Three years after launching its digital health accelerator, Greenville-based Iron Yard Ventures will not be announcing a fourth cohort this year. The program was named a Top 20 accelerator nationally, according to The Iron Yard Managing Director Marty Bauer, and its graduates include digital health records startup ChartSpan, among others.
“Like any good startup, Iron Yard continues to evolve and it is an important thing to do for any organization as it shows progress. The goal for the digital health program from the beginning was to run for three years, and this is the natural progression of that plan,” said Bauer in an email. “Iron Yard Ventures has now funded more than 50 startups in the last four years and we will continue to support great founders in a number of ways.”
Bauer said Iron Yard Ventures has made more than 50 investments in startups over the last four years, and currently runs multiple programs to help founders.
Started in Greenville by Peter Barth, Eric Dodds and Mason Stewart, The Iron Yard began as a co-working location and tech accelerator. The company split into Iron Yard Ventures and Iron Yard Academy, which operates campuses in 20 locations and is the largest code school by footprint. Courses include back-end, front-end and mobile engineering, as well as data science and design. The Academy expects to graduate 1,300 students in 2016, according a media representative in November.
“When Peter started the Iron Yard accelerator it was the first program of its kind in the region. What began as an experiment to help grow the tech community in the area has certainly accomplished more than many thought could be done,” said Bauer. “Since then, the companies that have gone through our accelerator programs have exceeded expectations on several levels and have helped shape what Iron Yard is today. The best part about it is seeing the real impact our portfolio companies are having on their customer’s lives and in the community. A lot of them fly under the radar, and I think that is a good thing.”
A new partnership with Arkansas-based life sciences accelerator HubX is one of several new projects to be announced in the coming weeks, Bauer said. “All that said, I think the Iron Yard is still on chapter one with a lot coming in the future. It is really exciting to see where things are heading.”
