Propel ICT held its second Demo Day of 2016 in Halifax last night, in a show that featured strong performances from the early stage presenters.

Seven of the 11 presenting companies at the packed event were from the Launch Program, which guides new companies from concept to developing a minimum viable product. These companies – ranging from e-health platforms to an app for mink farmers – displayed a depth of market expertise and strong technical proficiency.

The 11 presenters were chosen from the 37 startups that went through the latest cohort of the regional accelerator, and the organization’s chairman Steven Burns noted that they represent the companies that are changing the Canadian economy.

“You can build all the bridges you want and they won’t do what these companies are doing,” he said. “That’s what Propel is all about.”

Propel CEO Anita Punamiya said the organization is now looking at such initiatives as a mentorship program, that will further develop the network of entrepreneurs. Also, Propel is planning to hold its first cohort in Sydney in the spring of 2017. Applications for the next cohort are open until Jan. 13.

Here’s a look at the presenting companies from the Launch program:

GreyLitMatters, Halifax – Academic journals chronicle only 10 percent of the $500 billion of research conducted around the world each year. GreyLitMatters plans to offer a chance for the other 90 percent to be disseminated to and reviewed by peers, so the research can be put to use. The company is lining up early adopters and may have a Halifax research organization to serve as its first.

Orchard, Halifax – Orchard offers supermarkets an in-store, data-based marketing platform to help them increase sales. Using sensors throughout a store, the platform can assess what items are in a shopper’s cart and customize an ad on a video monitor to suit that consumer’s tastes. About 20 percent of shoppers’ purchases are chosen on the spot, and Orchard wants to raise the level to 32 percent. The company is now working on its proof of concept.

Ad Blocking Aware, Charlottetown – This company’s software offers all businesses – not just large corporations – the chance to recover the marketing opportunity lost because of ad blockers. When the software detects ad blockers, it engages the reader, using machine learning to ensure the messaging is tailored to the reader.

EChart Health Care, Moncton –Spun off from a family-owned seniors home, eChart is developing a platform that lets homes for the elderly communicate better with their patients’ families. Other apps for this industry deal in health records or communication within the homes, but eChart focuses on providing better service to families. The company now has an early adopter and is targeting the 1.6 million long-term care facilities in Canada and the U.S.

RayZen, Fredericton - RayZen is an online platform that help nonprofit organization raise more money through games. Charitable organizations often struggle to retain donors or increase revenues, and RayZen helps them to engage donors and bring in more money through fun games. It is already talking to 25 such organizations.

Metricsflow, St. John's – Metricsflow has developed a system to help marketers effectively measure the impact of their content marketing. The problem it addresses is that content marketers push out vast amounts of material but little of it results in client conversions. Using no cookies, Metricsflow mines the data on the content and lets the users take action that results in conversions.

Mink Manager, St. John's – Mink Manager is an advanced fur farm management system that helps farmers to improve breeding programs and overall workflow. Mink farmers often have tens of thousands of animals to track, and now do so on paper. The company is now working with three farms, and is feeling market pull from other farmers. There are about 10,000 mink farms in the world.

Four companies from the more advanced Build Program pitched at Demo Day. We featured GoBumpFree on the site yesterday and will provide more detailed articles on some of the others in the coming weeks. They are:

Ironflow, Dieppe, NB – The company’s product, PurelyHR, lets companies create a tailored solution to satisfy their HR needs.

One simpler, Fredericton – The company has created a solution to automating production equipment, studios, and more.

And Stay Golden Apparel, Charlottetown – Stay Golden is an online clothing company that helps groups display their identity through custom-sourced and crested clothing.