DANVILLE, Va. – Three startups took home cash prizes Thursday at the eighth IdeaFest Pitch Competition on Thursday, put on by startup hub  The Launch Place.

Top prize of $5,000 went to Tromml, which helps eCommerce resellers, specifically in the automotive aftermarket industry, optimize profitability through ‘real-cost’ monitoring “that points eCommerce managers to timely actionable insights,” according to The Launch Place.

“When using Tromml, resellers get order-line profitability assessments to quickly identify pricing errors, poor shipping estimates, and even the status of distributor return credits. When it is time to grow, Tromml will provide resellers strategic insights on their contribution margin while allowing them to see what items, suppliers, and channels are driving revenue.”

The Launch Place

Nanode Battery Technologies took the $3,000 second place prize. “Nanode Battery Technologies has developed a streamlined manufacturing process for battery anodes in a single step,” The Launch Place says.

Third place for $2,000 went to BioSensys, its “mission is to bring medical technologies to realization to improve patient care in the area of vital sign monitoring,” The Launch Place noted.

The Launch Place operates its headquarters in Danville, Va. and a second office in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

The finalists

Finalists in the competition were:

IdeaFest 2023 Finalists

  • Elysia Creative Biology – uses biotechnology to make agriculture on real farms sustainable.
  • Salem – an AI cyber analyst that investigates every alert, learns critical business context, and escalates relevant threats to a firm’s team.
  • BioSensys – is bringing medical technologies to realization to improve patient care in the area of vital sign monitoring.
  • Verenovo Energy – an AgTech company looking to capture organic waste to produce clean, sustainable energy and eco-friendly agricultural products.
  • Gemini III Technologies – government agencies “test drive” state-of-the-art technology, with pre-certified interoperability, resulting in faster deployment, less cost, and reduced risk.
  • Lithium Technologies, Inc. – is a company created to produce lithium hydroxide for battery production that facilitates electrification of our vehicles and energy storage.
  • ELDR End of Life Design – is an all-in-one platform/marketplace mobilizing the growing end of life planning profession to simplify, organize, and lead an overdue culture change.
  • Truth or Err – building a bridge to connect education, blockchain, web3 and incentive-based learning to greatly impact the world.
  • XStar Research LLC – provides software for design optimization and engineering simulation.
  • VENT – Verbally Erase Negative Thoughts, is a company that wants to bring more positivity to this negative world by giving people an outlet to voice their feelings.
  • Turnip – is a NIL Marketplace that enables ALL college students to make money while messaging friends.
  • Trova Commercial Vehicles, Inc. – provides zero emissions solutions to meet sustainable transport providers needs with asset recovery at lower costs, more payload, and shorter lead-times than a brand new vehicle.
  • Leantime – is the project management system for the non-project manager.
  • ExstoBio – is a comprehensive cannabinoid healthcare platform that is setting the standard of patient care through a science-based, data-driven approach.
  • Tromml – is a profit optimization tool for eCommerce sellers.
  • Nanode Battery Technologies Inc. – has developed a streamlined manufacturing process for battery anodes in a single step.
  • Sprocketz – is an AI mobile application company for manufacturing sites to help with equipment breakdowns elimination and solutions prediction.
  • NursesBnB – is solving the problems faced by traveling medical professionals.
  • Carbon Roof – will utilize bioengineered algae and partnerships with organizations with large geographical footprints across the U.S. to disrupt the Direct Air Capture carbon market.