March 18th, 2013 By MATTHEW KORFHAGE | News | Posted In: Tech, Business

Nike-Plus Accelerator Companies Announced

Tags: Nike, TechStars, technology, Portland

Courtesy nikeaccelerator.com

Beaverton shoe giant Nike today announced the 10 start-up companies taking part in its Portland-based Nike+ Accelerator program.

In a format similar to many other business accelerators, Nike provides $20,000 seed funding to each of these companies, as well as use of office facilities in Northwest Portland and access to business mentorship and potential investors (including Nike). Each of the 10 companies will be creating products designed to link up to the Nike+ fitness-tracking technology platform.

TechStars, a Boulder, Colo., based business accelerator, will be running the program, and will receive 6 percent equity in each of the companies. See WW's interview with TechStars CEO David Cohen, which touches on Nike, the Portland tech scene, and the possibility of another tech bubble-and-bust.

The released list of participating companies, which includes several makers of game-and-reward-based products, is below:

FitDeck: Digital decks of exercise playing cards that deliver ever-changing workouts for fitness and sports.
GoRecess: Helps users find, book and review fitness activities.
Chroma Games: An indie game studio that creates virtual worlds tied to real-world activity. CoachBase: Provides a digital sports coaching platform.
GoFitCause: Leverages fitness data as a means of raising money for charities.
HighFive: Ad network for health and fitness apps that helps people achieve their goals by rewarding them along their journey.
Sprout At Work: Provider of corporate wellness solutions leveraging social and gamification tools to inspire employees and empower employers.
GeoPalz: An interactive gaming and rewards platform for kids and families.
Incomparable Things: Creates activity-driven fantasy sports leagues.
RecBob: Offers a platform that makes recreational sports easy by organizing play.