Create-X Demo Day: 5 Standout Startups

Meet 5 Standout CREATE-X Startups

CREATE-X

by the numbers 136 active 230 startups total startups created $60M+ highest total revenue by one startup

35

different majors

42

jobs created by the largest startup

53

startups with women cofounders

$310M+

total valuation of all startups launched

4000+

students involved

12 STARTUPS REPRESENTED THE COVID-19 NICHE ALONE

12 OTHERS FELL WITHIN THE SOCIAL, NETWORKING, GIG & COLLABORATION CATEGORY

CREATE-X DEMO DAYS are sponsored by Georgia Institute of Technology and were launched as part of a broader Georgia Tech initiative to “instill entrepreneurial confidence in students and empower them to launch successful startups.” The institute has opened up knowledge, skills, experiences and more to students looking to steer their future outcomes as entrepreneurs.

This past July, DU publisher Steve Skura, MBA, attended a Preview edition of Demo Day. Typically a live event, the online Gatherly platform this virtual event was hosted on opened up new experiences to him. Expecting a Zoom atmosphere and seminar-style pitches, he said that what he actually got was “much more engaging.” Read on to get a sense for what his Demo Day experience was like.

“There were roughly 70 booths total. I visited 15 and want our readers to know about the five I found to be the most interesting ….” – DU publisher Steve Skura, MBA, referring to CREATE-X Preview Day (July 2020)

After logging in, Skura’s mouse cursor landed on what looked like the floor of a 2-D conference center. Booths labeled with startup names lined several such “floors”—each meant to represent, on the whole, a different sector. Major business categories included:

Niche: COVID-19 Industrials (Smart City) B2B Enterprise & Platforms Apparel, Consumer Goods & Food Health, Medical, EdTech & FinTech Retail/Small & MediumSized Business Social, Networking, GigBased &/or Collaboration

In order to get around, Skura took an “elevator.” He was then able to explore the virtual event floor-by-floor and, if he wanted, startup-by-startup. Upon clicking near a booth, his cursor would jump to it. Once he arrived, a video popup enabled him to meet with that startup’s founders.

“I thought it was a very engaging and personal way to conduct a virtual event,” said Skura. “Interestingly, the Gatherly hosting platform used had emerged from the CREATE-X program. There were roughly 70 booths total. I visited 15 and want our readers to know about the five I found to be the most interesting: Copy Games, Melon, Museq, Praan and Senteon.”

Copy Games was launched with the intent of discovering how board games could be played virtually alongside friends and family. Still in development, “Shadow’s Keep” is one of this startup’s virtual/board game titles and can be played by small or large groups. With so many people feeling stuck at home right now, it makes sense. Skura played a round and found the game “entertaining.”

Melon’s goal is to offer efficient, cost-effective food delivery powered by improved logistics and curated offerings. The startup team said current delivery fees have become too expensive to be manageable for businesses or their consumers. With Melon there are no fees and no tipping. By encouraging advanced orders, Melon has been able to deliver food in time for lunch or dinner while keeping costs down.

Museq is meant to be an automated, all-in-one marketing platform for artists. Skura found it similar to Patreon in the way it connects fans with creators: “However,” he said, “Museq goes a step further by helping musicians grow their fan bases.” Upload a video performance, tell Museq which famous musician sounds most similar and choose a markeing goal. AI then takes over, targeting potential fans.

Praan sought to build the world’s most low-cost, advanced, filterless and artificially-intelligent air purification systems. In speaking with Praan’s founders, Skura said he “got the impression their filtration technology might be able to filter air across large, indoor commercial spaces as well as homes.” Theirs is not only a large potential market, he added; a rapidly growing need exists

in the sustainability space.

Senteon’s founders launched an AI-powered cybersecurity program designed as an autonomous, all-inone solution for select markets (i.e., dental, health care). Rather than require a team of trained personnel to operate—thereby increasing business expenses and maintenance issues—Senteon’s turnkey solutions come at modern threats with an eye toward shoring up cybersecurity without the complexity.

Online at: • CopyGames.MyPortfolio.com/Work • TryMelon.com • Museq.io • Praan.io • Senteon.co

LEARN MORE ABOUT DEMO

DAY, the dozens of mostly seed-stage ventures represented in July and similarly-affiliated startups at CREATE-X.GATech.edu/.