Announcing the Inaugural Class of Techstars New Orleans powered by J.P Morgan

Aug 14, 2023

By Melissa Pegus, Managing Director of Techstars New Orleans powered by J.P. Morgan

Techstars New Orleans powered by J.P. Morgan is excited to announce its inaugural class of eleven category-leading startups. Our team spent months speaking to thousands of startups from all over the world who are building the future of commerce technology, consumer brands and platforms, creator economy technology, and climate tech. 

Over the next 13 weeks these founders will be immersed in our hybrid program that will take them from a kick-off retreat in New Orleans, to TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, and Afrotech in Austin, and the balance of time will be spent tapping into our global network and resources in an inclusive and equitable virtual format.

This class highlights J.P. Morgan and Techstars’ dedication to supporting historically underserved founders. J.P. Morgan believes that diversity and inclusion are key drivers of innovation and growth, and will be offering an integrated suite of services to founders in the accelerator beyond the 13-week program, including banking, wealth management, and advisory solutions, to support their growth and success.

In addition to our founders we have some awesome new members in our team: 

Tami Nelson

Irvin Lopez 

Without further ado, let's meet the Techstars New Orleans powered by JP Morgan Class of 2023:

Commerce Technology

Airyvl (New York, NY)

Mark Thayer (Founder)

For airlines that struggle with delays and missed flight opportunities, we use a probabilistic algorithm, and historical and continuous data from credit card customers to improve aircraft utilization through more accurate and available customer demand to increase revenue opportunities with fewer flights.

Grocerylist (Jamaica)

Rory Richards & Jermain Morgan (Co-Founders)

A comprehensive consumer platform that allows individuals in the USA, UK, and Canada to send remittances to their loved ones throughout LATAM and the Caribbean in the form of groceries. 

HeadOffice (Jamaica)

Khary Sharpe (Founder)

For Accountants and Entrepreneurs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean that need localized support managing taxes & payroll in non-us denominations.

Monocle (New Jersey)

Amir Sigari (Founder)

An operational co-pilot for ecommerce COOs

PipeOps (Nigeria)

Samuel Ogbonyomi, Taye Joseph & Alex Idowu (Nigeria)

PipeOps is built for Software Engineers, Early stage startups, and SMEs that need an accessible, user-friendly, and cost-effective tool to setup and manage their cloud infrastructure.

Ticket Avengers (Detroit, MI)

DeAngelo Smith

Ticket Avengers’ platform increases local government and attorney revenue, making it easy for people to pay their bills. PayPal for fines or fees! 

Consumer Brands and Platforms

Gently Soap (Atlanta, GA)

Kristen Dunning (Founder)

Gently Soap is an innovative clean body care company that aims to bring joyful bathing experiences to those with sensitive skin through the use of science-backed, proprietary herbal infusions. 

PopViewers (New York, NY)

Chris Witherspoon (Founder)

PopViewers is a content discovery platform delivering next-level customer sentiment to studios, content creators, and brands. 

Creator Economy Technology

Cyphr (Jamaica)

Dylan Brennan (Founder)

For musicians that are denied access to a career due to funding, location and gatekeeping, we remove those barriers to entry by allowing them to create, collaborate and earn income directly on their smartphones using Cyphr.

Audioland (Austin, TX)

Dima Abramov & Sergei Baranov (Co-Founders)

Audioland is the Substack for audio, effortlessly transforming creators' AI-generated texts into monetizable content.

Climate Tech

Munivestor (New Orleans, LA)

Damon Burns (Founder)

For cities seeking access to capital to build better communities, Munivestor’s Municipal NFT marketplace allows cities to customize municipal securities for sale directly to investors.

Meet the Author
Author
Melissa Pegus

Melissa Pegus

Melissa Pegus is the Managing Director of Techstars Atlanta and New Orleans, both powered by J.P. Morgan, a startup operator, and early-stage investor. During her tenure as a startup operator, Melissa has spent more than a decade scaling startups from pre-revenue through Series C growth, resulting in seven acquisitions. As an investor, she focuses on startups that are building the future of Commerce, Consumer, Climate Tech, and the Creator Economy.