Grand Central Tech Selects Eastwick as Strategic Growth Partner

NEW YORK, NY and SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 15, 2015) - Eastwick, an award-winning tech-focused communications agency, today announced a new partnership with Grand Central Tech (GCT), New York City's flagship accelerator. Eastwick joins Google, IBM, L'Oreal, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs, Intuit and JPMorgan Chase & Co as Grand Central Tech partners on a mission to increase inclusion and diversity for tech startups. Eastwick was chosen to support Grand Central Tech's communication efforts as it launches its second year of impressive growth and leadership.

"When looking for the right agency to help us expand awareness of Grand Central Tech's mission and key initiatives, Eastwick stood out by bringing to the table a powerful combination of innovation and experience," said Charles Bonello, co-founder and managing director of Grand Central Tech. "The team at Eastwick impressed us with their creativity and deep relationships among tech influencers in New York and beyond. We're excited to partner with them as we embark on another incredible journey with our newest class of companies."

Co-founded by Bonello and Matt Harrigan, Grand Central Tech is housed in Facebook's former New York headquarters. Their program brings together up to 20 startups at a time to work in the space with access to mentors, advisors and industry leaders to accelerate their growth. Grand Central Tech takes no equity and charges zero rent for the year-long program. The company works with various strategic advisors, corporate and growth partners, and educational institutions to support the startup class with resources, networking and advisory support. 

"Grand Central Tech has a very compelling story to tell as it continues to break the mold in its approach to driving growth, talent and development opportunities for some of tech's most promising companies," said Heather Kernahan, Eastwick's general manager and executive vice president. "Charlie and Matt have brought together an incredibly impressive group of industry leaders and advisors to join in the effort. The result is an organization with a passion for diversity, inclusion and innovation at its core. We are proud to be a partner in writing this next chapter and contributing to the success of GCT's newest class."

Grand Central Tech saw 18 startups graduate last year, which have collectively seen a 30 percent job growth rate and $33 million in funding. This year, the company accepted 19 startups out of nearly 1,000 applicants, with two-thirds of the startups founded by women, minorities or veterans.

Announced yesterday, the new class of startups covers a variety of industries, including:

• Ecommerce (Bam-X, Havenly, Ziel, Project September)
• Enterprise (Backtrace I/O, Concord, Innovatively, Coin.co, Iobeam, LiquidText, Toymail)
• Healthcare (Maven Clinic)
• Lifestyle (Sage, Common)
• Gaming (Boom Shakalaka)
• Education (Code To Work, Wheelhouse)
• 3D printing (Senvol, Source3)

Eastwick's role with Grand Central Tech builds upon its almost 25 years of technology industry expertise and high growth momentum since the agency opened its first east coast office in 2014. Since then, Eastwick has continued to grow its presence in New York, bringing together tech ecosystem influencers through strategic initiatives such as its TechSync networking mixers and CMO in residence program.

Interested in joining Eastwick? We're hiring! Visit our careers page to learn more.

Additional Resources
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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/eastwick

About Grand Central Tech
Grand Central Tech (GCT) is New York City's flagship technology accelerator, designed to support startups and entrepreneurial ambition by leveraging the city's competitive advantages through relationships with corporate and education partners to build a diverse and inclusive culture of innovation. Housed in Facebook's former New York headquarters above Grand Central Station, GCT shortens the path to success and sustainability for the city's premier startups and generates lasting benefits for the broad economy. To learn more, visit http://grandcentraltech.com and follow us on Twitter at: @GCTech.

About Eastwick
Hi, we're Eastwick: a technology-focused communications agency, here to help. With deep Silicon Valley roots, we are geeky and breathe tech every day. We're eager to tell the world your stories -- from enterprise, security, and data and analytics, to adtech, cleantech, healthtech, edtech, and consumer. We bring together public relations, content, social media, advocacy, creative services, and research and insights to help some of the world's biggest brands -- and emerging leaders -- create high-impact communications strategies. We are tech communications. We get you. We get you noticed. We get you results. Learn more atwww.eastwick.com and www.linkedin.com/company/eastwick, plus follow us on Twitter and Instagram @eastwickcom and facebook.com/eastwickcom.