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Fall 2022 MICRO Grant Recipients Selected from Diverse Applicant Pool; NC IDEA SEED Finalists Also Announced
DURHAM, NC – October 25, 2022 – NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced today that the organization has awarded $150,000 to fifteen North Carolina startups in its ninth NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in Spring 2018, NC IDEA MICRO has awarded nearly $1.5 million to 148 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. The program, piloted in Spring 2018, was created as an expansion of the Foundation’s long-standing SEED grant program to provide funding to younger, promising startups not yet positioned for the Foundation’s traditional $50,000 grants.
“We have seen yet another competitive cycle and a continued need for funding and support from all parts of the state,” said Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA. “These young companies speak to the economic potential of North Carolina and they represent the great work of our ECOSYSTEM partners to level the playing field for all promising startups with 13 of the 15 grant recipients representing under-served communities,” Ruhe added. These fifteen NC IDEA MICRO grant recipients were chosen after a three-month competitive application and selection process that drew 135 applications from across the state:
BCombs – Cary, NC
Committees – Durham, NC
Dojo Fresh – Cary, NC
Embrew Coffee and Tea Products – Fairview, NC
Flasky Labware – Jamestown, NC
Givefinity – Holly Springs, NC
GoghNow – Harrisburg, NC
Just Her Rideshare – Charlotte, NC
Pinnacle Medical Products – Fayetteville, NC
Project Heel – Wilmington, NC
Salus – Charlotte, NC
Seniors In Transition – Charlotte, NC
The Quick Space – Charlotte, NC
Tromml – Chapel Hill, NC
TSV Analytics – Hendersonville, NC
In addition to announcing the NC IDEA MICRO grant recipients, the finalists for the 34th cycle of the $50,000 NC IDEA SEED grant were recently chosen from the 28 semi-finalists that had been selected from the 158 applications received in March. These finalists will present before a review panel and approximately five to seven grant recipients will be announced live at NC IDEA’s 2022 Ecosystem Summit on November 14-15, 2022. The eleven Fall 2022 NC IDEA SEED finalists are: Animal Cancer Dx (Raleigh, NC); Bake Eat Love (Raleigh, NC); Bristles (Durham, NC); LabRunner (Raleigh, NC); MyMatR (Raleigh, NC); OpiAID (Wilmington, NC); Phase Dock (Raleigh, NC); ROSA Technology (Chapel Hill, NC); ShopAgain (Cary, NC); Social Cascade (Raleigh, NC); and Spring & Mulberry (Raleigh).
About NC IDEA FOUNDATION NC IDEA is an independent private foundation committed to empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. Through our powerful combination of competitive grants and programs, and a network of strategic partners, we help entrepreneurs when they need it most. NC IDEA’s resources are highly competitive, enabling the foundation to support North Carolina’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. We believe entrepreneurs transform communities and view our work as a catalyst for positive change. Learn more at www.ncidea.org.