Point Positive Coordinator Melinda Little, with assistance from Maura Maguire of the Shipley Center at Clarkson welcomed three entrepreneurial businesses on Zoom during their February meeting.

The businesses are: Swift Rails and Black River Valley Natural, and a preview of a company founded by two faculty members of Clarkson University called ResET.

Swift Rails:

• Swift Rails is a new type of on-demand transit that is 5x faster and 40x cheaper than conventional light-rail, and over 100 times safer than cars. They use autonomous 1-4 person vehicles traveling rapidly on a highway of ultra-light rails. Vehicles are hailed on-demand by app and deliver passengers directly to their destination with zero emissions.
• Presented by Ken Neumaier, Tony Gale & Daryl Anderson

Black River Valley Natural:

• Black River Valley Natural is a small-batch value-added processor crafting artisanal foods from locally sourced ingredients produced by farmers. It provides an online sales platform and cold-chain wholesale distribution to regional restaurants, grocery stores, food retailers, schools, and other institutions with a sister company. Since its founding in 2018, Black River Valley Natural has experienced 150% CAGR and is now looking for investment to expand its operations. The business is located in Lyons Falls at the old Lyons Falls Pulp & Paper Mill site.
• Presented by James Munn

ResET

• ResET is focused on destroying harmful algal blooms (HABs) plaguing lakes and similar bodies of water all around the world. Their solution does not treat the source of the problem – nutrient-rich waters and increasing global temperatures -, but it can effectively treat blooms through a patent-pending electrochemical process. ResET’s solution does not alter water chemistry and is more energy-efficient than competing technologies. The first application of this technology will be mounted on a pontoon boat for maximum mobility, but future applications include shore-mounted systems and systems capable of integrating with existing water treatment plants. 
•  Presented by Stefan Grimbeg

Point Positive hears out each of these pitches, and then behind closed doors investor discussions take place. After the meeting, the member investors complete a pitch evaluation sheet for each company. Point Positive will then follow up with an in-depth review of each company’s proposal and projected funds use, and potentially structure a deal based on that review. Decisions to invest are up to the member investors

For more information about these companies, please visit: https://www.pointpositiveadk.com/about-us/news 

Image courtesy of ResET