Atlanta Startup Slays Competition at Regional Pitch Off

Jewel Burks, CEO and Co-Founder of Partpic, has done it again. Earlier this week she blew the socks off of the 36|86 conference judges and was an audience favorite to boot (by boots I mean cowboy boots – 36|86 is in Nashville ya’ll – Jewels hometown). Partpic nabbing the $36,000 grand prize came as no surprise. Jewel  has been winning pitch competitions left and right. jewel

Atlanta-based PartPic is a local favorite and has recently won: a $100K investment at Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest tour, “Best Enterprise Disrupter” award at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2014, and first place at the 2015 SXSW Accelerator competition for “Enterprise and Smart Data Technologies.”

Partpic provides a simple way to find and order parts using images, which is a relief when the name or part number is unknown. You simply snap a picture, their apps’s algorithm finds an identical replacement part, and lets you know where you can buy it. The company was founded in 2013 by Burks (pictured above) and Jason Crain (more about the rest of the team here). Burks had the idea to create this app after working as a sales supervisor at one of the top parts distributors in the country. She claims 40% of callers had no part name or number to help the sales reps search for the correct part.

It was thrilling to see an Atlanta company nab the first prize and beat out 33 regional heavyweights. Joining Partpic were six other Atlanta startups that represented Atlanta well including: Florence Healthcare, GROUNDFLOOR, KangaPartpic, Reveal Estate, RivalryTerminus and Vayando.

While covering Georgia startups is our bread and butter (err… biscuits), I couldn’t help but take note of the other impressive southern startups. Here’s a few I plan to keep my eye on and you should too: 

  • Airside Mobile – Travel, based in DC – “We create and operate the world’s most innovative mobile travel apps. Drawing upon decades of process design experience and deep knowledge of the airport environment, we’ve pioneered mobile boarding passes, food delivery to the gate, expedited airport security programs, and more.” The debut for their mobile passport was at Hartsfield-Jackson.
  • aPersona – Security, based in Raleigh – “aPersona computes and analyzes unique Patterns of Behavior to Transparently protect account logins and transactions from fraud.”
  • Babyscripts – Heathcare, based in DC – “The Babyscripts experience empowers patients and allows providers to truly personalize care to each of their patients. Capturing weight, blood pressure, and app data through Babyscripts allows our providers to appropriately tailor the way they deliver care to each of their patients’ specific needs.”  Their product is being used in 60% of DC hospitals.
  • Dynepic – Internet of Things, based in Charleston – “Dynepic, a National Science Foundation funded company, is focused on building the Internet of Toys™ (IoToys™), an open playground to connect toys with a common language, cloud content, and applications for new and interconnected play patterns – moving play beyond two dimensions again.”
  • EquityEats – Crowdfunding/investing, based in DC – “EquityEats is an equity crowdfunding platform specifically focused on investment opportunities in the food and beverage service industry that yield financial returns for investors.” They will be launching in GA soon.

In addition to the startup pitches the The State of Southeast Investing talk by Trevor Kienzle, Managing Director of Correlation Ventures, had great insights to share. Here’s the CliffsNotes: 

  • US venture capital returns increased significantly over the past decade
  • Median capital to build a company to exit has declined (showing the industry has become more capital efficient)
  • Dollars raised by venture capital firms are down since last bubble
  • West vs. East Coast headquartered companies have generated similar VC returns, but in different ways- west (higher exit value) east (lower pre money values and generally more capital efficient)

Some of the fun you missed: 

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[Photo Credit: Whitlock]