Articles by Michael Melton

About Michael Melton

Michael is a 2025 UNC-CH graduate who majored in Psychology and Environmental Studies. He loves trying new restaurants and cafes, going hiking, snowboarding, and going on long road trips to seemingly random states. You can also find his work in the Daily Tar Heel, where he is an editor on the Lifestyle desk.

Chapel Hill’s Swarm is Rethinking User Testing With AI-Generated Personas

April 21, 2026 Michael Melton

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill students Krish Vazirani and Aryan Aladar met about a year before the time of this writing. Both had experience building software, and together they […]

Charlotte Startup Aims to Cut Recycling Waste With the Topper Stopper™

April 8, 2026 Michael Melton

With its innovative flagship product, dubbed the Topper Stopper™, Charlotte startup Genesis 1 Technologies is changing the landscape of how we recycle—and, perhaps, how we think about waste altogether. By […]

Durham’s Serv Technologies Brings Personalization to the Drive-Thru

March 26, 2026 Michael Melton

Duke student Jasper Svenson started exploring AI agents in the fall of 2025, focusing primarily on their real-world business applications. And with a background in restaurant-focused investment banking—as well as […]

Wilmington’s Phrayz Saves Marketers Time With Industry Intelligence Tools

March 25, 2026 Michael Melton

(Photo by Madeline Gray) Wilmington entrepreneur Jack Fleming is known to much of the North Carolina startup ecosystem—as the Founder of Socialry Marketing, as one of the driving forces behind […]

Durham’s Rewarded Interest Puts Consumers in Control of Their Data

February 26, 2026 Michael Melton

Durham-based startup Rewarded Interest is aiming to change how consumers engage with third-party tracking pop-ups in their browsers. The startup is tackling the problem through its flagship Chrome extension (also […]

San Francisco’s Fractional AI Launches Health-Focused Division in The Triangle

February 13, 2026 Michael Melton

In late January, Fractional AI Health, an enterprise division of Fractional AI, officially launched in the Triangle. Led by General Manager Kyle Bryant and Engineering Leader Rebecca Bilbro, the division […]

Durham’s “Founder Readiness Institute” Innovates Through People Analytics

January 27, 2026 Michael Melton

After years working across environmental think tanks, impact investing, and private markets, Logan Yonavjak kept coming to the same realization: Promising companies or company branches weren’t failing because of weak […]

How Chapel Hill’s Complete Breakfast Drives e-Commerce Growth

January 13, 2026 Michael Melton

In 2018, Andy Ives and Cayley Pater launched Made Trade, an online marketplace for sustainable goods. Ives was an advertising specialist, while Pater had spent her career in both market […]

Winston-Salem’s STEMZ Builds Tech-Enabled Flower Markets

January 6, 2026 Michael Melton

In 2018, having spent her career in floral design, Amy Dunlap was ready for a change. She began considering a move into flower farming but quickly realized there was no […]

Durham’s Majentics Guides Businesses Through An AI-Powered Internet

December 17, 2025 Michael Melton

Durham-based startup Majentics is building tools for an internet increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Its platform helps businesses transition from traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to AI Engine Optimization (AEO), […]