3F, LLC, captures first place and $15,000 in The Big Launch Challenge

May 23, 2014
3F, LLC, captures first place and $15,000 in The Big Launch Challenge

Larry Dickinson of 3F, LLC, captured first place and $15,000 in the area’s first joint Virginia and North Carolina Big Launch Challenge organized by The Launch Place and First Flight Venture Center.   Second place went to Liz Morris of Sanitation Creations with a cash prize of $12,000.

Pictured are Dickinson and Morris.

3F makes and sells high-performance yarns to companies in the $4 billion hand protection market. Its nano-engineered cut-resistant fibers enable customers to make protective gloves that are lighter weight, more comfortable, longer lasting and enable greater dexterity; while providing the same level of cut protection at better value.

Sanitation Creations offers environmentally-friendly, hygienic sanitation solutions that are odorless, waterless and economical.  Sanitation Creations has created Dungaroo – an odorless, waterless, easy-to-empty toilet that can be used anywhere. The patent-pending system seals waste in specially lined bags which block odor and treat the waste. The individual bags are collected in a containment bag in the base of the Dungaroo and can be disposed of without special equipment.

Finalists in the order that they presented were:

  • Jame Joseph and Brandy Callanan of Nano Brew Laboratories
  • Keval Mehta of InRFood
  • Tim Reynolds and Gretchen Clark of EvapStack
  • Ricky Spero of Rheomics

These presenters pitched their technology-related business ideas to a panel of judges yesterday at the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research in Danville.

The top six contenders were selected from a submission of 31 applications. The top 15 semi-finalists were vetted jointly by The Launch Place and First Flight Ventures staff.  Six contestants were selected by The Launch Place’s Seed Fund Advisory Board in early May.

The Launch Place’s Seed Fund Advisory Board is comprised of individuals who are extensively experienced in technology assessment, commercialization and early-stage investment.