Three Triangle startups will unveil their business plans and field questions as part of the of the 2013 Cherokee-McDonough Challenge, a business accelerator designed to find, fund and develop high-impact environmental startups.
The finale of the Challenge will feature startups HomeWellness, bioMASON and Platinix. The event will be held at Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh on Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
The Challenge invests $20,000 in each portfolio company and convenes an advisory committee to assist the entrepreneurs. Over the course of the summer, bioMASON, HomeWellness and Platinix have also honed their products and go-to-market strategies with feedback from the advisory committee and Cherokee personnel.
Challenge startups also have an opportunity to vie for up to an additional $110,000 in grant funding through a partnership with MegaWatt Ventures Each year, MegaWatt accepts at least one of the Challenge startups from the prior year into its finalist class of 10, each of which receives $10,000, while the winner receives an additional $100,000.
The challenge is sponsored by Raleigh-based Cherokee, an environmentally focused investment company. The second annual Challenge finale will feature opening remarks from author and sustainability expert William McDonough. The Challenge finale will also mark the conclusion of Triangle Entrepreneurship Week. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are requested here, listed as “TEW Closing Party with Cherokee Challenge.”
