Scott Brown is executive director at cable entrepreneurship accelerator UpRamp backed by research and development initiative CableLabs, where he holds a concurrent role of vice-president of ventures and outreach for the global cable and broadband industry.
Brown joined UpRamp upon its launch in February 2016. He said at the time: “For decades, CableLabs and our member cable operators have been at the forefront of the broadband revolution – connecting hundreds of millions of businesses and households to the internet, connecting the many internet devices in the home, connecting families and the world to each other.
“CableLabs has taken the next step to connect two of the most powerful networks in the world – the exciting and growing network of startup companies, and the largest, most powerful broadband network in the world, run by our 55 global cable operator members.”
UpRamp was devised to be a novel accelerator to connect startups and later-stage technology developers with cable operators to help foster the cable innovation ecosystem. Brown added: “Unlike traditional accelerators, UpRamp is closer to an executive MBA for startups; something we like to call a Fiterator.”
UpRamp told Multichannel News in August 2016 that its Fiterator program “guarantees actual commercial deals”, and a group of chief executives and chief technical officers from the industry would help select the four finalists.
Brown added: “In addition to our focus on deals, not demo days, every company that enters the Fiterator program is granted a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to every patent in our parent company CableLabs’ portfolio.”
In August 2016, UpRamp revealed the first cohort of companies – multichannel single radio wireless equipment developer Edgewater Wireless, video services personalisation platform operator MediaHound, big data and analytics processor developer VelociData and wireless mesh networking technologies developer Trinity Mobile Networks. UpRamp said applicants were quite varied – some had received seed rounds, while some were public companies that had raised $157m in total.
In August 2017, four more companies were added – peer-to-peer technology-driven video delivery services provider Teltoo, artificial intelligence-empowered troubleshooting technology provider DeviceBits, devices connection platform provider Bansen Labs and cybersecurity analysis collaboration platform operator King & Union.
In August last year, the most recent cohort was chosen – cybersecurity and identity protection software provider Averon, customer-focused mobile video and chat platform Blitzz and edge cloud computing platform operator Mutable.
Brown added: “The UpRamp Fiterator is a three-month, non-resident program for companies that already have a product in the market, have either raised capital or built a sustaining revenue stream, and are looking to engage real customers in this large and growing market. While most accelerators close their program with a ‘demo day’, the outcomes of a Fiterator accelerator are real deals and reference customers. This highly selective program is limited to four startups per cohort, with each startup gaining access to our network of over 250 senior level mentors from CableLabs and our member operators.”
Brown was hired by CableLabs in 2015 from Bounce.io, the provider of an online platform on email bounces that he founded in 2013.
