- GoKid was selected as one of twelve companies to participate in the Techstars Mobility program in downtown Detroit.
- Eight global corporations will be supporting the program including Ford Motor Company, Magna International, Verizon, Dana Holding Corporation, Honda R&D Americas, McDonald’s, Munich Re, and Michelin.
NEW YORK, June 8, 2016 — GoKid, a kids carpooling app for busy families, today announced that it has been selected from among hundreds of applicants as one of twelve companies to participate in the Techstars Mobility accelerator program in Detroit. The program focuses on the automotive mobility and transportation industry and selects the best companies to transform the way people and goods move around more freely.
Over the next three months, the selected companies work closely with Techstars and their mentors to develop partnerships, hone best practices, and gain traction in relevant markets.
Stefanie Lemcke, CEO and founder of GoKid said, “We are so excited about this opportunity to participate in Techstars Mobility program in Detroit and forge relationships with such a skilled and experienced group of like-minded founders, corporates, digital experts, and mentors.”
GoKid addresses a clear need in the transportation sector. In New York City alone approximately 300,000 children are driven to and from school daily. If just 5% carpooled with one other family, the car reduction on the streets would be the equivalent of removing all NYC taxis from the streets each day, resulting in a massive reduction of congestion and carbon emissions. At the same time, GoKid is solving a real problem for the parents of the 50 million US school children as the average family with 3 kids spends an estimated 30 hours in the car each month driving their children to and from school and their many activities. Different from other mobility solutions, GoKid does not hire drivers but counts on parents to share the driving responsibility among a trusted circle of parents.
“We are excited to have GoKid as a Techstars Mobility company in Detroit. GoKid is a great solution for the highly dynamic car-sharing sector targeting parents and their needs. As a parent of two, I’m excited to welcome the team to Detroit and help accelerate their business,” said Ted Serbinski, Managing Director of Techstars Mobility.
This is only the second year that Techstars has run this Detroit-based program focused on mobility. This year they saw a worldwide response of applications from 52 countries across 6 continents. The program, which officially kicks off on June 13, culminates in a public demo day on September 8.
About GoKid
GoKid is a kids’ carpooling app based in New York City. GoKid was founded by Stefanie Lemcke who moved from New York City to Connecticut and found herself trapped in traffic jams with neighbors as they all drove to the same place at the same time to drop off and pick up their kids. The highly connected GoKid team brings many years of management and digital experience from leading brands like Disney, Sony Music, Viacom, and Sky. The team has worked in business development and sales for startups as well as with cities nationally and internationally including New York, Berlin, Montreal, and Boston. For more information, visit https://www.gokid.mobi/
About Techstars
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of startup programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and Do More Faster™. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey – from early-stage grassroots community development to more formal opportunities that provide education, experience, acceleration, funding, and beyond. For more information, visit www.techstars.com.
