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	Friday Fix: ExpertTheory, Phaseshift, ShotSpin AI, and “Backrooms” Inspired Floor 404 Posted Yesterday tl;dr GrepBeat.com shares lots of news about startups and technology, and their "Friday Fix" segment, hosted by David Schwartz, helps readers catch up on anything they might have missed during the week. This week's recap included a story about Pendo's new game called Floor 404, plus features on three cool companies: ExpertTheory, Phaseshift, and the tennis-focused startup ShotSpin. You can listen to the full podcast episode to hear all the details, and don't forget to subscribe so you stay updated on exciting startup news!
	Return Game: Exited Founder Is Back To Level Up Your Tennis With ShotSpin AI Posted Thursday tl;dr Anil Chawla, who previously built and sold a successful tech company called ArchiveSocial, returned to his childhood love of tennis after his business deal closed and found himself wanting better tools to improve his game. This inspired him to create ShotSpin AI, a new app that uses artificial intelligence to record tennis matches and provide detailed, professional-level analysis of a player's performance, going beyond basic stats to show patterns and trends. The app, still in development with a beta testing group, aims to help everyday players enjoy and improve at tennis by giving them insights once only available to professional athletes.
	Wake Forest’s Phaseshift Makes Sense of the Messy Data Behind Clean Energy Posted Wednesday tl;dr Phaseshift, a startup founded by Brandon Zschokke and Anirudh Mulukutla, solves a big problem in the clean energy world: different battery, solar, and wind equipment all record data in their own "languages," making it hard to combine and understand. Their technology connects to all this equipment, organizes the confusing data into one consistent format, and makes it easy for people, software, and AI to use—saving companies time, money, and hassle. Starting with battery storage systems, Phaseshift is now growing to work with other energy infrastructure and even data centers, all while keeping its focus on solving real problems for customers rather than just building "cool" technology.
	Raleigh’s ExpertTheory Uses AI To Rapidly Scale Simulation Games Posted Tuesday tl;dr Daveed Gartenstein-Ross started a company called ExpertTheory that uses artificial intelligence to quickly create educational simulation games, where players join teams and make decisions to understand real-world situations like geopolitics. What used to take weeks to build can now be made in minutes or hours thanks to AI, and the company has already created games for universities like Duke and ASU, as well as for the U.S. Air Force and other organizations. Looking ahead, ExpertTheory wants to sell ready-made games that people can play without needing a human referee, making these learning experiences even easier to access.
	Pendo’s New Game Teaches AI Agent Training… in Liminal Spaces Posted Monday tl;dr Pendo.io created Floor 404, a free first-person daily puzzle game where players customize and guide an AI agent through a strange, maze-like office, solving puzzles to earn it the "context" it needs to work well—while skipping days turns it into a useless "zombie." The game, built in just a month during a company hackathon, is designed to playfully teach people how AI agents actually improve: through real information like user feedback and behavior signals, not guesswork. Whether you're new to AI agents or already build them, Floor 404 aims to make the serious lesson that "an agent is only as good as the context it has" fun, memorable, and even a little bit heartwarming.
	Monday Mix: Venture Atlanta, PitchBreakfast, a Founder’s Clinic, and More! Posted Monday tl;dr This week’s Monday Mix is packed with events to help entrepreneurs tackle challenges in their businesses, with a special trip to Atlanta for the Venture Atlanta conference happening October 14th-15th, where a dozen North Carolina startups will take part. Closer to home, Charlotte and Durham are hosting several helpful gatherings, including PitchBreakfast for pitch practice, Founder Jam applications for personalized business coaching, a happy hour spotlighting climate-focused founders, and a "Founder's Clinic" to solve urgent startup problems. Whether you want to network, get feedback, or fix a specific issue in your business, there’s something happening nearly every day this week to help you grow.
	Seed List’s Student Networking Night Builds Momentum Posted October 9, 2026 tl;dr This week, The Seed List hosted its second Student Networking Night (previously called "College Night") at Boxyard RTP, with support from an NC IDEA Engage grant. The event brings together college students from schools across the Triangle area—including Meredith, Elon, NC Central, and Campbell—so they can meet each other and connect with founders and professionals in the innovation and startup world. With little formal programming, the event simply provides the space for students to network on their own, and it's quickly becoming a popular tradition, with the next one expected during Raleigh-Durham Startup Week in the spring.
	Friday Fix: HurriLab, The Seed List’s Student Networking, a Meridian Catch-Up, and “The Download” Posted October 9, 2026 tl;dr GrepBeat.com shares news about startups and technology, and in a special segment called "Friday Fix," host David Schwartz helps readers catch up on everything they might have missed that week. In this episode covering the week of October 9th, he recaps a feature on a company called HurriLab, an interview with founder Josh Kohn, a new "Download" segment about Hersh Tapadia, and a recap of a networking event for students. You can listen to the full recap and subscribe to The GrepBeat Podcast to stay updated on startup news in your area.
	The Download: Hersh Tapadia, Co-Founder and CEO, Allstacks Posted October 7, 2026 tl;dr Hersh Tapadia is the CEO of Allstacks, a company that helps product and engineering teams use AI to build software more effectively by creating clear specifications and goals before development begins. He compares old-style coding to flying a plane, where you can adjust course along the way, while AI-driven coding is more like launching a rocket, which requires precise planning from the start. Beyond his work, Hersh values simplicity, local coffee shops and restaurants in Raleigh, and spends much of his time thinking about steering his company—and his family's future—with focus and foresight rather than constant reaction.
	Meridian’s Josh Kohn on Computer Vision in Real Estate, NFL Connections, Veteran Status, and “Earning the Right to Scale.” Posted October 6, 2026 tl;dr Meridian Performance Systems started out using computer vision technology to help golfers improve their putting, but the company has since shifted its focus to a much bigger opportunity: helping commercial real estate teams quickly scan and measure properties in about 20 minutes instead of taking weeks using old-fashioned methods. Founder Josh Kohn, a military veteran who also volunteers to help resettle Afghan refugees, explained that his team grew stronger after co-founder Matthias Farley (a former NFL player) joined and helped connect them with real estate clients through his sports network. Looking ahead, Kohn says the company's biggest challenge isn't finding new ideas—since the technology could be used in many industries—but staying disciplined enough to say "no" to distractions and stay focused on solving one specific, important problem really well.

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