NCMEP Entrepreneurs Complete Six-Week Business Incubator Program

The North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP) first cohort of entrepreneurs complete the six-week business incubator program, Propeller, at First Flight Venture Center

On Thursday, October 12, 2023, the first six start-up manufacturing companies sponsored by NCMEP to complete the Propeller program, a first-step program for early-stage science and technology innovators, included:

NC Solar Inverters, whose goal is to improve the reliability of solar systems with more reliable and affordable inverters.
Sikaram Laboratories, whose focus is reducing the cost and length of clinical trials.
Penkus, which is developing zero-waste manufacturing of children’s shoes so they can be repaired and reused.
SmartKart, which wants to attach tablets to traditional shopping carts to engage children while their parents are shopping.
SiNON Nano Sciences, which uses a nanoparticle drug delivery platform designed for treatment of central nervous system diseases.
Applied Research Transformation, which has developed technology to optimize the structural strength and output of 3-D printing of concrete for commercial and military construction.

The outcomes from the NCMEP Propeller Pre-accelerator Program include:

Determine whether there is sufficient value to pursue a product or service idea
Evaluate business problems, customer value, and competitive edge
Identify potential markets
Develop a path to market strategy
Learn how to communicate the value of the idea to early stakeholders and adopters

Propeller is open to all entrepreneurs. Propeller provides entrepreneurs with access to practical hands-on visual tools and frameworks to help them discover and test the business idea of new ideas. Apply Here.

Business North Carolina writer, Dan Barkin, describes the Propeller program and the event in his October 16, 2023 article, “First Flight incubator preps startups for success“. Barkin writes, “A lot of businesses literally start with an idea or image written on a napkin. There’s no office, no HR Department, no production line. Between the napkin and the first pitch meeting with investors – or even a wealthy relative – there should be a structured approach to answer these questions, and that’s what Propeller is intended to provide.”

“If a young company’s leaders approach Propeller the right way, they should finish up with a better business plan, with more of an idea of how to talk to investors, how to secure federal grants, a better sense of what the next steps are, plus potential partners from their cohort and new references and mentors,” stated Barkin.