TMCnet News
SCRA Technology Ventures Announces Investment ApprovalsSCRA Technology Ventures' SC Launch board approved investments in two South Carolina companies at last month's board meeting in Greenville. GWIG and Wave Sciences, both located in Charleston, received approvals. These are the first rounds of SC Launch funding for both companies. GWIG joined the SC Launch program in April. The company uses a streamlined digital referral application that provides the ability for users to refer friends to their favorite businesses as well as providing businesses with analytics on their referrals. The company has over 4,000 application downloads, 1,085 unique businesses have been referred and over 4,500 referrals have been passed from coast to coast. "With access to analytics that GWIG provides, small business owners have the ability to engage with current and potential customers like never before," said Chris H. Cooper, Chief Operating Officer of GWIG. "As businesses use GWIG's information to interact with interested potential customers, as well as thank existing loyal ones, they are able to create and grow strong relationships with positive long-term returns on investment." Wave Sciences, an SC Launch company since 2009, is a pioneer of hearing assistive technologies and digital audio noise reduction software, which grew out of the law enforcement and safety portion of its business. Wave Sciences is now expanding its product portfolio to address the hearing aid and consumer electronics markets. Their wearable hearing technology represents an innovative and disruptive approach to addressing the needs of juveniles, adults and seniors with hearing impairments, and their new collaboration with Clemson University's Materials Science and Engineering department in apparel research has the potential to make using its technology as simple as getting dressed. "We ar delighted to receive this investment from SC Launch and for all the support they've given to us along the way since starting our company," stated Wave Sciences Founder and President Keith McElveen. "Wave Sciences is revolutionizing hearing aid and personal sound amplification products by re-imagining them as pieces of clothing, which makes them more powerful and comfortable at the same time." "These investment approvals show our continued commitment to growing high-tech jobs in South Carolina," said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. "We look forward to future accomplishments and continued partnerships with these innovative companies." About SCRA Technology Ventures SCRA Technology Ventures helps innovative companies grow and develop new technologies, creating jobs and advancing the Knowledge Economy throughout South Carolina. This SCRA business sector provides support and mentoring to early stage, start-up technology companies through its flagship SC Launch program. Since 2006, SCRA has deployed over $83 million in funding for entrepreneurs and infrastructure to support over 300 high-tech, early-stage enterprises. SCRA has directly invested nearly $20 million into the program's top 74 South Carolina start-ups, attracting over $301 million in add-on, private investment. The sector also supports commercialization and growth by facilitating the transfer of intellectual property and accelerating the transition of inventions to the marketplace. Additionally, SCRA Technology Ventures invests in more established technology companies through its Stage 2 affiliate. Multiple economic impact studies show SCRA's cumulative output on South Carolina's economy to be over $16.6 billion, and that the company has helped create approximately 15,000 technology-related jobs in the state, with annual wages averaging between $55,000 and $77,000. About GWIG GWIG is the first platform to digitize and track word-of-mouth referrals. Developed to offer a simple and convenient way for users to exchange a business' contact information, GWIG also traces these referrals and provides subscribers a real-time analytics dashboard showing which GWIG users are referring their business, which users are receiving referrals and the ability to contact the people who accept GWIG referrals. For more information about GWIG, visit http://gwig.com. About Wave Sciences Wave Sciences has a three-fold mission built on restoring, enhancing, and protecting. Its innovative products restore directional hearing, enhance communication, and protect people around the world. For more information about Wave Sciences, visit www.wavesciencescorp.com. |
