GB Cribs: Pendo
A few months ago, we had grand plans for a video series called “GB Cribs” in which we’d have Triangle startup CEOs give us a tour of their sweet digs. Then, of course, the whole world stopped going to the office. But we’d already shot the first episode, with Pendo CEO Todd Olson at the high-flying startup’s downtown Raleigh office. Now, it’s basically a time capsule of The Time Before.
We’d like to thank Raleigh-based real estate stalwart Davis Moore Advisors for sponsoring the episode. Davis Moore helped Pendo find its current office in the Wells Fargo building on Fayetteville Street, as well as representing Pendo on its under-construction new HQ in downtown Raleigh that’s slated to open in 2022. And Davis Moore’s Matthew Cooke wants all to know that Pendo’s current space will be available for sublease in Q1 of 2022. Hopefully by then, it will be “social distancing,” “stay at home” and “quarantining” that will have gone into the time capsule.
Anyway: watch the episode of GB Cribs: Pendo here. And make sure you stick around for the credits. Trust me.
Amazon-ian
There are plenty of companies that can help you sell ads on Google and other search platforms. But think about it: when you want to buy something online, how often to do you go directly to Amazon and simply use the search bar there? We’re betting it’s a lot. And so is Simpliworks, a just-out-of-stealth-mode startup that’s part of NC State’s Andrews Launch Accelerator this summer. Malik McCray (a 2019 NC State grad) and his team have turned what started as a side hustle into an end-to-end, Amazon-specific ad platform for sellers. Read our full story here.
Germ Warfare
Like most days ending in a “y,” Spiffy is announcing a major new initiative today. This time it’s that Scot Wingo and team have launched an ecommerce site for their mobile car-care customers to buy the EPA-approved disinfection products that Spiffy has developed to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. The products and services are primarily geared toward Spiffy’s fleet customers—think rental car and carsharing companies—but consumers looking for that super-professional cleaning for their car might want to give the site a look as well. TechWire also has some more details.
Virtual Tour Guides
Built Story, which is HQ’d in Miami but also has an office at American Underground in Durham, has launched its app with the first marketplace for self-guided tours. As we’re all realizing, travel and vacations are going to be very tricky this summer and into 2021—people are eager to get out and about, but want to do so safely. A self-guided tour on your smartphone could be just the ticket. Built Story connects “Tour Takers” with “Tour Creators” so you can explore a new city or other tourist spot with just your family or whoever else is in your bubble.
Singles Play
Outside of the relatively imminent return of some professional and higher-level college sports—where teams/programs have the resources for frequent testing and can basically live in a self-contained unit—contact sports seem awfully dicey right now. But tennis outdoors? Sure, why not. Even better: get tips remotely from world-class players.
That’s the pitch of Raleigh’s TopCourt, which has officially launched its platform after closing on $1.25M in seed funding from the likes of Jimmy John's founder Jimmy John. (What did you think his name was?) Co-Founders Taylor Meyer, Alex Rafiee and Zach Hunter met at UNC-Chapel Hill, where they all played varsity tennis. See TechWire for more.
Teaming Up
Let's go rapid-fire style through three new partnerships notched by Triangle startups: A) Durham’s The Climate Service, which we profiled in October, is teaming up with insurance and risk-management giant Aon to offer Aon’s clients the ability to better understand and manage climate-based risks.
B) Durham’s Automated Insights is partnering with tax and advisory firm Baker Tilly to provide healthcare organizations with advanced NLG (natural language generation) insights to power actionable analytics.
C) Fast-growing insurtech Policygenius, which is based in New York but recently opened a booming Durham office, has announced a partnership with Fortune 500 life insurance provider Brighthouse Financial on a new life insurance product that can be completed in minutes with no medical exam.
Sky Surfing
It may not seem like it right now, but someday in the not-to-distant future the skies will once again be full of airplanes. There’s another $41.3M saying that RTP-based SmartSky Networks will be playing a key role in providing those fliers with Wifi. SmartSky has raised at least that amount—actually “well beyond” it, the company tells TechWire—and plans to raise tens of millions more for its next-generation WiFi connectivity system for aviation.
New Addition
Just like the startups it looks to invest in, Durham VC Bull City Ventures Partners is growing. BCVP has added Sarah Leners, an investment banker from Chicago, as a senior associate. BCVP’s Jason Caplain and David Jones reviewed almost 300 resumes before choosing Sarah. TechWire has more details.
Extra Bit
A reminder that the deadline to apply for Pax Momentum, a new Mid-Atlantic-focused startup accelerator that we mentioned in April, is on Monday, June 15. Each selected startup will receive a $50K infusion before the eight-week intensive program, which runs from Aug. 17-Oct. 16.
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