The Waterloo Accelerator Centre, an award-winning and world-renowned centre for the cultivation of technology entrepreneurship, celebrates its fifth anniversary this month with the graduation of four more technology start-ups from its award-winning Accelerator Program.  The Program, which serves start-ups located at the Accelerator Centre and The Communitech Hub, supports entrepreneurs and early-stage technology companies in their growth, development and success and has directly contributed to Waterloo Region becoming Ontario's fastest-growing tech ecosystem.

"Since opening our doors to early-stage companies in 2006, the Accelerator Program has operated with a simple goal:  to accelerate the success of technology companies within Waterloo Region.  And we are proud to say we have more than achieved on our objective," says Accelerator Centre CEO, Tim Jackson.  "Today we mark a major milestone in the Centre's history by graduating the largest number of companies on one day to date."

The Accelerator Program offers one-stop shopping for early-stage companies and entrepreneurs looking to take their company to the next level. Serving clients located at the Accelerator Centre in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park and The Communitech Hub in Kitchener's historic Tannery District, the program offers a complete menu of services, including office facilities, coaching and mentoring, education, connections to capital, networking, R&D support and outreach, talent recruitment, technology transfer assistance and commercialization expertise.

Here are just a few of the milestones achieved by the Accelerator Program and its start-up clients over the last five years:

As of today, 15 graduate companies from the Accelerator Program

• $27,000,000 in revenue generated by client companies
• 65 companies served to date with a current 45 client companies in residence across two facilities - the Accelerator Centre and The Communitech Hub
• 1200+ hours of educational services delivered
• 12,000 hours of mentorship provided by in-house executives and mentors
• $52 million in external funding flowing to client companies
• 500+ jobs created by client companies (and growing)

Four More Start-Ups Graduate from the Accelerator Program

The Accelerator Program also announced today the successful graduation of four additional companies.  This brings the total number of graduates to 15.  Another cohort of companies is expected to graduate in the December timeframe.  Graduates include:

Bayalink

Bayalink is a leading innovator in smartphone application virtualization and a member of the Blackberry® Alliance Program. The company's product, Bayalink Liberty™ is a virtualization solution for Blackberry Smartphones from Research in Motion, providing users with a virtualized presentation of Blackberry® Smartphone applications. Bayalink has been a client of the Accelerator Program at the Accelerator Centre since April 2007.

Client Outlook

Client Outlook is building innovative IT solutions that provide healthcare professionals with secure access to information they need at the point of care. The company's initial offering, eUnity™, is a Health Canada and US FDA-approved server-based product that allows clinicians to access diagnostic quality medical images through their favourite web browser using eUnity's™ zero-footprint client.  Health professionals access the most up to date medical data from any location and with no client software to install or manage. The company was recently featured in an Adobe success story.  Client Outlook has been an Accelerator Program client at the Accelerator Centre since April 2009.

Homick Labs

Homick Labs joined The Communitech Hub as an Accelerator Program client in 2011, and is the second company to graduate from the facility. 

PerspecSys

PerspecSys Inc. provides data privacy, residency and security solutions that enable cloud adoption by the enterprise while controlling and protecting sensitive data. In 2010, PerspecSys was named a "Cool Vendor" in the Cloud Security Category by leading industry analyst firm, Gartner.  PerspecSys has been an Accelerator Program client at the Accelerator Centre since January 2010.

"We continue to be amazed at the calibre and quality of the companies flowing through our doors. The Accelerator Program has had the privilege of fostering some of Canada's newest technology success stories, and we look forward to watching these companies grow, prosper and contribute to Waterloo Region and to Ontario's economic prosperity," says Tim Ellis, COO, Accelerator Centre.

About the Accelerator Centre

The Accelerator Centre (AC) located within Waterloo's Research + Technology Park is a world-renowned, award-winning facility dedicated to developing and commercializing technology start-ups. Through its Accelerator Program, early-stage companies located at the Accelerator Centre and The Communitech Hub receive seamless support services, including access to office facilities, coaching and mentoring, education, connections to capital, networking, R&D support and outreach, talent recruitment, technology transfer assistance, and commercialization expertise, enabling technology start-ups to move to market faster, create jobs and stimulate economic activity.

For further Information, please contact:

Tim Ellis, COO
Accelerator Centre
Phone: 519-500-7711, Email: tellis@acceleratorcentre.com