Mark those calendars: we’re hosting one more GrepBeat Happy Hour in 2023 two weeks from today—Thursday, Dec. 14—from 5-7 p.m. at the Lonerider location in Durham (708 Ramseur St). Your first round will be courtesy of our sponsor, Fourscore Business Law. Please register so we can get a sense of numbers.
As you’re making your list and checking it twice, can we humbly suggest a new list for you to check? We’ve compiled the GrepBeat 2023 Holiday Gift Guide with offerings culled entirely from Triangle startups that we’ve written feature stories about in the past. There’s something for everyone, from your foodie friend to your curious children.
See the full holiday gift guide here. And while we’re at it, you can also shop the ForeverGrep store to get GrepBeat swag for everyone on your list. You’re welcome.
Keepsakes
As anyone who has had to sift through the possessions of a deceased relative will tell you, it’s a difficult process that’s stacked on top of an already painful experience. Duke senior Matthew Scola learned that the hard way when helping to clean out his great-grandparents’ house after they passed away. It’s the motivation behind his startupSaveOr, which is participating in Duke’s year-long Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs Accelerator. SaveOr helps people “list” their items on the app with pictures and backstories—especially relevant when the value is more sentimental than financial—as well as designate which family members or charities will receive specific items to limit squabbling down the line.
This week’s episode of our In The Soup podcast (sponsored by Liles Law) tackles the importance of storytelling to startups. After all, how can you sell yourselves to customers and investors if you can’t tell your story effectively? Host Jenn Summe (Primordial) and her sidekick Melissa Crosby talk to Jason Gillikin, the CEO of Earfluence, and Elemmir CEO David Delaney Meyer. You can listen (and subscribe!) here.
AI Hearing
Dr. Mike Capps, the CEO and Co-Founder of Raleigh-based AI startup Howso (formerly Diveplane), testified yesterday on Capitol Hill as an expert witness. The occasion was Senator Chuck Schumer’s 7th U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum. Howso has built an open-source AI engine used by developers and data scientists to build AI models using instance-based learning (IBL), an explainable alternative to the black-box neural networks used by most AI companies including OpenAI and Google.
Mike was there to explain his belief that IBL could make AI safer and more trustworthy. Also in Mike’s plus column: he wasn’t recently fired and then rehired in the course of five days.
Funding News
Raleigh-based startup Phinite, which we first profiled in December, 2021, has raised $1.285M of a funding round that could be up to $3M, according to an SEC filing cited by TechWire. Phinite turns hog waste into phosphorus-rich fertilizer using IoT and robotics.
Seeing Clearly
Sasha Surkin is a 20-year-old UNC student, North Carolina School of Science & Math alum and—now—a startup founder with a $10K MICRO grant from NC IDEA. Triangle Inno profiled Sasha and her startup, WeyeZE, earlier this week. WeyeZE makes a glasses kit that creates personalized corrective lenses, especially for people who have limited access to optometrists due to cost or distance.
Last Call
It's the end of an era for Raleigh Founded as it says good-bye to one of its earliest locations (if not the original?) in downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse district at 310 S Harrington St. They’ll be hosting a going-away party tomorrow night from 6-9 p.m. You can register for the free event here.
White Flag
Pendo CEO Todd Olson and his family have withdrawn their plans for a development on the southern end of Topsail Beach. The Olsons wanted to build multiple houses on 24 acres of a 150-acre known as The Point, on land that they’d had under contract for years. But conservationists fought the plan and town officials hadn’t approved it.
In a statement, the Olsons said they were “extremely disappointed to get to this point after two years, but we do not believe that a successful outcome is possible based on the current process.” See Business NC, TBJ and Fox Wilmington for more.
Build Great Software
Founded by serial entrepreneurs, Dualboot is a software and business development company. Their clients include tech and non-tech founders as well as Fortune 500 companies, so they can start small or scale fast depending on what you need. Every client is assigned a U.S.-based Product Director with years of experience bringing products to market, and they can manage the entire development process. They focus on how the software fits into your company to drive revenue and build the business. At Dualboot, they don’t just write your software—they help you grow your business. Intrigued? Email them here.
Extra Bit
In Tuesday’s newsletter, I mistakenly called new K4Connect CEO Mike Weller “Tom.” Well, his name is Mike. My bad! Mike is moving up from COO to replace Scott Moody, who is stepping aside after a very successful decade but will remain on the board and will work closely with Mike during the transition. You can read all about it here.
Real talk: doing our best to serve you costs money. Businesses and organizations that would like to support our efforts should see our sponsorship opportunities here.
