SSR - October 18, 2024
Continuing to send our thoughts to any of our readers or their families and businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton
Louisiana
Save the date for two pillars in Louisiana's entrepreneurial community. Idea Village's 2025 VillageX Cohort application closes on November 1. The cohort seeks entrepreneurs looking to rapidly scale their business to provide training, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Apply here. Nexus announced that Baton Rouge Entrepreneur Week 2025 would be May 6-8. Find out more here and mark your calendar.
Alabama
Congratulations to the nine finalists in Cycle 3, a startup showcase hosted by Alabama Launchpad in partnership with Innovate Alabama. The companies will compete for a combined $75,000 on December 10. The nine companies - Nyad, CLEO Education, LLC, Homepoint, ConekPro, Forsee, LLC, HUM Concierge, Ethar, Inc., Huntsville Magazine, and Student Seats LLC are all based in Alabama and range from materials manufacturing to student seating platforms. The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama also announced the appointment of its next President, Miller Girvin. Girvin has worked extensively in the startup community in Alabama and is excited to take on the new leadership role.
Arkansas
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) was awarded a $200K FAST grant to continue providing services to Arkansas Entrepreneurs. The organization mentors and provides resources to companies across the state. Among its programs is Lab2Launch, an accelerator that helps entrepreneurs secure SBIR/STTR funding. Lab2Launch's 2025 program will begin accepting applications on November 4.
Florida
Endeavor Miami introduced its Fall 2024 cohort for its Scale Up program. The program supports high-impact entrepreneurs with mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities. Several companies in Florida also made news for their funding rounds. FlexFactor, a decline recovery solution, raised $16.8M in Series A funding. Miami-based Synthbee announced it closed a $20M seed round to continue its growth. Meanwhile, Palm-Beach-based startup SustainBase announced an acquisition by ISS-Corporate.
Georgia
Congratulations to Atlanta-based Document Crunch, which announced it had secured a $21.5M Series B funding round. Document Crunch works with construction companies to manage back-office and in-field contracts and will use the funds to grow. Query, a data security company based in Atlanta, also announced a strategic investment from Cisco. Query, which went through Atlanta's Engage program, has been growing quickly and will use the funds to expand the adoption of their product.
Mississippi
Businesses that may benefit from commercializing water treatment and testing innovation can still apply for Mississippi's ERCSWERX program. The program allows companies to collaborate with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and leverage cutting-edge research for practical water management and environmental sustainability applications. Alumni of the program include the High-Concentration Bleach Generator, a portable water treatment system, and WaterDOG, a toolkit for testing water quality.
North Carolina
Check out this article encouraging North Carolina companies to take advantage of the recent spotlight on the state. North Carolina has been named a top place to start a business in several recent publications, and the article discusses how entrepreneurs can capitalize on the attention.
Don't miss DEEEEEP Dive for 75 with special guest Richard Stroupe of Cape Fear Ventures in Wilmington Tuesday. The event will feature an in-depth conversation with Richard about growing your success as an entrepreneur.
South Carolina
Congratulations to Case Status, a North Charleston-based company that received investment from SC Launch and was recently ranked in the top 10% of the fastest-growing companies on the Inc. 5000 list. The company operates a legal services platform focused on client engagement. The South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) admitted two new members, Qatalyst Health and Storybutton. It awarded four grants to FSI Advanced Research, INC ($12K), LifeTagger Inc. ($50K), Little Beeings LLC ($25K), and SMPL-C Corporation ($50K). More information on SCRA and each company is available here.
Tennessee
WhisperAreo, an aerospace technology company out of middle Tennessee, announced a partnership with Stanley Black & Decker to deliver it's solution to the market. Applications are now open for Nashville Entrepreneur Center programming. Apply here by December 14th to be considered for the 2025 cohort.