Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

This year’s 3686 Pitch Competition, presented by Amazon, will feature five companies vying for a $10,000 cash prize, plus in-kind services valued at up to $5,000 from The Operations Guide. The five were announced on Thursday.

1. Adele Health: A diabetes management platform that makes it easy for patients to measure and understand their health | Founder: Mark Norton.
2. Express Wages: Cutting edge platform designed to revolutionize how businesses manage payroll and wage distributions | Founder: Alfred Milan.
3. Folx Table: A platform that helps communities spark real connection through small-group, in-person conversation at local restaurants | Co-Founder: Emma McCallie.
4. JamJuice: An artificial intelligence-powered live entertainment booking platform that simplifies finding, scheduling, and paying musicians by offering vetted talent, payment processing, and organizational tools in one place | Founder: Matthew Romero.
5. Spikey: Provides keychains equipped with clinical-grade test strips that detect common date-rape drugs (GHB, Ketamine, Scopolamine, other amine-based drugs) with 98% accuracy in seconds, helping prevent drink spiking and sexual assault. | Founder: Abigail Goddard.

Athlete-specific and Knoxville-based tele-mental health solution Onrise won last year’s pitch competition and went on to secure funding from LaunchTN’s $70-million equity investment fund, InvestTN. Bi-lingual tax refund company MasRefund was the audience choice pick. Founder Dr. Simon Karmarkar created the app to help users overcome barriers they face when filing taxes.

Judges for the competition are:

1. Mike Dirla, Edison Partners;
2. Jay Teamer, Launch Tennessee;
3. Ian Villa, Whisper Aero; and
4. Haley “Zap” Zapolski, The Lighthouse.

 

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