SoftLayer's Catalyst startup program will support member companies from Startup Texas, a branch of Startup America
Cloud hosting provider SoftLayer Technologies announced on Monday that its Catalyst startup program will support member companies from Startup Texas, a branch of Startup America. The startups in the program are given IT credits on the SoftLayer platform for one full year, and receive mentorship from SoftLayer executives.
Startup America supports a national network of entrepreneurs, and has nearly 12,000 members affiliated with local Startup America chapters in 30 states.
Startup Texas members can apply for membership in SoftLayer’s Catalyst startup program, which targets technology startups, and provides IT cloud infrastructure credits, executive mentoring, and engineering resources.
Like many web hosting providers, SoftLayer has created a program for startups to use its hosting services for free, and access executive-level membership. SoftLayer and Rackspace are among the biggest hosting supporters of startups, and have set up specific programs for startups internationally.
“We love seeing big companies support startup ecosystems in their own back yards,” Scott Case, CEO of Startup America Partnership said in a statement. “It’s fantastic that SoftLayer is partnering with Startup Texas to bring their Catalyst Startup Program to local Texas startups and provide them with some of the support and tools they’ll need to grow.”
SoftLayer recently extended its Catalyst Startup Program to Canada, after seeing success with its US program. The Catalyst program offers startups with $1,000/month credit hosting credit for one year, mentorship from SoftLayer’s Innovation team, and increased market visibility through guest blog posts, video interviews, white papers and use cases.
“Catalyst is unique because as a former startup ourselves, we know what it takes to transform an idea or vision into a viable business,” Paul Ford, vice president of community development for SoftLayer said in a statement. “Our entrepreneurial spirit runs through Catalyst, helping equip the next generation of web-savvy entrepreneurs with infrastructure and support that is critical for growth and success, especially in the early stages. That includes best-in-class hosted infrastructure, mentorship from SoftLayer’s Innovation Team and executives, and increased exposure through marketing initiatives.”
Talk back: How do you work to support technology startups locally? Have you partnered with startup programs like Startup America? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
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Such initiative’s are very good, it helps the startups to establish the business. We had also taken such initiative to help business startups in India. The news was published on prweb portal – http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10040816.htm