In calling for a new round of startups to enter the Launch36 accelerator program, PropelICT Executive Director Trevor MacAusland released a few interesting statistics .

The 10 startups – nine of them from New Brunswick – that graduated from the first Launch36 cohort in June have already attracted more than $1 million in funding and employ 43 people, he said in a press release yesterday. One-third of them are producing revenue.

The figure on funding sounds low to me, and a few of these companies already have commitments for funding that would push the figure higher.

The employment numbers are a healthy indication of the economic benefits of this program. Startups in New Brunswick in and out of the Launch36 program have been on a hiring spree this summer, and the prospects for more hires in future years are excellent.

Consider this: this program has taken no government funding, and yet it has already created 43 jobs at a time when two-thirds of its companies have yet to produce revenues. Think of the employment possibilities once the companies are generating revenue, or better still when they’re profitable.

Propel ICT is a private, non-profit organization that supports the next generation of high growth technology firms across Eastern Canada. It initiated the Launch36 accelerator last year with the goal of producing 36 investment- and market- ready tech-focused companies in three years, and it has already had 10 companies go through the program.

There are no age restrictions for entering Launch36, though applicants should live somewhere that allows them to attend weekly meetings in Moncton.

Interested parties can apply online by Oct. 16 here: