Lighthouse Labs RVA

Lighthouse Labs alumni took home some awards at the @rvaech Gala! ?? Congrats to John Failla and Pearl - Tutor Management System for winning Startup of the Year and Meg Pryde of Brandefy App for winning the Founder Impact award! ??

As?Virginia SBDC-ICAP??approaches its 7th anniversary,?we are incredibly proud of the program’s success:?The ICAP Mentor team has worked with almost 1600 Virginia-based entrepreneurs?who?attribute?over $210M in capital raised?and?650 jobs?created to ICAP advice and guidance.??We are particularly?proud that?success?includes a very diverse set of founders – 49% minority founders, 34% female, and 11% veterans. This work takes an ecosystem and we are fortunate to have received financial support from?George Mason University?and our partners at?VIPC | Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, GO Virginia,?Virginia Bio,?Prince William County, CCI NOVA Node,?Fairfax County Government?DEI,?Arlington Economic Development, the?National Science Foundation (NSF),?The National Institutes of Health, and the?U.S. Small Business Administration. We also work with partners at?757 Collab,?RAMP - Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program,?Lighthouse Labs RVA,?RIoT - Internet of Things,?Mason Enterprise?,?Startup Virginia,?The Launch Place, Trolley Ventures,?Fairfax County Economic Development Authority,?Loudoun Economic Development,?Virginia Catalyst,?Activation Capital, colleges and universities across Virginia and many more. We take pride in being a statewide resource for the Commonwealth’s innovators and technology entrepreneurs, and we're thrilled to work with our partners to support these entrepreneurs on their startup journeys! Kudos to the ICAP team who have made this success possible! Josh Green, Neil Agate, Irfan Ali, Trish Barber, Floor Blindenbach, PhD, John Casey, Rachel M. Frazier, Gary Grenter, Marty Kaszubowski, Somiah (So-May-uh) Lattimore, CSPO, John Mann, TJ Master, Ankit Mathur, William McPheat,?Dan Myers, David Perkins, David Powell, Steve Obenski, Donita Prakash, Elizabeth P. Pyle, Sharon Scannell, Bob Smith, Philippe Sommer, and Jim Sweeney.

Alright Ian Y. Garrett! We see you! Congratulations!!

Get to know more about EmpathixAI, a game changer in global market research. Founders Ashley Sherry and Jacob Tucker have taken major steps forward with Lighthouse Labs in disrupting the research landscape through their latest partnerships with recognized consumer brand leaders. These collaborations represent a leap in how market researchers, particularly in B2C and B2B sectors, can gain insights from their target customers. With a growing footprint in 100 countries across the US, Europe, and Asia, EmpathixAI is the only company with a proprietary AI interviewer that expertly conducts deep, qualitative interviews at the scale and speed of surveys—and at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research. This innovation benefits not only consumer brands looking to understand customer behavior but also B2B companies seeking insights on buyer journeys, product-market fit, and industry trends. EmpathixAI allows market researchers to uncover actionable insights from representative samples of real people, whether it's individual consumers or decision-makers in B2B settings. With scientifically valid algorithms, data is analyzed across every interview, enabling companies to take immediate action based on clear, data-driven insights. Interested in joining a new era of market research or know someone who might be? EmpathixAI is looking for visionary partners for their exclusive pilots—offering more benefits at a lower price. Reach out to connect or for more information at [email protected]

Congratulations to Karambit.AI for being selected to pitch on stage at Venture Atlanta! Read the announcement ?? https://heyor.ca/K4sAOj

Last week was a super exciting week in the Lighthouse Labs RVA world. We got the chance to meet with an impressive group from Oman through Grace Klauer with The Presidential Precinct. It was so amazing to hear about what they are working on and how entrepreneurship truly is global. Then we got to see Lauren Siff , MD absolutely kill it at the Startup Runway Foundation, Inc. pitch competition. If you don't know Nwanyinma Dike and the amazing work her and the Valor Venture Group is doing, you should get to know them. We also got the chance to hang out with Danya Sherman (Batch 16 founder of KnoNap and meet some incredible founders from Halcyon as they celebrated 10 years on impact. Finally, we got the follow the updates of Batch 17 as John Schindler of Liquet Medical Inc. pitched at BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap pitch competition, Myles Powell with Myles Comfort Foods pitched at the National Black MBA Association Scale Up Competition, and many more wins and progress we'll get to share more about!

Meet Lead Mentor Mike Anderson! Mike is the Owner of Upstream Management Consulting, which specializes in general management and customer experience with an emphasis on small and medium-sized businesses.

Want to support our work - and more importantly - our founders? Lighthouse Labs has accelerated over 130 companies to date and Invested in the Lives of more than 200 Founders. Support our founders through our Fund a Founder campaign. ?? https://lnkd.in/eqFDqgDe

Applications are still open for The Launch Place's 12th Annual Big Launch Challenge (BLC)! If you are an entrepreneur or leader at an early-stage company, this is your chance to pitch to seasoned angel investors and industry pros - and win up to $10,000 in prize money. Apply by October 17th https://lnkd.in/gQ_NtN79

Lots of wins going on for our Lighthouse Labs Alums and companies! Way to to Myles Powell! You're amazing!