# Tweener Madness: The Exceptional 8 Round 2 is here! Iguana Cyber VS HAM

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/nc-tweener-talks-7053588/tweener-madness-the-exceptional-8-round-2-is-here-iguana-cyber-vs-ham
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/nc-tweener-talks-7053588/tweener-madness-the-exceptional-8-round-2-is-here-iguana-cyber-vs-ham.md
Podcast: [NC Tweener Talks](https://stenobird.com/podcast/nc-tweener-talks-7053588)
Published: 2026-04-02T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/6c3ee8bd
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/6c3ee8bd/32e82820.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/nc-tweener-talks-7053588/episodes/tweener-madness-the-exceptional-8-round-2-is-here-iguana-cyber-vs-ham
Duration seconds: 2086

## Resource

Round 2 of Tweener Madness is here. With a spot in the next round on the line, Iguana Cyber and HAM (Hierarchical Agent Memory) go head-to-head in a high-stakes pitch battle. One is building next-gen cybersecurity to stop AI-driven exploits. The other is helping engineering teams cut AI costs and improve performance. Both are technical. Both are ambitious. But only one moves forward. 🧠 What you’ll see in this episode: A cybersecurity startup tackling unknown AI threats An AI infrastructure company optimizing token usage and cost Live investor Q&A and real feedback What founders get wrong (and right) when pitching technical products 👇 Featuring the Round 2 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 ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome to Tweener Madness 00:45 — Round 2 Intro: Iguana Cyber vs. HAM 01:15 — Iguana Cyber Pitch 06:20 — Iguana Cyber Q&A 15:30 — HAM Pitch 18:00 — HAM Q&A 27:20 — Judges Feedback Begins 27:30 — Feedback on Iguana Cyber 29:50 — Feedback on HAM 31:00 — Pitch Lessons (Clarity, Jargon, Slides) 31:30 — 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. --- 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: -…

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