An Airbnb for early childcare? A device to detect marijuana intoxication? How about an augmented reality sketching app?
The fledgling upstarts in our 50 on Fire early-stage category offer these and more. Having our pulse on Boston's thriving innovation may not be easy, but indeed—it's a lot of fun.
In introducing this category, we are going small -- looking at companies that are still in the seed stage or just emerged out of stealth. These winners are startups that are likely to see major funding rounds or have significant plans for the coming year and are already making a splash in their respective fields.
Take a closer look:
NeighborSchools: Launched this year, NeighborSchools claims it's the new Airbnb for early child care. In the same way Airbnb changed the way people book travel accommodations, NeighborSchools is looking to change how families find affordable childcare. As costs of commercial daycare are skyrocketing, the site helps experienced care professionals become licensed family childcare providers and turn their homes into residential childcare facilities. It’s a win-win: good for parents scouring for affordable care options and great for caretakers with entrepreneurial aspirations of their own. The company raised $3.4 million recently.
IMMAD: Thirty-three states and Washington, D.C., have legalized either recreational marijuana, medical marijuana or both. But the substances’ effects on consumers’ driving has barely been dealt with. IMMAD, or Impairment Measurement Marijuana Driving, is determined to change that. The company has debuted a two-minute visual test to measure people’s ability to drive after cannabis consumption in the hopes of tempering the rising number of marijuana-related fatal car crashes.
Knox Financial: When homeowners are ready to move, Knox Financial takes matters into its own hands. The startup, only six months old, turns homes into investments by renting them out for the owners. Knox handles the piles of paperwork behind this process for a cut of the returns. After a seed funding round in March that brought in $1.4 million, the company is already overseeing 30 properties in the Greater Boston area and looking forward to a future in other major cities.
Cupixel: Anyone can be an artist—at least, that’s what Cupixel, an augmented reality sketching app, is teaching its customers. For $70, wannabe artists can purchase an all-inclusive kit of art supplies to draw Cupixel’s pre-selected sketches or pencil-drawn versions of photos the user uploads themselves. Funded by angel investors from around the globe, Cupixel has released two batches of kits since its launch in July through an exclusive partnership with the Home Shopping Network.
Tapple: In only 10 months, the team at Tapple has already brought a new personalized, targeted approach to marketing to several notable clients: Gibson Sotheby’s International, Havas Street and more. The startup uses QR codes, geolocation and NFC chips to allow people to give real-time feedback about products to other users and to companies. Longtime Boston-based entrepreneur Dean Hantzis is the brains behind the endeavor.
