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Y Combinator , a California-based investor that provides initial funding to startups, is offering a new schedule for the new year. According to TechCrunch, Y Combinator’s modified calendar will reflect updates to the once annual Startup School, which will now be offered several times per year . The move has the potential to push more startups through the investor’s online training process, which ultimately grooms them for Y Combinator’s accelerator program. Startup School is true to its name, offering startups video chats, lectures from industry leaders and company staff, access to other founders, and the ability to network with other startups. School culminates with a founder project demonstration, attended by investors and media representatives. Program alumni benefit not only from tutelage they receive, but also from their ability to apply to Y Combinator’s grant program. The program, which is currently being reassessed, has recently offered founders grants of $15K. Y Combinator...
The Kapor Center, an organization working to increase tech training and job skills to minority populations through funding and programs, has announced a new $1 million funding competition, hoping to “catalyze tech inclusion.” The Kapor Center is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as part of the organization’s educational initiatives. The Oakland-based organization’s Tech Done Right National Challenge will provide grants ranging from $100,000 to $150,000 to individuals and organizations that can implement solutions to diversify the tech industry. “We prefer short sprints that enable a set of partners to quickly discover the viability of the proposed solution and allow for rapid iterations,” the Kapor Center said on its website. The Kapor Center is looking to provide funding for individuals who are “particularly interested in solutions centered on prototyping, experimentation, and rapid iteration cycles.” In 2018, the Kapor Center released Leaky Tech Pipeline — a website...
Epic Games — the makers of Fortnite — just announced its newest grant program to help fund developers, entrepreneurs, and educators who use its Unreal Engine. The grant could be a great chance for black game developers and techies to get their names out there. According to a Nielsen study , more than 70 percent of African Americans are likely to start gaming. However, this group is has a dismal population in the developer community. Another study by the International Game Developers Association said that the game development industry isn’t necessarily a welcoming a place and more than half said they witnessed or experience inequality on the job. Epic Games is extending the grants to a wide variety of professionals in an effort to enhance various industries. “There are many ways to build something incredible in or around the UE4 and 3D graphics universe,” Epic Games said . “For example, 3D digital creation tools, and learning materials about UE4 such as books, lesson plans, and...
