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Today, WellCapped is a wig rental service designed to make new hairstyles “accessible, sustainable, and budget-friendly.” But co-founders Shante Frazier and Lauren Mitchell told Hypepotamus that they have plans to turn WellCapped into the “Netflix for beauty products” platform that can make quality user recommendations.
In order to do that, the team knew they had to position WellCapped as a tech company with strong predictive modeling capabilities. To get the credibility and experience they needed to grow as tech founders, Frazier and Mitchell turned to Techstars.
WellCapped is one of ten companies that joined the most recent Techstars Atlanta Powered by Cox Enterprises program. Alongside WellCapped, this cohort is filled with founders building marketplaces, AI tools, and SaaS platforms.
As this latest cohort wraps up, we asked some of the founders how the experience shaped their business moving forward. Some, like INKZUP’s Anitra D., used the time in the program to hone in on building out a hyperlocal business model for the platform that serves as a one-stop shop for tattoo artists. Others, like Efe Odeleye at Sojorne, used Techstars as an opportunity to refine the types of customers she wanted to go after first.
“Some startups take two years to get where I am right. I feel like the learning, the resources, and the network accelerated me. It doesn’t exempt you from having to learn and go through the process and make mistakes, but it reduces the number of mistakes. It improves the quality of the experiments you run so you get to an outcome faster,” Odeleye told Hypepotamus.
For Madilynn Beck, Techstars Atlanta was an opportunity to hone the business skills needed to scale The Better Spot, a platform where certified wellness professionals can build up their business and connect with others both virtually and in person.
Beck said that while “not every founder is a CEO,” Techstars gave her the skills needed to start thinking like a CEO.
Get To Know The Cohort
Tim Dorr, Techstars Atlanta’s Managing Director, said that they received four times as many applications as last year, so narrowing down the selections to just ten was difficult.
“But the focus for selection continues to be on the founders themselves. A great idea doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great team to back it up,” Dorr told Hypepotamus.
In order to help these startups navigate the sluggish fundraising landscape right now, Dorr said that the program has added new content around alternative funding sources. He also said that there has been “additional focus on collaboration within the class, with shared investor lists and joint pitch practice sessions, which has leveraged the cooperative nature of our founders. While it’s a tough environment out there lately, they are banding together and supporting each other to create a rising tide that lifts all boats.”
The ten selected companies will pitch their ideas and showcase their program to potential customers and investors during Demo Day on Monday, April 16. Those companies are looking to replicate the success of previous Techstars Atlanta graduates, which include teams like 2ULaundry, Motivo, Padsplit, and OrderNerd.
So who all will be on stage for Demo Day? Here is the full list:
- Courial – An on-demand courier and errand platform, created by gig-workers for gig-workers.
- DEI Directive – Taking the guesswork out of DEI to help organizations unleash the creative powers of an inclusive, diverse workforce.
- Her Skill Academy – Equipping early career women with the tools, strategies, and community to unlock their full potential.
- INKZUP – The first digital platform for top tattoo artists to display their work and find their next customer.
- Memory My Way – Rethinking the way families rescue their memories with a digital assistant to bring them all together in one place.
- Sojorne – A digital family assistant for helping loved ones with special needs take care of critical priorities across health, education, and life.
- SuperCopy – Using AI to generate authentic and relevant brand and audience personas to drive effective content strategy.
- The Better Spot – Providing access to integrative mental healthcare through a secure online community and offline on-demand space.
- WellCapped – The world’s first wig rental service, making a fresh hairstyle accessible, sustainable, and budget-friendly.
- WheelPrice – An online marketplace for enthusiasts to buy and sell automotive parts safely and securely from around the world or right next door.