FLOWOOD, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi technology inventors pitched their products and companies to financiers in hopes of going global. The Accelerate Conference by Innovate Mississippi gave entrepreneurs a platform to take their businesses to the next level.
The InvestMS Scale-Up Pitch competition was narrowed down to four businesses which took to the stage before investors from across the country on Wednesday.
Judges heard from tech startups offering mobile apps for the forestry industry, credit card payment consolidation, a carbon resin system, and a legal expungement website.
These companies are vying for money and want to follow in the footsteps of Jewel Burks Solomon, Managing Partner at Collab Capital and keynote speaker of the conference.
Burks and Dr. Nashlie Sephus sold their tech company to Amazon in 2016.
“Now is a great time to build; there has never been a lower barrier to entry,” Solomon explained. “So, actually building technology because of the advent of AI. There’s so many tools out there that you can use to get a prototype into the app store and get it in people’s hands.”
Startups were questioned about their marketing strategies, success rates, and long-term costs.
Judges presented the $15,000 Regions Foundation award to Canton-based Legalease, founded by Roger Roman and attorney Lawrence Blackmon.
The legal platform launched over two months ago and already has 3,000 users.
“We are building a platform that empowers people to handle what we call non-complex legal matters without an attorney, with record clearing as our entry into the market,” said Blackmon. “We’re helping people who have blemishes on their criminal record that are eligible to be expunged.”
Funding was the aim, but the ultimate goal is networking and meeting investors who can make their companies grow right here in the Magnolia State.
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