Newsletter Edition #1219: Inside Create-X's 2026 Summer Demo Day.
One last newsletter blast before the long weekend...
Today's top headlines:
- Create-X Demo Day in pictures
- A startup to watch if you're a busy developer
- Growth-stage compliance company in Alpharetta
- Real estate tech funding in Tampa
Let's get reading.
This edition of Hypepotamus is brought to you by Live Oak Bank.
The Big Headline: Over 100 student-led startups participated in Create-X Demo Day yesterday. At a new location on campus, the room was filled with startups ready to bring on new customers, fundraise, and scale following the summer startup program. Could the next local startup success be in the room? We explore here.
Startup To Watch: Building software is cheap in the AI Age. But deploying it? It is still overly complicated for developers, says Atlanta entrepreneur Sal Stabler. It is a problem he and his co-founders, who previously worked at places like IBM, Experian, ADP, and The Weather Channel, are solving with the startup Nexlayer. What does it mean for startups and enterprises alike? We explore here.
Growth-Stage News: He has 3 exits under his belt. Now, Larry Shumbres is scaling a compliance company in Alpharetta with the goal of ensuring busy service providers don't have to carry around 2 phones to keep up with FINRA and SEC regulations. After raising $6.3 million in Series A funding last year, we caught up with his company to learn what's next. More here.
Live Oak Bank's (NYSE: LOB) Venture Banking team provides non-dilutive growth financing that complements equity, along with tailored banking solutions, for venture-backed B2B software and healthcare companies at every stage of their financing journey. We understand entrepreneurs because we are entrepreneurs. Member FDIC.
Funding, M&A News
- Raleigh's Utility Innovation Holdings set to be acquired by Ohio-based Vertiv for $1.45 billion
- NC's Cape Fear BioCapital announces final close of new fund
- DLAnalyzer (Tampa): $1M pre-seed
Upcoming Deadlines
Featured Events
- 3686 Nashville: Sept 14-16
- Avant South: Oct 12-13
- Venture Atlanta: Oct 14-15
- Venture135 Charlotte: Nov 19-20
Job Openings
Browse All Jobs - 🚨 3 new
We Want To Talk To...
- Companies with cool office spaces
- Teams taking creative approaches to recruiting talent
Fit these descriptions? Reach out to editorial@hypepotamus.com.
Word On The Street…
- Emory sunsetting its incubator and launching entrepreneurial community called Sandbox
- Fulcrum's Junior Gaspard becomes CEO of Florida-based Feathr
- Hacker House coming to Biltmore
- ATL's CogBias launches Chrome extension
- Curiosity Lab is expanding
Keep Reading
The interviews and conversations you missed in the last newsletter:
Maija Ehlinger
Hypepotamus Contributor
