Multiple Triangle tech startups presented during the afternoon sessions of Day One of CED’s two-day Venture Connect summit on Wednesday, with attendees—including some 200 investors—hearing pitches from the deeptech category as well as the fintech, govtech and security category. [Editor’s Note: You can see our story on Day One’s morning sessions here.]
In security, Jim Boyte presented his startup Active Defender, which works to mitigate risks in schools by providing real-time communication with teachers and other staff members in the case of an emergency. (We first profiled Active Defender in November.)
Boyte shared that his son, who attends UNC-Pembroke, was 500 meters away from a shooting earlier this month and did not receive adequate instruction on where to safely shelter.
Active Defender’s technology aims to quickly communicate with first responders, such as alerting school staff members to open doors for medical personnel. Boyte also said that the technology can reduce school suspension rates by up to 15% because, for example, an adult can be alerted that a fight is breaking out between students and arrive quickly enough to de-escalate the situation.
Active Defender has brought its product beyond North Carolina, with customers in Texas, Florida and California.
“We are just touching the tip of the iceberg,” Boyte said.
In fintech, Andrea Inokon pitched Cadence Cash, which she described as a “business’s running coach.” The Raleigh-based startup offers loans with a focus on women and minority-owned businesses, which are denied loans at a higher rate than other groups.
“We believe that investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs is the right thing to do,” Inokon said—as well as good business. (We’ve previously written about Cadence Cash here, and Inokon was the guest on the Feb. 23 Friday Nooner.)
In fintech, govtech and security, Good Agriculture won the category with the most votes from the audience. Based in Atlanta, Good Agriculture serves as a “back office” for farmers, taking care of some of the financial responsibility for farmers who often struggle to profit in an industry that is moving towards sustainability.
In deeptech, Raleigh-based Alithia Power kicked off the round of pitches with a presentation from CEO Cris Ugolini. Alithia Power works to conserve electricity and reduce carbon emissions with a new kind of semiconductor made from gallium nitride. (We profiled the startup on Feb. 29.)
Ugolini said relying on clean energy, such as solar and wind power, is only half the battle, and that energy must be used more efficiently as well.
“We have to go green in all aspects,” he said.
Continuing with cleaner energy alternatives, Diana Little from Anumá Aerospace presented her lighter-than-air airship technology startup. Anumá Aerospace aims to decarbonize long-haul, heavy-lift fleets with point-to-point freight delivery. While the main current alternative relies on helium to lift airships, helium is non-renewable, expensive and difficult to use.
Instead, Little’s company has developed partial-vacuum lifts, which use vacuum technology to lift airships, emitting zero carbon emissions.
This technology aims to address the fragility and disruptions of the supply chain, Little said. (We first profiled Anumá last October.)
Winning the audience vote in the deeptech category was Flux Hybrids, another greener replacement for fleet vehicles. Flux Hybrids converts gas vehicles to plug-in hybrids, which use electricity when available and fall back on gas when necessary.
“There’s no one else doing plug-in hybrids,” said CEO Micah Ulrich during his Venture Connect pitch. (We first profiled Flux Hybrids in April, 2021.)
Parasol Distribution, a Raleigh-based non-alcoholic beverage distributor, was included in the deeptech category as well. Founder Kevin Barry, who quit drinking in 2017, also founded the Umbrella Dry Bar in Raleigh, which serves non-alcoholic beverages. Before that he was the Co-Founder and COO of Raleigh-based startup Filter Easy (now called Second Nature), which had a successful nine-figure exit.
Parasol Distribution uses AI technology to bridge the gap in the supply chain between businesses and consumers. Barry said consumers want to know what different products taste like and have consistency with their purchases.
“We’re committing to bring high-quality experiences to this industry,” Barry said.
The Venture Connect summit will conclude on Thursday for its final day of pitches and other programming, capped by a Celebration on the roof of the Citrix Building that starts at 4:30 p.m. One can purchase tickets separately for the Celebration, including at the door.
