Alex and Jonathan de la Fuente of Bentonville startup Hightag, a national accelerator program sponsored by Founded Outdoors and REI Path Ahead Ventures that provides entrepreneurs of color with resources to launch their businesses. It will join 15 other outdoor recreation startups graduating from Embark this week.
Hightag provides the ability to automatically capture photos and videos of mountain bikers, skiers, and other athletes in action. The company will hold his April 19 graduation ceremony in Beaverton, Oregon, sponsored by REI, along with all of the founders of this year’s Embark program.
HighTag founders were first introduced to the Embark program at the 2022 Plug and Play Outdoor Recreation Showcase in Bentonville. The event included a panel discussion featuring entrepreneurs and investors in the outdoor recreation industry.They include Alex de la Fuente, CEO of HighTag, and Dan Kihanya, director of REI Pass Ahead Ventures, who together with the PAV founder community, said: He said it represented an “amazing quality” of emerging entrepreneurs.
“In the third season of Embark, our group of founding entrepreneurs brings a new level of energy, excitement, and ideas to the program,” Enhao Li of Founded Outdoors, which runs the Embark program, said in a statement. “They are moving at a rapid pace to build significant operational capabilities and growth strategies and gain early traction with key partners and early customers.”
Founded Outdoors and REI Path Ahead Ventures’ Embark program, founded in 2020, connects Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian American, and Pacific Islander founders with industry and startup experts to share best practices. Learn and collect valuable feedback about your business.
Each participating company will receive a $10,000 non-stock grant to start their business. In addition to capital, founders also connect with a community of peers and mentors who support their continued growth in the industry.
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