Brandon Cooper, founder and CEO of Study Placer, conceived the idea for his company's signature product based on his own college experiences, turning his challenges with time management into a powerful solution for students. As part of the 2025 CoBuilders accelerator cohort, Cooper is working to bring his vision for…
Innovate Mississippi is proud to welcome Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital, as the keynote speaker for this year's Accelerate Conference. Solomon's path from tech founder to venture capital leader embodies determination and community-minded innovation. Her story is one of focus, purpose, and a commitment to creating opportunities…
by Victor Robinson Over the past few years at Innovate Mississippi, I’ve seen firsthand how early-stage investing drives our state’s entrepreneurial growth. Mississippi has the talent and ambition, but even the best ideas struggle without funding. Mississippi’s investment landscape includes individual angel investors, angel funds like the Mississippi Angel Fund, angel…
On Tuesday, August 12, you could feel the buzz of excitement in the 19th-floor Capitol Club overlooking downtown Jackson. Innovate Mississippi staff, statewide partners, and mentors gathered to welcome the new cohort of Mississippi's premier high-growth accelerator program. Innovate Mississippi welcomed seven of the state's most promising startups to the…
Innovate Mississippi is pleased to highlight recent coverage from Lynne Jeter at Magnolia Tribune of the CoBuilders 2025 Launch Day, held August 12 at The Capitol Club in downtown Jackson. Her article details the event, the companies selected, and the program's unique statewide approach, including a look at companies in…
CEO Tanner McCraney co-founded Rumie as a mobile app focused on helping college students buy, sell, and rent secondhand items on campus. Since its launch, the platform has attracted hundreds of thousands of student users across nearly every college and university in the country. But after a pivot to focus…
Innovate Mississippi is thrilled to share that Corridor Ventures, a New Orleans-based venture capital fund, is expanding into Mississippi with help from the InvestMS program. Co-founder and managing partner Kwamena "Kwam" Aidoo is leading the effort to bring more early-stage capital to promising Mississippi startups. The new partnership is part of the…
On June 26, the Mississippi Center for Innovation & Technology (MCITy), in partnership with Mississippi State University and Innovate Mississippi, welcomed entrepreneurs and community builders to the Dawg Tank Startup Pitch Event in Vicksburg—a showcase of homegrown innovation aimed at transforming lives and industries. In the Technology category, Vertical TakeOff won first place with…
With roots in academic research and real-world problem-solving, Onteko is advancing a breakthrough technology that could reshape how farmers deliver agrochemicals to plants. Co-founded by Luis Ponce, a physicist and laser specialist, and Matt Rosenberg, business development lead, Onteko's signature product—Laser Foliar Boost—uses a targeted laser treatment to gently remove…
We're excited to celebrate the winners of the Mississippi Polymer Institute's (MPI) fourth annual Business Pitch Event, which took place on May 15, 2025, at The University of Southern Mississippi's Innovation and Commercialization Park. This year's competition drew 41 applications with 18 startup founders selected to pitch in one of two perfectly named…