Credential Network Selected for WTIA's 14th Founder Cohort

Credential Network is proud to be building in the Pacific Northwest, and this past week reminded me exactly why. We were named to the 14th WTIA Founder Cohort, one of 21 Washington startups selected this year (covered by GeekWire on June 2).

Last week I sat in on the cohort's first session, and I came away nothing short of impressed. The founders in the room are building serious companies with real momentum, and the people leading the program are genuinely invested in seeing every one of us succeed. It was a reminder that we are not doing this alone, and that the community around us in this region is a big part of the story.

What the Founder Cohort Is

The Founder Cohort is a four-month accelerator for early-stage Washington technology companies, built around mentorship, peer learning, and introductions to investors and industry leaders. WTIA reports the program has supported more than 350 companies since it began, with alumni collectively raising more than $500 million.

This year's group spans AI, cybersecurity, healthcare, and enterprise software. Those are the same areas we work across every day. Credential Network is a Spokane healthcare technology company building a data management platform for provider credentialing and payer enrollment, with AI automation at its core and SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance underneath it.

An Active Stretch for Us

The cohort comes during an active stretch for us. We recently accepted a $750,000 Phase 2 grant from the Health Sciences and Services Authority of Spokane County (HSSA), which brings our total funding to $2.75 million across private investment and HSSA matching grants. That funding supports the work in front of us: getting providers onboarded, tightening the platform, and proving the model with real customers.

Building in the Pacific Northwest

None of this happens without the people and organizations behind us. The support from the Washington technology community has been remarkable and a real part of how we got here, including WTIA, Ignite Northwest, Launchpad INW, the Spokane Angel Alliance, Greater Spokane Inc., and HSSA.

The Founder Cohort builds on that with four months of mentorship and a peer group of Washington founders working through the same stage. For a team building in Spokane, that is a valuable thing to plug into.