The Electric: South 8 Finds One Escape From the Valley of Death—Profit

South 8 Technologies has raised about $9 million in a funding round that it expects to close next month toward manufacturing its innovative gas electrolyte. But CEO Tom Stepien said it took roughly six months to raise the money, with a lot of nos along the way. “I had one investor say, ‘If I bring a battery deal to my partners, they will fire me.’ That’s the exact quote,” Stepien told me.