BROOKLYN, N.Y., NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Veterans Future Lab (VFL) has selected 17 startup businesses for its first Apex cohort, a selective, year-long incubator program that provides the full host of NYU Tandon Future Labs resources to early-stage startups founded by military veterans, Department of Defense affiliates, and their spouses. The goal of Apex is to help grow each startup to enter one of the Future Labs programs that support more advanced companies.

Housed in the VFL offices at Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Apex provides entrepreneurs with access to NYU Tandon's dedicated incubation program, globally recognized faculty and student staff, prototyping facilities, free desk space, and up to $500,000 in in-kind benefits. Apex also offers a community of military veterans and their spouses who are invested in each other's successes, along with an ecosystem of more than 45 companies across the Future Labs portfolio.

"The VFL is a place where veteran entrepreneurs can thrive and not feel alone," said James Hendon, VFL director. "As a veteran entrepreneur myself, I know how it feels to have everything needed to succeed in business except for the feedback, the network, and the resources that a program like Apex provides. We get into the weeds with our founders to help them help themselves reach the next level — the Apex. In doing so, we maximize the upturns and reduce the downturns on their journey."

"Barclays is proud to support the Veterans Future Lab and the launch of Apex," said Joe McGrath, global head of banking at Barclays. "Barclays is committed to driving job creation through our support for entrepreneurs, and we look forward to leveraging the skills and expertise of our colleagues as mentors for the veteran entrepreneurs in the inaugural Apex cohort."