Telerik, an end-to-end provider of software development, lifecycle and content management tools and solutions, today announced the Telerik Virtual Accelerator for Windows 8, a three month accelerator for early stage startups focused on building Windows 8 apps. The initial entry program will launch on January 31 running through March 15, 2013 and will enable startups to submit their Windows 8 app prototypes to a panel of judges for consideration.

The winning entry will receive a $30,000 investment from Telerik, a one week boot camp in Hong Kong to participate in the AcceleratorHK program as well as three months of virtual mentorship by Paul Orlando, entrepreneur, AcceleratorHK director and TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 Hackathon winner. There will also be a Community Choice winner, voted on by the developer community at large.

Qualified entrants must submit their applications by no later than March 15, 2013. Five finalists will be announced on April 1, 2013 and of those finalists a winner will be selected and announced on April 15, 2013.

The contest is open to any early stage startup who believes Windows 8 is the future and has an idea for an app to support that vision. The team needs at least one technical founder and one non-technical co-founder. There are no geographic restrictions, but strong technical, design and business skills by those who have made some progress via concept, prototype or existing service is required.

“We speak with developers every day who are creating some really innovative and exciting apps,” said Stephen Forte, chief strategy officer at Telerik and AcceleratorHK founder. “We wanted an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with some of these leading edge individuals and what better way than by establishing an accelerator program to help them get to where they want to be, faster and more effectively.”

The program is organized by Telerik, creator of RadControls for Windows 8, the number one native toolset for building Windows 8 apps. With Telerik thousands of developers create fascinating, touch-enabled Windows 8 apps that users around the world have adopted. Built from the ground up, Telerik RadControls for Windows 8 offers the same intuitive UI and UX, whether developing in XAML or HTML.

The AcceleratorHK is an accelerator program based in Hong Kong, focused on mobile startups and hybrid development. Lead by serial entrepreneurs Stephen Forte and Paul Orlando, AcceleratorHK has a full program in the Lean Startup and Customer Development techniques, mentorship and technical help to make mobile apps development easier.

For more information on the Telerik Virtual Accelerator for Windows 8, go to www.telerik.com/AcceleratorWin8.

About Telerik
Telerik is a market-leading provider of end-to-end solutions for application development, software testing, agile project management, reporting, and content management across all major Microsoft development platforms. Telerik’s award-winning software development products enable enterprises and organizations of every size to generate tangible productivity gains, reduce time-to-market, and stay on time and under budget. With tens of thousands of users in more than 90 countries around the world, Telerik’s customers include numerous Fortune 2000 companies, academic institutions, governments, and non-profit organizations. For additional information about Telerik, please visit www.telerik.com or follow @telerik on Twitter.