Tweener Madness: The Fabulous 4 Begins with Utilyst VS HAM. Two Different Paths to Scale

We’re down to the Fabulous 4. Four startups. Two matchups. One step closer to the $25K investment from the NC Tweener Fund.

This is where things shift. The ideas are sharper. The stakes are higher. And every decision starts to look a lot more like a real investment call.

Utilyst is building deep infrastructure software for utilities. HAM is building lightweight AI tooling for developers. One is grounded in physical systems and regulation. The other is riding the fastest-moving wave in tech. Two B2B plays. Two completely different paths to scale.

🧠 What you’ll see in this episode:

•  AI cost is becoming a real problem → efficiency is the next wave 
• Clear problem vs. massive market defined the matchup 
• Investors want dollar impact, not just features 
• Speed + scale potential won this round

👇 Featuring the Exceptional 8 Selection Committee:

• Zakiya Alta Lee-Hill (Principal, IDEA Fund partners)
• Greg Boone (CEO of Walk West)
• Carly Connell (Principal at BCVP)

👉 Subscribe for more episodes as we move through the bracket
👉 Follow along as we go from the Exceptional 8 → Fantastic 4 → Championship

⏱️ Timestamps
 00:00 — Welcome to Tweener Madness
 00:45 — Fabulous 4 Intro: Utilist vs. HAM
 08:10 — Utilist Pitch
 13:00 — Utilist Q&A
 23:05 — HAM Pitch
 26:00 — HAM Q&A
 33:00 — Judges Feedback Begins
 33:10 — Feedback on Utilist
 35:00 — Feedback on HAM
 39:30 — Final Decision (Winner Revealed)

🎯 About Tweener Madness
Tweener Madness is run by the NC Tweener Fund, Powered by NC IDEA and showcases top startups from across North Carolina. The winner receives a $25,000 investment and statewide exposure.

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Tweener Madness is hosted by Scot Wingo, run by NC Tweener Fund, Powered by NC IDEA, and brought to life by Walk West, who leads production and podcast creation.

We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors: 

Platinum: 
NC IDEA: https://ncidea.org

Gold Sponsors: 
- Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs 
- EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com 
- Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com 
 
Silver Sponsors: 
- Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co 

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Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:

• Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/

What is NC Tweener Talks?

A podcast for builders by builders in North Carolina. We explore the startup journey and stories with NC founders, from the idea to the exit and everything in between.

NC Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by NC Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West.