Nike selects 10 startups to build apps for Nike+
Nike has awarded 10 startups $20,000 each to build applications for its Nike+ products. The giant sporting goods company is striving to turn its digital gadget success into a technical platform.In December, Nike announced a program, in partnership with TechStars -- a startup mentoring and investment organization -- to offer money and mentoring to companies interested in creating health- and fitness-related applications that use the Nike+ technology. The idea is to seed app development for products, such as Nike+ FuelBand, to create a platform in much the same way that Apple has created a platform with iTunes and Microsoft, with Windows."We recently celebrated the first year of NikeFuel, and the Accelerator program is a natural next step to broaden and enhance the Nike+ ecosystem -- allowing Nike to offer richer experiences to athletes of all levels," said Stefan Olander, vice president of digital sport at Nike, in a press release.Some proposed app ideas among the 10 companies, selected from the "hundreds" that applied, according to Nike's press release, include games that encourage users to exercise and a corporate wellness app that espouses healthy living habits.Related stories Nike launches app accelerator program to fuel developers Nike FuelBand review Putting Nike's FuelBand (and me) through the pacesThe chosen startups include FitDeck, which develops digital decks of playing cards with prescribed workouts on each card, and CoachBase, a playbook tech tool for sports coaches.In addition to the funding, the companies will receive mentoring from Olander, TechStars founder and CEO David Cohen, Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai, Birchbox co-founder Katia Beauchamp, Mayfield Fund Managing Director Tim Chang, and Tim Ferriss, author of the best-selling book, "The 4-Hour Workweek."The companies will work for the next three months in Portland, Ore., near Nike's Beaverton headquarters, to develop their applications. In mid-June, they will pitch their products to angel investors, venture capitalists, industry leaders, and Nike executives at headquarters and in Silicon Valley.
