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Photo shoot: RIoT throws a bash for ‘Pitch Night’

RALEIGH – A crowd of some 400 people lined up early and then packed the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh Tuesday night for NC RIoT’s “Pitch Night.” And WRAL TechWire cameras were there to capture pitches from nine startups which incorporate the Internet of Things.

The crowd packs the Lincoln Theatre for RioT pitch event.

And the winner was …

Quinn Riddle presents her Eversafe Bracelet in a presentation that helped her win the RIoT pitch event.

Eversafe, the startup launched by Quinn Riddle, a student at High Point University. She is developing the Eversafe braclet, a wearable band designed to be worn by children with wireless and GPS capability to link to parents, babysitters or care providers. The goal: To keep track of children, especially in crowded situations.

Riddle received the top prize for the event – the RioT championship “belt.”

The line stretches far down the street for the RIoT event at the Lincoln Theatre.

RIoT is the fast-growing Internet of Things users community which has spread from the Triangle to cover much of North Carolina. And “Pitch Night+ – the group’s fourth such event – celebrates new technology and companies RIoT is helping to develop.

Zachary Fearnside, left, and Steven Guido, the co-founders of Aeva Labs, tell judges how their IoT-linked gear can help speed up aging of liquor.

Making Tuesday unique is that RIoT also celebrated its first RAP event – RAP standing for the RIoT Accelerator Program which launched this with the assistance of a three-year federal grant.

Tom Snyder, the top exec at RIoT, welcomes the crowd to the pitch event.
Jenna Tarantino talks about how her Thermo-Leash helps protect dogs from hot sidewalks.
Philip Wegner, CEO of SecureEdge Networks, pitches for support from judges at the RIoT event.