ICYMI, GrepBeat started off the week with another edition of the Monday Mix yesterday. Tune in for a rundown of the week in Triangle tech/entrepreneurship events (and to hear Kaitlyn’s latest song-of-the-week pick).
Lots to talk about today, from adorable plushies to funding news. So with no further ado, let’s get to the news.
A lot of us still remember our very favorite stuffed animals. I certainly do. (Mine’s a portly green hippo named—obviously—Hip-Hip, but that's neither here nor there.) A few years ago, NC State alum Emily Foster recognized that she wasn’t alone in her abiding love of fluffy friends, and she's since turned that recognition into a delightful startup called Alpacasews.
After initially sewing her own stuffed animals as a form of stress relief, Emily started selling plushies. Before she knew it, said plushies were going viral on TikTok, and a startup was born. Fresh off a stint with NC State’s Andrews Launch Accelerator, Emily now produces a whole collection of cute creatures, including a Baby Shitake Mushroom Dragon, a Baby Poodle Mothman, and my personal favorite, a Mossy Highland Cow.
Congratulations this week to Raleigh-based software startup Allstacks, which has announced the recent closing of a $10M Series A funding round. The round was led by London-HQ’d Quadri Ventures in partnership with M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund and California-based First Rays Venture Partners.
Allstacks is a platform that aggregates data and generate metrics to provide software organizations with greater insights into their development and outcomes. We first profiled the startup back in the deep beforetimes (2019), after which it entered rare air as both a Greppy Award nominee and 2022 Startups To Watch honoree. Co-Founder and CEO Hersh Tapadia has also joined us on the Friday Nooner.
See our original feature on Allstacks here, and catch Hersh’s own words on the news on LinkedIn.
QuantumBloom Launched
A few months ago, we wrote a feature on Triangle-based startup Launched2Lead. Co-founded by Anne Hungate (CEO) and Andrea Mohamed (COO), this startup’s mission is to propel women and non-binary professionals into leadership roles in STEM by way of a program combining a development curriculum and company mentorship.
This remains the mission, but as of Monday, Launched2Lead has taken a big leap forward, officially rebranding as QuantumBloom. The new (excellent) name is inspired by the rare desert phenomenon of a “superbloom,” whereby thousands of wildflowers can suddenly thrive in a desert. (We trust you grasp the metaphor.)
You can read more about this exciting rebrand at QuantumBloom's website, and check out our feature on then-Launched2Lead right here.
Book Club
In case you missed the news, GrepBeat started a book club. TL;DR, the general idea is for the GrepBeat team and our awesome readership to have one more place to connect, talk tech, and, as one typically does in a book club, read. We’ll be flipping through books about tech, innovation, entrepreneurship, and/or leadership, and encourage you all to join!
In addition to this reminder, we’re also announcing our first actual GrepBeat Book Club Get-Together™. Come on over to the GrepBeat HQ at 8:30am on Friday, September 6th to hang out with other members of the community, have some coffee, and discuss our first book—Kara Swisher’s insightful (and surprisingly zesty) “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.”
Let us know if you’re coming, and read more about Book Club here.
10 Days Left
You know how I mentioned that Allstacks, of recent $10M Series A news, was once a Startups To Watch honoree? Well, there's still a chance for your startup—or one you know of and choose to nominate—to share that distinction this year! (Thanks, Allstacks, for adding some juice to the pitch.)
I won't bog you down with all the details again, but if you or someone you have or know of a qualifying local startup, there are 10 days left to nominate. Our Startups To Watch event celebrates early-stage Triangle tech startups demonstrating growth potential.
Last week, the NC Women Business Owners Hall of Fame welcomed nine new inductees to its 2024 class. Founded by Wendy Coulter in 2018, the Hall of Fame is designed to recognize female entrepreneurs and advocates making "enduring contributions to women's entrepreneurial development" across North Carolina.
Congratulations to all of the 2024 inductees, and a special shout-out to Friend-of-GrepBeat (FOG) Dr. Sarah Glova, the Founder and CEO of Reify Media who joined us for an episode of In The Soup this past spring.
Read about the 2024 Hall of Famers here, and enjoy that In The Soup episode when you have a few moments.
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