8th Continent Incubator Enlists First Aerospace Business Tenant

Australian startup joins Colorado’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

flaik, an Australian startup company whose satellite-based social location technology helps skiers track their vertical performance and resorts track ski school students, is the first tenant to join the 8^th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator.

“The 8^th Continent Incubator’s mission is to support ‘Space 2.0’ startups as actual operating companies that commercialize existing Space Program and defense industry technologies,” said 8^th Continent Director Burke Fort. “With the first real-time, GPS-enabled tracking solution for the ski industry, flaik has already landed contracts with the Steamboat and Copper Mountain ski schools. The company is well on its way to filling a market need using the constellation of GPS satellites originally deployed by the Department of Defense.”

With primary funding from the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC) and Colorado School of Mines, the 8^th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator is being managed by the Boulder Innovation Center (BIC). “flaik was founded by aerospace engineers in Australia,” said BIC Director Tim Bour. “They’ve come here to establish customer, partner and employee relationships within Colorado’s technology, workforce, venture capital and ski industry communities – a perfect fit for the services BIC brings to the table.”

The BIC will facilitate connections with mentors, coaches and service providers to address the company’s immediate needs including legal, accounting, recruiting and messaging to prepare CEO Steve Kenny and his team to raise growth capital. “We’re looking forward to becoming part of Colorado’s incredible entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Kenny. “We’re very fortunate to find such synergies and resources, right here in the middle of Ski Country.”

“The BIC is hiring a program manager to quarterback flaik’s entry into the North American location-based services industry, help the company’s Australian investors syndicate within the Colorado angel capital market, and begin building the BIC’s space commercialization capabilities,” said Bour.

The 8^th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator is supported by a $150,000 EDC grant matched by the Colorado School of Mines, the law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew, and Metzger Associates Public Relations for a total of $372,000 in cash and in-kind services over three years. Incubator management and advisory services will be sourced through the Boulder Innovation Center and include access to BIC’s and 8^th Continent Funding Network partners Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association, the Keiretsu Forum, Rockies Venture Club, TechStars and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade.