Inaugural Gulf Coast Pitch Competition
Three very promising entrepreneurs from across the Gulf Coast states were chosen to pitch to a panel of judges including Callais Capital’s Managing Director/CIO Hal Callais.
Over 70 members of the investment community across multiple states attended the inaugural Gulf Coast Pitch Competition at the Great Southern Club in downtown Gulfport, MS on October 17th, 2018. The winner, DaVinci Research Solutions based in Mobile, Alabama received a $10,000 grand prize in cash and in-kind professional services.
The event was organized by a collaboration between the Small Business
Innovation Research Consortium (SBIRC), Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, Marine Industries Science & Technology Cluster (MIST) and Innovate Mississippi.
Judges were Hal Callais of Callais Capital, Adam Vickers of Cara Stone, and Carl Hagstrom of Hybrid Plastics, and Tom Stanley of NASA.
The press release from SBIRC:
DaVinci/Phase Up Joint Venture
Wins Gulf Coast Pitch Competition!
DaVinci Research Solutions based in Mobile, Alabama was selected as the
winner of the Gulf Coast Pitch competition held Wednesday in Gulfport. DaVinci is joint venturing with Phase Up Research to provide a new technology platform through proprietary software called CAPTure. The web-based financial tool automates billing and compliance for clinical trials, thus improving the patient experience and optimizing payments for clinical trial host sites. Learn more at http://www.davinciresearchsolutions.com/
DaVinci won a $10,000 prize package of cash and in-kind professional
services. The technology company was selected among three competing
proposals.
Others included:
– Soldier Fly Technologies from Baton Rouge that focuses on alternative insect
proteins for pet and animal nutrition to meet future world food demands.
– Innovate Imaging and Research (I2R) from Stennis, MS that is developing precision day and night imaging technologies for scientific remote sensing.
The entrepreneurs pitched their unique ideas to an esteemed panel of
judges: Hal Callais of Callais Capital, Adam Vickers of Cara Stone, and Carl
Hagstrom of Hybrid Plastics. Additional commentary and critique was offered by Tom Stanley of NASA.
Hal Callais summed up the quality of the pitch proposals, “The three technologies introduced were impressive and varied from food science to star based sensoring to proprietary software for clinical trials. I offer my congratulations to DaVinci and all the innovative businesses who presented.”
The first time, multi-state event was co-hosted by: the Small Business
Innovation Research Consortium (SBIRC), Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, Marine Industries Science & Technology Cluster (MIST) and Innovate Mississippi.
The Gulf Coast Pitch event was supported by several sponsors, including Title
Sponsor Callais Capital, Cara Stone, Baker Donelson, MIST, Model Content,
Louisiana Technology Park, Idea Village and Patent Dive. The sponsors helped underwrite the event and support the pitch winner package.
Andy McCandless, Chairman of the SBIR Consortium, served as Master of Ceremonies and was pleased with the event success, “The Pitch program attracted a strong gathering of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and businesses executives. On behalf of our partners, we thank all those who participated and supported the event. Next year, we hope to make it bigger and better.”
Go to www.sbirc.org for other innovation news and events
About Callais Capital
Callais Capital Management is a Venture Capital, Real Estate, and Private Credit Investment Advisor based in Thibodaux, LA that operates in The Southeast US and Texas. Find out more at Callaiscapital.com