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June 29, 2020 | Tom Ballard

Sync Space announces 15 start-ups as participants in its two inaugural accelerators

The Sync Space Entrepreneur Center in Kingsport, the newest member of the Launch Tennessee Network, has announced the participants in the cohorts for its two inaugural accelerator programs.

Both programs start tomorrow (July 1). SIGNATURE, the longer of the two, runs through the end of 2020, while CONNECT is a 9o-day effort.

A combined 15 companies will participate in one of the two new accelerators. SIGNATURE focuses on high-growth start-ups that have both an immediate opportunity to thrive in the Northeast Tennessee region because of their growth plans and the regional expertise in areas like healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The second accelerator – CONNECT – is available primarily for local companies where Sync Space and its partners can provide programming support and implement a direct-to-customer opportunity for their business.

Those selected for the SIGNATURE program include two from the Northeast Tennessee region and two from elsewhere. They are:

  • Hope To Walk, a Bristol based non-profit prosthetics company that currently delivers prosthetics to more than 13 countries around the world and is looking to Sync Space and the region to scale manufacturing and build training programs to meet the international demand for their products.
  • IncrediMed, a Johnson City healthcare start-up whose software application securely delivers the physician prescribed care plan to a patient during rehabilitation.
  • Qardian Labs, a Knoxville-based company that is frequently featured on biz for its artificial intelligence technology that improves the speed and accuracy of heart disease diagnosis.The start-up founded by Sofia Tomov was also accepted recently into the CO.LAB-run “HealthTech Accelerator” that began this past week in Chattanooga.
  • VenoStent Inc., a Nashville-headquartered start-up working in cardiovascular medical devices that utilize bioresorbable smart polymers to transform vascular surgery. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Look for a feature story on VenoStent in tomorrow’s edition of teknovation.biz based on a recently conducted interview with Tim Boire, President and Chief Executive Officer.)

The companies that will participate in the CONNECT program include Concession Technologies, DeskRig, Dyslexia Tutors, HD Clean LLC, FireStarter, Optimal Concept Solutions, Unboxed Reality, Untapped Collective, Vayska, Wine Nook, and ZenHammer.

The application for the two accelerators was open to companies both locally and outside the Northeast Tennessee region that have a product, technology or service that can be successful in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Of the applications to the SIGNATURE and CONNECT programs, the 15 accepted start-ups represent a diverse group in sectors like medical device, healthcare technology, advanced manufacturing, and virtual media technology.

“With more than two dozen applicants across six states, we are excited that our region can be seen as a destination for growing companies and new technologies,” says Heath Guinn, Sync Space President. “Our desire is that through these programs, we create a culture of innovation as we seek to recruit and retain talented people in our region.”

Regional partners of Sync Space include East Tennessee State University, Northeast State Community College, TSG Innovation Group, and the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing. In addition to Launch Tennessee, Sync Space is financially supported by Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City and Sullivan County.


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