SSR - November 22, 2024

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, a week dedicated to encouraging people to start their own businesses. This issue features several successes and wins for founders and companies, ranging from exits and career milestones to founders getting on stage to pitch for their first dollar. It's exciting to see the community recognized worldwide for all of the milestones in the journey.

Louisiana

Congratulations to New Orleans-based distribution platform Prokeep for securing $25M in Series A funding to continue accelerating growth! Dahlia Equity Partners led the round with participation from some of the company's Series Seed investors. NexusLA announced its PitchBR and Ignition 1.0 Demo Day winners. Reef Buds, an artificial reef technology, won PitchBR.  Rodney Shepherd of Blue Tree, a platform that connects startups with possible customers on college campuses, took the top prize at Ignition 1.0 and was awarded $10k. NexusLA also announced a partnership with Black Ambition for the 2024 BizTech Challenge. The partnership aims to expand the pool of entrepreneurs participating in the challenge and introduce new opportunities to the program. Northshore companies competing in the 2025 NSpire Startup Slam have a larger prize pool. The prizes, including cash and in-kind services, are currently valued at $155K. 

Alabama

Innovate Alabama with Alabama Launchpad, Techstars, and gener8tor announced it would host the first inaugural Alabama Founder Fest December 10-11. The fest will bring together startups from Alabama accelerators to learn from one another and compete for up to $75K in prize money. gBETA Huntsville announced the five startups selected for its fall class. Companies include Alset Technologies, Doctours, Fluyo, Neet Sheets, and Player Intro. Learn more about the companies here.  Fluyo, a new inductee, announced it would raise money via WeFunder. The language learning app, which generated $1.2M in presales on Kickstarter, is seeking a SAFE investment through WeFunder.

Arkansas

Applications are now open for The Venture Center's Veteran-Owned Small Business Accelerator. SBA Arkansas helped design the program to provide training, mentorship, tools, and networking opportunities to veteran-owned businesses and veteran entrepreneurs. Applications are open until December 20. Applications are also open for the ACTIVE 2025 cohort. The program targets healthcare-focused companies and works to prepare them for growth. Find out more about the program and apply here. 

Florida

Congratulations to Partsol, a Tampa-based AI Company, on raising $17.5M to continue developing Cognitive AI. The AI product has been used in various applications, including assisting with jury selections. 

Georgia

Congratulations to Atlanta-based Synaptrix on completing a $10M Series A round. The medical device company, which currently has 3 employees, caught the eye of North Carolina-based Hatteras Venture Partners, who led the round. Founders looking for a new coaching program in Atlanta can now turn to The Founder Underground Bootcamp, a program focused on helping entrepreneurs get through the initial hurdles of starting a business. Founded by a tech entrepreneur and a former teacher, the program combines education and one-on-one coaching. 

Mississippi

Mississippi hosted Accelerate this week in Jackson. The conference brings together entrepreneurs and community members from around the region. Among the exciting news to come out of the conference was that gener8tor, the venture capital firm well known in many Southern Startup states, launched its first fund focused on Mississippi startups. The fund, announced with Innovate Mississippi, will bring needed funding to the state's innovative initiatives and entrepreneurs.

North Carolina

NC IDEA announced the grant recipients of $350K seed funding for early-stage companies. The grantees include companies focusing on sustainable proteins, clean ingredients, matcha distribution, helping public defenders, self-correcting glasses, and bringing AI to the restaurant and healthcare industry. Congratulations to the companies Atlantic Fish co., Cydoc, Hoppy Planet Foods, Matcha Nude, Sunlight, Virinka, and WeyeZE. Read more about the program and recipients here. The announcement was made at the NC IDEA Ecosystem Summit alongside an announcement that the SEED program has awarded $10M in funding to startups throughout the state.

South Carolina

The 2024 InnoVision Awards took place in Greenville. The awards highlight individuals contributing to South Carolina's entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem. Award winners include Dr. Charles Townes, founder of Stewart Spinks, who grew the well-known regional chain to over 80 stores since 1972.  Read about all of the winners here. An interesting analysis shows that South Carolina companies have raised just under $100M in growth capital over the last six months, which gives startups a peak in raising money in the state. 

Tennessee

The 2024 InnoVision Awards took place in Greenville. The awards highlight individuals contributing to South Carolina's entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem. Award winners include Dr. Charles Townes, founder of Stewart Spinks, who grew the well-known regional chain to over 80 stores since 1972.  Read about all of the winners here. An interesting analysis shows that South Carolina companies have raised just under $100M in growth capital over the last six months, which gives startups a peak in raising money in the state.