Nc idea

NC IDEA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created to serve as a catalyst for young, high-growth, technology companies in North Carolina. They help these innovative companies mainly by providing early financing in the form of grants.

Amy Bastian

Senior Director

Andrea Cook

Director

Thom Ruhe

President and CEO

345 past transactions

Redbud Labs

Grant in 2015
Redbud Labs is a microfluidic chip manufacturer. They are pioneering a new category of consumable components with MXR, the world’s first fully modular microfluidic mixer. World-class biotechnology firms use MXR to boost assay performance.Redbud Labs leverages MEMS technology conceived in Professor Richard Superfine’s research group at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They combine their breakthrough platform with deep scientific expertise to develop elegant solutions to the toughest microfluidic challenges.

Dendi

Grant in 2020
Dendi is a modern, cloud-based platform that helps clinical labs maximize operational efficiency, and promote positive patient outcomes.

LoanWell

Grant in 2022
LoanWell is a developer of a loan platform designed to help in the financial transactions between friends and family. The company's platform creates a custom, legal friends and family loan agreement, guides during each step of the process and even provides a loan calculator to inform about agreement's terms and helps to pay loans back on time with auto-draft payments, enabling users to make smaller, specific requests from a group of supporters and receive loans.

Kinfo

Grant in 2020
Kinfo is a simple, safe, and customizable way to share life stories across generations.

Natrx

Grant in 2020
Natrx develops an architectural platform that integrates nature directly into infrastructure. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Venturing Lifestyle Designs

Grant in 2019
Venturing Lifestyle Designs is a consumer company that manufactures women's apparel specializing in clothing for outdoor adventures. The company offers appeals to women, enabling women with clothing that allows them to be more adventurous, athletic, and active. Venturing Lifestyle Designs was founded in 2019 and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

BCombs

Grant in 2023
BCombs is a stealthy technology firm based in Cary, North Carolina.

CrowdTunes

Grant in 2014
CrowdTunes is a mobile bidding platform and music management service that empowers patrons with the ability to affect the atmosphere by bidding on the music they want to hear. They provide a free, legal music solution to venues that can be setup in less than five minutes and improves the establishment’s bottom line through increased sales to a more engaged customer. CrowdTunes is a combination of three products: 1) Background music: The venue owner will be able to select a catered playlist from millions of songs that plays without interruption. 2) Mobile jukebox: Patrons will be able to choose and play new songs within the owners’ playlist. Songs will play in the order they were added. 3) Marketplace for music: During high volume periods, patrons engage in competitive bidding to move their songs to the top of the queue. They are currently the full-time music solution in five venues in RTP and expect to be in fifty venues by the end of 2014.

3 Spark Design

Grant in 2020
3 Spark Design is a manufacturer of luxurious goods to provide a variety of high-quality soft metal finishes for furnishing.

Buzy

Grant in 2022
Buzy is the first and only solution created to remove the hassle and stress of owning a home.

QuarterSprout

Grant in 2019
QuarterSprout is a virtual classroom economy allowing students to learn modern financial skills and economics through real experience. Teachers can watch students progress in their economic understanding and classroom engagement over the school year.

Wrangle

Grant in 2020
Wrangle is a process automation software for busy teams improving efficiency for onboarding, sales quote approval, and contract management. Its app channelizes workflows by assigning approvals and tasks, tracks the ticket status from request to completion in slack, and collects, organizes, and tracks every ticket submitted by employees.

Freeman Capital

Grant in 2022
Diversified investments for a diverse world.

Devil's Foot Beverage

Grant in 2019
Devil’s Foot Beverage, is a new craft beverage company in Asheville specializing in making non-alcoholic ginger beer and other sparkling water drinks made with fresh, local ingredients, is slowly rolling out its product around town.

Gema Touch

Grant in 2012
Gema Touch leverages the world’s first interactive, print technology to engage mobile consumers with brands and branded products at the point of purchase and/or service. Through our patented NFC infrastructure we turn any printable surface into a touch interface; giving mobile consumers instant access to and control of a digital ecosystem of mobile apps, websites and brand-customized marketing content.

iEdapts

Grant in 2021
iEdapts is an education platform that offers math-aided GAP assessment e-Learning tools. The platform is connecting teachers with students in an interactive way through unique songs, videos, and specialized content. The company's mission is to provide an educational resource preference that both the teacher and the student can utilize.

SaberTooth Solutions

Grant in 2019
SaberTooth Solutions is a manufacturing company that develops advanced, bonding techniques for metals and ceramics. It enables the welding together of dissimilar materials, such as metals and ceramics. This patent-protected, platform technology enables the manufacture of more rugged, longer-lasting cutting tools and hammering tools for industries as diverse construction, demolition, mining, and oil & gas exploration. SaberTooth Solutions was founded in 2009 and is based in Morganton, North Carolina.

Little House

Grant in 2020
Little House will deliver the next (r)evolutionary step more like a giant leap in surfboard design and manufacturing.

Nirvana Science, Inc.

Grant in 2012
NIRvana Sciences, Inc. develops synthetic bacteriochlorin and fluorescent dyes. Its products include UV laser excitable dyes, violet laser excitable dyes, and synthetic dyes. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

EmployUs

Grant in 2014
EmployUs Inc. develops a mobile-first hiring application that provides users with cash rewards for connecting companies with successful job applicants. Its application enables users to view and refer a candidate for job and earn when their referrals are hired. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Cary, North Carolina.
Career training, academic programs and lively entertainment and cultural offerings may all be found at Brunswick Community College (BCC) in Supply, North Carolina. Some of BCC’s academic offerings include art and science majors for those who wish to transfer to a four-year university. For those who want to prepare for a professional trade there are programs in Computer Repair, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, Office Administration, Plumbing and Welding, among others. A large part of BCC’s student life offerings may be found at the Odell Williamson Auditorium, a 1,500-seat venue that features musical, dance and theatre performances as well as lectures from renowned performers, artists and authors. Student services include academic and career advising, disability services and a student mentoring program. Students interested in attending Brunswick must provide proof of a high school diploma or GED, as well as copies of transcripts. All students must also take an assessment or placement exam prior to enrolling. Tuition for in-state students is significantly reduced. Financial aid is available to those who qualify.

Cardstalk

Grant in 2021
Cardstalk is a greeting card marketplace that specializes in card printing kiosks featuring indie and local artists. The company was founded in March 2020 by Steph and Brandon Prime.

PaperMulch

Grant in 2019
PaperMulch is an agriculture company that develops sustainable materials to replace agricultural plastic mulch used in weed suppression. The company provides an all-natural, biodegradable solution to plastic that easily integrates into the soil where it will continue to decompose, essentially eliminating the labor cost and waste of agricultural plastic removal. PaperMulch was founded in 2014 and is based in Asheville, North Carolina.

FeedStation

Grant in 2019
FeedStation is a turnkey, cloud-based service that seamlessly connects your business with popular online marketplaces. Their platform captures specific business requirements, and their powerful integration engine works with the data your customers already have. Their customers get just what they need to thrive in today's competitive environment.

InnerOptic Technology

Grant in 2011
InnerOptic Technology is a Developer of navigation software designed to improve image-guided procedures. The company's navigation software provides an intuitive 3D stereoscopic interface for accurate placement of multiple needles, enabling physician's to accurately perform complex needle procedures during surgeries.

Revibe Technologies

Grant in 2013
FokusLabs is focused on creating next generation, wearable devices to help individuals with specialized needs overcome everyday obstacles. FokusLabs helps to level the playing field for these individuals by leveraging cutting-edge haptic technology to increase focus, learning and productivity. FokusLabs' first product is a best-selling wearable, called, "RE-vibe", which increases time spent on-task by leveraging smart vibration technology through proprietary, research-based algorithms.

Arpio

Grant in 2020
Arpio is a SaaS that eliminates downtime for AWS applications by making it easy to recover from any outage in just a few minutes.

MicMag by Me

Grant in 2018
MicMag by Me is a retailer of customizable and personalized furniture. The company sells heirloom-quality, trend-forward, customizable upholstered furniture designed and handmade in North Carolina that can be shipped anywhere and assembled in minutes, enabling buyers to find cheap, locally designed furniture. MicMag by Me was founded by Kerri Hall.

Argyle Social

Grant in 2009
Argyle Software provides a Social Media Marketing Solution that enables marketers to generate more prospects, qualify more leads, and create greater engagement across their social base. Argyle Social integrates with Pardot, Marketo, and soon with Silverpop as well, to provide marketers with the only way to tie social in to the efforts of the rest of the marketing department. Hundreds of mid-sized businesses - including Uservoice, Backupify, Sharefile, and Global Giving - rely on Argyle to power their social media marketing programs.

Gryppers

Grant in 2016
Gryppers is a sports technology brand and a multinational supplier of high-quality, specialty apparel, and protective compression wear. Gryppers seeks to naturally increase proficiency, and preserve the longevity of every athlete and active professional worldwide. The company was founded in 2015 and based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Filtara

Grant in 2007
Filtara is a medical device company that engages in developing a portable oxygen concentrator. The company is based in Cary, North Carolina.

Floor Health

Grant in 2021
Floor Health is a digital health company that helps women finally treat their pelvic floor disorders with on-demand digital programs. The company's program is suited for women experiencing urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, prolapse, painful sex, vulvodynia, and vestibulodynia.

ResolveX

Grant in 2021
ResolveX focuses on and addresses the needs of individual centers such as reporting, technology, and multiple system integrations, call documentation, remote worker capabilities, and local resources.
Patagonia Health, a federally certified EMR, focuses on providing web-based Electronic Medical Record solutions in the cloud for today's modern providers. Our flexible, easy to learn/use, cost-effective Software as a Service (SaaS) or cloud model, adapts to your workflow, not the other way around-delivering maximum efficiency and ultimate convenience. Patagonia Health EMR is available through a convenient, budget friendly monthly subscription pricing. We offer solutions for the Medical provider as well as for Behavioral Health providers - both utilize a state of the art technology product built on a similar style to add efficiency through such tools as widget based workflow selection, auto learn and auto suggest, cascading review/sign offs, eRx, Lab interfaces, eSignature, document repository uploads as well as BH forms in the EMR (PCPs, Assessments, AXIS/Beck Scales, etc) - all fully integrated to a powerful Billing and Practice Management module if desired.

EleVate

Grant in 2020
Elevate is a new brand of custom shoe insoles that get delivered right to your door. Elevate patent-pending technology allows us to more thoroughly customize your insoles and offer you the comfortable, affordable, and versatile insoles your feet deserve - completely hassle-free.

ExLattice

Grant in 2018
ExLattice is 3D printing Company.

GoKart

Grant in 2019
GoKart Kids develops a mobile application that offers rideshare transportation services for kids between 6 to 17 years. The application enables users to book a ride for kids, make payments, and provides notification and text to their phone when the driver has arrived at pick up and safely reached your child’s destination. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Cary, North Carolina.

Hot Route Analytics

Grant in 2021
Hot Route Analytics is a sports analytics company that provides in-depth sports analysis for all aspects of the game. Their premier product is a mobile app and analytic platform that is used by baseball coaches to predict live game strategies. It uses big data from game film and box scores to give any team a competitive edge and build a strong fan.

PopUp

Grant in 2012
PopUp is like Twitter for places - With the PopUp App, you follow people and brands and their messages are delivered to you not on a timeline, but automatically to your phone, at physical locations as you move through your day. Only the most relevant info about where you are, from the friends and brands you trust, is delivered to you. And you can then create popups, too, and leave them for your friends and followers for them to discover. The PopUp App and APIs allows anyone - a person, a brand, an advertiser, a content publisher - to create content that is delivered to their audience at a specified location.

Fun Mom Band

Grant in 2021
Fun Mom Band is an accessories company that makes stuff for moms. The company's product, Mom’s Fanny, lightens the mother's load with a hands-free pack that inspires confidence and fun. It easily converts from around their waist to cross-body and was designed to feel comfy and look good on anybody.

Cell Microsystems

Grant in 2011
Cell Microsystems is an early growth stage company that develops, manufactures, and markets innovative products for single cell biology. The Company’s proprietary CellRaft™ Technology enables high-efficiency sorting and isolation of single cells under standard culture conditions resulting in unperturbed phenotypes and high viability. Coupled with the Company’s automated imaging platform, a user can select a cell in real-time and ‘track and trace’ that cell through imaging, collection and downstream analysis. By sorting during real-time imaging, no cells are wasted enabling single cell isolation from even small, precious samples. The CellRaft Technology offers scalable solutions making cell separation technology available for every lab.

The Wed Clique

Grant in 2016
The Wed Clique is the first digital showroom for wedding professionals. We provide premium portfolio tools to help vendors showcase their work and get discovered by clients.

Rite of Passage

Grant in 2018
Rite of Passage is a clothing brand that manufactures textiles clothes for women. It also offers a high-end women’s wear collection made with natural yarns and high-quality cloth. The company is based in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Descalza

Grant in 2019
Descalza is a Raleigh NC based Latino American inspired Fashion Label recognized for its fusion of ethically sourced artisanal Latin American textiles and modern fashion.

CopyForward

Grant in 2022
CopyForward is helping creators earn royalties on assets from art to collectibles using permanent contracts stored in a distributed ledger.

LiRA Global

Grant in 2021
LiRA Global develops technologies to build a world where all communication is realized.

Jayla’s Heirlooms

Grant in 2021
Jayla’s Heirlooms is a manufacturing company that offers handmade dolls for kids and babies. The company is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mountain BizWorks

Grant in 2020
Mountain BizWorks’ helps to build a vibrant and inclusive entrepreneurial community in Western North Carolina by helping small businesses start, grow, and thrive. When small businesses succeed, it all prosper. Mountain BizWorks provides business loans and coaching to emerging and established small businesses in Western North Carolina. It has a particular focus on working with businesses unable to access financing from banks and other traditional sources, as well as low-income, minority, women, and immigrant entrepreneurs, and businesses that operate within the local food system.

Home for Life Designs

Grant in 2021
Home for Life Designs provides mobile and cloud software for practitioners to conduct home evaluations in any patient home environment. The company also provides an innovative home assessment solution for healthcare professionals and paraprofessionals, enabling clients to stay in their homes and community safely and independently, for life. Home for Life Designs is based in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Substantial Media

Grant in 2020
Substantial Media is a platform that strikes a balance between inspiration and information, traditional and digital. The platform is based in Knightdale, North Carolina.
Novocor Medical Systems, Inc. provides solutions for emergency medical service personnel and first responders. It develops HypoCore, a chilling device for inducing therapeutic hypothermia in cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury, heat stroke, and heavily concussed patients to improve patient survival rate. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Couplet Care Bassinet

Grant in 2021
Couplet Care offers tools for improving patient safety, as well as clinical efficiency while promoting positive mother and infant health outcomes

Davos Guaranty

Grant in 2020
Davos Guaranty is a lender match platform for business capital that guarantees each loan.

qcard

Grant in 2021
Qcard is a video sticker platform that allows users to create a personalized video for any physical object in a matter of seconds. It is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Smart Girls HQ

Grant in 2021
Smart Girls HQ is the best parenting resource designed for the parents of girls aged 3 to 12. Smart Girls HQ is to demystify STEM for you and your girls and, by doing so, inspire a generation of fearless female leaders and innovators!

Sandbar Oyster

Grant in 2016
Sandbar Oyster Company is commercializing a novel biodegradable composite material designed to restore oyster habitats, reverse the decline in oyster populations, protect the shoreline and revitalize the oyster industry as part of the coastal marketplace. Sandbar was founded by Niels Lindquist, professor at the UNC Institute of Marine Science, and commercial fisherman David “Clammerhead” Cessna.
SeaChange Technologies, Inc. develops industrial wastewater treatment systems for apparel manufacturers. It offers mechanical, non-membrane, and zero-liquid-discharge desalination systems that purify the industrial wastes, eliminating sludge, chemical discharge, and greenhouse gas emissions. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

MAT

Grant in 2006
MAT is a semiconductor company that allows a host of barriers (thermal, power, size, and reliability) to be overcome while increasing performance. The company is based in Durham, North Carolina.

PowerChalk

Grant in 2010
PowerChalk is a web-based, motion analysis system that facilitates remote coaching. It enables users to upload, markup, and voiceover their videos. The company also offers ChalkTalk Telestrator, a built-in video telestrator that enables users to play, pause, markup, and voiceover their videos. The company is based in Cary, North Carolina.
Sister Girl Collection provides children's literature, Sister Girl apparel, Sister Girl children's home furnishings, and educational tools that encourage, motivate and enlighten children and communities.

RIM Helmets

Grant in 2020
RIM Helmets is a manufacturing company that offers bicycle helmets that protect the rider’s head during impact thus preventing or reducing head injury while accommodating the versatility of larger hairstyles worn by people in African American and minority communities

Sinon Therapeutics

Grant in 2017
SiNON is dedicated to improving the lives of those who suffer from debilitating neurological diseases by increasing the ability of drugs to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB).

NextRay

Grant in 2008
NextRay is a company based out of , 105 Majestic Court, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.

Shyft Auto

Grant in 2020
Shyftauto is a SAAS solution for service facilities that allows them to offer, manage and communicate service appointments, pick-up and return service appointments, manage and fulfill those appointments, communicate with the consumer, and more. They have a consumer-facing application that is free for the consumer to download and use that connects the consumer to "certified service facilities" on our platform. They are B2B. They charge service facilities with a monthly subscription fee. Their solution helps service facilities and or dealerships increase retention, revenue, and customer service scores while providing convenience to the consumer and a true end to end solution. Its solution is contactless and will even give the consumer the ability to have their vehicle serviced without calling, visiting, or thinking about going into the service facility.

InfoSense

Grant in 2011
InfoSense is a technology-driven C-corporation spun out of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2007 to commercialize a promising acoustic inspection technology developed by Dr. Ivan Howitt, a faculty member in the electrical and computer engineering department. The patented technology uses sound waves to non-invasively detect blockages in segments of sewer collection pipe by quickly inserting a portable transmitter and receiver into either end of the pipe or through a network of stationary devices that can maintain continuous assessment. The innovation of the underlying technology lies in the fact that it uses an ACTIVE transmit and receive process to assess pipe blockage conditions as compared to the reflective nature of similar applications such as SONAR or ultrasound. The active transmit and receive process works extremely well in gravity-fed sewers to detect abnormalities in a simple, low cost, and straightforward way.

ROSA

Grant in 2022
ROSA Technology combines emotional data tracking, powerful data analytics, and licensed professionals to provide on-demand and individualized mental health interventions to the nation's highest-need students.

Vitality Robotics

Grant in 2021
Vitality Robotics is a medical device company that designs AI-powered devices for biomedical research and veterinary medicine by combining computer vision, reinforcement learning, and robotics. It is based in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Trio Labs

Grant in 2017
Trio-Labs’ Digital Manufacturing technology is revolutionizing the way precision parts are manufactured worldwide. Trio Labs’ technology eliminates costs associated with tooling and increases the throughput of established high-volume production processes.

Dpoly Systems

Grant in 2006
Dpoly Systems is a nanotechnology company that offers advanced materials. It is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

RevBoss

Grant in 2014
RevBoss, Inc. provides on-demand sales development software and services for B2B/SaaS companies worldwide. It offers RevBoss, an on-demand sales engine to automate the sales prospecting process, including sourcing prospects, cleaning data, deploying campaigns, testing campaigns, and more. The company was formerly known as Catfoxtail, LLC. RevBoss, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in Durham, North Carolina.

Cybershield Security

Grant in 2022
We help SMBs automate their 3rd party risk and IT security compliance while eliminating the need to hire additional IT security resources.

Smart Girls HQ

Grant in 2022
Smart Girls HQ is the best parenting resource designed for the parents of girls aged 3 to 12. Smart Girls HQ is to demystify STEM for you and your girls and, by doing so, inspire a generation of fearless female leaders and innovators!

ArchiveSocial

Grant in 2012
ArchiveSocial is a social media archiving solution for business compliance and legal protection. ArchiveSocial automates record keeping from networks including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It is designed to address record keeping challenges for businesses in industries such as financial services, insurance, healthcare, government, and education. ArchiveSocial enables any organization to sign up online and start archiving social media in a matter of minutes.

SWIPEBY

Grant in 2017
SWIPEBY enables restaurants in suburban markets to drive loyalty and sales with fully automate curbside service. It launches a food-ordering app that turns any restaurant in a “drive-thru”. By this, SWIPEBY combines the whole world of great food with great user experience. With its curbside integration, a user can incorporate pick-ups into their schedule without leaving their car or having to call the restaurant, and will not need to worry about payment: it's all done in the app. It was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Preservation Dyehouse

Grant in 2018
Preservation Dyehouse is a manufacturing company that provides cloth dying services to dye clothes using natural products. The company is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Postbiotic Labs

Grant in 2019
Postbiotic Labs is a microbiome health research and development company. They provide novel, cutting edge, research-backed postbiotic food ingredients to companies seeking to add functionality to their food or beverage products.

ProctorFree

Grant in 2013
ProctorFree, Inc. provides an on-demand automated online proctoring service that deters cheating in an online testing environment. The company’s solution authenticates the student using facial recognition and maintains continuous identity verification throughout the exam. It provides technology solutions to the higher education and business markets in the form of automated exam proctoring for students taking online assessments. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Huntersville, North Carolina.

EntoGenetics

Grant in 2009
EntoGenetics is a biomaterials company producing spider silk from genetically engineered silkworms. Its services mainly focus on commercializing spider silk from engineered silkworms which can be used in biomedical and textile applications that enable users to get access to inexpensive spider silk in an easy manner.

Six Wing Studios

Grant in 2020
Six Wing Studios is a video-game company that operates a gaming studio used to create engaging games with compelling narratives. Its studio delivers gamified experiences that empower players with focus and emotional well-being that enable players with skills to build focus and resilience to stress, anxiety, and depression.

Booty Mint

Grant in 2019
Booty Mint is a cosmetic company that offers unorthodox natural hygiene products for consumers. The company's Booty Mist is a modern bidet attachment with a powerful cleansing system designed to wash away chocolate chips dry toilet paper can’t.

MuukTest

Grant in 2019
MuukTest is a software testing platform powered by AI that increases Software Devs testing productivity up to 26X. The company was founded in 2019 and based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Canopy Lawn Care

Grant in 2014
Canopy is a landscaping company that uses technology for consumers to purchase and schedule lawn maintenance services. It uses technology to streamline operations and improve communications in order to provide an exceptional employee and customer experience. The company provides lawn care and landscaping, from weed control and fertilization to mowing and maintenance, in an environmentally responsible and intelligent fashion. Canopy Lawn Care was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.

Davos Guaranty

Grant in 2022
Davos Guaranty is a lender match platform for business capital that guarantees each loan.

Flow Phantom

Grant in 2021
Flow Phantom creates upsells and cross-sells on the Webflow e-commerce platform, a new and fast-growing e-commerce site builder. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.