For the last few weeks, we've been giving a lot of space to Boston tech companies we'll be watching especially closely in 2015. Most of them have been at it for at least a few years. But we've also found that some highly interesting companies have been up and running for a lot less time—closer to a few months.
They're the next slate of startups "to watch," if you will.
And so here are eight of those startups, which caught my eye either for having experienced founders, a cool idea or noteworthy investors (or perhaps all three).
Notably, companies from HubSpot alumni and startups backed by Atlas Venture’s Boston Syndicates program are prevalent.
Descriptions/details here are from AngelList, LinkedIn and my own reporting.
• "The most effective fundraising platform for any cause."
• Founders: Nick Bogovich (GSN Games), Nick Burt (GSN Games), Josh Hoffman-Senn
• Investors: Lars Albright, Keith Ablow (the well-known psychiatrist), Boston Syndicates
Read more: On AngelList.
Donebox
• "Tools that will make everyone more productive and efficient."
• Founder: Brian Goss (Incubate.co, PointRoll)
• Investors: Hugh Crean, Boston Syndicates
Read more: On AngelList.
Driftt
"Work better together. Anywhere, anytime, on any device."
• Founders: David Cancel (HubSpot, Performable, Compete, Ghostery, Lookery), Elias Torres (HubSpot, Performable)
• Investors: Not disclosed
Read more: On BostInno, on AngelList and on the Driftt blog.
"App store for websites."
• Founders: Adam Schwartz (HubSpot), Zack Bloom (HubSpot, Speedy Seat)
• Investors: Bootstrapped
Read more: On BostInno and on AngelList.
Every Labs
Stealth mode.
• Founder: Michael Sheeley (RunKeeper co-founder, Kickscout/Mobee)
• Investors: Chase Garbarino, Boston Syndicates
Read more: On AngelList.
Grokky
"Measure and improve management quality."
• Founders: Dan Abdinoor (HubSpot, BabbaCo), Patrick Fitzsimmons (HubSpot)
• Investors: Bootstrapped
Read more: On BostInno and on AngelList.
Scratch
"Shopping experts, at your service"
• Founder: Matthew Zisow (CustomMade, McKinsey & Company)
• Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners (led by Kent Bennett)
Read more: On BostInno, on their website and on AngelList.
Zensight
"Predictive sales intelligence platform."
• Founders: Brad Terrell (Endeca, Netezza/IBM), Isaac Cambron (MIT)
• Investors: Not disclosed
Read more: On zensight.co.
Disclosure: Streetwise co-founder and CEO Chase Garbarino is an investor in Every Labs, as mentioned above, as one of the investors taking part in Atlas Venture’s Boston Syndicates program. Also, Atlas Venture partner Jeff Fagnan was initially an investor in BostInno parent Streetwise Media, prior to its acquisition by ACBJ in 2012. This story had no connection to either of those factors, however.
