Target has partnered with startup advisor Techstars to build a retail startup accelerator that will launch in Minneapolis, launching in 2016. Target hopes to bolster innovation throughout the company and in the local Minneapolis technology community.
West Stringfellow, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Target and a former Chief Product Officer at Bigcommerce and Rosetta Stone, will lead the partnership.
As part of the initiative, Target and Techstars will select 10 companies to work out of the Target offices for three months starting in June 2016, where they’ll be mentored by Target executives as well as other local entrepreneurs and business leaders. Techstars will monitor the boot camp programs, known as accelerators, to teach the startup companies about business, help them overcome hurdles and provide them with investment capital, according to the Star Tribune.
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Stringfellow indicated that Target and Techstars will “be very broad in terms of the categories” of companies they are accepting into the program, according to TechCrunch. Applications to the program are due in March 2016.
“We know that technology will continue to revolutionize retail, and that Target’s future will be built on innovation,” said Casey Carl, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Target. “That’s why we’re so excited to partner with Techstars and invite the world’s most promising startups to work with Target right in our backyard.”
Participants in a Techstars accelerator typically get an investment of $20,000, with the possibility of an additional $100,000. The firm includes a network of 100 seasoned investors and entrepreneurs who advise startups throughout the growth process.
