Techstars Chicago, the annual accelerator that provides mentoring and resources to early-stage startups, has announced the next 10 companies that will be participating in this year’s program, which begins today.
To choose them, the Techstars team visited 15 Midwest startup hubs, from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and screened more than 2,000 applicants.
Logan LaHive, the managing director of Techstars Chicago, said the organization wanted to recruit companies this year that had what he calls “bad ideas.” Meaning, companies that “raise eyebrows,” operate in surprisingly big markets, and are either in engineering, product or design fields.
The final 10 chosen include eight companies from the Midwest, with two that hail from Toronto and New York. This year’s Demo Day, in which the startups pitch their companies to investors, will be held Oct. 4 at tech and startup incubator 1871.
Here are the 10 companies in the 2018 class of Techstars Chicago:
2ndKitchen: This company, founded by Arik Gaisler, Jon Elron and Nick Anastasiades, enables businesses without a kitchen to serve food seamlessly using a custom menu from nearby restaurants. 2ndKitchen has begun offering their services to bars and breweries in Chicago, and has plans to expand across industries, such as hotels, co-working and offices.
Clyde: This technology company says it aims to transform insurance at the point of sale, starting with the warranty industry. Founded by Brandon Gell, Josh Scaglione and Nick Scaglione, Clyde allows e-commerce stores to offer extended warranty and product insurance to customers when they buy something, giving businesses a passive revenue stream.
Hurry Home: Founded by Jada Mclean and John Gibbons, Hurry Home aims to help renters become homeowners. The startup uses capital from investors to finance houses through shared ownership, enabling renters to earn equity on their homes while paying close to or less than what their rent would be for the same property. Investors get involved because they reap a competitive return.
Kai: The startup, founded by Jonathan Smith, Jane Decker and Dan Rye, makes a digital fitness coach that communicates with users only through text messages. It is powered by augmented intelligence, and engages users about their fitness goals and feelings. It helps users set goals for workouts, nutrition and accountability for a cheaper price than paying for an actual personal trainer.
Neopenda: This startup makes a wearable neonatal vitals monitor, designed for use by healthcare providers in the world’s impoverished regions who are working to reduce the rate of newborn fatalities. Founded by Sona Shah and Teresa Cauvel, the device continuously measures four different vital signs: pulse rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and temperature. It then sends vitals data wirelessly over Bluetooth to a tablet that a nurse can monitor. It also alerts nurses if a child is in distress.
Optivolt: The startup, founded by Rohit Kalyanpur and Paul Couston, is developing high efficiency solar-powered drones for commercial and military clients to extend flight time by 3-4x.
Rheaply: Founded by Garry Cooper and Tyler Skelton, the marketplace platform allows businesses and professionals to share surplus assets and expertise. It enables professionals to trade, donate, or easily share surplus inventory or assets within their organization, and better collaborate with their colleagues. Some of their clients include Northwestern University and Google X.
Speeko: This mobile app brings interactive verbal communication training to your workforce. Founded by Nico Aguilar, Will Field-Thompson and Anthony Pham, Speeko uses artificial intelligence and automated voice analytics to assess live or recorded presentations and provide feedback and insights on how to improve verbal communication.
Trala: This Juilliard-approved app teaches users how to play the violin. It gives users tutorials, daily lessons and instant feedback on mistakes. Founded by Samuel Walder and Vishnu Indukuri, Trala says it can teach beginners to play songs like "Amazing Grace" in only 30 days.
Vacation Fund: The startup, founded by Erica Pearson, Abhinav Mathur and Britney Mackey, aims to help employees save more money for vacations with help from their employers. They offer an employer-matched travel savings program for employees, incentivizing them to put money aside and take vacations every year.
