Startup Runway is a 501(c) nonprofit organization dedicated to showcasing the top 10% of women- and minority-led startups across the Southeast and connecting them with sophisticated investors who understand early-stage companies. We’ve been following up with some of our past finalists and have received an exciting update from Acivilate!
Acivilate is an anti- recidivism platform designed to help returning citizens, service providers, and correctional supervisors work together by safely sharing information. They have created Pokket, a mobile-friendly secure cloud service that helps you monitor a client’s progress and challenges right when you need it. It’s built to encourage and sustain self-sufficiency and accountability.
Acivilate recently learned that the Gwinnett County, Ga. Sheriff’s Office will expand its use of Pokket after receiving a $50,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. This grant was a part of an initiative to reduce overcrowding in the nation’s jails and comes after Acivilate raised a $3 million seed round in December of last year from BIP Capital and GRA Venture Fund, LLC.
The Pokket app aims to solve the common challenges that individuals released from jail often face by connecting the individual with the corrections officer and third-party agencies and service providers, and keeping them all in contact with each other.
“For the person who’s been released, it simplifies knowing what to do, and how and when to do it,” said Louise Wasilewski, the co-founder and CEO of Acivilate. “And it puts them in greater control of their rehabilitation, making it less likely they’ll fall through the cracks.”
We love seeing our finalists grow and making an impact on our community! Make sure to mark your calendar for our next Startup Runway showcase on May 2, 2019. If you are interested in competing and pitching your startup in our upcoming showcase, click here to apply.
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