Who’s Advancing from the Fabulous Four - CivicReach or InviteJet?
Welcome back to Triangle Tweener Madness, the high-stakes startup tournament where eight companies go head-to-head for a $25,000 investment from the Triangle Tweener Fund!
We’re down to the Fabulous Four, and this week’s semifinal is a clash between a calendar-powered marketing platform and a voice AI company transforming local government services. Two bold visions. One coveted spot in the finals.
Let’s meet the contenders.
🔹 InviteJet (Paul Davis & Brian Watson) – A marketing platform that lets brands send calendar invites—yes, calendar invites—to their customers. With integrations into tools like Klaviyo and Mailchimp, InviteJet gives brands a new channel for time-based marketing. Early traction shows that calendar invites can outperform email when it comes to urgency and engagement, especially with unengaged audiences.
🔹 CivicReach (Chip Kennedy) – A voice AI platform built to modernize how local governments serve their residents. CivicReach helps cities and counties automatically answer incoming calls, reducing costs and relieving overworked staff. With integrations into CRMs and payment systems, CivicReach is on a mission to improve public service delivery—without increasing headcount.
🎤 InviteJet’s Pitch
- Provides an alternative to crowded inboxes using calendar invites as a persistent, underutilized communication channel.
- Helps brands boost conversions during product launches, sales events, shipping cutoffs, and re-engagement campaigns.
- Built-in unsubscribe features, strong deliverability, and a UX designed for different calendar clients.
- Exploring a pricing evolution from tiered subscription to usage-based.
- Technical moat in managing calendar clients (Google, Outlook, Apple) and formatting consistent, branded experiences.
🎤 CivicReach’s Pitch
- Targets a clear pain point for cities drowning in calls but short on staff or call center support.
- Focused on voice AI that can route, answer, and assist callers with accurate, up-to-date info—customized to each city’s needs.
- Emphasizes cost savings, improved customer experience, and integrations with existing systems.
- Moat includes proprietary speech-to-text and integrations tailored to government use cases, as well as a custom data layer.
- Structured pilots lead to multi-year contracts, with pricing transparency and ROI baked in from day one.
Selection Committee
- Zakiya Alta Lee-Hill – https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakiyaaltalee/
- Antony Rotoli – https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrotoli/
- Mitch Mumma – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchmumma/
📌 Timestamps
(00:00:35) – Scot Wingo kicks off the InviteJet vs. CivicReach semifinal showdown.
(00:01:31) – InviteJet answers questions on market education, technical complexity, customer success stories, and pricing models.
(00:23:34) – CivicReach fields questions on ROI, government buying cycles, integration strategies, and its founding story.
(00:41:36) – Founders reflect on the mission, momentum, and long-term potential.
(00:43:12) – The selection committee deliberates.
(00:50:33) – One company advances to the Tweener Madness finals!
🎙️ Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented by Triangle Tweener Fund, and produced by Walk West.
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Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:
- Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/
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