Introducing Batch 16!

Lighthouse Labs will welcome 8 teams for Spring 2024

Lighthouse Labs is pleased to announce the eight startups selected to participate in its Spring 2024 Accelerator program. Since 2012, Lighthouse Labs has put founders’ needs at the center of its program and engaged the entire community in the process of innovation and disruption. These companies, with 16 amazing founders, begin the Lighthouse Labs program on March 4. They’ll join the 119 teams who have already completed the program. Our 11 week program runs through May 17, so stay tuned to see what these amazing founders do during their time with us! If you’d like to get involved, sign up to be a mentor, attend our Meet the Cohort Social on March 6, or mark your calendar for Demo Day on May 14.

Introducing Lighthouse Labs Batch 16

  • BILLIONS (Arlington, VA; cofounders Andrew Becker and Amber Milks) is a SaaS PropTech company providing real estate agents and teams with an out-of-the-box, ready-to-use platform that improves operational efficiencies and maximizes company profits.

  • InfraSGA (Norfolk, VA; cofounders Tim Stromberg, Sean Garrigan, Michael Stromberg, and Borden Edgerton) was created to develop and manufacture innovative and patentable product solutions surrounding green infrastructure. The company’s debut product, RAFT, intercepts stormwater runoff in limited-space, urban environments where retrofits are difficult. With RAFT’s simplified, modular structure, installing urban rain gardens is quick and easy.

  • KnoNap (Arlington, VA; founder Danya Sherman) empowers, educates, and advocates against drug facilitated sexual assault and crime through beverage drug test kits and educational resources. KnoNap created Knope, a discreet, portable, gender-inclusive diagnostic capable upon drink saturation of detecting 12 drugs of abuse. 

  • Mindflow (Nashville, TN; cofounders Anthony Faraino and Caleb Scott) supports the mental health needs of student-athletes, coaches, and athletic departments through mental health training and consultation as well as one-on-one services addressing both general mental health concerns and mental performance needs.

  • Nightingale Caring Solutions (Philadelphia, PA; founder Colin Plover) provides nurses in hospitals with software and algorithms to help staff, schedule, and match nurses with patients more efficiently while achieving better outcomes. Nightingale drives evidence-based operations and facilitates ongoing research.

  • Phalanx (Arlington, VA; cofounders Ian Garrett, Austin Garrett, and Carl Kenney) is a lightweight Data Loss Prevention and document mapping solution that secures document access by combining automation, identity, and encryption. It transforms existing workspaces into secure systems to provide security teams cyber risk intelligence of sensitive documents and automated security to mitigate risk.

  • WriteHuman (Midlothian, VA; founder Ivan Jackson) is an AI writing tool that allows users to paste in AI-generated text, rewriting it to bypass AI writing detectors. The 'humanizer' is designed for professionals and content creators who use AI writing at scale to give their content a more human touch, greatly enhancing reader engagement.

More about Batch 16 

  • Lighthouse Labs continues our focus on investing in founders traditionally underrepresented among entrepreneurs, including female, BIPOC, and Veteran founders. 

  • We also remain focused on supporting Virginia startups, with six teams from Virginia (including one from the Richmond area).

  • Two teams are health and wellness focused and supported by VCU Health through a partnership with Lighthouse Labs.

“From a record number of stellar applications, Lighthouse Labs selected eight startups that bring innovative solutions, strong teams, and a passion for disrupting their industries,” said Art Espey, Executive Director, Lighthouse Labs. “We’re pleased that six of the eight teams are Virginia-based, with another having strong Virginia ties. The industries vary, but all have founders that Lighthouse Labs felt were a fit for our founder-focused program. The team cannot wait to work with each of them.”

During the evaluation process of more than 250 companies, local innovation leaders including startup supporters, mentors, investors, healthcare entrepreneurs, and Lighthouse Labs alumni founders identified applicants ready to accelerate the growth of their ventures during the eleven-week program. Of the applications, 72 moved forward to the first round of reviews, and 18 participated in interviews. Eight teams were invited to join Lighthouse Labs, for an acceptance rate of 3%. 

All companies will receive $20,000 in equity-free funding, participate in weekly educational programming, get mentorship from Lighthouse’s extensive mentor network, and connect directly with local partners and investors. The Spring 2024 accelerator program kicks off on March 4 in Richmond, with a Meet the Cohort Social on March 6 and Demo Day on May 14, 2024 (both events are open to the public).

Lighthouse Labs