AccelNow “Demo Day” set for tonight
It’s been a busy and rewarding fall for Dave Lawrence and the team at AccelNow, the Northeast Tennessee Regional Accelerator. The latest event occurs tonight when four companies make pitches to a panel of about a half-dozen angel investors.
Lawrence described it as a “serious pitch event” where the companies will pitch and get “good guidance and honest feedback” from the investor panel. To make it as valuable for the companies as possible, “we are not inviting the public,” he added.
The four companies presenting are:
- Renewable Algal Energy, LLC (RAE), a company focused on making microalgae a robust and economical source for nutraceuticals, animal feeds, renewable fuels, and other valuable products that was previously profiled on teknovation.biz at https://www.teknovation.biz/2012/04/29/northeast-tn-company-successful-securing-sbirs/;
- Jammin’ Butter, an umbrella company for several “daily deal” websites which will be profiled in the future on teknovation.biz and whose principals were involved in AccelNow’s “Startup Weekend Tri-Cities” and the winning 30 Day Photo Challenge;
- Pandemonium Gaming Company which bills itself on its Facebook page as enhancing the gaming movement “to showcase the best in technology, to foster social networking and new friendships in your community”; and
- Thinc Local, a start-up with a phone app that replaces the more traditional discount cards offered by non-profits while also providing useful analytics for the merchants who actually provide the discounts.
Three of the four companies participated in an eight-week boot camp that AccelNow ran.
Lawrence said that the AccelNow team met last week and committed to another certified “Startup Weekend,” most likely in April 2013.
“We’re gaining a lot of traction and making a good amount of progress,” he said.
