Tweener Madness: The Exceptional 8 Begins! Round 1: Utilyst VS BeneDoc

8 founders. One bracket. $25,000 on the line. Welcome to Tweener Madness 2026, the high-stakes startup competition where North Carolina’s most promising companies go head-to-head.In this Round 1 matchup, Utilyst and BeneDoc step into the arena to pitch their businesses to a panel of experienced investors. Each founder has one shot to make their case, answer tough questions, and prove they deserve to advance.One moves on. One goes home.🧠 What you’ll see in this episode: A power infrastructure startup tackling knowledge loss in utilities  A healthtech company rethinking regulatory workflows with AI  Live investor Q&A and real-time feedback  Behind-the-scenes judge deliberation (what actually matters in a pitch) 👇 Featuring the Round 1 Selection Committee: Jan Davis - RTP Angel Fund / Triangle Angel Partners  Robbie Hardy - Accel Ventures  Jen Summe - Primordial Ventures 👉 Subscribe for more episodes as we move through the bracket👉 Follow along as we go from the Exceptional 8 → Fantastic 4 → Championship⏱️ Timestamps00:00 — Welcome to Tweener Madness  00:45 — Meet the Selection Committee  03:05 — Format + What’s new this year  05:05 — Matchup Intro: Utilyst vs. BeneDoc  05:35 — Utilyst Pitch  10:30 — Utilyst Q&A with Judges  20:40 — BeneDoc Pitch  26:15 — BeneDoc Q&A with Judges  40:00 — Judges Deliberation Begins  41:10 — Feedback on Utilyst  43:10 — Feedback on BeneDoc  46:20 — Pitch Lessons + What stood out  49:05 — Final Decision (Winner Revealed)🎯 About Tweener MadnessTweener 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.--- 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.orgGold 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  ------Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/