Techstars Atlanta: Get to Know Bark Technologies

Techstars Atlanta, in partnership with Cox Enterprises, selected 10 companies to participate in the program's 2016 class. Applications for the 10 coveted spots came from around the globe, including 69 countries and six continents.

Bark Technologies is one of the 10 participants. Bark protects children by detecting messages that contain cyberbullying, sexting and signs of depression or suicidal thoughts using technology and machine learning techniques to maintain a child’s privacy and preventing parents from having to spend hours reading their activity.

Get to know the Bark team.

What excites you about Techstars?

The opportunity to be surrounded by so many smart, helpful people.

How did you hear about Techstars?

I’ve known about Techstars for a long time, but one of our investors encouraged us to apply.

What do you hope to learn/take away from Techstars Atlanta?

A more tightly defined customer acquisition strategy.

How did you come up with the idea for your company?

As a parent of two children, I wrestled first-hand with how to best keep them safe online, while providing them privacy and autonomy.  I created Bark as a way to find that balance.

Are there any entrepreneurs or business leaders who inspire you?

Jon Hallett and Christian Brucculeri at Snaps

What did you know about Atlanta before relocating for the program?

I’ve been here many times for both work and fun, so was fairly familiar with all Atlanta has to offer.

What’s the one piece of technology or app that you can’t live without?

Slack and Google apps

Where was your company founded?

Savannah, Georgia

Who can use your product?

Parents with children under the age of 18

Located at Ponce City Market, Techstars Atlanta provides 90 days of rapid acceleration to boost entrepreneurs’ early stage business and product development efforts through focused education, mentorship and funding.

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 community 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.