ICYMI, last week’s episode of the Friday Nooner featured Emily Foster, the Founder and CEO of Raleigh-based Alpacasews. Emily walked us through her journey from cloud enthusiast, to plushie designer, to head of a stuffed animal startup that goes viral on social media.
Watch or listen here. (And make sure you catch Emily’s holiday deals!)
If you’ve ever experienced the death of someone you loved, you might be familiar with the fact that there’s a lot to manage. The processes of planning a funeral and navigating assorted other “death care” services amount to a tremendous burden—and one with which it’s surprisingly difficult to find professional help.
Durham startup Melon—which recently participated in CED’s GRO Incubator (more on that below)—is out to change that. Characterized by founder Rachel Medoff as “Zola for death,” the startup’s platform is designed to be a comprehensive marketplace for death care services. By making these services more accessible and navigable, the startup will ease the burden on the bereaved.
I’m now convinced Wolfspeed’s primary goal is to appear regularly in this newsletter, with semiconductors merely being a means to that end. After generating headlines last week by filing a lawsuit, the Durham company has made fresh waves by ousting its CEO.
Per TBJ, the company announced on Monday that its Board of Directors has “determined and agreed” with now-former CEO Gregg Lowe that he will leave his dual role as President and CEO, as well as resign from the board. The decision comes as Wolfspeed’s stock is down more than 80% so far this year. Thomas Werner will serve as executive chairman as the company searches for a new CEO.
Read more at TBJ, N&O, Axios, and probably elsewhere.
GRO Demos
Late last week, CED wrapped up the eighth edition of its GRO Incubator with a “Demo Day.” The event took place at American Underground in Durham and featured pitches from the eight participating startups, post-pitch networking time, and delicious little cheesecake cup thingies™.
Many from around the ecosystem gathered in AU’s literal underground space to catch excellent presentations (including one from a startup you may remember from roughly 46 seconds ago).
In further cohort-related news, RIoT has just announced the 19th cohort of its RIoT Accelerator Program (aka RAP). RAP XIX will welcome six startups to participate in a 12-week program blending virtual engagement with in-person workshops across three locations in Virginia.
Among the six startups chosen for RAP XIX, two are local: Raleigh-based KLEAP and Open Studio Labs out of Durham. Virginia startups 3D Orthobiologic Solutions, EVAS, and Nasoni, along with Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Wolfberry LLC round out the cohort.
Click here to read more about the program and these startups.
Sharing Sunlight
Big bright news for Cary-based startup Sunlight this week as CEO Ryan O’Donnell names a Co-Founder and CTO! In a glowing LinkedIn post, Ryan welcomed Matt Cotter to the role(s) and reflected on their previous adventures in Startupland together. The duo previously teamed up to build EmployUs (which was ultimately acquired by Hireology).
For those who may need a refresher, Sunlight was founded in 2022 and is working to “upgrade the social safety net’s operating system,” with an initial product—dubbed Your Case Plan—designed to reduce the time children spent stuck in foster care.
Read the announcement here (and congrats to Ryan and Matt!).
Quantum Impact
Congrats also to QuantumBloom (formerly Launched2Lead), which was recently honored by WOMEN IN TECH Global with the Most Impactful Initiative Award in the North America Awards category. The honor saw QuantumBloom advance to the Global Awards competition alongside six other finalists from around the world.
For your second refresher in two sections, QuantumBloom is creating an ecosystem for “comprehensive career growth and support” for women in STEM (and recently announced its inaugural cohort, as well).
The tail end of last week saw the unveiling of a fascinating new resource for the Triangle startup ecosystem. Launched in a collaborative effort by Dealroom.co and CED, this resource is basically a comprehensive report on the state of the ecosystem.
This is not some individual’s written overview weighed down by grandiloquence* and bias, nor is it a mere list of area startups. Rather, it is a deep and detailed breakdown of local startups, industries, investment trends and statistics, regional comparisons, and more. It's great work by all involved.
*Melissa challenged me to use a recent “word of the day.” All are welcome to issue similar challenges.
Holiday Happy Hour!
In closing, it’s time to squeeze one more item into your holiday schedule: GrepBeat will be hosting a Holiday Happy Hour on Thursday, December 12th from 5-7pm at Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub!
Register in advance and your first round will be on our generous sponsors, Aprio and Fourscore Business Law! Thanks in advance to said sponsors, and we hope to see many of you there.
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