Rhode Island Inno has spent the past four years honoring standout startups that are sparking the innovation that drives the tech ecosystem in the Ocean State. Each year, the Rhode Island Inno on Fire awards are Inno’s premier recognition program, honoring the 25 companies and organizations setting the local innovation economy ablaze.
While Inno accepts nominations, the list is entirely editorially driven. Standout startups can be recognized for an innovative product launch, high funding rounds and more. Winners were culled from the results of a nomination process and insight generated from the Inno editorial team.
Last year, we met in person, at CIC Providence, joined by then Lt. Gov. Dan McKee and a whole bunch of local innovators. Previous years’ winners can be viewed here and here.
The celebration for these awards will be held virtually on June 2. At that time, we'll also reveal this year's Inno Blazers -- the standout startups and organizations from each category. Tickets can be purchased for $10. Here are the 2021 Rhode Island Fire Award winners:
Lifestyle & Consumer
Perkies: Nothing’s worse than finding that perfect garment to wear on a special night and not having a bra that works with it. Whether it be backless or strapless garments that end up causing this hassle, all women have felt the need to find a perfect “sticky bra” that provides them coverage while not being exposed. CEO Rose Mangiarotti founded Perkies: a line of bras that are essentially a pair of cups without the traditional straps; instead, it has adhesives inside that stick directly to the wearer's breasts. Perkies launched pre-orders for its stick on bra in August and recently announced a line of breast petals. Mangiarotti is a veteran of Rhode Island Inno's Startups to Watch (2020) and was named one of Rhode Island Inno's 25 Under 25 in 2018, the same year she graduated from college.
Cardkits Toys: Cardkits stepped on the Inno scene after participating in the 2020 DESIGNxRI Providence Design Catalyst, which creates a cohort of design businesses based in Providence that will receive grant funds between $10,000 and $20,000. Cardkits are sustainable, paper toys that operate to create miniature landscapes. Rhode Island Inno featured Cardkits as it navigated the Design Catalyst virtually when the pandemic hit.
Artist Republik: Following the increase of self-made artists who rely on producing music through streaming platforms, Artist Republik was born. The company is a networking platform for independent music artists to manage themselves. Prior to its official launch, Artists Republik had an 11,000-person waiting list in just two weeks. In its first six months, it counted 17,000 users on the platform. This past July, Inno highlighted its $540,000 seed round.
SquadLocker: SquadLocker was built out of the desire to customize athletic apparel for children’s sports teams and has been in the sportswear game for the last six years. After being founded in 2015, the SquadLocker software itself has been used to create over 250,000 sites and about 40,000 leagues use the service. Last March, SqaudLocker raised $20 million in a Series C funding round.
HappyNest: After receiving $250,000 in seed money from the nonprofit Slater Technology Fund in 2019, Happy Nest has grown its delivery-fee-free, to-your-door laundry service, to 23 states and Washington, D.C., and 50 laundromat partners. The Providence-based company received a second tranche of funds last year and is now up to 70 employees nationwide.
Intimately: Intimately is an undergarments and lingerie company that provides functional and beautiful pieces for women with all sorts of disabilities. Intimately sells underwear from the brands Dear Kates, SlickChicks, Elba London and Wings Intimates. It functions as an e-commerce site and is also host to a newsletter and blog with stories written by women with disabilities.
Health & Wellness
Asthenis Pharmacy: Asthenis Pharmacy participated alongside Cardkits Toys in the 2020 DESIGNxRI Providence Design Catalyst. Asthenis is a Latino-owned, online health community that connects users to building a health-conscious community by promoting public health guidance and health education. Asthenis provides prescription pickup, medication review and education from pharmacists. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Asthenis has partnered with the Rhode Island Department of Health to get critical care to the state's underserved communities.
Alcinous Pharmaceuticals: Created in response to the damage and broken DNA caused by traditional cancer treatments, Alcinous Pharmaceuticals uses computer-based drug design, also known as rational drug design, to develop new molecules that can target cancer cells with certain mutations. Founded in 2016, Alcinous came on to the Inno scene after receiving $600,000 in funding from Slater Technology.
Cress Health: Student-led Cress Health was made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The two founders created an app that connects users to online support groups, prioritizing those with mental health issues. However, due to the pandemics impact on healthcare workers, the app’s focus transitioned to a confidential and convenient mental health support network for healthcare professionals. Last year, Cress Health received a Coivd-19 grant from the Clinton Foundation's Student Action Fund, which it is using to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees to deliver its app and other mental wellness resources to refugees in Kenya.
MediCircle: MediCircle is a budding startup that focuses on delivering unused cancer medication to patients who cannot normally afford it. Their model focuses on patients returning medication to pharmacies that will then donate to MediCircle where it will be analyzed for impurities. After it is deemed safe it will be distributed to patients in need. This model allowed MidiCircle to win $25,000 in the Brown Venture Prize Pitch Competition this past year.
MyMoc: Also known as MOCINGBIRD is a mobile platform to enable individual physicians or large hospital groups to determine the various continuing medical education, or CME, requirements, complete those requirements efficiently and monitor their progress. Typically, every two years or so doctors individually have to renew requirements and hospitals they work for are in charge of keeping track of those updates. MyMoc however is in place to help doctors organize these deadlines amid their busy schedules.
Premama Wellness: Premama Wellness is a startup that sells supplements for maternity wellness. It markets its supplements as a "four-stage system for complete pregnancy care." Stage 1 products are designed to prepare bodies for pregnancy, while Stage 2 products are aimed at those who are actively trying to conceive. Supplements marked as Stage 3 are prenatal vitamins and drink mixes, and Stage 4 includes postnatal vitamins as well as lactation support supplements. The company gained $3.5 million in funding last May to help produce products and hire staff.
ResusciTech: ResusciTech is an app that brings first aid and CPR training and certification to Android and iOS platforms. The certification can be brought on with no added equipment or cost. In the 2020 Rhode Island Business Competition, ResusciTech took home top honors: $10,000 in cash, $40,025 in professional and consulting services to expand the company. More recently ResusciTech received a $40,000 grant as the top finalist of the American Hear Association's EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerators.
Ecosystem Supporters
401 Tech Bridge: 401 Tech Bridge is a nonprofit economic development organization that works to bridge the gaps among tech startups, materials companies and government. 401 Tech Bridge took the Rhode Island Inno scene by storm this past Sept, when its launch was complemented by $6 million in funding. This funding allowed it to build a local lab space and focus on bluetech advancement.
Rhode Island Black Business Association: The Rhode Island Black Business Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the business opportunities of Black-owned and POC-owned businesses. The organization is in pace to help marginalize business owners with access to capital, contracting, business development resources, entrepreneur training, business advocacy, meaningful investor services, and workforce development. Its presence is a must in Rhode Island as a February report from Fit Small Business on the state of Black entrepreneurship ranked Rhode Island the third-worst state for Black small-business owners.
MassChallenge Rhode Island: Mass Challenge Rhode Island is a non-profit organization that supports innovation and entrepreneurship through collaboration and development. The accelerator was founded in Boston, but has reached the ocean-state this past year with 11 startups featured in the 2020 cohort. 2020’s cohort highlighted diverse founders and focused on anti-racism teachings.
RIHub: RIHub is part incubator and part accelerator, that offers mentoring, in-house events, workspaces and launch assistance to local startups. Managing director, Annette Tonti noted in a July feature that RIHub is specifically catered to by the community, for the community approach. The portal allows budding entrepreneurs to grow and for the community to be involved with the ins and outs of emerging startups.
Fountainhead RI: Fountainhead RI is a local connector that works to empower future leaders. They work to accomplish the goal of advancing Rhode Island by hosting panel events on educational topics, such as financial literacy, sustainability, art and culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, among many other topics; and, by spotlighting individuals and organizations in the community making large strides in the local ecosystem. Fountainhead was featured as a non-profit nominee in Rhode Island’s third annual fire awards.
Fintech
Beeline: is a mobile platform that promises to streamline the home loan approval process including loan approvals, titles and closing through a single mobile app. Beeline first reached the Inno scene after gaining $7.6 million in seed funding last May. The app operates by linking directly to a user’s personal bank account and using machine learning algorithms based on the data, Beeline creates approvals once the personal and financial information is verified.
Marstone Inc.: Marstone strictly a technology partner to aid consumers in investing. It provides its platform to financial institutions that white-label it with their own brands and price their services as they see fit. Then, customers of that institution can enroll on the platform electronically and set up their investments. Rhode Island Inno profiled Marstone last October.
Payslip: Payslip is an Irish payroll automation startup that uses technology designed to allow multinational employers to automate and integrate global payroll management. Based in Rhode Island, Payslip took Inno by storm when it announced it raised $2.9 million in Series A funding last March.
INNO Picks
H2Ok: H2Ok is a contaminant management platform that helps industrial and manufacturing businesses optimize water usage and treatment through predictive diagnostics. H20K’s “AquaSensor,” monitors water chemistry and composition. AquaSensors are 100 times cheaper than traditional water sensors. H2OK Innovtions' list of accolades is long: It was a finalist in the Harvard's President's Innovation Challenge, a finalist in the Brown Venture Prize competition and the winner of the Rhode Island Business Competition in 2019. The startup has participated in several accelerator platforms, including the Harvard i-lab Summer Venture Program, the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator and BlueSwell.
Inventing Heron/Wingspans: Inventing Heron which recently rebranded to become Wingspan is a storytelling platform that allows students and aspiring professionals to explore different career paths through various types of content. The platform also has other features that help students and others get a better understanding of what career path they would like to pursue. The company was a finalist at MassChallenge Rhode Island this year after their official launch in January.
Ocean State Shields: Ocean State Shields works to address global health emergencies at the local level. In response to Covid-19, it developed a suite of products and services that can both inhibit pathogens, eliminating the spread of the virus. The company is a little over a year old and in its first eight months, it secured $80,000 in funding from the quasi-governmental organization Rhode Island Commerce, which it used to help support restaurants and other businesses that struggled during Rhode Island's winter months.
Wanderlust: The Wanderlust Group is an outdoor technology company composed of Dockwa, Marinas.com, and Campouts.com. It uses a marketplace and technology platform that connects users to outdoor destinations. This past year, the pandemic brought the company a 400 percent growing in inbound leads and $14.2 million in a Series B funding round.
