It’s All About the People

Origins

StartupAZ was formed in 2015 by Mario Martinez II and Brandon Clarke as a component fund of the Arizona Community Foundation. Seeded with $100,000 the organization set out to identify and support the next generation of Arizona tech entrepreneurs, helping them grow and give back. StartupAZ’s Founder’s Collective and the Generosity Pledge became the bedrock of the organization’s work building a community of early stage company-builders through its performance and generosity flywheel framework.

StartupAZ is proud of have supported over 120 early-stage founders since 2015 – some of whom have gone on to be among the most successful, and generous, tech founders in the region.

10

Founders Collective cohorts since 2016

$400M+

Venture Capital Raised

2,500+

Jobs created by FC founders

Learning from those who’ve paved the way.

StartupAZ engages with the most impactful business leaders in Arizona to support the early stage founders through mentoring. These investors, founders and community partners share the wisdom

they’ve gained and lessons learned to propel the growth of Arizona’s newest companies. The combination of generosity and learning from those who have paved the way provides the foundation of StartupAZ.