As part of our Sacramento Inno coverage of the startup, technology and innovation economy, the Business Journal has compiled a list of startups to watch in the new year. These startups are poised to make big moves, either in growth, funding, technology or development. We're highlighting 15 startups, generally with fewer than 100 employees, about 5 years old or less and that have raised less than $50 million.
El Dorado Hills startup MuteMe LLC went from concept in August 2020 to shipping product less than a year later with its illuminated mute buttons.
MuteMe launched manufacturing with a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo that raised nearly $300,000 and then another campaign on Kickstarter.
Those successes got the company a shot on "Shark Tank," the reality television show where entrepreneurs pitch investors for funding, in October 2021. They were offered a deal, but the founders turned the money down. The television appearance did spike sales for a while.
Those kinds of appearances continue to spike sales for the company. A recent reference to MuteMe on "CBS Sunday Morning" sold out the devices on Amazon. MuteMe has sold more than 45,000 units since it started.
The wired device was born of the pandemic, when people and their kids had to work from home, and online meetings became a norm. The illuminated button allows users to instantly find and hit mute. The button can also alert you to the changed status of your mic if it is changed by the meeting organizer. There is even an option to make it work like a walkie-talkie, where you have to touch the stainless-steel faceplate to activate the mic.
It may seem like a simple button, but it is programmable for customizations, and it is able to interact with all the major videoconferencing platforms, including Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. “When other people come into the room, they can see you are on a call,” said CEO and co-founder Parm Dhoot.
