KCK startup joins Tulsa Techstars, building toward expected $1.2M funding round
May 9, 2023 | Startland News Staff
Another Kansas City startup is headed for entrepreneurial resources in Oklahoma with Foresight Reporting’s just-announced acceptance into The Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator.
Jannae Gammage and Charlotte Clark, Foresight, at the 2022 Startups to Watch Class Reunion event
“We’re very excited to not only be embedded in the Tulsa entrepreneurial ecosystem, but also in its rich culture and history,” said Jannae Gammage, CEO and co-founder of Kansas City, Kansas-built Foresight. “We can’t even begin to express how grateful we are to be a part of the rejuvenation initiatives of Black Wall Street and the rebuilding of Black wealth for not only current and future Tulsa residents, but the opportunities that it creates for innovative high growth tech companies like ours.”
Foresight is an AI driven platform that uses behavioral science and complementary data points to enable community lenders to make lending decisions in five minutes versus 30 days, without increasing their risk.
Click here to learn more about the origins of Foresight Reporting, which its founders called an investment “credit score for startups.”
“This is another brick added to our mission to shift the narrative that underserved communities and founders aren’t fundable,” said Gammage, who leads the startup with co-founder and CTO Charlotte Clark.
Charlotte Clark, Foresight; and Callie England, UMKC Innovation Center; share their experiences panel conversation during Startland News and the KU School of Business’ entrepreneurial lunch and learn series; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News
Foresight is among a dozen startups selected for Techstars’ 13-week summer class. Through the Tulsa accelerator, they’ll go through an intense peer and mentor-driven learning journey as they rapidly scale their companies — focusing primarily on dialing in product-market fit and attracting customers and capital, according to Tré Baker, managing director of The Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator.
“After a rigorous selection process, we chose 12 companies led by underrepresented founders who are committed to changing how we do life and business around the world,” Baker said in a press release. “This class is diverse in origin and experience with companies leveraging technological innovation to conquer challenges in areas such as digital health, insurtech, future of work, professional education, fintech, blockchain and so much more.”
Click here to read more about the other 11 startups selected for the accelerator.
A founder reveal event is planned for Thursday in Tulsa.
Gammage, a serial entrepreneur and member of the 2022 Pipeline fellowship class, touted Techstars and its global network as a key part of Foresight’s strategy to gain capital, mentorship and connections.
“With an acceptance rate lower than Ivy League schools, and $120,000 investments in roughly 500 startups annually, the program is the most active seed investor in the world and we are so blessed to have them as a part of our $1.2 million raise,” she said, teasing more investment news to come.
Techstars program in Tulsa announced its inaugural class in August 2022, less than a year after shuttering its operation in Kansas City. The program is made possible through Techstars’ partnerships with Build In Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
In recent years, Kansas City has seen two other high-profile local startups lured into Tulsa’s ecosystem. Boddle relocated to the Oklahoma city in 2020 after an investment from Tulsa-based Atento Capital, and Bodify was drawn to the ACT Tulsa accelerator in 2021.
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