Pete may have left the newsletter in my hands this week, but how could he ever miss out on a coveted Friday Nooner slot? Tune in tomorrow (Friday) at noon (hence the Nooner) as he and Joe welcome Dr. Jared Pelo, Co-Founder of RTP-based Bionic Health, which offers healthcare innovations to track preventative care measures on everything that comes after a patient’s physical or sick care.
Bionic Health is no stranger to us, as we previously named the startup to the 2023 Startups To Watch list and first profiled them in April of 2023. Their CEO and Co-Founder Robbie Allen will also speak at this year's Grep-a-palooza 3, which I'm sure Pete and Joe will bring up in tomorrow's episode. You can watch live on LinkedIn, YouTube or Facebook, or catch afterward on those platforms or in its podcast form.
It's no secret that plastic usage is a major problem in our world. It's been linked to worsening climate change and has even been found in our bloodstreams—well at least microbits of it. One Wake Forest-based startup believes it has found a viable replacement to address these problems. Phaxtec's solution using a natural polyester product that can replace many uses of plastic and reduce plastic pollution is what got them on our radar.
For the last week of April aka Stress Awareness Month, our In The Soup podcast wraps up its series on the intersection between startups and mental health. This week's episode tackles one of the the most important issues for a startup's wellbeing—its founder's (or founders') mental health. Hosts Jenn Summe (Primordial) and Melissa Crosby (Colopy Ventures) are joined by Doug Kaufman (Belongly), who is a serial entrepreneur and a trained psychologist, which makes him the perfect person to take a deep dive into managing mental health and stability as a founder.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to providing counseling, capital and expertise as the nation’s go-to resource and voice for small businesses. The SBA just released its 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage One winners and a few North Carolina organizations have been chosen for $50,000 in prize awards—one being GrepBeat-familiar RIoT. Raleigh-based Eva Garland Consulting and Greensboro's NC A&T University and were the other NC winners.
This is the second time that RIoT has won this award and they are eligible for its Stage Two phase of the competition, which gives them the opportunity to win 2-4x its initial award. RIoT's Tom Snyder says the Stage One money will go toward supporting their Smart Ag startups.
Last year was an "interesting" time for the once Raleigh-based drone company PrecisionHawk: filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in December, an acquisition announcement that wasn't really an announcement, then an ACTUAL merger announcement with a Norwegian company. You get the gist.
Well now, in a new year, the company is still being flown around, as YouTubers and land-flipping entrepreneurs are getting ready to take on its assets at a steep discount, TBJ reports. As part of its liquidation process, PrecisionHawk's assets went up for sale via public auction, a chunk of it being its own network of commercial drone pilots, Droners.io. It had raised more than $90 million in outside capital since its inception and is now being sold for just $150,000 to the real estate investing YouTuber duo, the Apke Brothers.
This buyout is the brothers' first experience buying via a bankruptcy liquidation. They plan to operate Droners.io as a standalone company, but also use its technology internally for their other ventures. Read more from the TBJ story.
Dry Bar Dries Up
After a successful nine-figure exit of his Raleigh-based startup Filter Easy, Kevin Barry was looking for something new. Kevin, who quit drinking in 2017, then founded Parasol Distribution, a Raleigh-based non-alcoholic beverage distributor, and also opened up one of the city's first alcohol-free beverage bar, the Umbrella Dry Bar, in December of last year.
But, on Tuesday, it was announced on their social media that the bar would close its doors this Friday and while they aren't planning to renew its lease for the Martin Street space, they expect future pop-ups and private events for the time being.
Learn more about the company's decision to close on their social media.
CEO to CEO
We're feeling a bit more generous to covering news outside of our Triangle comfort zone, but it's all interesting news nonetheless. The former CEO of Morrisville-based Mercalis (formerly TrialCard) is now growing a new venture with some already dedicated investments and acquisitions completed. Mark Bouck, who once led Mercalis before stepping down in 2021, is now CEO and chairman of PharmAlliance, a pharmaceutical services business that supports clients of the drug and medical device development process.
Bouck and a Chicago-based private equity firm started working together in early 2022, with the firm set to invest $75 million to $150 million in an effort to support the pharma and life science services market. Again, not in our typical area, but it does work with software and tech platforms, which is in our area. Read the full TBJ coverage here.
Micro-So Long
Okay, title might be a bit of a reach but how else do you announce the termination of Microsoft's contract for its nearly 40,000 square feet building in Morrisville? TBJ reports that this lease termination comes two years after the tech giant pulled out of an economic development deal that promised 500 local jobs. Had Microsoft met the milestones of its expansion plans and projected jobs with an average salary of $125,000 a year, it would have been in line for nearly $15 million from the state and county in the form of incentives.
Now those jobs are no longer promised and office space upwards of 40,000 square feet lies dormant. Read more about the termination from TBJ here.
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Extra Bit
Hold up! Have you bought your tickets for Grep-a-palooza 3? If not, you have SIX days (including today) to get tickets at the lowest prices they'll be. Early Bird rates end on Tuesday, April 30, so you'll have one final reminder but get them while you can, especially before the weekend when it'll probably fly out of your mind by then. Don't miss out on hearing from our already confirmed speakers, tons of incredible networking opportunities and lots of insightful panel discussions from our local ecosystem leaders. Get more information and tickets here!
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