BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)-Alex and Jonathan de la Fuente of Hightag will join 15 other outdoor recreation startups graduating this week from Embark, a national accelerator program hosted by Founded Outdoors and REI Path Ahead Ventures that provides entrepreneurs of color the resources to launch their businesses.

Based in Arkansas, Hightag gives mountain bikers, skiers, and other athletes the power to automatically capture photos and videos of themselves in-action. The company-along with all the founders from this year's Embark program-will be hosted by REI for a graduation ceremony on April 19, 2024 in Beaverton, Oregon. The event will include a livestream "pitch fest" at 2:00 pm PDT (LINK).

"In this third season of Embark, the cohort of founding entrepreneurs has brought a new level of energy, excitement and ideas to the program. They've moved at a rapid pace to build out important operational capabilities and growth strategies and gain early traction with key partners and early customers," said Enhao Li of Founded Outdoors, which operates the Embark program.

The Hightag founders were first introduced to the Embark program at Plug and Play's Innovation in Outdoor Recreation Showcase, hosted in Bentonville in 2022. The event included a panel discussion that featured entrepreneurs and investors in the outdoor recreation industry. Among them were Alex de la Fuente, Chief Executive Officer of Hightag, and Dan Kihanya, Director of REI Path Ahead Ventures.

"Hightag represents the amazing quality of entrepreneurs emerging with the PAV founder community," says Dan. "They have an incredible vision, a unique solution, and a desire for every outdoor recreator to capture themselves in action."

Founded in 2020, Founded Outdoors and REI Path Ahead Ventures' Embark program connects Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x, Asian American, and Pacific Islander founders to industry and startup experts as they learn best practices and gather valuable feedback on their businesses.

Each participating company receives a $10,000 equity-free grant to kickstart their business. In addition to capital, founders are also connected to a community of peers and mentors to support their continued growth in the industry.

Embark is part of REI Path Ahead Ventures' multi-year $30 million commitment to partner with founders of color as they start and scale their businesses in the outdoor industry. This is the third annual cohort to complete the Embark program.

For more information on Hightag, please visit https://hightag.com or their Instagram page at @hightag.app. For more information on Embark, please visit https://foundedoutdoors.com/embark.