Showcase Presents 14 UNC Startups to Investors
Fourteen startup companies – eight scientific and six technology firms -- based on innovations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill each gave 8-minute presentations to more than 200 potential investors and managers at the annual Emerging Company Showcase on April 18.
"This is a celebration of innovation at UNC, as well as presentations to win potential investment," said Don Rose, Ph.D., director of Carolina KickStart, a host of the program. Co-hosts were Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network; the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (TraCS) Institute; Innovate@Carolina; the UNC Kenan-Flagler Center for Entrepreneurial Studies; the UNC Office of Technology Development; and RENCI, the Renaissance Computing Institute.
The lineup of scientific firms are poised to market discoveries including devices for communication in the hospital, compounds for treating neuropathic pain and a variety of tools for areas such as supporting basic and neuroscience research, diagnosing and treating cancer, managing side effects of dialysis for end-stage kidney disease patients, training cardiothoracic surgeons and supporting clinical decisions. Brief descriptions of each appeared recently in coverage of the event by MedCityNews.com.
The new technology firms offer solutions for community banking, water testing, sound engineering, online commerce and lesson planning for K-12 educators:
- Directed Deposits is an online marketplace of Community Investment Savings Accounts (CISAs) that helps individuals find, fund and manage FDIC-insured accounts. Currently, there are over 300 CISAs across the U.S., but few individual depositors know about these options. The CEO is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Gift Boogle is a social media analytics-driven gift-giving application. It uses social media and text analytics to harvest social media data to identify giving opportunities and to suggest appropriate gifts from affiliate online retailers. The CEO is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Impulsonic develops audio content creation tools for tablets and handheld devices. The company’s technology automates the process of developing sound effects used in movies, music and video games. The CEO is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- KM Water Solutions provides on-site water testing at the household level for microbial contaminants such as E. coli. The technology can be used in any temperate or tropical environment and does not require laboratory analysis. The contact is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Prepped is an educational web-based platform to improve lesson planning for K-12 educators. It allows teachers to organize resources and lesson plans, as well as to share them and receive support in an online community. The CEO is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- YardSprout is a national website to help individuals find lawn experts and resources growing food and sustaining land. The site reviews and screens profiles of experts in the gardening, landscaping and urban farming sectors. The CEO is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Carolina KickStart is a program of the NC TraCS Institute, home of UNC’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards from the National Institutes of Health. The program helps commercialize ideas and inventions to bring biomedical and technological discoveries to market for use by patients and other consumers. RENCI, a collaboration involving UNC, Duke, N.C. State and other universities, does cyberinfrastructure research and has programs to spur the development of technology infrastructure to move innovations into the marketplace. Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network is a unique program to accelerate the growth trajectory of promising startups in the Research Triangle Park region in North Carolina. The Network is an unprecedented collaboration between the region's major universities, its entrepreneurial community and the private sector.
This event supports the Innovate@Carolina Roadmap, UNC’s plan to help Carolina become a world leader in launching university-born ideas for the good of society. To learn more about the roadmap, visit innovate.unc.edu.
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