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The Spur

Startups August 25, 2020

Schools, other post-pandemic verticals Cleared4 liftoff

By GREGORY ZELLER // A Southampton-based startup with a patent-pending post-pandemic platform is now helping school districts safely reopen in COVID-19’s wake. Cleared4Class is the latest addition to the Cleared4 platform, which is designed to help businesses, institutions and organizations meet specific social-distancing requirements on a sector-by-sector basis. A spinoff of automation-minded, artificial intelligence-powered, Southampton-based 2017 startup Chelsea Health Solutions, Cleared4 was created by Chelsea cofounders Soumi Eachempati and Rob Todd, along with Ashley Heather,…

Startups June 16, 2020

A pinch of extra personality for Hamptons meal maker

By GREGORY ZELLER // A celebrity chef with connections to Bobby Flay, Bloomingdale’s and President Donald Trump will spice up the menu of a Hamptons-based meal service. Honest Plate – launched in January by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Ashley and Diana Heather, along with well-known regional chefs Jon Albrecht and Nick Reisini – has recruited culinary king David Burke to cook up exclusive meals following the startup’s clean-eating mantra, which combines plant-forward and Whole30 models. As Hamptons-based…

Newsletters April 3, 2020

No. 489: Prehistoric monsters fly, Adelphi’s communications jam and the great 2020 pandemic hits the Hamptons

  A quiet weekend at home for a change: Just a little pandemic humor right there, dear readers, as we wrap up another WFH workweek in the Age of Coronavirus. Welcome to Friday, April 3 to be precise – National Don’t Go To Work Unless It’s Fun Day (shouldn’t be too hard this year) and World Party Day (maybe not the best time). Sweet Burns: It’s also National Find a Rainbow Day, which is actually…

Startups March 18, 2020

With FluChecker, a doctor in every house (virtually)

By GREGORY ZELLER // Chelsea Health Solutions was remotely diagnosing symptoms before remotely diagnosing symptoms was cool. Now, with a global pandemic spreading, it’s ready to rock. Founded in New York City in 2017 by surgeon/entrepreneur Soumi Eachempati and multiple investor partners, including other healthcare professionals, the startup creates AI-powered mobile apps that serve as surrogate doctors, helping potential patients determine if they need to see a specialist, speed to the emergency room or simply…

Startups November 21, 2019

Mud in their eye at i-hamptons’ “Riptide III”

By GREGORY ZELLER // A sunscreen with an ecological nature and an unmistakable Long Island ID took top honors at the third-annual “Riptide: $ink or $wim” business competition. The Montauk Mud Co., a 2019 LLC founded by Islanders Collin Kavanaugh and Elias Van Sickle, won the i-hamptons-hosted pitch-a-thon, collecting $20,000 in business-development grants and goodies, including radio ads with Long Island Broadcasting and gratis membership in The Spur, the part co-working space/part members-only “entrepreneur’s club”…

Awards and Events November 7, 2019

Thirsty, tick-ed off and ready for battle in Riptide III

By GREGORY ZELLER // The people have spoken, and Rip Tide III is about to raise someone’s boat, big-time. The annual “Shark Tank” for East End entrepreneurs, a function of Southampton-based professional networking community i-Hamptons, has whittled down a field of 46 entries – with the help of an in-house selection committee and online public vote – and will put five finalists through their paces in a big final round, scheduled for Saturday at the…

Economic Development September 5, 2019

Competition runs deep as annual ‘RipTide’ returns

By GREGORY ZELLER // A business plan pitch-a-thon with real pull is returning to the Hamptons. i-Hamptons – the professional networking community that brought you The Spur and Spur East, members-only “entrepreneur’s clubs” aimed at East End impresarios – is diving back into business-building waters with its annual “Shark Tank”-like business plan competition, “RipTide: Sink or Swim.” This year’s Riptide III (unofficially updated as “$ink or $wim”) is set to distribute some $50,000 in grant…

Awards and Events March 27, 2019

Breakfast of champions

Hundreds turn out to honor LI’s brightest innovators (photos by Bob Giglione) In a rare breakfast networker that delivered all the feels, Innovate Long Island saluted its 2019 Innovators of the Year Tuesday at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. More than 200 guests turned out to honor two dozen of Long Island’s brightest and boldest researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs and executives, including 2019 Master of Innovation Mitch Maiman and Stony Brook University Vice President…

Newsletters March 20, 2019

No. 390: On relativity, finger-licking and extra Voices – and happy birthday, almost-2,000-year-old man

  Spring in your step: Welcome to Wednesday, dear reader, and not just any Wednesday but the first day of spring in our lovely Northern Hemisphere – the vernal equinox occurs today at 5:58 p.m. Eastern Time. We really had an easy winter. But the 15-or-so inches of snow measured by the National Weather Service’s Islip monitoring station won’t be a record low, according to historical accumulations recorded by Brookhaven National Laboratory. Veggie tales: This…

Newsletters March 1, 2019

No. 385: Pigs fly, Adelphi soars, Captain America meets Hitler – and a healthy turn at Bethpage Black

  Weekend update: Welcome to Friday, friends, as we complete another productive workweek and greet another weekend. It’s March 1 out there, already the 60th day of 2019. Before we dive in, welcome new newsletter subscribers Dean, Judy, Morgan, Brittney, Leo, Brenda, Conan, Leigh, Wei and Harvey. Your timing couldn’t be better, hopping aboard the innovation train on National Beer Day – in Iceland, marking the 1989 end of that country’s prohibition laws. Don’t mean…

Voices January 24, 2019

Island finally finds its footing on the co-working path

By PHIL RUGILE // Helping new companies get started has become a big part of the “Startup Economy.” Investopedia defines a startup as “a company that is in the first stage of its operations,” often bankrolled by their entrepreneurial founders, who are attempting to capitalize on a new product or service. It’s no easy task. Until you’ve experienced the terror of being an entrepreneur – of struggling to convince your target market of your product…

Technology June 14, 2018

Panel walks the fine line of sports-tech innovation

By GREGORY ZELLER // Properly handled, technological innovation makes for good sports – and properly presented, good sports innovators make for an engaging panel discussion. So an audience of 30-plus members and guests were both educated and entertained Wednesday evening, when The Spur @ The Station – temporary summer home of The Spur, a private “co-working and entrepreneur’s club” – hosted an interactive conversation featuring four experts of tech innovation, as related to the wide…

Newsletters May 18, 2018

No. 307: Big Brother beached, commencements classed-up and a big first for Hofstra/Northwell nurses

Nicely done: Kudos, dear reader, on once again rising above the mayhem and reaching the end of another busy work week. It’s May 18 out there – International Museum Day, for those keeping score. War, and remembrance: The then-Kingdom of Great Britain declared war on France on this date in 1756, kicking off the Seven Years War; on the same date in 1803, the United Kingdom declared war on France again, this time ticked off…

Newsletters May 16, 2018

No. 306: On root beer, cleantech, impressive Adelphi grads and The Spur’s summer of love

Welcome to Wednesday: And a very happy May 16 to you, dear readers – together, we’ve reached the midpoint of another busy week in Long Island innovation. By the way, it’s officially the 2018 Navigation Season along the 524-mile New York State Canal System, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo firing the starter’s pistol on Tuesday, or waving the green flag, or opening the gates, or whatever you do at the start of boating season. Popular misconception:…

Entrepreneurs May 15, 2018

The Spur: How I spent my summer (working) vacation

By GREGORY ZELLER // That jingle-jangle you hear in Southampton comes from The Spur, the private co-working and entrepreneur’s club that’s moseyed into a new summer home. After a six-month stint in its “winter home” at the Southampton Social Club, The Spur – a manifestation of i-hamptons, a Southampton-based “community and resource guide” for East End entrepreneurs – has relocated to 280 Elm St. in Southampton, the circa-1884 seed-and-feed barn at the Long Island Rail…