WATERLOO REGION, ON, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Communitech’s HYPERDRIVE startup incubator has opened applications for its third cohort amid
news that Incentivibe, a first-cohort HYPERDRIVE company, has been acquired by Rebellion Media of Waterloo, Ont.

Since its creation a year ago, HYPERDRIVE has admitted 18 companies to
the first two cohorts of its $30-million-plus program based at the
Communitech Hub in Kitchener, Ont. These companies have created more
than 70 jobs, raised more than $2.5 million in investment and generated
more than $500,000 in revenue.

“Our focus is to help early-stage companies grow into sustainable
businesses,” said Doug Cooper, HYPERDRIVE Managing Director. “Our
mission is to take companies from seed stage to Series-A investment
ready in 24 months.”

HYPERDRIVE starts with a rigorous three-month sprint in which companies
focus on validating their markets and acquiring customers. They then
spend nine months refining their businesses and building sales
channels, followed by 12 months of scaling up operations. Throughout
the entire program, companies have access to HYPERDRIVE’s network of
more than 140 mentors, including on-site executives-in-residence.

Today also marks an important milestone as HYPERDRIVE celebrates the
first acquisition of one of its own, Incentivibe, by Rebellion Media,
which runs a family of websites, mobile apps and digital tools. The
acquisition comes just six months after Incentivibe’s pilot launch.

“HYPERDRIVE is the best thing that happened to our company,” said Adeel
Vanthaliwala, co-founder and CEO of Incentivibe. “We got investment,
mentors, incredible traction and eventually an acquisition all because
of HYPERDRIVE.”

Incentivibe, a participant in HYPERDRIVE’s first cohort of seven
companies, pools small and medium-sized companies so they can hold
shared contests with expensive giveaway prizes while paying just a
fraction of the prize cost. It has already enlisted hundreds of online
businesses to its platform and helped to incentivize more than two
million customers.

“We had strong interest from several potential investors but Rebellion’s
backing made perfect sense for our long-term success,” Vanthaliwala
said.

Cooper added, “We are proud of Incentivibe co-founders Adeel
Vanthaliwala and Abdul-Basit Munda. We wish them the best as they
embark on a new journey under the Rebellion Media umbrella.”

Early-stage companies interested in applying for HYPERDRIVE Cohort 3
should visit http://hyperdrive.communitech.ca/.

About Communitech

Communitech is the regional hub for the commercialization of innovative
technologies supporting and building a Southwestern Ontario tech
cluster of close to 1,000 companies that now generates more than $30B
in revenue. A member of the Ontario Network of Excellence, which is funded by the Ontario government, Communitech supports tech
companies at all stages of their growth and development – from startup
companies, to rapidly growing SMEs, to large global players – to create
greater numbers of successful global businesses for Ontario and for
Canada.

About Communitech HYPERDRIVE

Communitech HYPERDRIVE is a startup incubator that provides enhanced mentorship and other life
cycle services to early-stage tech companies. The goal of the program
is to maximize the ability of these companies to commercialize
innovations and prepare them for investment opportunities. The program
also enables ‘soft landings’ for experience in foreign markets, and
higher visibility for investment sources and business connections.

SOURCE Communitech Ltd.