Southeast Shoutouts | NC IDEA awards $160,000 to 16 start-ups
Founderville VC, the Flywheel Foundation, and the Furman University Innovation Lab are joining forces to attract software entrepreneurs to Greenville, SC.
From Durham, NC:
NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced that the organization has awarded $160,000 to 16 North Carolina start-ups in its 13th NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in 2018, NC IDEA MICRO has awarded more than $2 million to 209 young companies across the state.
Through small, project-based grants, NC IDEA MICRO awards $10,000 in funding to young companies looking to validate and advance their idea. In addition to the funding, grant recipients participate in an eight-week customer discovery and product launch program. The MICRO program was piloted in Spring 2018 as the Foundation made a commitment that no less than half of NC IDEA programmatic and funding resources would be in service to under-represented communities. Without compromising its established evaluation criteria, the MICRO grant leveraged the proven model and playbook of the Foundation’s long-standing NC IDEA SEED grant program to serve more North Carolina start-ups and significantly increased access to resources, funding, and opportunities for diverse entrepreneurial communities across the state.
“Our newest 16 grant recipients, 80 percent representing under-served communities, speak directly to the economic potential of our state,” said Thom Ruhe, President and Chief Executive Officer of NC IDEA. “We have achieved our $2 million funding milestone thanks to the great work of our ECOSYSTEM partners to level the playing field for all promising start-ups.”
Separately, NC IDEA announced the 11 finalists who will compete for the $50,000 NC IDEA SEED grants. Those winners will be announced during the organization’s 2024 Ecosystem Summit set for November 19 and 20 in Charlotte.
From Greenville, SC:
Founderville VC, the Flywheel Foundation, and the Furman University Innovation Lab are joining forces to attract software entrepreneurs to Greenville. The initiative, known as the Start-up Residence Program, will use each organization’s respective strengths to foster the next generation of Upstate start-ups, according to this article in the Upstate Business Journal.
“It’s really cool because it’s three entrepreneurship-service organizations connecting the dots and partnering to bring this important new program to the ecosystem,” said Peter Marsh, Co-Founder of the Flywheel co-working space.
The Flywheel Foundation is a North Carolina-based 501(c)(3) organization with a presence in Greenville through Flywheel, an anchor tenant of the recently opened Crescent One. Flywheel will administer the program as a fiscal sponsor.
The Furman Innovation Lab, which also has space at Crescent One, will develop the structure for start-ups. Founderville VC Co-Founders Shaler Houser and Scott Millwood, who operate as a business-to-business and software-as-a-service venture capital fund, are launching the residency.
Founderville VC is focused on investing in Greenville-based startups. Selected founders will be required to sign a one-year lease to participate in the program, which will be at least one year. The goal is for each founder’s residency to be underwritten during program participation, though the details are still being ironed out.
The goal is for the new companies to remain in the region.
From Birmingham, AL:
Innovate Alabama is investing in Johnson Energy Storage (JES) along with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, Cleveland Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett, and Southern Company Electrotechnologies. JES is a pioneer in new energy solutions with its all-solid-state batteries, a safer and cleaner and more affordable alternative to lithium batteries. This investment will catalyze JES operations in Tuskegee, AL.
Former NASA engineer and Mobile native Dr. Lonnie Johnson founded JES and has spent the past 25 years inventing new ways to convert and store energy. From an early age, Johnson has been fascinated by science and engineering—winning a science fair at the University of Alabama in 1968. Today, the Tuskegee University graduate holds more than 140 patents.
With this $1 million investment, JES is among the first companies to receive funding from InvestAL, Alabama’s new venture capital program funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and made possible through the efforts of the Alabama Legislature. Launched in 2024 by Innovate Alabama, InvestAL offers direct investments in high-growth startups and early-stage venture capital funds with the goals of funding overlooked geographies and communities, creating new jobs and building shared prosperity via business growth and scale.
“Dr. Johnson’s Alabama roots and symbiotic relationship with Tuskegee make Johnson Energy Storage a natural choice for this historic SSBCI investment,” said Cynthia Crutchfield, Innovate Alabama Chief Executive Officer. “We hope this deal inspires entrepreneurs like Dr. Johnson with Alabama ties to take advantage of the momentum building in our innovation ecosystem.”
Like what you've read?
Forward to a friend!