Will the latest Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program’s tech startup cohort deliver a business-world slam dunk?
The answer is yet to come, but the program director’s group introduction included his shot at a basketball reference.
“For basketball fans, this group is analogous in potential to the 2003 NBA draft class,” RAMP’s John Hagy said in a news release. That draft featured Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Six companies focused on biotechnology, controlled environment agriculture and document management took their talents to the Shenandoah Club in Roanoke to introduce themselves on April 10. RAMP had chosen the group from what Hagy said was the largest applicant group in the program’s eight-year history.
Four of the companies — Huginn Sonography, Modern Reproduction, NebulaNeuro and Qlutch QMS — are Roanoke-based. Helix Acoustics is from Blacksburg, and Pod Farms works from Pulaski, according to RAMP cohort information.
The 12-week sessions, held twice yearly, feature multiple perks. The spring 2025 cohort receives mentoring, free office space at downtown Roanoke’s Gill Memorial Building, multiple free professional organization memberships and $20,000 in non-equity funding. Alumni will receive three more years of support through Exit RAMP’s coaching and support services.
The post-cohort help has been helpful to multiple businesses, their principals say.
RAMP alumnus Peter Lazar had hoped to be there, but instead was at a laboratory management conference in Pittsburgh, connecting with potential customers for his inventory app, Scanlily. Lazar’s time with a recent RAMP cohort inspired him to pursue customer discovery — a method to learn about his market and understand how to improve and market his product.
Blacksburg-based Scanlily, which Lazar founded and runs along with his wife, Molly Lazar, has a free download at app stores for people to use for object organization, but it is particularly intended for larger business clients, they said.
“I wish I had really understood this earlier in my career, because I’ve had a long career with tech startups, starting in 1997,” Peter Lazar said. “And if I had known earlier, that might have helped me in certain circumstances.”
Another alum, Diane Kees of Micro Harmonics, said that RAMP’s advice and mentoring kept the company alive through the COVID-19 pandemic era via financial and marketing advice. Fincastle-based Micro Harmonics manufactures minuscule components that allow customers, including NASA, to exploit communication possibilities high in the electromagnetic spectrum.
“We’re not businesspeople,” said Kees, the company’s chief operating officer, noting that it takes sophisticated and costly equipment to build the parts and talented communicators to connect Micro Harmonics with customers.
“Had we not done RAMP, I don’t think we could have survived,” she said. “I just think we not only got the training we needed, but we made the connections we needed.”
Roanoke-based RAMP, founded in 2017, is affiliated with the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (formerly known as Verge), which includes the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council. RAMP has worked with 55 companies that have created more than 850 new jobs, selling products and services nationwide and internationally, according to its website.
[Disclosure: The Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
What’s up with the spring 2025 cohort
Here are the missions of the six new cohort members, based on information provided by RAMP.
Helix Acoustics is working toward faster and more reliable disease detection with a molecular diagnostics technology it calls Focused Ultrasound Extraction, or FUSE, to eliminate “the bottlenecks of DNA sample preparation.” Molecular detection is faster and more accurate than the standard bacterial culture, but it’s more time- and labor-intensive. Helix Acoustics says its method streamlines sample preparation, leading to timelier treatment decisions and successful outcomes.
Huginn Sonography’s project is a wearable bladder scanner that provides continuous ultrasound that measures bladder volume in patients, in hopes of decreasing injuries and catheterization issues such as urinary tract infections. The scanner will support caregivers via push notifications.
Modern Reproduction’s goal is to provide resources and information about genetic testing options before, during and after pregnancy. The company offers online learning, provider information, genetic counseling services, consultation and more.
NebulaNeuro has what it says is the first-ever technology allowing neurotransmitter measurements to be taken in humans while they are awake and conscious, with applications for movement disorders. The technology is creating opportunities to better diagnose and treat brain diseases and to “more uniquely understand the human condition.”
Pod Farms’ modular hydroponic system can be used in commercial grow operations and community grow centers and by home hobbyists in a beta tester program. It features a water inlet that can integrate automated harvest, seeding and cleaning in large-scale operations. The company offers expertise in commercial growing and controlled environment agriculture and partners with growing operations on product testing, hydroponic management, product integration and more.
Qlutch QMS develops quality management software for small and mid-size businesses. It features in-app editing, advanced review workflows, AI-powered summaries and built-in compliance tracking.