AngelList has an impressively broad array of startups, VC firms and incubators posting on its platform. And the platform is getting even more attention since it started letting startups raise money from angel investors for free. There are plenty of recognizable names on the list for the D.C. area, and quite a few that may fly under the radar even while they raise money and become successful. We picked out five on AngelList you should know about.
AgSquared - An enterprise data platform focused on smaller farms, AgSquared works specifically with the majority of farms that are too small to use the same technology used by major agribusinesses. It offers data analytics tools to help farmers with efficiency and improve their records systems, the kinds of information that are hard for farms not part of very large agriculture businesses to get. The company raised $1.2 million in a seed round in January 2014.
Borrowing Magnolia - Founded in DC in February 2014, Borrowing Magnolia is a sharing economy platform specifically for the wedding dress market. People can buy, rent or sell wedding dresses to each other in a simpler and often cheaper way than through regular stores. The company also works to ensure there are no scams involved by making those wishing to submit their dress on the platform apply and get approved beforehand. The company raised $45,000 on a $2 million valuation from Athens Angel Fund and was recently chosen for the Techstars accelerator program in Boulder, Co.
Geostellar - Online solar marketplace Geostellar uses data analytics to determine the costs and benefits of solar power for individual properties, claiming to be the only such company with the capability. It then offers installation of solar panels with attendant monitoring and maintenance and offers financing to help people afford the installation. The company raised $1.8 million in April, for a total of $17.8 million raised. Just last month, Geostellar won a major patent for its program using big data to determine the best placement of solar panels.
LearnZillion - LearnZillion is an edtech company but with the focus on creating curricula for teachers. It offers a mix of online and live classes to help teachers learn new techniques ahead of going into their classrooms and provides free resources for schools and teachers to use in applying those lessons. It also recently launched a mobile app for teachers. The company has raised $9.4 million in funding and is used by over half a million individual teachers.
The Trip Tribe - A kind of combination trip planner and social media website, Trip Tribe offers to connect people of similar interest in the kind of trips they want to go on with tour operators providing relevant trips. The platform matches people based on profiles they fill out along with the relevant tours, but doesn't do the flights and hotels, merely offers curated connections to the companies running the trips. Trip Tribe has raised an undisclosed seed round with backing from Fortify Ventures angel investors.
