Up and coming ventures from Stafford and beyond to participate in a 12-week intensive business program this Summer.
STAFFORD, VA – April 25, 2022 – RIoT, the North Carolina-based economic development nonprofit, has accepted seven early stage startups into their eleventh cohort of the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP), and first in Stafford, VA.
The RIoT Accelerator Program is spearheaded through the Stafford County Economic Development Authority (EDA) and was funded in part by GO Virginia, an initiative administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) that strengthens and diversifies Virginia’s economy and fosters the creation of higher wage jobs in strategic industries. Partners include GO Virginia Region 6 Council, Stafford County EDA, and King George County EDA.
The RIoT Accelerator Program will launch on Wednesday, April 27th. The program will be housed at the Virginia Smart Community Testbed. RAP heavily coaches companies through market validation, product development, and go to market strategy, and connects them to more than 90 business and technology advisors.
The RAP XI cohort represents a variety of industries and backgrounds hailing across regions of Virginia, North Carolina, Nevada, Canada, Colorado, and Brazil. Founders will leverage the diversity of the cohort to learn and grow together over the 12-week intensive program. Learn more about the startups of RAP XI below.
Therese Vogel, Founder & CEO of Beautometry has built a worldwide community of nail art enthusiasts that are passionate about expressing themselves through nail art. They curate nail art products from all over the world to ensure our customers are using safe, captivating, cutting edge products that were once only available in other countries. Beautometry wants customers to express themselves with the color they choose, the glitter they want, and the nail art they create. They offer many 3-free, 5-free, vegan, and cruelty-free products because they know that’s important to their customers. They have carefully selected brands that are doing unique things in the nail art world. When customers shop at Beautometry, they can trust that Beautometry wants to provide them with the best nail art experience.
Cocoflo was founded with a vision to help strengthen communities by improving the lives of citizens. Cocoflo is a fast growing Canadian tech company at the forefront of the Smart City movement. Cocoflo aims to improve the citizen and municipal administrative experience with their platform that connects community stakeholders through dynamic digital engagement. Jeff Martin, Co-Founder & President and Nicolette Reyhani, Director of Sales & Marketing will be traveling from Canada to participate in Stafford, VA for the program.
Geo Innova’s value is in Engineering Innovation, Digital Transformation & Energy Transition: deeply knowing the industry`s challenges. Technical, Scientific, and Advanced Analytics Capability in Modeling, Technology Development, Deployment, and Tech2Market. The Geo Innova idea was born in Brazil. They are a multidisciplinary team of Ph.D.s with deep industry expertise, former professors, and industry executives. Geo Innova LLC was established in the US in 2016 and have since positioned themself to launch their most valuable innovations as a business. One of those is the Loxter Electronic Security Seal, which can be applied throughout different industries (energy, utilities, mining, transportation, logistics, pharma, and military). Don Ferreria, who is based in North Carolina, will be the main participant from the Geo Innova Team.
Ioterra’s partnership facilitation methodology generates collaboration and organic lead referrals, capturing in-market buyers of IoT solutions and services. Ioterra’s research directories of IoT solutions, services, and reference projects help companies find the right specialized vendors for their initiatives. Freely available for companies to access, their directories and workflow tools have helped over 9000 buyers navigate complex product development architecture decisions over the past 3 years. Ioterra is continuously working to provide up-to-date information, facilitate collaborations, and to categorize the best IoT vendors. Dual Co-Founders Daniel Price and Danny deLaveaga, based in Nevada, are excited to be introduced to the Stafford region.
Latticet, based in Reston, Virginia, seeks to prototype a material piece that provides power and transmits communication signals more efficiently at a material microscopic level. Using its patented computer method, the company aims to reduce time to develop such a material structure at the atomic, lattice, and nanoscale levels. For its computer method and its output models, Latticet has 2 recently issued patents and 2 pending patents. Christine Kennefick, Founder & CEO of Latticet, has a background and Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering.
RIVERE
RIVERE℠, a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation, is aiming to help mitigate effects of human population growth and global climate variability on freshwater systems by supporting water research, education, technology and ecoculture for the Rappahannock region. With a location on the Rappahannock River in Stafford, VA, RIVERE℠ will serve as an ideal living laboratory for water researchers, management agencies and environmental educators. RIVERE℠ will be a game changing, future forward Center and offer rentable lab, classroom, office, and meeting spaces to researchers, universities, government, and other non-profit organizations. We are committed to supporting innovative solutions to problems communities are facing in response to water quality and the environment. The RIVERE team is composed of Mikel Manchester and Kyle Close.
TidalMed creates contemporary products from current outdated medical devices to better serve patients and healthcare professionals. The TidalMed organization is dedicated to working for the advancement of the world, while maintaining a profound passion for health and building a strong and happy company. TidalMed is currently involved in numerous product development projects mainly in the health sector. One example is a new approach to the colostomy device. Their new wearable device supports these patients and clinicians while reducing hospital readmissions and infection rates. Sal Caroniti, CEO & Founder is a registered RN and BSN who established this company based on his healthcare experience. Sal is based in Colorado and is looking forward to getting plugged into the Stafford region.
RIoT is the largest and most active IoT organization in the US, supporting multi-national companies and startups through economic development activities. RIoT recognizes that company growth and job creation are dependent on businesses continually evolving with technology and adopting data-driven approaches to the market. RIoT helps companies to navigate these new opportunities through convening, advising, and business support programs. Since 2014, RIoT has supported more than 80 startups that have gone on to collectively raise over $150M and create more than 200 jobs.
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About RIoT
RIoT represents a network of technologists, engineers, business leaders, academics, policy makers, and entrepreneurs, all of whom have a stake in the future of the economy, which is largely driven by data. RIoT’s mission is to create a community that captures IoT opportunities locally, nationally, and globally, through convening the technology community across the country, and by supporting startups and corporate innovation through the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP). Through RIoT’s events and ecosystem, companies ranging from startups to corporate heavyweights meet to exchange ideas, learn new technologies, and create new opportunities for themselves and their business. www.riot.org
About Stafford County Economic Development Authority
The Stafford EDA focuses on economic development in Stafford County. The EDA has developed its small and entrepreneurial development program in collaboration with RIoT and the larger region. The EDA offers additional financing programs to support small business development. For more information about the Stafford EDA visit https://staffordeda.com/