Eight startups have been invited to participate in the spring cohort of the Lighthouse Labs accelerator program in Richmond, including six from Virginia.
Lighthouse Labs said the eight participants were selected from a field of more than 250 applicants — an acceptance rate of just 3%.
“We’re pleased that six of the eight teams are Virginia-based, with another having strong Virginia ties,” Managing Director Art Espey said in a statement. “The industries vary, but all have founders that Lighthouse Labs felt were a fit for our founder-focused program.”
The spring cohort includes:
- 3D Orthobiologic Solutions (Herndon) — Founded by Prakash Kolli and Ben Holmes, this company has developed custom, biodegradable implant scaffolds to guide bone growth for oral and maxillofacial defect reconstruction.
- Billions (Arlington) — Co-founders Andrew Becker and Amber Milks are behind this software-as-a-service proptech company that gives real estate professionals a platform that aims to improve operations.
- InfraSGA (Norfolk) — Co-founders Tim Stromberg, Sean Garrigan, Michael Stromberg and Borden Edgerton launched this company that develops and manufactures green infrastructure products. Its first offering is RAFT, which can intercept stormwater runoff in urban environments where retrofits are difficult. Edgerton is a Richmond resident.
- KnoNap (Arlington) — Founded by Danya Sherman, this company educates and advocates against drug-facilitated sexual assault and crime through drug test kits, including a diagnostic called Kope that can detect for 12 drugs of abuse.
- Mindflow (Nashville, Tennessee) — Co-founders Anthony Faraino and Caleb Scott started this company, which supports the mental health needs of student-athletes, coaches and athletic departments through training and consultation. It also offers one-on-one services addressing both general mental health concerns and mental performance needs. Faraino is a University of Richmond grad.
- Nightingale Caring Solutions (Philadelphia) — Founded by Colin Plover, this company provides nurses in hospitals with software and algorithms to help staff, schedule and match nurses with patients more efficiently.
- Phalanx (Arlington) — Co-founders Ian Garrett, Austin Garrett and Carl Kenney started this lightweight data loss prevention and document mapping company, which can secure document access by combining automation, identity and encryption.
- WriteHuman (Midlothian) — Founded by Ivan Jackson, this company offers an AI writing tool that allows users to paste in AI-generated text, rewriting it to bypass AI writing detectors. The “humanizer” is designed for professionals and content creators who use AI writing at scale to give their content a more human touch.
The participating startups each receive $20,000 in equity-free funding, participate in weekly educational programming, get mentorship from Lighthouse’s mentor network and connect directly with local partners and investors.
This is the 16th batch of participants in the accelerator program. It has accelerated 119 companies and doled out $2.2 million since the program’s launch.
The spring program begins March 4 and is followed by a Meet the Cohort Social on March 6. The program will conclude with a Demo Day event on May 14.
Espey started as managing director of Lighthouse Labs in the spring, stepping in for Paul Nolde, who left to take a similar role with the 757 Collab and 757 Angels in Norfolk.
