Birmingham-based early-stage venture fund Bronze Valley has named its spring 2023 Bronze Valley VentureLab cohort.
The companies include Birmingham-based Prep Intel, Welcomed Co and WorkTalo, as well as Binga and Eat Unbound.
Prep Intel helps higher education institutions make better decisions throughout the admissions process. The platform uses machine learning and predictive modeling to provide tailored recommendations for admissions, financial aid and retention that result in exceptional outcomes for students and increased revenue for institutions. Prep Intel has gained traction, with LOIs from 11 colleges, universities and school districts for its beta cohort and has six more institutions in the pipeline. Its president is Jay Johnson.
Welcomed Co’s direct-to-consumer, e-commerce platform is attempting to humanize and beautify the assistive product market. Through the curation and creation of adaptive products, services and content, Welcomed Co allows users to find and purchase luxurious adaptive solutions and aims to improve physical and mental health outcomes for individuals, their households and community. Welcomed Co has been awarded pending B Corp status and was a finalist in the 2023 concept category of the Alabama Launchpad. Its founder is Cristina Casanova Might.
Headquartered in Birmingham, WorkTalo uses behavior-based matching algorithms and generative AI to mitigate bias in the talent acquisition process. By focusing on skills and value alignment, WorkTalo wants to create a more objective and engaging hiring experience. It has a pipeline of more than five recruiters and beta testers ready to access the platform. Its founder is Donald Smith.
Binga is based in Dallas. Its fintech app aims to introduce Gen Zers and millennials to financial budgeting. Using predictive analysis, Binga provides users with personalized weekly budgets to encourage a shift in financial behavior. Binga.biz makes money through subscriptions collected whenever a user purchases a budget plan. It has generated $14,000 in investment and has more than 360 waitlist candidates. Its founder is Joseph Stevens.
Eat Unbound allows those with dietary restrictions to easily search for and locate eateries in their area. Eat UnBound will be an Arizona-based, Delaware C-Corp. It is currently pre-revenue but has 21 Unbound restaurants and more than 320 restaurants in the Phoenix area categorized on the platform. Its founder is Joseph Terrell.
