innovate mississippi's
Innovation report 2023
This year’s Innovation Report features special video presentations focused on some exciting startups in the Mississippi entrepreneurial ecosystem, along with coverage of several more companies making a big different in the state. Plus, stories and photos from our signature events and initiatives, celebrating startups and working to increasing access to capital to help build Mississippi’s startup economy.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Innovation Report 2023 features stories on entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem from around MIssissippi.
FOUNDERS SPOTLIGHT
Hometown Workforce
Hometown Workforce connects homeowners and contractors for more satisfying home improvement transactions.
Vertecore
Vertecore, a Natchez-based startup, offers the Vertecore Lift, an innovative, low-cost device to help back-pain sufferers find drug-free relief.
Shovel Solutions
Shovel Solutions offers a technology solution to a major challenge in the construction industry—getting dirt to the right place and the right people paid.
The Skin Consult
The Skin Consult is a metro Jackson-based startup connecting customers and skin care providers in an online marketplace.
Humo
Humo is a startup company based in Starkville, Miss., offering a wearable technology solution to help golfers improve.
ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
CONNECT VNA
ConnectVNA modernizes the management of oil and gas wells, investors, leaseholders and other constituents.
carmigo
Tupleo-based Carmigo has grown its marketplace connecting used-car sellers and dealers into a national contender.
POCKITPAY
PockitPay offers buy-now-pay-later financing for medical procedures, filling the gap left by deductibles and out-of-pocket limits.
iResonate
iResonate make the ClickTip add-on for creator websites, allowing consumers to quickly and easily pay providers of creative content that they appreciate.
gS REsearch
GS Research makes the WonderWindow, an energy-efficient window that could change the building industry—and have a social impact along the way.
NARRATRIP
Journez by Narratrip is the ‘WAZE of Cultural Travel’ according to the founders of this Mississippi startup that wants to make roadtrips more mind-expanding and local.
PPX-TEC
PPX-TEC offers a technology solution, fully integrated with Apple Healthkit, that enables patients to access and control their own data.
mapp
The Memorial Asset Protection Plan is going national with tools that help funeral directors broaden their financial planning portfolio with clients.
TEMPO
Tempo is a group chat application for college student that will soon invite creators to upload educational, entertaining content to build revenue.
ferson TECHNOLOGIES
Ferson Technologies is an 80-year-old company that is making a pivot from government contract work to creating their own products.
PROSPECTIVE VISION SOLUTIONS
Prospective Vision Solutions offers free financial literacy workshops in partnership with non-profits and municipalities.
INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
EVENTS
On the first day on Accelerate, startup companies pitch an audience of mentors and investors, while investors offer advice and insights from the dais. See those videos here.
CONNECT - MONTHLY NETWORKING
CONNECT meeting are held most months on the first Thursday in Jackson to allow entrepreneurs, mentors and investors to network in a business-casual setting.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
We are excited to introduce our first all-digital magazine format as a way to tell the incredible stories of Mississippi startups and the growing Innovation Ecosystem. We hope you enjoy our interactive content and share these stories that all show a crucial message: “You Can Do That Here in Mississippi.”
We’re also excited for the post-pandemic Mississippi. The pandemic opened a whole new world of startups in Mississippi. Many entrepreneurs who had been thinking about startup ideas for a while or working on them as a “side hustle” rethought their priorities and decided to jump full force into the startup world. Those companies are now getting up to speed, and our new comfort with remote connectivity has also made the distances around our state smaller than ever before.
Our pilot of the CoBuilders Accelerator in 2022 was a great success. That program will serve as a foundation upon which we will grow resources and startups all over the state. The regional partnerships that are the cornerstone of CoBuilders are also the building blocks for our new paradigm of developing regional ecosystems and connecting them statewide. We’re excited about 2023 and being on the cusp of AI possibilities. While we can’t know what the future will bring, it’s clear that we have learned to overcome challenges and keep the innovation ecosystem growing.
On behalf of Innovate Mississippi’s staff and board of directors, I hope this issue of Innovation Report inspires you through the breadth and energy of Mississippi’s startups. I also hope it moves you to get involved, whether as a mentor, sponsor, investor, or entrepreneur. With your help, we can make 2023 a banner year for innovation and economic growth in Mississippi.
– Tony Jeff, CEO, Innovate Mississippi
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