As a new year (and decade!) dawns, it’s time for a stroll down memory lane past the most-read stories on GrepBeat in 2019. And if you missed any of these the first time, here’s your chance to catch up. These stories are also the raw material for this week’s Crossword Puzzle. Enjoy!
1. The Manager Who Discovered Elton John Now Runs Raleigh-Based Startup (May 30)—Timed with the release of the Elton John biopic Rocketman, this star-studded story zoomed to the top of the GrepBeat charts.
2. Cary-based CEO Swam With Sharks and Lived to Tell Tale of Deal (Oct. 30, 2018)—That’s not a typo; this story really was published in 2018. But frequent Shark Tank re-runs are the SEO gift that keeps on giving for the story of CEO Shane Cox and Cary-based PEEQ Technologies getting a deal for its QBall, a microphone embedded in a rubber ball.
3. GoKart Provides The Kids’ Ride-Sharing App That Parents Need (Oct. 31)—Don’t ever underestimate the social media-sharing power of “mom groups,” which is one reason why (we think) this story performed so well. The startup’s performing pretty darn well, too.
4. Durham Startup Aims To Change Lives, One Student-Athlete At A Time (Nov. 21)—What is it about Dookie startup founders wanting to help college athletes, whether current or former? This story is about Kyle Mumma’s NextPlay, while last year’s most-read list included two stories about Teamworks and CEO Zach Maurides, a fellow Blue Devil.
5. Meet… Jed Carlson, CEO, Adwerx (June 27)—Try as I might, I still struggle to keep Adwerx and Adzerk straight—they’re even both Durham-based adtech startups, for crying out loud!—and as a result I also occasionally transpose Adzerk CEO James Avery with Adwerx’ Jed Carlson. And I sometimes want to call Jed Carlson “Jud,” confusing him with Sift Media’s Jud Bowman. But it’s Jed Carlson who’s laughing all the way to the GrepBeat Most-Read List.
6. Space-n-Thyme Connects Food Entrepreneurs to Commercial Kitchens (June 13)—I have an acknowledged weakness for puns, but this startup has my favorite name of any mentioned in GrepBeat this year. I say that gingerly, lest I be peppered with other sage entries.
7. Postcard From Wilmington: Startup Updates From The Beach (June 18)—The first edition of the “Postcard From…” series remains the most-read. Which reminds me, I need to corral another one of these soon. Asheville, anyone?
8. Cofounders’ $31M Fund II Better Enables Them To Double-Down On Bets (March 19)—This is the only story with a number in the headline, and it has ii of them. And that doesn’t even count “double.”
9. Duke Law Tech Lab Supports Startups ‘Democratizing The Law’ (July 11)—This story was the second of five this year that mentioned Durham legal tech startup Courtroom5, which racked up awards including winning the Demo Day for both this program and the Black Founders Exchange, and also participated in the LexisNexis Legal Tech Accelerator.
10. Meet… Noreen Allen, CMO, Bandwidth (Nov. 26)—While Courtroom5 had a big 2019, Bandwidth notched perhaps the greatest honor of all—landing two stories on the prized GrepBeat Most-Read List. (Look down below at No. 18). Note to self: we should interview a Bandwidth exec every week.
The Next 10
11. Move Over, Bake Sales: MemberHub Makes PTAs More Efficient (Nov. 19)
12. Jurassic Capital Provides New Exit Option For Growth-Stage SaaS Startups (Oct. 24)
13. Meet… Mary-Sara Camerino, COO, GrowPath (Aug. 29)
14. WAAM Connects Busy Bodies With Their Favorite Workout Trainers (June 6)
15. Zogo Finance Teaches Teens To Mind Their Money (March 14)
16. Chapel Hill’s Quantworks Brings Big Data Analytics To Small Startups (June 4)
17. Durham’s First Finds New Home After Acquisition By Real Estate Giant RE/MAX (Dec. 18)
18. The Download: Chris Matton, General Counsel, Bandwidth Inc. (July 30)
19. Kustomer Spurs Growth With New Durham Office—Which It Hopes To Double (Oct. 15)
20. RepVue Empowers Sales Professionals To Find The Right Job For Them (Oct. 31)
Random Stats
– Months with the most stories on list: T1) June and October, 5 (October includes a story from 2018); 3) November, 3; T4) March and July, 2; T6) May, August, November.
– Months without a story on list: January, February, April, September
– Publication date with two stories on list: Oct. 31 (GoKart, RepVue)
– HQ of startups/companies featured: 1) Durham, 8; 2) Raleigh, 6; 3) Cary, 3; 4) Chapel Hill, 2; 5) Wilmington, 1
