EDai, the company behind a site-selection platform for economic development projects, is inching closer to launch after going through another Richmond-area accelerator.
The Richmond company is working with Short Pump software company Covintus, who put on the Covintus Tech Tank pitch competition that EDai won following its accelerator program, to build out its platform that uses artificial intelligence to showcase data on real estate, talent, taxes and incentives for businesses looking to relocate or open a new location.
“A big focus of the Covintus Tech Tank accelerator was on what does it take to not just create a [minimum viable product], but to build a company that can scale that's built on a solid technology foundation,” said EDai founder Sean Brazier, whose work and education experiences include earning a doctorate in policy from Virginia Commonwealth University and work at consultancy McKinsey & Co. and as lead strategist for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
“As somebody who is nontechnical, having those perspectives of the issues that come up when you're working with a software development firm or you're trying to hire your own talent, these are things that you as a CEO need to be aware of, was incredibly helpful.”
Brazier is no stranger to Richmond accelerator programs. Last year, he took his company through the Lighthouse Labs accelerator program, earning $20,000 in equity-free funding. Each member of the Covintus Tech Tank received $7,500 and EDai claimed another $25,000 by winning the pitch competition. All compensation from Covintus is matching credit with the company, and Covintus doesn't take equity in the participating startups.
EDai grew out of Brazier’s experience with the VEDP and leading the time-consuming assembly of a 900-page proposal to convince Amazon.com Inc. to select Northern Virginia for its second headquarters location. Pronounced “E-D-A-I” as a reference to “economic development” and “artificial intelligence,” the platform is his solution to streamlining the construction of such reports.
Brazier hopes to launch later this spring with subscriptions to multiple data platforms focusing on talent, real estate, quality of life and more.
“Economic developers are pooling all of these disparate data points together to try to paint a picture of how their community stands relative to others in attracting businesses,” said Brazier. “What we're doing is pulling all that data together and then instead of them having analysts crunch all that data every time a project comes in, we've built the analytics so that they can just provide a few different inputs.”
Brazier said he has been taking money earned through consulting work and funneling it back into the EDai platform. He said he’s put more than six figures into the business and product development over the last year and a half. Brazier’s biggest challenge is that he has been bootstrapping the company as the sole full-time employee up unto this point while relying on contractors.
“We're close to launching and I'd like to make our first full-time hire, somebody who can own the analytics while I go out there and try to sell the product and services,” said Brazier.
The Covintus Tech Tank is taking online applications through April 30 for its next accelerator cohort, which is set to start in mid-June.
