​The future of an ambitious Raleigh startup named CellBreaker was in question two weeks ago when founder Jon Colgan entered a long-awaited interview with executives at the prestigious Silicon Valley accelerator 500 Startups.

Colgan no longer had the funds to pursue the business full-time. A spot in the three-month accelerator, along with the $75,000 investment that came with it, would be critical to launching the software that promises to get people out of cell phone contracts initially, and other contracts eventually.

But desperation might have been the fuel Colgan needed to move his business forward. A call late last week confirmed his spot in the spring/summer cohort of the program beginning April 20—he’s one of just 3 percent of applicants to get the chance to learn from a slew of Silicon Valley mentors including 500 Startups executives Dave McClureand Christine Tsai. The last local company to participate in the program was 2014 The Startup Factory graduate CareLuLu—after 500 Startups, it went on to raise $1.7 million.

Colgan felt confident after the interview. Topics ranged from the reasoning behind his decisions about CellBreaker to the Velcro tennis shoes he planned to buy his first child, due in July.

“We talked about the business, but we also connected on a personal level,” he says.

Read the full report at ExitEvent: http://exitevent.com/article/cellbreaker-saved-by-500-startups-150331

Note: ExitEvent is a news partner of WRAL TechWire.