MegaPatch LLC, a Madison, Miss., company that is producing “the world’s most durable cold patch for pothole repair,” is the brainchild of Jack Wilson, who has held the patent on his Megapatch pothole repair solution for over 20 years. Potholes are the bane of every driver—and every civic transportation administrator.…
In a world dominated by the lean startup model and the “minimum viable product” approach, Nutech Metals is something of an outlier, having spent nearly six years doing research and development in pursuit of a new technology for body armor. The goal, said Jim Borque, partner and technical lead on…
Conor Ferguson had a slight leg-up on the competition as he graduated from Mississippi State University—he’d already started a wireless Internet company with his dad when he was still in high school. That company offered high-speed access to residential areas where other types of broadband didn't reach. How it works…
Bac Yeast is a Hattiesburg-based company delivering specialized yeast to breweries around the country. A chemist, a microbiologist, and an engineer walk into a bar. A couple of beers later, and they have a business plan: to start their own beer lab. Ok, the idea wasn’t technically born in a…
The thought of competing in the 2017 Mississippi New Venture Challenge pitch competition created more fear in Kristen Allen than just about anything she had ever experienced. As an artist, advocate for the homeless, and stay-at-home mom of two she was comfortable in her own skin. But a pitch-woman for an…
As of mid-October, Walmart shoppers at 50 locations are able to purchase meals from No Time 2 Cook, the Mississippi-based company run by Karen Kurr. The company is now positioned to grow into a national brand—the number of Walmart locations will increase with time, after category reviews. Kurr's frozen entrees…
JACKSON, Mississippi--In time for the height of hurricane season, Entergy Mississippi has opened its $20-million South Street building. The renovated property houses its high-tech, high-security electric distribution operations center. This marks a significant milestone in the company's effort to modernize the grid and build the utility of the future. The…
Even after Collegiate Tutoring won the New Venture Challenge in 2017, CEO Lee Ingram found himself deciding to pivot with his startup. While the company still does fundamentally the same thing—connecting college students with tutors to help them learn important concepts and improve their grades—the customer that Ingram now focuses…
BidMoni co-CEO Stephen Daigle's experience as a financial advisor taught him something interesting about the world of retirement plans--and particularly 401k plans implemented by companies for their employees. The problem: It's nearly impossible for all but the biggest corporations to compare 401k plans and know they're getting the best deal…
J.J. Townsend's non-profit business got its start at an Innovate Mississippi-sponsored Startup Weekend in 2016, although Townsend says he initially went in with a somewhat different idea. "The original [pitch] was still CitizenJXN, but the idea was a convoluted 'everything store,'" Townsend said. "It was sort of like 'all things civics.'…