The Launch Place Invests in Revibe – a Machine Learning Wearable Tech Company for a Second Time
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DANVILLE, Va. (January 7, 2020) –Five years ago, Danville, Virginia based investment fund, The Launch Place invested $40,000 from their Pre-Seed Fund to help early stage wearable tech startup FokusLabs (now Revibe Technologies) conduct research and develop their prototype. During the last 5 years, the company has grown, the name has changed and the prototype has become a highly rated product, the partnership has remained strong and The Launch Place invested an additional $250,000 from its Seed Fund 2.
Revibe Technologies started out as a dream for CEO Rich Brancaccio to help students with attention disorders or who exhibit inattentive behavior succeed. As a school psychologist working with children with ADHD and on the autism spectrum, Brancaccio saw a tremendous need for tools that positively help students overcome obstacles that make completing school work challenging. With nothing currently on the market, he took it upon himself to create one, learning how to code algorithms and build product prototypes on his own. The 2015 investment by The Launch Place helped expedite Revibe Technologies’ early product development.
“The Launch Place name is very fitting because they were the catalyst that literally helped to launch our company and have helped Revibe Technologies fulfill our mission since the beginning,” said Brancaccio.
Revibe Technologies’ latest product, “Revibe Connect” is a smart watch that uses machine learning to send vibration signals to remind the wearer to stay focused and achieve their best work independently inside and out of the classroom. The watch learns the user’s needs an adapts itself accordingly. Though the watch’s main consumers are students, it is also marketed as a resource for teachers, schools and parents.
Besides the focus vibration reminders, Revibe’s key features include date and time display, step counting, splash-resistant hardware and an app that shows metrics of the wearer’s daily activity (e.g., attention span, fidgeting, etc.).
“One thing I enjoy about investing in and working with startups at The Launch Place is seeing how the companies grow and expand over the months and years we partner with them,” said Eva Doss, The Launch Place President and CEO. “The Launch Place was the first institutional investor of Revibe; we took an early risk, and it has been a pleasure watching Revibe Technologies grow to where they are now, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for them.”
To date, The Launch Place has invested $4.3 million in 17 portfolio companies. It also provides valuable business resources from its offices in Danville, VA, and the Research Triangle Park, NC. The Launch Place has traditionally invested in companies that align with the advanced manufacturing, IT, medical technology and other high growth industries.
According to Brancaccio, one component of the partnership that Revibe Technologies is looking forward to is meeting The Launch Place’s Danville connections in the packaging and distribution space. With a product on the market, they are looking to expand the scale of their operations.
“The Launch Place has already helped us proliferate fundraising efforts and gain capital through their extensive network of investors,” said Brancaccio. “Their help has allowed our company to grow bigger and better, and we’re confident their expertise will help us continue to scale our business well into the future.”
Revibe Connect currently has a 4.2 star rating with more than 300 consumer reviews. The technology was built through insight from hundreds of case studies and the watch has improved the educational outcomes of thousands of students across the United States.
About The Launch Place
The Launch Place, funded through grants by the Danville Regional Foundation, provides new and early-stage business support services and seed funding for the Danville City and Pittsylvania County region of Virginia and Caswell County in North Carolina. As an entrepreneurship development organization with the purpose to plan, fund, launch and grow businesses, TLP helps companies to get started or to expand their operations by providing business consulting services, office space, and by investing in them through its investment funds. For more information visit: www.thelaunchplace.org
About Revibe Technologies
Revibe Technologies is passionate about leveraging technology to help children and adults with various difficulties overcome obstacles in order to succeed in life. Their product, the Revibe Connect, is a machine learning-powered wearable that provides personalized vibrations optimized for each user to increase focus, while tracking various metrics that provide actionable data through historical and predictive analytics. Revibe Technologies hopes to be a resource for students, parents, teachers, schools and clinicians. https://revibetech.com/