Who’ll Be the Big Winner? CodeLaunch DFW Startup Event Will Feature Three Dallas-Area Finalists » Dallas Innovates

By Editor On Nov 13, 2021

CodeLaunch has been helping early-stage technology startups succeed with its annual seed accelerator competitions in North Texas since 2012. From that year CodeLaunch started going out nationwide. It hosted a zippy August event in Atlanta, with more events planned nationwide in the future. But first, the event comes to Frisco next week – and three startups from the Dallas area are among the five finalists.

CodeLaunch DFW 2021 will take place on Wednesday, November 17th, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Comerica Center in Frisco. There should be a lot of excitement and excitement if it’s something like this highlight video from its August event.

Founder Jason W. Taylor (far left) and CodeLaunch are known for big, exciting productions. [Photo: CodeLaunch]

Jason W. Taylor, President and Founder of CodeLaunch, told Dallas Innovates that the CodeLaunch DFW event next Wednesday will be a “big production” with lots of exhibitors – “probably 40 to 50 startups in the room.”

“It’s a great event for angel investors and venture capitalists,” said Taylor.

CodeLaunch is produced by Improving and is a seed accelerator competition and much more. It’s also a “tech fair, startup conference, and noisy networking event”.

CodeLaunch has been supporting the startup ecosystem since 2013 by giving its startup finalists and event winners over $ 900,000 in services. She calls her events a happening “at which investors, developers and startup founders collide”.

Finalists will be paired with development teams from CodeLaunch seed sponsors

Each of the five tech startup finalists will be paired with teams of volunteer software and app developers from local consulting agencies who will act as seed sponsors of the event. This weekend, the five startup finalists will work with their development teams on a hackathon and develop as much of their product as possible.

Then, on Wednesday evening, “the finalists will go on stage with their products in hand,” says Taylor, to demonstrate them live to the audience at the Comerica Center. The audience then chooses the overall winner.

This year’s CodeLaunch DFW finalists

Startups from all over the USA have applied for this year’s CodeLaunch DFW event. Three of the five finalists are startups from the Dallas area. They include:

Phix health, a Dallas-based medical technology startup developing a cutting edge platform that purportedly provides “an unprecedented level of connectivity,” primarily between subscribers and their vendors.

With existing technology and proprietary AI, Phix plans to enable communication of health and wellness data through a central hub. Providers’ reporting and analysis of this data can improve clinical benefit and lower overall healthcare costs for all parties involved, the startup said. Mark Schultz is the CEO.

Autox Automotive, an online destination for specialty vehicle owners and automotive enthusiasts to create, share, and explore custom vehicle profiles.

According to Autix, it brings together automotive hobbyists, enthusiasts and fans by providing “a unique platform that not only highlights a vehicle, but also the owner behind the wheel and their unique story”. Autix was founded in 2018 by its CEO Jake Hamann.

[Image: Chat Plays]

Chat games, “The next step in chat gaming” for live streaming platforms, from Rockwall’s founder and full-time college student Matias Barcelo, is the event’s Student Founder finalist. After an 8-week CodeLaunch curation process, Barcelo made it to the finals as best in the Student Founder category. He will work with the Allata Hackathon team.

“It’s often very difficult as a startup, especially at this stage,” said Barcelo in a CodeLaunch blog post. “Especially if you’re a student and don’t have a job yet. Events like CodeLaunch are perfect for people like me. “

Two of the five finalists are outside of the states

The finalists from abroad include:

[Photo: Vulcan Grills]

Volcanic grills, San Diego-based manufacturer of wood pellet grill / smoking hybrids with “Fire and Forget” technology. The integrated electronics ensure that the grill “stays at the same temperature for hours and takes the guesswork out of your grilling routine”. Plus, it’s wireless with no noisy generator to spoil your backyard atmosphere.

Vulcan’s product line, made from 100% natural wood pellets, is made from only the best, food-grade hardwoods, “sustainably harvested and selected according to taste”. Flavors include pecan, cherry, mesquite, apple and hickory – “a simple ingredient to deliver a powerful, flavored smoke”. Fred Leavitt is the owner and founder of the startup.

[Image: Ducie Club]

Ducie Club, a Lynden, Washington-based shopping club that offers discounts on gasoline and food at restaurants, exclusive information for resellers and “hidden offers”, supplies, merchandise and rewards. Co-founder and CEO is Ron Williams. Jetje Williams is a co-founder and director.

The startup says it provides “transparency to proactively shape the global supply chain by keeping brand new surplus and obsolete products out of landfills.”

And talk about the aggregation of data: “We have first-hand knowledge that has been compiled from over 10 years, 17 countries, over 750,000 kilometers driven and over 10,000 shop visits of all sizes and scales,” says Ducie Club on its website .

Seed sponsors provide the product development teams

Dallas-based technology company Dialexa will provide one of the hackathon teams for CodeLaunch next week.

“In all honesty, that’s part of our culture. So it’s a perfect match, ”said Kristen Darby, VP of Marketing at Dialexa, in the blog post. “A nice community conversation takes place at these hackathons. It’s incredibly competitive, but also cooperative. “

No costs for applying for CodeLaunch – and no capital return

CodeLaunch differs from other startup accelerators – the application costs nothing for startups and the startup applicants do not give up any equity. The organization says it is guided by the principles of conscious capitalism.

In addition to the contributions of the professional hackathon teams, CodeLaunch also offers the finalists and overall winners exclusive startup services, including business planning, fundraising, marketing, legal and more.

CodeLaunch DFW 2021 will take place on Wednesday, November 17th, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Comerica Center in Frisco. Click here for tickets and more information.

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