Mike Halpert
Ver Coaching – MICRO Spring 2025
Published October 15, 2025
As part of our ‘Meet Our Founders’ series today, we introduce Mike Halpert, Founder and CEO of Ver Coaching based in Durham, NC. Ver Coaching provides a VR app that trains athletes’ vision, focus, and confidence, enhancing neuromuscular skills for improved performance in sports and beyond.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: The overlooked problem is that eyes don’t naturally work together. Without training, this limits focus, confidence, and overall performance. We use sports as the starting point because athletes immediately feel the impact, and people look up to them as examples. From there, the ripple effect carries into the classroom, careers, and everyday life.
Q: What does the road ahead look like for your company?
A: The road ahead is about scale and impact. In November, we’re bringing Ver to Casey Murphy’s Goalkeeping Clinic in Austin, where a pro athlete is using the app and sharing it with the next generation. From there, we’re focused on onboarding more athletes and more teams across multiple sports to expand the ripple effect of vision training. Each step builds momentum toward establishing Ver as the standard for training focus, confidence, and performance.
Q: How will your NC IDEA grant funds advance your company?
A: The NC IDEA MICRO grant has already advanced Ver by helping us maximize the impact of our summer interns from NC IDEA and The Seed List. Their work on UX research gave us critical insights into our users’ needs. As a result, we’ve been able to bring on more paying clients much sooner than anticipated. Continued support will allow us to scale these efforts, refine the app, and expand our impact on athletes and teams nationwide.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
A: The impact this has made on the community. As a Founder, to have so many college students reach out to want to help, and they ask for advice on what they want to do. The fact that that space is there, it’s incredible. How important it is to take care of yourself. Yoga, meditation, and the mindfulness practice to slow down have really allowed me the space to excel professionally.
Q: What is one thing you wish you understood about entrepreneurship before you ever got started?
A: What I’ve enjoyed most about starting Ver is seeing the impact we’ve made on the community. It’s been incredible to have students from Duke, UNC, NC State, and NCCU reach out, whether asking questions about their own startups or inquiring about including Ver in a class project. Their curiosity, engagement, and energy have brought fresh perspectives and ideas to our work. Watching this ecosystem grow and knowing that our tools are inspiring the next generation of innovators has been deeply rewarding.
While visiting Durham, Mike recommends:
- I’d recommend spending time at Duke Gardens, a nice gem of Durham. Brunch at Press and walking Tobacco Campus and DBAP is a good combo. Being at a Bulls Game for sunset is another great view.
Support Ver Coaching and Mike by:
- Introduction to athletes, coaches, and training academies. The fact that the app is sport-agnostic means there’s always another team and another athlete we can help.