At KVG we believe that networking is about building long-term relationships and a good reputation over time.
The support network we have been striving to build has one goal in mind: to help our entrepreneurs succeed. We believe that a good network is about sharing, not taking, about forming trust and helping one another to achieve success and growth with any project. Through the strong network we've been developing since our inception, we can now provide fresh ideas, raised profiles, access to opportunities, new information, advice and support to any start-up we have the privilege of working with.
We realize that creativity and technology, even when combined with capital, is sometimes not enough to get a business off the ground. Too often, potential entrepreneurs with innovative ideas lack the training needed to inform their early-stage planning and guide their steps when finding product-market-fit. Others may lack foundational tech education which is required in any knowledge-based company today. These challenges are acute in the Central Valley and KVG realized that a new resource was needed to help get founders to the stage where they would be a viable candidate for capital. Enter the Ignite Innovation Lab at Bitwise Industries.
The Ignite Innovation Lab will act as a technology business incubator, allowing members of our community the opportunity to apply for and take part in a six-month long paid cohort, primarily focused on creating new businesses and jobs locally. By the end of the program, cohort members will have founded product companies that are revenue-generating. Members will demonstrate an understanding and application of market sizing and validation, customer acquisition cost and lifetime value, pitching, prospecting, closing, contracts, and more.
Our founders share a passion for helping transform communities like the ones we grew up in. This shared vision led to this partnership. In addition to operating the Lab and providing the training, Bitwise will invest pre-seed capital into the top members graduating from the Lab. Kern Venture Group will assist with mentoring and feedback and track the progress of the cohorts. From among the top 20 members, Kern Venture Group will select the top 10 and provide seed-stage capital.
FOUNDERS
Enter the Ignite Innovation Lab
in Kern County over 3 years
Spread across the Top 20
promising members
Invests in Top
FOUNDERS
Helps companies scale to
subsequent funding rounds
Bitwise Industries creates a bridge between humans from marginalized communities and stories of systemic poverty to skills and resources necessary to access opportunities in the tech industry. By leveraging public-private partnerships, Bitwise provides paid apprenticeships to students to learn tech skills, connects them to meaningful tech opportunities, and builds vibrant buildings in underestimated cities to house their work. By upskilling disenfranchised humans, it empowers them to change their own lives—which ignites and transforms the regional economies of the cities in which Bitwise serves. Bitwise has raised more than $100MM in support of this important work; expanded its model to serve five cities (Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced, Oakland, and Toledo); and built a tech apprenticeship engine that will drive national job creation.
To train and found new and diverse founders in Kern County
The support network we have been striving to build has one goal in mind: to help our entrepreneurs succeed. We believe that a good network is about sharing, not taking, about forming trust and helping one another to achieve success and growth with any project. Through the strong network we've been developing since our inception, we can now provide fresh ideas, raised profiles, access to opportunities, new information, advice and support to any start-up we have the privilege of working with.
Bitwise has raised more than $100M in support of this important work; expanded its model to serve five cities (Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced, Oakland, and Toledo); and built a tech apprenticeship engine that will drive national jobs/economic recovery in 2021.
Bitwise Industries creates a bridge between humans from marginalized communities and stories of systemic poverty to skills and resources necessary to access opportunities in the tech industry. By leveraging public-private partnerships, Bitwise provides paid apprenticeships to students to learn tech skills, connects them to meaningful tech opportunities, and builds vibrant buildings in underestimated cities to house their work. By upskilling disenfranchised humans, it empowers them to change their own lives—which ignites and transforms the regional economies of the cities in which Bitwise serves.
Will go through the Program in Kern County in the next 3 years.
Offers co-working space, coding school, development shop.
Pre-seed to 20 Promising Founding Teams
Bitwise has raised $100M+ in capital.
Teams' subsequent rounds funding
Offices in Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced, and growing.
Bitwise's pool of potential founders is exponentially growing
Recent exits and upticks in external fundraising brought forth the value building within their walls.
We understand that launching a business in Kern County or the central valley can be a challenge without direct access to capital and connections. The men and women of KVG realize that in order to develop next generation ideas and technology, there has to be committed capital to help you achieve your business goals. Our advisors and partners have built some of the largest companies in the country and have invested in KVG to help move your company from proof of concept to market acceptance. We are looking for visionary ideas that can change entire industries.
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