
- One Degree: Yelp for social services, building a discovery platform for the 1.3M Bay Area residents living in poverty trying to navigate thousands of local offerings
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SIRUM: Match.com for medicine, a platform connecting the $4B of unused medicine that goes to waste each year with the institutions and populations that need it most
Fast Forward selected these organizations based on their impressive leadership, scalable models, and potential for impact. As part of Fast Forward’s accelerator program the organizations will each receive a $25,000 grant, mentorship and training from a network of tech and nonprofit leaders, and connections with philanthropists and funders via a demo day and other events.
An impressive group of tech community leaders have mobilized in support of this impact model. Early supporters of the accelerator include:
Tech founders such as Andrew McCollum of Facebook, Scott Kleper of Context Optional, Josh Reeves of ZenPayroll, Joe Greenstein of Flixster
Engineering leaders such as Akash Garg of Twitter, Aston Motes of Dropbox, Aren Sandersen of Pinterest, Seema Shah of AngelList, David Weekly of Internet.org
Nonprofit tech leaders such as Sal Khan of Khan Academy, Premal Shah of Kiva, Charles Best of DonorsChoose, Leila Janah of SamaSource
Venture capital leaders such as David Frankel of Founder Collective, Dana Stalder of Matrix Partners, Ariel Poler of Best of Angel, Colin Cahill of Venrock, and Dave Mount of Kleiner Perkins
Industry leaders such as David Cohen of TechStars, Jocelyn Wyatt of Ideo.org, Ethan Beard of Greylock/Facebook, Ben Rattray of Change.org, John Yi of Pinterest, and Chris Busselle and Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink of Google.org
These innovative projects and our network of supporters will help make a difference for children, families, and communities in the Bay Area and around the world. We’re so excited to see these important organizations grow with the help of the tech community.
