As 2020 comes to a close, we have many things to reflect on. This year began much like any other, with founders and entrepreneurs looking toward funding opportunities, launching new concepts and pushing their startups forward.
When Covid-19 hit in March, it almost immediately reshaped the tech and startup ecosystem. And while some struggled to find their footing, facing early challenges and fears of the unknown, many emerged with stories of pivots and continued growth. Any founder will tell you that 2020 was not an easy year, but it was one during which they were forced to innovate to thrive.
That brings us to our Startups to Watch in 2021 list. The list is comprised of companies we believe are poised to have a breakout year in 2021. Some may be more established and in a position for that big moment, and others may be fresh and new with upward momentum.
We considered a variety of metrics while compiling the list — how quickly a startup has scaled, representation or success in local and national pitch competitions and accelerator programs, a successful pandemic pivot, a significant funding round or grant and/or someone solving an important problem.
Let's meet Charlotte Inno's Startups to Watch in 2021.
Amicus.io
Amicus.io, founded in 2017 by Cor Hoekstra and Walt Ruloff, is a platform designed help put banking at the heart of charitable philanthropy and give the average person greater opportunity to give to causes they support. The company's platform officially launched on Nov. 17, the same day it announced an $8.7 million Series B raise. It is currently a 25-person team, but Hoekstra anticipates the company will double in size over the next 18 months. Part of that expansion includes the addition of 13 people to its development team, which is located in Tel Aviv, Israel. The new team members will be located in Charlotte.
Atmos
Nick Donahue, Trent Hedge, Austin Kahn and Matt Rastovac launched Atmos in late 2019 to give potential homebuilders the ability to create the home of their dreams. The startup is a graduate of the Y Combinator and has raised multiple funding rounds this year — a $2 million seed round over the summer and a $4 million round from Silicon Valley investors in late October. Currently, the platform is accessible in Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham. Donahue said they plan to launch Atmos in a new city by mid-2021 and stand up their first 100 houses during the upcoming year.
Atom Power
Atom Power, founded in 2014 by Ryan Kennedy and Denis Kouroussis, started the year strong and finished it stronger. In May, the tech company's digital circuit breaker, called Atom Switch, was named an honorable mention in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas Awards in the energy category. The startup was also chosen to present its product at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, before it was canceled due to Covid. Then, in early summer, Atom Power announced a $17.75 million Series B funding round. Kennedy told Inno the funds would be used to give the company more flexibility in scaling production size and quality control.
Bundle
Bundle, founded in early 2019 by Eric Mager and and Marco Bugarello, is a mortgage platform that makes the streamlines the home-buying process to make it as fast and simple as possible. The startup announced its first outside round of equity in September, a $250,000 investment led by Charlotte Angel Fund. Last year, Bundle was one of eight startups to earn a spot in Queen City Fintech's spring cohort, and Bugarello was named to this year's Inno Under 25 list.
Carewell
Founded in 2015 by husband-and-wife team Jonathan Magolnick and Bianca Padilla, Carewell is an e-commerce platform designed to improve the lives of family caregivers. The couple moved Carewell from Miami to Charlotte in 2017 and managed to bootstrap the company until closing on a $5 million seed round in September. Since then, the team has more than doubled, from 10 to 27 employees. Padilla and Magolnick are hard at work expanding its product offerings, creating new educational resources for customers and providing additional specialized training for customer care associates.
EasyKnock
EasyKnock, a startup that buys homes and rents them back to the owners, was founded in New York in 2016 by Jarred Kessler and Ben Black. Two years later, the pair opened a sister office in Charlotte to try and leverage the talent pool and sales potential. Kessler told Inno they saw the pandemic as an opportunity to raise some money, and raise money they did. EasyKnock closed on a $20 million Series B round over the summer. The funding was used to expand enterprise relationships and tech offerings and to ramp up marketing efforts. The startup has since launched two programs to help give homeowners more financial freedom.
Light and Charge Solutions
Light and Charge Solutions was founded in 2019 by Margaret Kocherga to find a solution to the need for more efficient, reliable and tailorable materials for the electronics display and OLED TV market. Kocherga began her research in 2019 as a member of the Ventureprise Launch NSF I-Corps discovery program. She received a $10,000 seed grant from the NC IDEA Foundation last fall and set up a lab on campus at UNC Charlotte. Light and Charge Solutions was then accepted into the National Science Foundation’s National I-Corps Program, which included a $50,000 grant. In April, Kocherga was one of five innovators accepted into Chain Reaction Innovations, a two-year entrepreneurship program with the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. She was also named to Charlotte 2019 Inno Under 25 list.
Nufabrx
Nufabrx, a textiles startup that uses copper infused materials to deliver vitamins and medicine through clothing, made a quick pivot when Covid-19 hit earlier this year. The company, founded in 2011 by Jordan Schindler, began creating face masks using its core technology, an anti-microbial agent. The first mask released was a reusable design that quickly became popular among first responders and health-care workers. But Schindler has bigger plans. In August, Nufabrx released a second mask design. The Soliscia mask was not only infused with the anti-microbial copper fibers but also with shea butter. Schindler said the combination of ingredients are designed to keep the wearer safe and help combat the dryness and acne many people have experienced from wearing a mask.
Rabbu
Rabbu, founded in 2017 by Emir Dukic, Trent Hawthone and James Strong, made the decision to pivot early in the pandemic, and it's paid off. The startup is a technology and operations company in the short-term rental market that helps property owners manage their Airbnb rentals. Dukic said the company lost six figures in revenue in March, but the decision to switch operations to longer-term rentals for locals needing a place to quarantine quickly put it back on track. By April, the company had regained 90% occupancy, and revenue began to flow again. At the start of the pandemic, Rabbu operated in Charlotte, Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. The company has since expanded to Pineville and Denver in North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Miami Beach, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee.
Rebundle
Rebundle, founded in 2019 Ciara May, manufactures plant-based, biodegradable synthetic hair used for protective styles like braiding and twisting. May said the synthetic hair used in these styles, which have been used predominately by Black women since the 1950s, have historically been made from plastics and toxic chemicals that irritate the scalp, cause itchy and sometimes painful reactions and are not environmentally friendly. Pre-orders for Rebundle's extensions launched this month, and the company has already garnered a following on social media. May's early work on Rebundle earned her first place at Venture for America's Side-Project-a-Thon in 2019. She was also named to Charlotte's 2019 Inno Under 25 list.
Rent Ready
Rent Ready, founded in 2016 by Jonathan Kite, Ryan McMillan and Will Brugh, was successful in becoming a single-stop go-between for apartment properties in need of turnover services in the Charlotte region, as well as Raleigh-Durham and Atlanta. After the pandemic hit, however, the team decided to pivot and began providing an additional disinfecting service using electrostatic spraying and EPA-approved, hospital-grade solutions. Rent Ready has raised $5.5 million to date, and it was chosen in April as one of Charlotte-based growth-equity studio CreativeCo's first investments. The startup was also named to Charlotte Business Journal's Fast 50 for 2020.
SignUpGenius
SignUpGenius, founded in 2008 by Dan Rutledge, Angel Rutledge and Michael Vadini, is an online application designed for group organization, event planning, and volunteer scheduling and management. In July, the company launched a new platform called Lumaverse. It's a streamlined way for nonprofits and school organizations like a PTO or PTA to engage with stakeholders. As a part of Lumaverse, partner companies will continue to operate as standalone brands within the platform while being increasingly integrated as a suite. Mike Barros, Lumaverse chief executive, said the startup plans to continue its integration and introduce even more innovations into the market.
Troy Medicare
Troy Medicare, founded in 2018 by Flaviu Simihaian and Josh Young, is a platform designed to provide accessible and affordable health insurance to older people in rural and underserved communities. Just last month, the startup closed on $10 million in Series B funding that it will use to expand its tech and continue to grow its customer base into 2021. Troy doubled its membership from October to November and is expected to double again by the end of the year. By early 2021, Simihaian said the company should have about 2,000 members in four counties. Troy's coverage is available to anyone who is eligible for Medicare A or B and lives in Cabarrus, Iredell, Robeson or Rowan counties, with plans to expand into 20 more North Carolina counties in 2021.
Undergrads
Undergrads, founded in 2017 by Chris Dyer and Thomas Mumford, has grown from a college side hustle to a full-blown business. They launched the app, which connects college students to people in need of movers, in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2019. It has since expanded operations to Columbia and Charleston in South Carolina, as well as to Charlotte earlier this year. The pair is currently working on a second service called Technology Home Services, and moving into 2021, they plan to begin raising a seed round. Both Dyer and Mumford were also named to this year's Inno Under 25 list.
