Founders of three early-stage cleantech companies presented business plans and fielded questions from an audience of more than 150 people – including potential investors – at the second-annual Cherokee-McDonough Challenge finale Thursday at the Marbles Children’s Museum in downtown Raleigh, capping a week of startup events across the Triangle.
William McDonough, a globally recognized leader in sustainable development that recently published “The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance,” kicked off the event with a keynote address on the topic of sustainability and green building principles.
“We are excited about supporting the success of these ambitious and disruptive environmental startups,” McDonough said.
bioMASON, HomeWellness, and Platinix, the three Cherokee-McDonough Challenge finalists, were then invited to the stage to talk about the disruptive technologies that their companies are building.
“We are all faced with an immense opportunity to make things better,” said McDonough, “these three ventures are working on innovative and exciting pieces of that puzzle.”
The Challenge focuses on environmental issues. Startups selected are expected to finish the program with a “working prototype, a refined and vetted environmental strategy, a professional web presence, knowledge of intellectual property strategy and tactics, investor-ready fundraising documents, a stronger network of investors and mentors, a polished pitch and a runway towards a Series A capital raise,” Cherokee says.
The presenters:
- bioMASON
bioMASON uses a technology that utilizes microorganisms to grow cement-based materials for use in construction projects. Because this process can be completed in ambient temperatures, no fossil fuels are burned in the production process for the bioMASON brick.
In addition, the company claims that its bricks exhibit comparable strength and production times, yielding a safer, cleaner and more effective alternative. It’s an idea worth pursuing, said bioMASON co-founder and CEO Ginger Dosier in an interview earlier this week, and it could revolutionize global construction projects.
“This idea of room temperature manufacturing,” said McDonough, “is outstanding.” The concept, when applied, could change how entire industries do business.
- Platinix
Brian Iezzi, a sophomore at NC State University, has developed an alternative material to platinum.
According to the company’s website, the technology was developed at NC State University by Dr. Linyou Cao and his team in the materials science and engineering department.
“We can produce a catalyst for about $7,” said Iezzi, “in about two hours.” This is both more efficient, in terms of time, as well as less expensive than any competitors, said Iezzi.
“We plan to sell or license our catalyst to meet the market needs,” he added.
Platinix will be a viable alternative to platinum, said Iezzi, “and this could change the market.”
- HomeWellness
“These guys are building scientists,” said said JT Vaughn, who is director of the Cherokee Challenge, as he introduced HomeWellness, “and they will absolutely increase your home’s efficiency.”
“People really like to talk about their houses,” said Colby Swanson, co-founder and CEO of HomeWellness, and more and more people are talking about their home efficiency projects.
But there’s a problem, said Swanson, “because most homeowners don’t understand how their homes actually work. … A little bit of building science can help homeowners improve their efficiency.”
Given that 70 percent of existing homes are underperforming when it comes to energy efficiency, there’s a huge market opportunity, said Swanson.
The company will make revenue in three different ways, projected Swanson. They will partner with large companies to provide the service to their employees, generate referral revenue by referring contractors to home projects, and earning a commission off of any recommended products purchased through the HomeWellness platform.
Perhaps it is this revenue potential that attracted the partners at The Startup Factory to select HomeWellness for their fall 2013 class.
How the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge Assists Companies
The Challenge, which is based in Raleigh, invests $20,000 in each portfolio company. In return, the companies give Cherokee three, six, or nine percent equity in the company.
Cherokee also convenes an advisory committee to assist the entrepreneurs with such things as intellectual property strategy, fundraising and investor communications, said Vaughn.
“It was a true honor to be selected as a finalist, and to work with our Cherokee-McDonough Challenge mentors and team each week to refine our business,” said Dosier, who is currently in Amsterdam preparing for the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge.
bioMASON is one of five finalists for a prize worth 500,000 Euros, and pitches a panel of judges led by Sir Richard Branson on Sept. 16. It’s a prize that the company has a really good chance of winning, said Vaughn, and the collaboration between the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge companies may help Dosier and bioMASON win the international award.
“Participating in the [Cherokee-McDonough Challenge] program was vital to our recent success, and it has been an absolute joy to work with a team dedicated to sustainability,” said Dosier, “and it was a true honor to interact with both Tom Darden and William McDonough.”
During their tenure this summer, the three Challenge companies have “honed their products and go¬to¬market strategies with feedback from the advisory committee and Cherokee personnel.”
Through a partnership with MegaWatt Ventures, said Vaughn, Challenge startups also have an opportunity to vie for up to an additional $110,000 in grant funding. This decision will be made in the spring of 2014, but two of last year’s Challenge companies, Sanitation Creations and BaseTrace, were selected into the MegaWatt Ventures program, Vaughn noted.
