In recognition of Josh Greenberg Day, startupGNV and Gainesville Dev Academy are offering two prestigious award programs for aspiring Gainesville entrepreneurs and software engineers.

Josh Greenberg was well known as a prominent startup community leader and co-founder and CTO of Grooveshark, one of world’s first music-on-demand streaming services. At its peak, Grooveshark served 40 million listeners monthly and employed 145 local professionals. Josh Greenberg Day was created by a proclamation from Gainesville Mayor Ed Braddy after Greenberg died in July 2015. Greenberg worked tirelessly to build and nurture Gainesville’s startup community. He served on Gainesville’s Tech Council and acted as a mentor to countless startup founders.

“Josh himself was very involved in the community. He was responsible for a a lot initiatives that helped other startups and inspired others to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit,” says Will Richardson, former Grooveshark employee and now co-founder of venture backed Gainesville company, Admiral.

Understanding the importance of community and growth, Greenberg was insistent on improving Gainesville’s cultural infrastructure and building local companies.

“He hunkered down in a small college down, raised a bunch of money here and was super committed to what he felt like the future of Gainesville represented. So I think it’s important to know that because his legacy is our company and the companies that we inspire to stay in Gainesville,” says Chad Paris, founder of local creative agency Parisleaf.

To honor Josh Greenberg’s legacy, startupGNV and Gainesville Dev Academy will be awarding candidates scholarship awards through the Onward and Upward Grant and the GDA Scholarship to be awarded at the annual celebrateGNV event.

Onward and Upward Grant:The inaugural Onward & Upward Grant epitomizes Josh’s spirit of entrepreneurship, community, and giving. This crowdfunded $5,000 grant for first-time startup founders will be awarded to one early-stage Gainesville company. Donate to support this new program – any contributions above $5,000 help ensure Josh’s legacy lives on through future years of this grant.

GDA Scholarship: A founder of Gainesville Dev Academy, Josh Greenberg advocated for people of all skill levels to learn to become better programmers. In honor of Josh and his legacy, Duncan Kabinu and the Dev Academy will recognize two participants each year full admission through its two course boot camp program, a value of over $7,000 for each participant.

To contribute to the Onward & Upward Grant and learn more about Josh Greenberg Day, please visit https://joshgreenbergday.com/

About startupGNV: startupGNV (formerly known as GAIN) exists to help form, fund, and grow startups in Gainesville, defined as young ventures with both the potential and intention of achieving significant scale.