Accelerators in Glendale
The City of Glendale is home to a number of accelerators, incubators, collectives, and communities that support the startups that call the Jewel City home.
Learn more about some of the programs below.
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Disney Accelerator
Walt Disney had a dream and the entrepreneurial will to make that dream come true. Combining creativity and innovation, he built a company that is forever inventing new ways to tell great stories. From the Multiplane camera and the first feature-length animated film, to Audio-Animatronics® and computer-generated animation, Disney has always been at the forefront of technology.Through the Disney Accelerator, select companies will gain access to the range of creative expertise and resources of The Walt Disney Company to help them develop new entertainment experiences and products.
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Hero House is an entrepreneurship hub in Glendale, CA that combines the scientific potential of local leading universities with the expertise and network of business leaders in entertainment, aerospace, bioscience, advanced transportation located in the Los Angeles area.
Southern California is home to entertainment industry giants such as Walt Disney, Paramount, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, MTV and others;
Hero House is established by the in-house venture capital fund SmartGateVC.
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Hero House Venture Building Program is a comprehensive 16-week program that guides tech startups through a strategic journey from orientation to market readiness.
Participants benefit from personalized mentorship, practical sales development, innovative growth hacking strategies, and essential fundraising preparation.
The program offers rolling admissions, allowing entrepreneurs to join at any time throughout the year while ensuring flexibility and inclusivity.
Focus Industries: AI & the Physical World, AI & Cyber Security, AI & Our Brains, Agentic AI -
FoundersBoost’s SoCal B2B and B2C Accelerators powered by Glendale are tailored accelerator programs designed to propel select pre-seed stage B2B and B2C startups toward Investment and Revenue Generation. Operated in partnership with Alliance for SoCal Innovation, Hacker Fund, and the City of Glendale, these FoundersBoost programs leverage local resources and a global network to support scalable startups making an impact in Southern California’s thriving tech ecosystem.
Our six-week programs provide unparalleled one-on-one mentorship and access to a global network of founders, investors, and industry experts to help startups refine their business models, develop their go-to-market strategies, and connect with investors. With a focus on putting founders first, the SoCal B2B and B2C Accelerators take no equity and charge no fees, thanks to the support of the City of Glendale, local sponsors, and the dedication of gifted mentors and program leaders.
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KidsX is a global ecosystem of pediatric innovators, anchored by a consortium of children’s hospitals motivated to partner with early stage digital health companies to transform pediatric care.
The KidsX accelerators and innovation programs support early stage digital health companies achieve product and business model validation in the pediatric market.
Given the access to the highly engaged hospitals in the KidsX network, companies are able to validate product/market fit in pediatrics quickly, saving valuable time and resources.
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Welcome to [A] Growth!
At heart, we're a team of data-driven growth marketers focused on delivering scalable results!
Growth is our driving force - but speed and execution are our keys to success. From our humble beginnings in 2020, we've evolved rapidly, thanks to our data-driven and creative approaches.
Looking ahead, we're excited about the future, continuing to redefine growth for businesses.
Join us on this exhilarating journey of innovation and success!
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We work with brilliant AI founders to build companies from 0 to 1 and beyond . . .
You bring the domain expertise and we bring the resources to scale with speed.
Our number one goal is to support founders and help make the launch and scale process easier. We build and provide cofounder value-add in a model proven to generate faster exits, fewer losses, and outsized returns. As a Studio, we do more than invest in startups- we help validate, launch, and grow them.
Innovation Grants
The City of Glendale has distributed two grants to bring startup growth programs to the city and strengthen our startup ecosystem. The City, in collaboration with former Senator Anthony Portantino and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), awarded a $1,000,000 grant in 2020 and a second $1,000,000 grant in 2024.
2025 Accelerator Grants
In 2024, The City of Glendale received $1 million from the State of California to expand its startup support network and innovation ecosystem. After a competitive application and review process, the City funded to two startup-growth programs,
gLENDALE GROWTH GROUP
G3 is a public-private initiative designed to support early-stage tech startups led by underrepresented founders. The grant-funded program is run by FoundersBoost, Hacker Fund, and the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and helps entrepreneurs grow and thrive — right here in Glendale. This collaborative initiative supports innovation at every stage, from ideation (Hacker Fund leads hackathons to find solutions for pressing issues), through early-stage growth (FoundersBoost runs B2B and B2C Pre-accelerator programs), to fundraising (the Alliance for SoCal Innovation’s Venture Building Pipeline connects raise-ready founders with relevant investors).
HERO HOUSE VENTURE BUILDING PROGRAM
Hero House Venture Building Program is a comprehensive 16-week program that guides very early-stage tech startups through a strategic journey from orientation to market readiness. Run as a grant-funded expansion of Hero House, the startup business accelerator and innovation hub backed by SmartGate VC, the Venture Building Program helps founders and researchers transition cutting edge research into successful products and companies.
Participants benefit from personalized mentorship, practical sales development, innovative growth hacking strategies, and essential fundraising preparation.
2020 Accelerator Grants
In 2019 The City of Glendale received $1 million from the State of California to launch a tech startup accelerator. After getting feedback from the tech community, start-ups, accelerators, and potential operators, the City funded 2 accelerators.
KidsX Digital Health Accelerator
Focusing on advancing digital health innovation for pediatric health and healthcare, the program provides innovation in a field that is often overlooked and underfunded. Since it’s founding as the first Pediatric-focused digital health accelerator in the world, KidsX has grown to be the premier innovation ecosystem for startups and hospitals serving pediatric patients. Pediatric health services include the use of artificial intelligence, gamification, virtual, augmented or mixed reality, mobile apps, voice-enabled services and remote monitoring, among others.
Hero House Glendale
Hero House has implemented a non-industry specific “Gateway to LA” program that focuses on international or out-of- state companies looking to expand their product into Southern California and serves as a hub for the startup ecosystem in the area. This program was established by SmartGateVC, and is backed by Draper University of Heroes in San Mateo, CA, as well as the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America.
Would you like to join our growing community of start-ups and services providers who want to be involved in Glendale’s Start-Up Tech Accelerators? Join our public “Interest List” and see who else is excited about our new accelerator program.
Glendale Tech Strategy (2017)