StartFast receives funding, names first 2013 participant

SYRACUSE  —  The StartFast Venture Accelerator has landed $250,000 in post-Demo Day funding for investment in its graduates and added the first firm to its 2013 roster — Syracuse–based Glyphr.

The accelerator, which gives startups early funding and brings them to Syracuse for 100 days in the summer, secured the investment funding from Sarasota, Fla.–based Sand Oak Capital Partners. That firm’s managing partner, Jeremy Schwimmer, signed on to StartFast as its second entrepreneur in residence for 2013 in January.

“StartFast is building a track record of attracting and nurturing great companies from around the world,” Schwimmer said in a news release. “Working directly with these companies during and after the StartFast program enables Sand Oak Capital Partners to confidently pursue follow-on investments.”

Sand Oak Capital Partners is allocating the $250,000 for investing in businesses that graduate from the 2013 accelerator.

This year’s edition of the accelerator will include Glyphr, a startup based at the Syracuse Tech Garden, StartFast said. Glyphr is a mobile app that uses three-dimensional augmented reality technology to allow advertisers to try to engage their target audiences.

“Given the strong growth we’ve experienced over the last few months, StartFast will be invaluable in helping our team take this company to the next level,” Glyphr CEO Devin Daly said. He founded the company in May 2012 along with Michael Quigley.

StartFast is backed by private capital. Its investors include members of the Seed Capital Fund of CNY — of which Schwimmer is a member — Cayuga Venture Fund, and other angel investors in upstate New York.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com