Accelerator Benefits

The Accelerator is dedicated to helping growth phase technology and tech-enabled businesses achieve massive scale over a intensive 1-3 year program. The iconic 5-story Accelerator, located in a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ), is a gateway to the City of Wilkes Barre, PA with breathtaking views of the Susquehanna River and within steps from top local restaurants, bars, and entertainment. Tenancy is by application only. Explore some of the services that will be made available exclusively to tenants of the building.

Growth Marketing

Gain access to discounted growth marketing services, including SEO, Paid Search, Audience Targeting on Social Media, Content marketing, mobile marketing, SMS Text Message Marketing, mobile / web development, and more.

Financial Services

Enhance your financial accounting processes with access to leading accountants, bookkeepers, KIZ consultants, and tax professionals. Receive professional assistance raising capital, including angel, venture, government, and traditional financing.

Legal Services

Work with partner attorneys to maximize all legal aspects of your business, including contract, corporate documentation, litigation, tax, debt collection, and intellectual property.

Human Resource Management

Get discounts on payroll services, put in place a world class intern program, and receive assistance with recruiting the best talent possible to help your business compete globally.

Advanced Accelerator Workshops

Monthly professional development training led by thought leaders and proven experts on building and scaling businesses, raising venture capital, growth hacking, creating raving fans, and more. Exclusive to Accelerator tenants.

Business Consulting

The Accelerator Program will help you exploit your company strengths and minimize weaknesses so you can dramatically scale your business. Each tenant can sign-up for monthly office hours with serial entrepreneurs Kris Jones and Chris Nash.

Other support services will include Public Relations, Mobile App / Website Development, IT Consulting, exclusive invitations to intimate LIVE entertainment experiences on the Special Guest DEMO Stage, tenant-only discounts at local businesses, and more!

Our Founder – Kris Jones

Kristopher Jones is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and best-selling author. In 1999 Kris founded digital marketing and affiliate network Pepperjam, which he sold to eBay Enterprise in 2009. In 2010 Kris founded investment fund KBJ Capital where is has gone on to invest in over 25 companies, including LSEO.com, APPEK Mobile Apps, French Girls App, ReferLocal, and iFart. In 2016 Kris partnered with actor / comedian Damon Wayans, Jr to cofound entertainment booking app Special Guest, which has raised over $2M from leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms (Lightspeed Venture Partners, Precuror Ventures) and Hollywood celebrities (Kevin Hart, Marlon Wayans, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, and Damon Wayans, Sr).

Located within the Accelerator in the heart of downtown Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania, and powered by Coal Creative, Studio 16 South offers a variety of content creation options for both tenants and non tenants of the Accelerator. So whether you want to “do it yourself” or want us to handle everything from the production to the release, Studio 16 South has the resources to take your content to the next level.

Studio 16 South - Fueled By Coal Creative

Apply Now!








    Accelerator Tenants: Innovators. Disruptors. Forward-Thinkers.

    "Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together." - James Cash Penney

    Special Guest App is a talent booking management platform founded by actor / comedian Damon Wayans, Jr and serial entrepreneur Kris Jones. Silicon Valley investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners (Jeremy Liew) and Precursor Ventures (Charles Hudson), strategic investors Jack Chou (Former Head of Product, Pinterest), Jimmy Lim (Lead Product Team, AirBnB), and Eric Sherman (CEO, Bang Zoom Entertainment), and celebrity investors, including (“Jumanji”, “Central Intelligence”), Marlon Wayans (“Marlon” on NBC; “Naked” on Netflix), Damon Wayans, Sr. (“Lethal Weapon” on Fox; “In Living Color”), Lamorne Morris (New Girl; Christmas Chronicals)and Jake Johnson (“New Girl;” Spiderman – Into the Spiderverse). Special Guest’s headquarters are located in the Accelerator and has offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Sand Diego, and Las Vegas. Learn more at https://specialguestapp.com

    LSEO is an award winning SEO and digital marketing agency. Founded by serial entrepreneur Kris Jones and led by a team of industry thought leaders and experiences specialists, LSEO has been recognized by multiple independent entities as one of the top 10 SEO agencies in the world. LSEO provides a range of digital marketing services to help funded start-ups to enterprise business acquire more customers and scale revenue. Learn more at https://lseo.com/

    APPEK Mobile Apps is a leading mobile and web development company cofounded by serial entrepreneur Kris Jones. APPEK provides funded start-ups to enterprise business with native and hybrid app development services for IOS and Android. APPEK Apps has built apps that have been downloaded tens of millions of times, including French Girls App, iFart, and GiveGab. APPEK has been recognized by Clutch as one of the top mobile app development companies in the United States. Learn more at https://appekapps.com/

    KBJ Capital is an early stage technology investment fund founded by serial entrepreneur Kris Jones. The fund has invested millions of dollars across 25 investments, including LSEO.com, Special Guest App, APPEK Mobile Apps, French Girls App, VigLink, Yumm, LavCup, and ReferLocal, among others. The fund tends to cut first in checks between $25,000 – $250,000. Funding priority is given to Accelerator tenants. Learn more at http://www.kbjcapital.com/

    Founded by iconic entrepreneur and NYT best-selling author Joel Comm, iFart is the world’s #1 fart and prank app. With features like Sneak Attack, Security Fart, Record A Fart and I’m Feeling Lucky, you can prank your family, friends and co workers with our fart sounds. Featured on The Daily Show with Jon StewartThe Today Show and most recently Jimmy Kimmel Live!, iFart® is considered the most infamous app of all time. Learn more at https://ifartmobile.com/ or download the app at https://ifartmobile.com/download/

    ReferLocal is a local e-commerce platform that connects consumers with incredible deals. Founded by serial entrepreneur Kris Jones in 2004 investors include Times Shamrock Communications and Bold Gold Media. Learn more at http://referlocal.com/local

    Imagine how incorporating mindfulness-based practices into your corporate culture would transform your business. We are here to show you how. It’s simple: happier employees mean a happier, more productive workplace. Meet your center through one of our many team-oriented mindfulness training options, on-line or in-person, customized to meet the needs of your employees and leaders. Mindfulness has been shown to boost employees’ productivity, reduce stress, increase mental clarity, improve interpersonal communication, and strengthen resilience, ultimately reducing productivity losses to burnout, depression, and anxiety.studio BE serves companies, non-profits, and individuals. We teach both in-person and online, offering down-to-earth, expertly-crafted training modules to executives, management, and their teams. Learn more at https://www.studiobemindfulness.com/

    Our Oceans are full of plastic.

    With over 100,000 lbs of garbage entering the Ocean every 3 minutes, I felt moved to try to do something about it. Last spring I dropped out of college, renovated an old bus, and now I’m traveling around the coast of America cleaning our beaches, educating children about single use plastics, and trying to raise $1,000,000 for 501(c)(3) NFP Organizations fighting for our Oceans.

    Learn more about “Save the Wave” at https://wavysnell.com/

    Cybiot

    Building the equipment-less future of enterprise cybersecurity

    We bring together everything that’s required to protect your business’s retail storefront, office, guest network, employees, and customers while removing the friction of cost, time, and talent.

    Learn more about Cybiot at https://cybiot.com/

    Testimonials

    Chris Nash

    President, LSEO.com

    The Accelerator represents an incredible opportunity to take your technology business to the next level. By associating with like-minded businesses and tapping into resources to maximize the success of your business you entrepreneurial journey is destined to be defined by excellence. As the President of one of the Accelerator tenants I can tell you with absolute certainty that this model was designed to help each of us 10X the size and impact of our businesses.

    Neil Patel

    Founder, Neil Patel Digital

    Kris Jones has been building and scaling businesses for over 20 years. With the Accelerator you have a rare opportunity to not only work with Kris, but access services that will help fuel the growth of your business. Having known Kris for over a decade I have three words of advice as it relates to working with Kris at the Accelerator - Take Action Now!

    Joe Boylan

    Executive Director, Wilkes-Barre Connect

    The Accelerator Wilkes-Barre is a game-changer for Northeastern Pennsylvania. It not only completes our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem but establishes Kris Jones as the face of the Innovative and Creative movement in our region. Businesses now have an opportunity to access one of the most successful entrepreneurial minds in the US – with an ability to leverage his institutional knowledge, network, and vision to elevate their companies to the next level. Wilkes-Barre Connect is proud to be a partner and supporter of Kris Jones and The Accelerator.

    Andrew Josuweit

    Founder & Former CEO, Student Loan Hero

    In high school, I watched Kris Jones build PepperJam into a successful venture in NEPA. Kris and his several start-up ventures gave me the confidence to pursue my own entrepenurial journey. I'm excited that Kris continues to invest in Pennsylvania entrepreneurs and economy.

    Our Partners

    Our Location

    The iconic 5-story Accelerator is a gateway to the City of Wilkes Barre, PA.

    VISIT US

    16 S River St, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702

    EMAIL US

    kris@krisjones.com

    CALL US

    (570) 793-2037