Propel ICT, the regional tech accelerator, has named six companies from its Launch program to present alongside members of the more advanced Build cohort at its Demo Day on Sept. 22 in Moncton.

The current Propel cohort consists of 33 teams, and six of them are in the Build program – designed for the more advanced companies. These companies were almost guaranteed to pitch at Demo Day, and will be candidates for funding from Propel’s various financial sponsors.

The other 27 companies are divided evenly between Fredericton, Halifax and St. John’s, and two companies from each of these cities will be pitching on the 22^nd. They were judged to be further along the entrepreneurial path and ready to present at the big event.

“We were impressed by their commitment to their businesses and to the 12-week program,” said Propel Vice-President Gillian McCrae in an interview. “They knew what they wanted to get out of the program and they put all that into the program. They’re all very driven individuals.”

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The six Launch members to pitch at Demo Day are:

·         Bitness, Halifax -- Bitness uses beacons to track where, when and how long customers are in a retail outlet. This allows the store owner to understand the store’s peak hours, allowing for better staffing decisions.

·         BuyMyLemonade, Halifax -- BuyMyLemonade is an online program that helps to teach entrepreneurship to young people through fundraising. The result is schools or charities raise more money while students learn about business in a safe environment.

·         Ella, Saint John -- This mobile app helps women to sell their slightly used clothes. The system uses proprietary algorithms to match users based on size, style, social connections and location. It also provides purchase suggestions.

·         Liv9, Fredericton -- Founded by pharmacists, Liv9 supplies cloud-based patient engagement and management software to pharmacies.  The software lets pharmacies engage with customers through social channels and provides them with automated marketing tools, real-time tracking and reporting of patient engagement activities.

·         MusicEdZone, St. John’s -- This music education company features a music school for three to 10 years olds called The Munchkin Music Factory. There is also a publishing division that develops teaching and learning curriculum materials for music educators.

·         Vish Salon Tech, St. John’s – Vish Salon Tech designs software and hardware that help hair salons to strengthen customer relationships and maximize profitability. Vish is now finalizing a Software-as-a-Service hair colour mixing system.

The members of the Build cohort that will be pitching at Demo Day are: Ongozah, Moncton; Xiplinx Technologies, Saint John and Fredericton; Simptek, Fredericton; PACTA, Halifax; Clean Simple, Halifax; and HeyOrca!, St. John’s.

The event at the Capitol Theatre on Sept. 22 promises to be the most diverse Demo Day held yet by Propel. The 12 companies include three from Newfoundland and Labrador. And though the companies have not said which of their founders will pitch, there’s a strong likelihood the pitchers will feature three women and three immigrants.

Tickets are available here.