Drive, the startup accelerator from Belron, invests in two startups from latest programme
by Startacus Admin
Drive is the startup accelerator from Belron, parent company of Autoglass®, which is run in partnership with innovation specialists L Marks, and designed to fast track disruptive young businesses looking for global expansion.
In this second year of the accelerator programme, five tech startups – Blitzz, Locpin, Talking Circles, ThriveMap and ThanksBox - spent 10 weeks working with Belron 
countries; immersing themselves in Belron business operations and trialling their products. On 26 June, each team presented their experiences and proposal for a future relationship with Belron during an exciting Demo Day.
Belron has since announced that it will invest £125,000 in two startups and innovation partner, L Marks will match £103,340 investment, bringing the total startup funding to £228,340.
Those set to receive financial support, in addition to contracts with Belron, are:
ThriveMap - who have a platform that measures how people like to work in order to predict team fit and improve team harmony. ThriveMap will receive £75,000 of investment from Belron and £53,340 from L Marks.
Locpin - who provide a smart addressing solution which provides all the information necessary to ensure you can quickly and efficiently find the right location, first time, every time. Locpin will receive £50,000 of investment from Belron and £50,000 from L Marks.
Talking Circles and Blitzz have been asked to continue to work on their pilots with Belron, on a commercial basis, as conversations about investment continue. ThanksBox is continuing conversations with Carglass® Germany as to the best way to support them
Nick Burton, Head of Digital & Innovative Technology of Belron, said:
“Drive has been really exciting this year, with five brilliant teams joining the programme. I've been really impressed 
with the speed and agility on display as each team got their pilots up and running in four countries, and I really appreciate the hard work and teamwork on display when the teams are in one of our countries, or at Milton Park.”
Stuart Marks, technology entrepreneur and Chairman of L Marks, said:
“Any programme entering its second year will inherit high-expectations from the success of the first programme: In the case of Belron, expectations have been more than met. The teams across all participating countries have been confident, committed and open-minded in their approach to the startups, and we have been pleased to support progress as each has grown in response to the feedback they have been given. Drive with Belron has had another successful year thanks to everyone’s hard work, the contributions of the startups and the support of our team.”
The key focus for Drive with Belron 2017 was to collaborate with disruptive startups who can effectively improve operations of the leading vehicle glass repair and replacement company. In return, startups were given the opportunity to trial their products with a global organisation.
In addition to the startups securing funding and/or paid continuation of their pilots, all five on the accelerator programme developed their business more rapidly than they would have done by operating on their own.
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Published on: 31st July 2017
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