No word whether Augustans Skyler Bates and Andres Hoyes of 432 Intelligence set up this co-hort meet and greet for Eric Parker(right), co-founder of Make Startups! The duo, known for their work in the local arts and music scene hope to take their new entertainment, marketing, and talent promotions company to new heights.
The recent party celebrated not only 432 Intelligence, but eight other start-ups that will do business in Augusta/Aiken and share in $500,000 of venture capital.
The first cohort for a two-state partnership to grow entrepreneurship and small businesses in the CSRA has been selected.
This is the next step in the Startup Summer, organized by the Aiken Chamber of Commerce and Make Startups in theClubhou.se in the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC).
This is the next component for Venture Lab Aiken (VLA). Cohort members are part of the virtual startup incubator and will have access to mentorship, training, and real-world tools to make ideas become successful businesses.
“We picked this cohort entirely because we think that all of their businesses have potential to scale and to be really investable companies, Parker explained for ABD. “The one thing that they need to demonstrate is proof that the market has any interest at all. We’re spending this summer working with every startup to figure out exactly who their target customer is, and to get proof of traction that the market will buy what they’re selling.”
The entrepreneurs selected for this first cohort are:
- Clem McDavid – Home Ledger
- David Walker – Walker Company Goods & Services
- Mitchell Greenberg – Ossentrix
- Skyler Bates – 432 Intelligence
- Katrina Ford – Expedition STEAM Adventures
- Jacqueline Viramotes – TrueStoryBro, LLC
- Anthony Carlie – Dominion Wellness Solutions
- Hetal Acharekar – MikroMove LLC
- Paul Musick/Jake Musick – PlateLogic
The nine companies had the opportunity to meet with members of the Angel Magnate Group. It has committed $500,000 of capital to distribute among the companies.
“But when you divide that by nine startups, that’s not enough to really grow and scale your business,” said Parker. “The real goal is to give people enough working capital in the early stages, so that they can prove out what they’re doing, so that we can connect them to broader venture capital markets.”
Parker said the timing of this launch is strategic. Traditionally, the venture capital world slows down over the summer months. This gives the cohort the chance to prepare for peak fundraising season in the fall.
“So, getting them ready for our No Boundaries pitch contest, getting them ready for Venture Atlanta, there’s a whole host of things going on,” he said. “Also, we are going to be actively working to build their venture capital networks through the other things that we do through the course of the summer.”
Investors in the Angel Group have their own discretionary decisions about which businesses they want to invest in, or those they do not.
The funds will be distributed as a SAFE Note, which is a Simple Agreement for Future Equity.”
“Which basically says your company is so early stage right now, none of us know what it’s worth, but we’re going to go ahead and give you some capital, so that when you succeed and you raise capital, where we know what the value of your company is, our money will convert to equity at that point,” Parker said.
The cohort is spending this week at Charleston Tech Week. Startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and support organizations from across the southeast are in Charleston. It allows startups the opportunity to network, but also to learn what is happening in larger cities.
“Atlanta is the major hub, and you have Charlotte kind of nipping at its heels,” Parker said. “Greenville and Charleston are both somewhat comparable to Augusta in size, but they’re probably 10 to 15 years ahead of us on maturing their startup and venture capital ecosystems, and so this is a real opportunity to connect not just into those local ecosystems that are there, but that also gives them touch points into broader markets across the entire country.”
In addition to Make Startups and the Aiken Chamber, VLA is also supported by the South Carolina Research Authority. This is part of the Aiken Innovation Corridor, the chamber announced in August 2025.
