Two Wilmington startups have been selected as finalists in a regional competition for early-stage companies. On March 31, representatives for Surgilum and KWIPPED will pitch the prospects and road maps for their fledgling companies to a roomful of investors and corporate executives at the 2015 Charlotte Venture Challenge.

The Wilmington companies are among 30 competition finalists from more than 112 applicants, according to the Charlotte Venture Challenge website.

The CVC, as it is known, is in its 14th year. It “has a history of producing and showcasing some of the Southeast’s most successful early-stage companies,” the website states. “In the last three years, over 300 start-up companies entered the competition for the opportunity to present to potential investors and first customers.”

There is also the potential of winning a cash prize, the competition’s website adds.

Surgilum, a company that focuses on products for eye surgeons, will pitch its Robo-Marker, a device that its creator says makes marking corneas in preparation for surgery much more precise and efficient. KWIPPED is a business-to-business online equipment rental marketplace for anything from earth-moving machinery to specialized laboratory equipment.

Surgilum president Rocco Quaranto said Thursday he believes his company was selected as a finalist because company officials took their time in filling out the application and gave as complete a picture of the startup as possible.

At its core, CVC is a business plan competition, Quaranto said.

“We talked about market size and opportunity for the products,” he said. “We talked about our solid team, the problem that [Robo-Marker] fixes, the market size for this product, and how we plan on growing.”

Quaranto said he thinks CVC organizers agreed that there is great potential for Robo-Marker.

KWIPPED’s appeal is based on three factors, Preville believes.

“There is a huge market for our services, we solve a real problem, and we have a team of entrepreneurs with relevant experience behind KWIPPED,” he said.

“This is a great opportunity to share KWIPPED with other entrepreneurs and investors throughout the Southeast. We're also excited to tell others about our region's burgeoning technology scene that includes UNCW's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, tekMountain, nCino, CloudWyze, Next Glass and many other start-up technology firms.”
 
This year, CVC is held in partnership with the Southeast Venture Conference, which takes place in Charlotte at the same time and has a broad geographic draw. According to the CVC website, the conference will  give finalists access to more than 600 investors and Fortune 500 “innovation executives.”

Win or lose, Quaranto believes that participating in the CVC will be a “great experience” for Surgilum.

“We’ll learn from it either way. This is a pretty large regional event. Any time you get recognized and get to present your company – using a sports metaphor, kind of like every game you play – makes you stronger. We’re also opening ourselves up to criticism because it’s a Shark Tank style format: people ask questions after your pitch.

“I’m sure they are all business-savvy people and will give us some great feedback and great ideas. We have to sharpen our skills so we’re ready for the hurdles in front of us that maybe we didn’t see yet.”

Preville, too, welcomes the opportunity to learn from presenting at CVC. He also has his eye on financing potential within his prospective audience.

“We will be pursuing equity financing and hope to identify partners that can help us achieve our goals,” he said.

Editor's note: Robert Preville is a co-owner of SAJ Media, publisher of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and WILMA magazine.