Betaspring showcases latest cohort, must do more fundraising

JEREMY FRYER-BIGGS, CEO of Mebotics, speaking at the Betaspring spring open house in Providence's Knowledge District Thursday, presents his company's story to the roughly 300 attendees. The company is developing a hybrid 3-D printer and CNC milling machine designed to help companies do rapid prototyping or make short production runs of customized products. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
JEREMY FRYER-BIGGS, CEO of Mebotics, speaking at the Betaspring spring open house in Providence's Knowledge District Thursday, presents his company's story to the roughly 300 attendees. The company is developing a hybrid 3-D printer and CNC milling machine designed to help companies do rapid prototyping or make short production runs of customized products. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – Betaspring hosted more than 300 community supporters, investors and Betaspring alumni Thursday for an open house introducing the accelerator’s spring 2014 class of startups.

This session’s cohort – comprised of seven startups and two “Betaspring Fellows” – was selected from a pool of roughly 300 applications, according to the accelerator. Over the past six weeks, the teams have worked with Betaspring mentors and experts to hone their businesses, which range from 3-D printing technology to a political app for lobbyists to a video training program to teach people how to build Web and mobile apps.

The spring 2014 class is smaller than previous Betaspring cohorts and is also the last that will be funded under the existing Betaspring Fund 100, which included $2 million from the State Small Business Credit Initiative and $2.1 million from a group of angel and corporate investors. After this session, Betaspring will have to raise more money in order to continue funding its biannual accelerator program.

To emphasize the breadth of Betaspring’s impact on the local economy and startup scene since its inception in 2009, several Betaspring alumni took the stage at Thursday’s event to share updates and to highlight the accelerator’s role in helping them achieve success.

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One company, NuLabel Technologies, was among the first Betaspring cohort in 2009. At that time, NuLabel consisted of three employees in a 200-square-foot office and had no investors, according to CEO and Co-Founder Max Winograd. Today, the adhesives and packaging company occupies 16,000 square feet, employs 30 full-time employees and has raised $10 million in equity funding.

“If it wasn’t for Betaspring, we wouldn’t be standing on this stage today, we wouldn’t be as strong as we are today, and we wouldn’t be growing stronger every day,” said Winograd, who encouraged attendants of the open house to “pay it forward” by contributing to Betaspring in some way.

Melissa Withers, Betaspring’s chief of staff, said she hoped the audience took home the message that Betaspring can and will continue to make a positive impact on the Rhode Island community and economy if given the support to carry its momentum forward.

“We cannot take our foot off the gas,” said Withers. “I was at MassChallenge last night, and when we used to go to Boston, they’d say, ‘Oh, thanks for coming.’ Now it’s, ‘Where were you last night?’ That means they’re starting to think of us as a node on the map. … We can’t flinch.”

Including this newest cohort, Betaspring has accelerated 90 companies that have raised $35 million in follow-on funding.

The spring 2014 companies (with business model descriptions) include:

  • 3DaGoGo – Simplifies the complex world of 3-D printing software into a simple one-click-print experience, making it easy for anyone to print an object on a 3-D printer from any computer or mobile device.
  • BaseRails – Provides step-by-step, project-based programming and app development tutorials through an on-demand video learning platform to help people prototype their ideas.
  • Careerlytic – Puts individuals in control of their professional development using data-driven analytics to customize training programs.
  • CoachMe – Helps amateur athletes improve their performance by enabling them to upload game-play videos, which are analyzed to produce professional-grade statistics and customized coaching.
  • Inkba – Makes buying traditional ads as easy as buying ads on Facebook by producing a tailored advertising plan and facilitating offline ad purchases with one click.
  • Mebotics – Developed the Microfactory, a hybrid 3-D printer and CNC milling machine that brings a machine shop to your desktop, ideal for companies looking to rapidly and affordably develop prototypes or manufacture short runs of customized products.
  • Modelo – Makes it easy to publish, share and collaborate in immersive three-dimensional environments, online and in real-time, similar to Google Documents.

In addition, Betaspring has taken on two Fellows – early-stage companies that are not yet developed enough to participate in the accelerator program, but that receive Betaspring mentorship.

  • Capitol Buddy – Helps lobbyists connect with and manage their relationships with state legislators through a mobile app.
  • Switchbox – Designed a remote engine starter for the aviation industry, as well as a portable air conditioning unit for pilots.

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