University of California, Riverside (UCR) has appointed Taj Ahmad Eldridge (pictured) as the new executive director of its Excite accelerator program.
Launched two years ago, Excite is a collaboration between public and private actors, including local business leaders, economic developers from the city and the county of Riverside as well as from the UCR Office of Technology Partnerships.
The program has, until now, resembled a co-working space but Eldridge’s appointment is expected to grow Excite into a full-fledged accelerator.
Eldridge first became involved with Excite when he joined UCR as an entrepreneur-in-residence for Excite, the incubator Epic and the $10m Highlander Venture Fund in July 2016.
His past experiences also include the positions of equity partner and interim chief executive of wine culture-focused media company ILTG Media, as well as equity partner and chief operating officer of fashion designer Waraire Boswell’s online fashion brand.
Eldridge said: “What makes Excite different is its support from the university as well as the city and county. It makes a big difference in the opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs.
“With a world-class, diverse research university with engineering, computer science and creative talent, Riverside has the opportunity to build a startup community to take advantage of what Time Magazine calls the number one destination for millennials.
“We have to show a collective front that there is talent and opportunity here. That is the excitement I have been pushing.”
