Surety Systems Accelerates Philanthropy-Driven Entrepreneurship at NC State
A new partnership between the NC State Andrews Launch Accelerator and tech consulting group Surety Systems will support two early-stage companies’ participation in the accelerator.
The Largest Andrews Launch Accelerator Cohort to Date
The Entrepreneurship Clinic, based in the Poole College of Management and with support from NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship, helps university founders turn their visions into reality and gain practical experience working with startups. Each summer the eClinic hosts the Andrews Launch Accelerator (ALA) which allocates equity-free seed capital and delivers expert mentorship and focused training to support startups from NC State students and alumni founders. This year, the accelerator’s cohort is larger than ever with support from Surety Systems.
Surety Systems is an enterprise technology consulting firm specializing in JD Edwards, Lawson, SAP, Kronos, Workday, Oracle and Salesforce. Their unbiased, senior-level consultants empower internal teams to maximize the efficiency of the technology. Surety Systems partnered with NC State to support two teams in this year’s accelerator, the first time a corporate partner has supported any team in the ALA.
Surety Systems Introduces a New Way to Think and Do Innovation at NC State
Together, the Entrepreneurship Clinic and Surety Systems will provide the resources and guidance that each team needs to scale up. JP Lexa, COO of Surety Systems, attended the ALA team pitches and determined that CN-Seamless and PointHalo were worthy of investment and inclusion in this year’s cohort. He said:
“NC State alumni have a strong presence at Surety Systems and they have all been very high performers within our organization. We want to give back to NC State and thought the Andrews Launch Accelerator was the perfect platform. Surety will continue to pursue NC State graduates and strengthen its relationship with the Wolfpack!”
The innovative culture at Surety Systems runs deep throughout the company. Nan Parrish, the amrketing team lead, earned a degree in communications with a minor in business entrepreneurship from NC State in 2022 and has helped build Surety from the ground up. Nan credits NC State with helping her become an out-of-the-box thinker and she is committed to helping students find meaningful careers in the local entrepreneurship ecosystem.
An Eye for Value
Together, the Entrepreneurship Clinic and Surety Systems will advance two companies, PointHalo and CN-Seamless, further toward their goals.
PointHalo enables individual drone pilots to compete on the commercial market. Through a portfolio of products, including AnyDroneRTK, this startup hopes to democratize access for hundreds of thousands of small commercial drone pilots in the United States. Millions more across the world, people want to sell aerial models. PointHalo’s technology will enable them to do it.
CN-Seamless makes a portable robotic cutting machine, the Mach 1, that allows metal fabricators to cut out anything they want, anywhere, without having to use CAD or CAM software. We simplify the intricacies of operating a traditional CNC machine and present the user with an interface that anyone can learn. The machine itself is rugged for use in an industrial environment, but also lightweight and precise, allowing an operator to stow the machine on their truck and carry it wherever it’s needed.
By collaborating with the ALA, Surety will be supporting students who want to create value in the startup and technology sector as founders and corporate entrepreneurs. The Surety System team plans to attend Demo Day on August 27 to support PointHalo, CN-Seamless and the entire ALA cohort as well as meet students interested in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship.
