Another tech company is moving from California to North Texas.
HBCU HUB, a startup focused on connecting students to recruiters at historically Black colleges and universities, is moving its headquarters to McKinney with the aid of grant funding from the McKinney Economic Development Corporation’s Innovation Fund.
“This move comes at a great time for our organization as we are now closer to our end users,” said Jonathan Swindell, HBCU HUB co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
Moving closer to the customer
Formed in 2016 and led by Swindell, a former IBM application development specialist, HBCU HUB has developed an app that automates the digital and physical communications between potential future students and academic recruiters at HBCU’s, in addition to providing research insights. According to Swindell part of the draw to the region is California’s lack of HBCUs, with the closest here being Paul Quinn College in Dallas.
According to the company, it has provided more than $10,000 in scholarships and closed more than $100,000 in data management sales. It added that its app has been used in more than 80 countries.
“At the core, HBCU HUB is a collective of current and former HBCU students. Our passion is born from the culture and knowledge you gain by attending an HBCU,” Swindell said. “We’ll continue to serve our community with innovative solutions while passing the torch to each coming generation.”
The company plans to set up shop at the Regus coworking space at McKinney’s Craig Ranch development. According to the Dallas Business Journal, HBCU HUB currently has two employees in McKinney, with the rest of its team working remotely in other HBCU markets.
Funding Innovation
The McKinney EDC launched its Innovation Fund at the beginning of 2020, with the aim of attracting technology startups and other innovation-focused businesses to the city with funding for growth, expansion, and recruitment based on a company’s stage of development. With the goal of creating a high-density ecosystem via requirements like having a minimum number of employees and keeping the business based in McKinney, the fund has attracted more than 20 companies to the city, representing at least 565 planned new jobs and a real estate demand of more than 70,000 square feet.
“This relocation allows us to visit client schools as we train staff on the new version of our application that is soon to be released,” Swindell said. “We look forward to having a positive impact within McKinney as we will be sourcing local talent as we continue to build technology that closes the opportunity gap.”
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