Engine | Advocacy & Foundation

Scale Social AI, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based startup, helps brands capture authentic user-generated content (UGC) by integrating technology into mobile apps or activating via on-site quick response (QR) codes, building a centralized library of real customer moments with full marketing rights. We sat down with Founder and CEO Runbin Dong to discuss his journey from IBM Watson and a family dumpling business to founding an AI-native startup, the challenges posed by the H-1B visa system, and how the R&D tax credit and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption can shape a tech startup's journey. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e_bSKg-P

Brainify.AI is developing a brain data platform that combines portable Electroencephalography (EEG) hardware with AI to help create more effective treatments and diagnostics for neurological conditions. We sat down with Mariam Khayretdinova, founder and CEO, to discuss her experience navigating data privacy regulations, fundraising, and patents. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ezGPmF85

In a new report released this week, Engine examines how emerging startup ecosystems—in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Buffalo—are building from scratch, the factors that contribute to their success, and the common obstacles still holding them back. The report, The Foundations of an Innovation Flywheel, examines the development of Silicon Valley in the second half of the 20th century and compares that model to modern emerging ecosystems across the country. Drawing on dozens of interviews with founders, investors, and support organizations in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Buffalo, the report lays out four critical factors for ecosystem success: connective tissue, ecosystem alignment, timing, and center of gravity. Whether through direct policy changes—such as investing in resources specifically for high-growth, tech-enabled startups—or broader efforts—including to make a city a more desirable place to live—policymakers should use all of the tools at their disposal to encourage, direct, and amplify the ecosystem-building happening in their cities and states. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ehf2aubw

Kall Morris Inc (KMI) provides a "tow truck" capability for space, designed to grab and secure unprepared, uncontrolled satellites or space debris. We sat down with CEO and co-founder Troy M. Morris to talk about KMI’s journey from Michigan to the International Space Station, the critical role of the Small Business Innovation Research and similar government grant programs, and the policy hurdles facing the next generation of aerospace innovators. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/exhd2n_d

Kunal Chopra is no stranger to the world of innovation. He founded Certivo, a supply chain compliance assistant, after more than two decades in the tech sector and serving as CEO for three separate companies. We sat down with Kunal to discuss his company, the role of public-private partnerships in innovation, and how startups engage with vague laws around the world involving their operations. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e4SHrMsi

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of working on filing paperwork for renovations, you know that seemingly obscure missing paperwork in a first submission can result in months of back and forth between you and your local government. Safouen (Saf) Rabah saw how this creates a bottleneck in the development of affordable housing and decided to use his previous experience to create Govstream.ai, a one-stop AI platform for builders and city planners to streamline the permitting process. We sat down with Saf to talk about his company, their unique public-private partnership with the city of Bellevue, Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), and more. Learn More: https://lnkd.in/gyke9TnC

Very excited that Engine | Advocacy & Foundation included BestFarewell in their #StartupsEverywhere series this week. The interview covers what it means to modernize bereavement, and where regulation is still standing in the way of better preparation for families. Electronic wills came up specifically. Most states still require wet signatures and physical witnesses, which means the families most likely to be unprepared are also the ones least able to fix it quickly. This is the gap BestFarewell exists to close. Grateful to Engine for the platform and for the advocacy work behind it. Thank you!

BestFarewell was featured this week in Engine | Advocacy & Foundation's #StartupsEverywhere series, where founder Jay Wilburn sat down to talk about why end-of-life planning needs to start long before a loss. This piece covers the origin story behind BestFarewell, the company's B2B2C employer benefit model, and the five-year goal of becoming a standard bereavement benefit for 100,000 companies. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gyRqbWtJ

BestFarewell is a Chicago-based AI-powered platform that helps families navigate the complex logistics of estate planning and bereavement. We sat down with founder Jay Wilburn to discuss the development of his proprietary SageLink AI, the administrative burden on remote startups, modernized bereavement treatment, and the regulatory hurdles surrounding electronic wills. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e-WHppA5

This Mother’s Day, it’s worth recognizing that supporting mothers in the startup ecosystem is not just about celebrating them, it is also about building policies that make it possible for parents to start startups, join companies, and stay in the workforce. Startup life is already incredibly risky. For parents—especially mothers—that risk is compounded by child care costs, lack of paid leave, and the reality that early-stage companies often cannot match the salary and benefits packages of larger employers. Alison Cove, founder and CEO of USEFULL, has spoken directly about the difficulty of juggling startup life and motherhood, noting that even with paid maternity leave provided by her state, it is still nearly impossible to fully step away as a founder. For USEFULL, motherhood also deepens the company’s mission. Alison said being a mom makes her “double down” on building a plastic-free future where reuse is normalized and plastics are less of a threat to children’s health. https://lnkd.in/eDRJyU75 Sascha Mayer, co-founder and CXO of Mamava, built her company after experiencing firsthand how few dignified, private spaces existed for breastfeeding parents. Mamava now provides lactation pods in high-traffic places like airports and workplaces, paired with an app to help parents find them. Sascha has emphasized that expanding paid family leave makes sense for a healthy population, even if it could affect demand for Mamava’s pods. Mamava views its pods as infrastructure, but social policies that strengthen families and communities are infrastructure too. https://lnkd.in/ei6Vvcn8 #MothersDay is a reminder that the startup ecosystem depends on people who are also caregivers, parents, and community builders. Policies that support paid leave, child care, and family stability help ensure more entrepreneurs can take part in building what comes next. https://lnkd.in/eBZBbCiW