Startups from across the state and across industries were on display Thursday, as Denver-based VC firm Stout Street Capital hosted its first Pitch Showcase.
The event, held in partnership with Powderkeg, brought local investors to Denver to hear pitches from four growing, local companies.
At the close of the event, Powderkeg presented the 2018 Denver and Boulder Tech Census. For more info on the reports, check out our six takeaways here.
Let's meet the four companies that pitched:
Felt
The Telluride-based card company has made waves with its ability to use a mobile interface to send handwritten cards with ease. Felt appeared on Shark Tank in 2016, accepting a deal with Kevin O'Leary for $225,000 in exchange for 10 percent equity.
With Felt, users select a card or photo, handwrite a message and address using their phone or tablet, and the company will print, seal, stamp and send the message. Users can even choose options to send cash or coal, around Christmas time, using the app.
"We think about it as a resurgence of a time-aged tradition," co-founder and CEO Tomer Alpert said of handwritten cards.
Each card costs between $4 and $7, although there is a monthly membership option. Felt did about $730,000 in sales in 2017 and expects to exceed $1 million this year.
The company is in the process of raising a Series C round of $1 million and has already closed around $800,000 of it.
Sunshower.io
With too many options to choose from, companies can often lose important time and money managing their cloud computing services.
Sunshower.io aims to take away that frustration for companies, helping to manage their clouds and saving them time and money.
The company's interface allows users to deploy applications and infrastructure without writing a line of code.
Lisa Gumerman, CEO and founder, said the company will officially launch the service in January and is in the process of raising a $750,000 seed round.
PocketChange
Rather than hunting the internet for a Hurricane Michael charity to donate to after the storm, PocketChange wants to make donating as quick as a click of a button.
The company has created an internet extension that adds a PocketChange donate button to Facebook, Twitter, and news sites. By clicking the button, PocketChange pulls up a list of potential charities you might be interested in donating to, based upon the story or post you were reading.
Donations range from $0.25 to $2, and the company uses Paypal and Stripe to ensure safe transactions.
CEO Reyn Aubrey touted the company's extensive charity research and selection process, ensuring that PocketChange's 102 selected charities provide the most impact across a range of causes.
The company is looking to raise $1 million in funding and is building an app to integrate PocketChange with other social media and mobile news apps.
Prieto Battery
Across all devices, users are searching for a longer-lasting, higher performing battery.
Prieto Battery is looking to create a nontoxic, nonflammable, 3D lithium ion battery that will revolutionize performance. The company has garnered impressive partnerships, working with Intel for computer batteries and Stanley Black & Decker for power tools.
The company and its team of scientists have been working nine years to create the next generation battery and raised over $12 million in the process. They're currently looking to raise an additional $20 million in a Series C round as they perfect the technology.
Prieto Battery is targeting the cigarette and vaping market, with hopes to launch in early-2019. In the longterm, the company hopes to partner with an automotive company to create upgraded car batteries.
