Innovation Showcase

Renovion, a pre-clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a therapy for chronic inflammatory airway diseases, updated attendees on how it is developing a leading compound to improve outcomes for a population with no FDA approved therapies – lung transplant patients. CEO Dan Copeland, a graduate of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s MBA program, shared how lung transplant patients have the highest mortality rate among all solid organ transplants and discussed the company’s goal to help those patients by giving them better outcomes.

NeuroNano Pharma shared how it will develop an optimized enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of lysosomal storage diseases, including Hunter syndrome, which is caused by genetic mutations. “If we are successful for this formulation for Hunter Syndrome, we believe we can use this platform to help with other diseases,” comments Chief Scientific Officer Diane Ignar, who works with the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute at UNC. “These are pediatric diseases, and usually the children die within the first or second decade. We believe that we can provide a more effective medication that’s easier to deliver and will reduce mortality rates, extend lifespans and provide a better quality of life for these children.”

Seal the Seasons shared how it offers consumers local produce year-round by bringing produce from family farms to the frozen aisle, changing the way consumers support local farmers. Its unique system creates a scalable, unique supply chain. “We are transforming a $12 billion industry by introducing a national-local brand,” says CEO Patrick Mateer, a UNC alum who majored in political science and economics. “That might sound like an oxymoron, but we’re working with local farmers in different states to sell to national grocery stores in those states. For example, if you live in North Carolina, you can enjoy North Carolina blueberries.”

Sideline updated fans about its free fantasy sports betting game that combines Vegas-style bets with the competitive, head-to-head nature of classic fantasy gaming. “57 million people in the U.S. play fantasy sports every year. Mainly it’s a social, fun kind of game,” comments co-founder and UNC student Tyler Eshraghi. “But with Sideline, instead of picking individual sports players, you pick the teams.” The company, which already has partnerships with a local radio station in Raleigh and an NFL writer from CBS Sports, is truly changing the game. “We’re removing the money from sports betting and focusing on just family and friends playing against each other,” says Eshraghi.

Strip-Straps showed attendees its removable ankle straps that attach to a pair of flip flops to create a rugged sandal hybrid that people can wear and use for outdoor adventures. Founder Fletcher Cox, a UNC senior, was inspired to create the product after working as a snorkeling and kayaking guide, and he sought to create a versatile, less expensive way for people to make use of their existing footware without having to buy a traditional pair of sandles. He used the sewing machines in a Makerspace at UNC to help develop Strip-Straps, which are made of nylon webbing, recycled neoprene from local dive shops and domestically sourced velcro. Strip-Straps are scheduled to hit stores this summer.

VINCI Fitness demonstrated VINCI, its location-based online personal training website and social media platform for students. VINCI encourages a healthy lifestyle though an online fitness community. The technology aims to help people meet their mutual fitness goals and allows users create, plan and connect for events in real time.

Nonprofit Healthy Girls Save the World updated attendees about its fun, experience-based curriculum and how it’s inspiring middle school girls across the state to be joyful, healthy and confident. UNC senior as well as founder and executive director Camille McGirt comments, “We seek better health outcomes for middle school girls by creating heathy minds, healthy bodies and healthy relationships. A lot of people think being healthy is too hard. We offer culturally appropriate programs that break down those barriers.” In addition, Healthy Girls Save the World has attracted the attention of Dr. Oz and Michelle Obama, who invited the team to the White House a couple of years ago.

The Sonder Market shared the latest about its student-run food venture, which brings local, sustainable and affordable food to the Carolina campus. UNC students Joe Sullivan, Elinor Solnick, Roan Urquhart and Delaney O’Connell arrived with samples of Sonder’s muffins as an example of the house-made baked goods it sells every day the Meantime Coffee Co. (a peer showcase venture represented by UNC student Scott Diekema and Keegan McBride), which is a student-run, non-profit coffee on campus that reinvests profits into student scholarships and grants. Through partnerships with local farms and agriculture groups such as Farmer Foodshare, the Sonder Market sells students high-quality produce below grocery store prices from a cart it operates just outside the Campus Y. The venture also provides food workshops and cooking courses to the UNC community.

Carpe Lotion described the story behind its company and how it developed the world’s first antiperspirant lotion. “We’re graduating this spring, and we’re both going fulltime,” said co-founder David Spratte, a UNC senior in health policy, while presenting with co-founder Kaspar Kubica, a senior physics and computer science major at Duke, who is part of the Robertson Scholar program with both universities. “We are currently in 750 retail locations, and the majority of our business is online through Amazon and the Carpe website,” explained Spratte. Carpe uses a waterproof formula that has antimicrobial agents, moisturizes skin and inhibits sweat from forming. The lotion lasts for hours. “We started out in a dorm room. Then we started with 1789 Venture Labs, where we were doing a lot of work, making a lot of connections and getting advice and feedback,” said Kubica.