Seven early-stage startups comprising the latest cohort of the Andrews Launch Accelerator (ALA) wrapped up a 12-week summer program by pitching to the Triangle’s entrepreneurial community on Tuesday night. The “Demo Day” took place at Raleigh Founded‘s North Street location.
The ALA program is supported by the NC State Acceleration Fund, which is the product of a $1 million donation from Lyn and Chip Andrews. An NC State alumnus himself, Chip Andrews was formerly the Chairman and CEO for FMI Corporation, where he had a nearly 50-year career before retiring. (Read our first story about the Accelerator here.)
As a very large crowd finished settling into the North Street venue, NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic Director Haley Huie kicked off the event with a welcome, a thank-you to everyone involved, and a few words about the program. Frank Buckless, Dean of the Poole College of Management at NC State, expanded on opportunities the ALA provides to student and alumni founders.
From there, the mic was handed over to Lindsay Wrege, the Founder of 321 Coffee and an alumna of the ALA who served as the evening’s (appropriately energetic for a coffee company founder!) emcee. One by one, Wrege introduced the 2025 cohort startups, which demonstrated everything from children’s shoes that can grow in size, to biodegradable material that pulls nutrient pollution from water.
Here’s a look at the presenting startups.
- Scyntek (which was also part of this past spring’s CED GRO Incubator cohort) provides devices that make it easier to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in an early, proactive matter. Co-founders Vignesh Sriram and Bryce Menichella emphasized that their solution bypasses the need for a trained provider—giving patients a better shot to be proactive about care and saving hospitals money at the same time.
- Deni presented a solution for those awkward moments when one’s pants don’t fit as well one day as they did the day before (or when a button needs to be undone en route to a second helping at Thanksgiving). Founder Annie Hoyt has designed sustainable, adjustable (and pocketed) clothing for women—improving comfort and reducing would-be waste from items discarded due to poor fit. She even modeled said clothing on stage.
- Ceretune started off with the intriguing promise of “turning pollution into possibility.” Founder and CEO Reid Barnett spoke to the scope of the issue of water pollution before presenting a solution: Ceretune’s proprietary “Fibrous Aquatic Bioscaffolds,” which can draw out nutrient pollution and convert it into material that can be composted or otherwise safely disposed of.
- Kindly Steps (formerly Groovi) is setting out to address a common problem parents face: kids growing out of shoes too quickly. Young children’s feet can grow as many as three sizes in a year—which means potentially problematic discomfort for kids, lots of purchases for parents, and lots of waste from outgrown shoes. The Kindly Steps solution is a design for sustainable shoes that can expand and grow up to three sizes along with a child.
- SLA Robotics presented remote-controlled robots that can be used for anything from mine detection and surveillance to sample collection. Dubbed “LASR” bots, these machines were described as being the first of their kind from a versatility standpoint; they can operate effectively on land, in water, and on seabeds.
- Metanoia, named for the word meaning “a profound shift in perception and understanding,” was showcased as a social impact travel agent. With an initial focus on El Salvador and plans to expand to other countries, the startup is partnering with universities and churches to create “project-based courses with action-oriented outcomes.” They’re aiming to capitalize on current trends driving young travelers to seek culturally engaging experiences abroad.
- Afuse (which GrepBeat has written about previously) wrapped up the Demo Day with a presentation of a new social network specifically designed to help college-bound students find friends before stepping on campus. The app-based network relies on honest profiles (which include space to discuss personal interests) to break social barriers and address the loneliness and confusion that can often burden new college freshmen.
Once the pitches had finished, Chip Andrews took the stage to wrap up the program with words of wisdom. He expressed enthusiasm for the founders and gratitude to the crowd before discussing his views on the importance of sales. Whatever the founders’ ventures may be, and whatever talents they may have, he suggested, the ability to sell—as these seven startups did to the audience Tuesday night—would always be the “secret sauce.”
Below are some more photos from ALA Demo Day 2025
