The Download
RIoT’s Tom Snyder always seems to be one step ahead. In this period of quarantine facial hair, Tom was already prepared with the most recognizable goatee—if that word can even do it justice—in the Triangle startup scene. Tom is also the subject of this week’s edition of The Download from our own Brooks Malone. Read more about Tom’s empty pockets, why he’s never met a happy hour he doesn’t like (though he only goes to ours when they’re held in Raleigh) and how RIoT’s new MISSION-R initiative is trying to take a moonshot approach to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in the full Q&A here.
Swearing In
Cary-based vTestify is one of those fortunate startups that happened to be unusually well-positioned for the current crisis. vTestify is a legal tech startup created to meet the need for court reporters, a dwindling breed, by connecting them remotely to legal proceedings. Now, with most of the legal world forced into remote operation, vTestify’s platform is stepping into the breach to keep the wheels of justice moving on a host of new fronts. It’s easy enough to connect the parties via Zoom for a video deposition, of course, but the law requires specialized treatment of documents, unique recording needs and other quirks that only a custom legal platform like vTestify can provide. Read our full story on vTestify here.
Chatty App
It’s never been easy to run a small business, and obviously the current climate makes it even tougher. One evergreen issue is that while businesses work hard to create an inviting website, a small company doesn’t have the bandwidth to offer live chat that might engage with a customer before they click away, never to return again. Enter Raleigh-based startup Ellie and its cute elephant mascot.
Founded by Matt Cimino, previously the founder of email capture/conversion rate optimization startup Exit Intelligence, Ellie allows SMBs and other clients to essentially pre-program a live-seeming chat stream that can help put hooks in a potential customer to make them a high-quality lead. You can see Ellie on action on CED's Venture Connect page. You should also read our full story on Ellie here.
Resource Center
These days SMBs are also deep in the weeds with the SBA and the PPP. Sorry—we’re talking about the new Payroll Protection Program that’s part of the recent CARES Act to help small businesses access emergency loans backed by the Small Business Administration. As you might guess, the rollout of such a massive program in such a short time has experienced significant snags. WRAL.com outlines some of the issues with feedback from the likes of Jason Caplain and Spiffy’s Scot Wingo, while TBJ has a list of “don’ts” for companies—including startups—hoping to qualify for loans.
On the positive side, great disruption brings with it great opportunity. Here are some articles from TechWire on how startups can not just survive, but thrive: A quick rebound? In midst of virus crisis, some startups are already talking about a recovery; How do startups, entrepreneurs survive this virus crisis? Here are 6 ways to stay standing; UNC Kenan-Flagler professor: Here’s how COVID-19 crisis will spawn innovation.
New Tools
Two more items from the “good news” file: A) Durham’s ProcessMaker has released C19Report.com, a new website and open-source data analysis tool designed to help both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases compare their symptoms to others on a daily basis. The goal, says ProcessMaker CEO Brian Reale, is to provide a leading indicator on where and how the outbreak is spreading, as opposed to lagging indicators like the number of hospitalizations and deaths that we’ve all become depressingly familiar with. Since the dataset and tools are open, Brian hopes that data scientists will dig in to help find patterns.
B) Alex Rich, a PhD candidate at UNC and part of UNC’s Adams Apprenticeship entrepreneurship program, has co-created a free online mapping tool to help visualize efforts to #FlattenTheCurve. Alex was formerly an aviation crash investigator for the U.S. Air Force and is currently a health data scientist at the UNC Carolina Health Informatics Program.
Up And Down
Durham’s NextPlay, a software startup that helps student-athletes transition to the workforce, has raised $235K in equity according to an SEC filing. You might recall that we wrote about NextPlay and CEO Kyle Mumma in November. Congrats, Kyle!
Companies involved in live sporting events, unfortunately, are having a much tougher time. Durham’s SportsMedia Technology, which provides tech to enhance game broadcasts, has been forced to furlough 35% of its workforce, or 44 of approximately 125 employees at its Durham HQ. Here’s more from TechWire and TBJ.
Cash Position
Chapel Hill’s TrueBridge Capital, which is essentially a “fund of funds” that invests in VC’s and seed/micro funds, has raised $190M. TrueBridge was founded by UNC grads Mel Williams and Edwin Poston; Mel previously headed the UNC Management Company, which manages the university’s $2B+ endowment. Hey Mel and Ed, we hear the Triangle has some VC funds! You should tune in to this Friday morning’s Coffee & Conversation webinar to hear more. (And here’s more from TechWire and TBJ on TrueBridge’s fundraise.)
New Jobs
We mentioned recently that Ravila Gupta was stepping down as CEO of CED for an undisclosed new opportunity. We now bring you full disclosure: she will be the CEO of the new Bagchi Group, which offers “global and domestic business strategy, financial, and board and business coaching services.” Bagchi Group is founded by Neil Bagchi of Bagchi Law. Ben Blankenship is also joining the Bagchi Group as COO.
There’s another new CEO in town: longtime Red Hat exec Paul Cormier is taking over for Jim Whitehurst as Red Hat CEO now that Jim is the President of parent company IBM. Here's more from TechWire and TBJ on Paul's ascension, and TBJ on Jim's new role at IBM. You’ll surely recall that Big Blue paid $34B for Raleigh’s Red Hat last year.
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