Triangle entrepreneurs and investors gathered at Shoeboxed in Durham for a charity fundraiser and a chance to hear about new products from emerging companies after sharing some food, adult beverages and fun at the first “Fall Startup Fest.”

Shoeboxed, itself a fast-growing startup, hosted the event at its headquarters along with The American Underground, the new business accelerator at the nearby American Tobacco Historic District. And a crowd of nearly 200 turned out for the bash. In addition to listening to the three informal pitches, attendees were invited to donate to or purchase raffle tickets from TEACCH, an organization dedicated to studying the culture of autism. More than $350 was raised for the organization, said Michael Hourigan of Shoeboxed.

The atmosphere was light – even with a formal program, attendees gathered across the gorgeous office floor, mingled on IKEA furniture constructed less than an hour before the event, or enjoyed games of ping-pong. 

“This is no pressure networking,” said Hourigan. “It’s a definite success – and for a very great cause.”

\Much of the attention was focused on the pitching ventures. Three did so formally:

  • 4Soils: Faith-Based Gaming for iOS Devices

“Education is changing how children are learning,” said Lusi Chien, co-founder and CEO of 4Soils, which is currently incubating at The Startup Factory. His venture is attempting to capitalize on the changes.

The company develops Apple iOS operating system games based on teachings from the Bible. And they’re really good at it, Chien told the crowd.

Proof? Eight of the company’s apps are in the top 10 results on the App Store in a search for “bible games,” said Chien.

“The mobile revolution is taking over,” said Chien, describing a global trend towards tablet and mobile devices as primary gaming devices.

The company, which launched at Stanford University’s d.School, has built 19 apps and between all of them, reached more than 500,000 downloads of their products.

The next product line, or “4Soils 2.0,” will be called Sproutville and be a collaborative multiplayer game. The company plans to launch prior to the conclusion of The Startup Factory’s fall 2013 term in November.

  • iiLab: Connectivity in Times of Disaster

Aaron Huslage, founder of iiLab, witnessed the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina from Oregon but decided that he could help. Using volunteers, he helped organize an effort to extend a wireless network from inland Mississippi to the Mississippi Delta, providing more than 1,000 gigabytes of data transfer and 200,000 long-distance phone minutes to an entire region struggling with disaster.

“It changed my life,” said Huslage, who later launched iilab, short for “information innovation lab,” to improve the human impact of social good initiatives.

The company, which is based in Raleigh, has been involved in disaster relief projects ever since and develops technology infrastructure products that enable improved network access, increased security, and focuses on human-centered data processing, Huslageg explained.

Their latest project deploys a product line in the Lake Tanganyika basin in central Africa. The basin along the lake, which divides the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, as well as Burundi, Zambia and Rwanda, supports three million people living in remote villages.

The product line enables a project, the Floating Health Clinic, to share medical records in a secure manner regardless of its location or the location of the individuals it serves.

“Our technology is providing wireless infrastructure,” said Huslage, “helping put medical record systems in place, helping the districts make more informed decisions about deploying resources.”

  • FokusLabs: Targeting Autism, ADHD

Led by founder Rich Brancaccio, a school psychologist, FokusLabs helps those afflicted by autism and ADHD stay focused and productive. Its  intervention tool is worn on your wrist, said Brancaccio, and “creates a tactile mixture between psychology and technology.”

The device, still in its prototyping phase, employs a patent-pending technology to ensure that users do not habituate to the device, said Brancaccio.

The company operates in a serviceable market of more than $5 billion and with a U.S.-market segment of nearly 20 million individuals.

FokusLabs is based at Groundworks Labs in the American Tobacco complex.

Also Making a Splash … 

Though the organization did not pitch, three members of Splat Space, a hackerspace in downtown Durham for the maker community, showcased their projects. The organization hosts regular meetups on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in their downtown Durham location.

A Splat Space company, Paper Poseables, provides an innovative fastening system – Pop Locks – that enables children of all ages to make paper toys that move.

Josh Buczynski, designer and founder of Pop Locks and CEO of the company, is incubating the concept as a guest artist at the Durham Arts Council as well as demonstrating the project in school classrooms and summer camps.

Using heavy-duty cardstock, anyone can print out designs at home and build robots, dinosaurs, rocket ships, frogs, or any number of other toys.

“With Pop Locks, if you can imagine it, you can probably create it,” said Buczynski, “the whole idea is to create easy toys for kids.”

He’s working on a potential book deal – think of a large craft project book that you’d buy at Morgan Imports or Michael’s, said Buczynski.

In addition to beer provided by Fullsteam, courtesy of American Underground, Durham’s first distillery, Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company, ran a tasting booth for the company’s flagship product, Krupnikas.

More to Come

Many of Durham’s most recognizable faces were in the crowd, including Dave Neal and Chris Heivly, managing directors of The Startup Factory, Rachel Weeks of School House, Rob Cotter and Alix Bowman of Organic Transit (with one of its Elf vehicles), and Dov Cohn of PopUp.

Thursday’s event won’t be the season’s last event at Shoeboxed. Elliott Hauser, co-founder of Coursefork, which just launched its public alpha product, used the opportunity to announce a program he called “The Startup Give Back,” a $10-per head party to benefit the Triangle Community Foundation and its network of charitable organizations in the region.

The event, which will feature music, food, and local beer, will be held on Nov, 16, said Hauser, and will be family friendly.