Elliptigo has been selected to take part in the MetroConnect Program, a comprehensive export support program run by the World Trade Center San Diego and designed to help San Diego companies accelerate their global growth. The announcement will be made later today by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and World Trade Center San Diego.
This program will allow Elliptigo to increase awareness efforts in the Netherlands through building out a portion of our current website in Dutch to support those customers, running an integrated digital marketing campaign to attract potential purchasers and hosting a new competitive Elliptigo event there to both demonstrate the product and build the owner community locally.
“We are thrilled to be a part of the MetroConnect initiative,” said Bryan Pate, Elliptigo CEO/Co-Founder. “We are a small company with lots of opportunity to grow both domestically and internationally, so getting assistance in global expansion from an organization of this caliber is really exciting for us.”
The MetroConnect Program, a flagship initiative of World Trade Center San Diego, seeks to cultivate a pipeline of export-ready firms to elevate San Diego’s global reach. Similar to the 2015 pilot round, program participants will receive a $10,000 grant, presented by JPMorgan Chase, to assist with international expansion strategies. In 2016, the MetroConnect Program has created additional support services to directly help participating companies. Program participants will have access to a dedicated trade and investment manager at WTC San Diego and will receive guidance on export compliance, financing and fundraising and global marketing, amongst other areas of relevance.
“We applaud Elliptigo for taking the next step in going global,” said Nikia Clarke, executive director of World Trade Center San Diego. “The MetroConnect Program is essentially a business accelerator program for globally-minded companies. The funding and guidance provided by the prize will help Elliptigo explore new world markets, resulting in economic growth for San Diego.”
In total, 73 San Diego companies applied for acceptance into the MetroConnect Program. Fifteen companies were selected based on a variety of criteria, including interest in new markets, interest in targeted metro markets, assessed impact of funds, current international traction and more. Applicants were assessed by a panel of judges, including representatives from Applied Membranes, Biocom, Qualcomm Ventures, San Diego Regional EDC, San Diego State University, Taylor Guitars, Tech San Diego, U.S. Department of Commerce, UC San Diego and World Trade Center San Diego.
Participating companies will also be considered for the program’s MetroConnect Grand Prize Pitchfest in November 2016, which will provide an additional $35,000 to help one or two companies further advance their global agendas.
The MetroConnect Program is underwritten by JPMorgan Chase & Co, with additional support provided by Japan Airlines, Qualcomm Ventures, SYSTRAN and Taylor Guitars.
