Just over eight months after its inaugural cohort wrapped up with a Demo Day at the Carolina Theater, the FCAT Fellowship was back in action on Wednesday to celebrate its second batch of startups.
A joint venture between the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (that would be FCAT) and American Underground (AU), this pre-accelerator program gave founders a chance to enjoy hands-on workshops and a global network of mentors. Founders also receive a year of coworking membership at AU and gained valuable networking opportunities—including (as was noted by some of Wednesday’s speakers) with alumni from the inaugural cohort in 2024.
Wednesday’s Demo Day event took place at Motorco Music Hall in Durham. American Underground Executive Director Laura Zabinski welcomed attendees from around the Triangle startup ecosystem before handing the mic over to Durham’s mayor, Leonard Williams.
Aptly stating of Durham’s general ethos, “we keep it dope,” Williams spoke about innovation “sewing the fabric of our ecosystem” and expressed his desire to make the scene on hand at Motorco more expansive in the coming years.
Laura then returned to the stage to shout out program partners (FCAT, Dogpatch Labs, Hutchison, The Katalyst HQ, Knox St. Studios, and Curious Ant); introduce the expert panel that would conduct Q&A with the founders (Keith Daniel of Resilient Ventures, Aaron Smith of FCAT, and Jenn Summe of Primordial Ventures, our own sister company). She then brought up the five startups comprising the 2025 FCAT Fellowship cohort, and working on everything from business visibility in the age of AI to preempting dementia.
Here’s a look at the presenting startups.
- Quellios is meeting a “massive, unmet need” to address digestive disorders and the inflammation that is at the core of so much chronic disease. Co-founder Mark Felice presented a first-of-its-kind digital companion that matches a user’s food intake to inflammatory response for preventive purposes.
- Majentics (formerly My AI Transformation) aims to help businesses navigate a new online environment in which traditional search is dying. Touting a robust history working with innovative technology and marketing solutions, CEO Dirk Nicol walked the audience through a variety of solutions the startup is proposing to help businesses gain visibility in an AI-driven search environment.
- Kahmino (which GrepBeat has written about previously) presented a “lifestyle-led” real estate search option. Founder Taylor Casey recounted her own experience buying her first home, explaining that she cared about certain “non-negotiables” unique to her when choosing a neighborhood. That concept has evolved into a startup equipping agents with tools to perform “branded lifestyle assessments” and match prospective home buyers with ideal options—because, as Casey put it, “everyone deserves to love where they live.”
- Ordr presented a “headless AI” that lives within Slack (and which can potentially exist within similar systems like Microsoft Teams as well). Chris Flora, the startup’s founder, spoke at length and in response to the judges’ Q&A about the rapid pace of change in AI—but confidently characterized “headless” tools like he’s building with Ordr as part of the next wave.
- Mindr (which GrepBeat recently wrote an update on) showcased a human-in-the-loop coaching companion designed to help users identify and mitigate dementia risk factors. Per Co-Founder Adam Schultz, the startup’s technology makes assessments of users and then guides them through activities until they reach the “green zone” for a given risk (meaning they’re out of the woods). “With Mindr,” Schultz said, “you are stronger than your family history.”
Following these five excellent pitches, judges withdrew to deliberate over who would win a $25,000 grand prize (as well as legal support from Hutchison LLC).
Richard Murphy, Head of FCAT Europe, offered some closing remarks and made a point of shouting out the 2024 FCAT cohort founders—many of whom were in the room—for their willingness to support the 2025 cohort and be part of the emerging FCAT fellowship family. Then, it was time for the prizes.
Harry Stanwyck of Hutchison first took the stage to announce three startups that will be receiving legal services as a prize package. Those startups were Quellios, Majentics, and Kahmino.
And then, at last, Laura Zabinski took the stage once more, this time toting a giant check (an act she was justifiably excited about). A short drumroll later and Kahmino’s Taylor Casey was presented with the $25,000 grand prize.
A cheerful reception followed, and that was that for FCAT Fellowship Demo Day 2025. See photos from the event below.
