Warren-based food and drink startup incubator Hope & Main hosted various members of the Rhode Island tech and startup ecosystem last night for Rhode Island Inno's second-annual 50 on Fire event.
It was a celebration of the individuals, enterprises and other entities that are driving change for the better in Ocean State's innovation scene, where we were able to specifically spotlight Rhode Island Inno's 50 on Fire winners across 10 categories.
This process began with nominations from the community. The Rhode Island Inno team then culled the list to the remaining 50, highlighted in this post naming the winners and covering the accomplishments that deemed them "on fire."
The list is comprised of a diverse group of people from diverse organizations with diverse missions and perspectives, a symptom that we at Rhode Island Inno believe is indicative of a robust and healthy ecosystem.
A panel of esteemed judges used the list of winners to then choose a specially designated "Inno Blazer" from each category. Inno Blazers received a (literal) red blazer to celebrate the nod. Ross Nelson, vice president at Cox Business; Brittanny Taylor, co-founder of The Branding Edit and founder of Brittanny Taylor photography; Pat Sabatino, founder and CEO of Datarista; Allyson Cote, co-founder and COO of Maternova; and Brian Jepson of Providence Geeks each cast their vote, with additional judging services provided by the Rhode Island Inno editorial team.
We've recapped the Inno Blazers, and an early assortment of pictures from the event, below (check back here for more photos as they come in!).
And, of course, special thanks to Rhode Island Inno founding partner Cox Business and Marcum Accountants and Advisors, who sponsored the evening.
Food and Drink
David Dadekian, EatDrink RI: “Food will help Rhode Island grow” is EatDrink RI’s tagline, and it’s a perspective that its leader, David Dadekian, lives and breathes. He consistently champions the RI Food Bank and is a driving force behind the forthcoming EatDrink RI Central Market (the state’s first food hall).
Ocean and Agriculture (Environmental Science)
SeaAhead: This January 2018-born entity works to create a “blue-tech” hub in Rhode Island (and by extension, southern New England). It’s a bootstrapped company with a few corporate sponsors that already boasts events and an incubation center. Additionally, SeaAhead announced it will be establishing a hub at the Cambridge Innovation Center next month.
Education and Government
GoPeer: Led by Ethan Binder, GoPeer is a platform designed to connect high school students with local, college-age tutors, and it made its official debut in 2017. Since then, the service has gained more than 2,000 college-student users from Brown and RISD and it recently concluded a seed round.
Design
DESIGNxRI: This nonprofit economic development organization helps coalesce in-state design talent, and this year continued its partnership with the city of Providence, RISD and Real Jobs RI for the rebirth the Design Catalyst. In addition to the DesignRI Week and its monthly events, its support was considered “key” in bringing Infosys to the Ocean State.
Inno Choice
Práctico Innovation: This Providence-based enterprise looks to “advise, mentor and invest” in underserved or underrepresented communities and entrepreneurs. Investments include Savvy Girl, Purifad and PetRover. Formerly named one of Rhode Island Inno’s Coolest Companies, it has sustained results in its space. In fact, within “five years, we’ve reviewed over 200 business ideas from three communities of underrepresented entrepreneurs — Latinos, Blacks and Asians,” its website states.
New to the Ecosystem
ReliaBra: Founded by Rose Mangiarotti (a 2018 graduate of Brown University) during her time at the school; it’s a startup that develops “sticky bras that offer removable and replaceable adhesives.” Mangiarotti is still working out details around production, but that hasn’t stopped the device’s acclaim. In fact, not only was Mangiarotti named one of Rhode Island Inno’s 25 Under 25 entrepreneurs this year, but her idea also made her an audience favorite at the #GetStartedRI competition, winning the audience favorite prize of $5,000 by a considerable margin. Mangiarotti was also named one of Rhode Island Inno’s 25 Under 25.
Tech — Small (< 11 Employees)
TextUp: The 2018 entity is a “secure messaging and software platform that empowers social workers to be more efficient with their work and improve the professional quality of their life.” The company (founded by 2018 RISD grad Hanna Oh and 2018 Brown graduates, Michelle Petersen and Eric Bai) won the Rhode Island Business Competition, was named one of the finalists of the Cox Get Started Pitch Competition and participated in MassChallenge Rhode Island’s inaugural cohort.
Tech — Large (11+ Employees)
General Assembly — Providence: While General Assembly has locations across the globe and isn’t headquartered in Rhode Island, its Providence campus has made strides to educate and empower since its first program launch in 2016. “To date, GA Providence is educating a total of over 90 unemployed, underemployed or underrepresented citizens and placing them in jobs in the Rhode Island tech industry,” the entity told RI Inno.
Health Care
Mighty Well: Mighty Well and its CEO Emily Levy are looking to “transform the patient experience” by creating a line of accessories meant to stylishly conceal treatment apparatuses, and it’s been met with considerable acclaim: Considerable amounts of money raised, media attention, participation (and success) in area competitions, etc. Last fall, the company won WORLDZ conference’s startup pitch competition in both the “social impact” category and the overall contest, and the company just recently debuted a new product, the “mighty pack.”
Nonprofit
Sprout CoWorking: Called “by far the best coworking space in Rhode Island” by customers, Sprout recently expanded to Warren with a new location, in addition to its Providence location.
