Geekdom, San Antonio’s collaborative startup community, announced Aug. 31 it chose seven companies to take part in its 2023 Geekdom Pre-accelerator, a free, six-week program designed to help early-stage startup founders to effectively pitch their companies.

According to a news release, the Pre-accelerator, which began in early September, also enables officials of select startup ventures to learn about financing their initiatives and developing connections with local business leaders and fellow founders.

The seven companies participating in the 2023 Geekdom Pre-accelerator are:

• Based: Founded by Juan Farias, Based is a software development company focused on making content meaningful and monetization easier.
• ColdCalr: Founded by Ray Cantu, ColdCalr is an AI-powered platform that helps salespeople improve their performance when making cold calls.
• Craved: Funded by Kush Chopra, Craved is a company that makes healthy food exciting.
• Culture Travels: Founded by Leroy Adams, Culture Travels uses a digital and print publication, podcast and video content that celebrates the diversity of travelers and their destinations.
• PacAPit: Founded by John Chadwell, PacAPit is an artist-designed, low-impact, collapsible, full-function fire pit that stows away into a compact, portable size.
• Suitcase Coder: Founded by Laura Ruiz-Roehrs, Suitcase Coder seeks ways to make coding easier for beginners.
• TapNotion: Founded by Ryan Carter, TapNotion is a company that empowers food service employees with encyclopedic menu knowledge via an engaging memorization game.

Jockey Ventures, a venture studio that helps in cobuilding startups through strategic collaboration, will support this Geekdom Pre-accelerator cohort with a $100,000 sponsorship of the program.

Ben Jones, Jockey Ventures founder and Geekdom entrepreneur-in-residence, said Jockey Ventures' main focus is to promote and advance ways that help startup firms.

“We believe in the concept of collectively leveraging resources, expertise and networks to give startups a distinct advantage,” Jones said in a statement. “The Geekdom Pre-accelerator perfectly embodies this philosophy by offering a robust platform for startups.”

Geekdom CEO Charles Woodin said Geekdom’s Pre-accelerator program gives companies and early-stage startups a chance to learn how to successfully cultivate their ideas.

“Our values align with those of Jockey Ventures, and their eagerness to support young companies within the Geekdom community is appreciated and inspiring,” Woodin said in a statement.

According to the release, after completing the six-week program, each of the seven founders will pitch their company to the community during San Antonio Startup Week. One of the startups will receive a $20,000 investment from Geekdom. The Geekdom Pre-accelerator Demo Day will take place Oct. 16.