Technology is brewing in Newark. That’s right Newark!
Newark Venture Partners hosted Demo Day this week for its second cohort of promising startups in its Accelerator program. Eleven companies hit the stage at the Prudential Center showcasing the growth and traction achieved since the beginning of the program in April. Housed in a picturesque, state-of-the-art 25,000 sq. foot office that’s minutes from Manhattan, these eleven companies received $100,000 in funding each in return for a 6% equity stake, guaranteed co-investment up to $1M for future rounds, and mentorship from a number of seasoned industry professionals including Brad Burnham (Union Square Ventures), John Elton (Greycroft Partners), Jason Perri (Glamsquad), and Ras J. Baraka (Mayor of Newark).
This accelerator program is a part of the larger Newark Venture Partners investment fund that is driving the growth of a dynamic tech ecosystem in Newark. The program is backed by corporate partners that include Audible, Prudential Financial, Dun & Bradstreet, Rutgers Business School, and the City of Newark. These partners are also instrumental in helping the portfolio companies with business development and other strategic initiatives. The city of Newark is currently in the midst of a $2B redevelopment project that will ensure Newark’s fertility as an ecosystem to be watched moving forward.
Founded by Don Katz (Founder of Audible) and led by Managing Partners, Thomas Wisniewski and Dan Borok, Newark Venture Partners will be unleashed these eleven companies to the world. “As a fund, we invest is Seed through Series A stage companies. The NVP Labs program is our proving ground,” remarked Wisniewski.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 11 STARTUPS HITTING THE STAGE AT NVP LABS DEMO DAY THIS WEEK
Circlelink Health
Founded in 2009 in Stamford by Jonathan Katz (Oracle), Raphael Anstay (Lazard), and Joseph Anstay (AIM), CircleLink Health is a platform that connects patients with chronic conditions to registered nurses via telephone calls in between doctors visits. Patients using the platform are already yielding promising results – 18% improvement in A1c for diabetic patients, 44% improvement from detactable to undetectable viral loads in HIV patients, and 80% patient engagement in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The platform is already being used by a number of healthcare institutions including Emory, Montefiore, John Hopkins School of Medicine, and Yale New Haven Hospital.
The company is a past graduate of Dreamit Health and has received $555k in funding to date.
Veritonic
Founded in 2015 by Andrew Eisner (Movable Media, Autonomy, American Express) and Scott Simonelli (OrderGroove, Sony Music) Veritonic is marketing intelligence platform focused on the use of music in advertising campaigns. Marketers are continuously testing every facet of campaign and this is the first platform that allows marketers understand how the use of music and sound in creatives affects its performance. Using machine learning, the platform quantifies the impact of music, voiceovers, jingles, and mnemonics. Already used by brands, agencies, and publishers, Veritonic has an impressive roster of clients that includes Subway, CBS, Cintas, Ghiaradelli, and Coca Cola.
The company has previously raised capital from Haatch, Upstage Ventures, Stage One Capital, and SWaN & Legend Venture Partners.
Envested
Founded by Isa Watson (Pfizer, JPMorgan Chase, Inc. 30Under30) in 2015, Envested is a HR Platform that enables companies to build the best culture through the use of charitable giving and volunteer opportunities. The company helps companies build communities and culture around purpose that is measurable. According to a recent Project ROI Report, a strong corporate responsibility program has the potential to reduce turnover by 50% and save 90-200% of each retained employee’s annual salary.
The company is on pace to hit over $700K in revenue this year and currently has close to 100 non-profits on its platform. The company has previously raised $660K prior to its acceptance in NVP and counts Precursor among its investors.
DocDelta
Founded in New York by John Dymond, Simone Gabbriellini, and Chris Toudic, DocDelta is a sales and marketing automation platform that is exclusively focused on healthcare through the use of big data and analytics. Hospitals, staffing firms, agencies and medical technologies companies use the platform to drive lead generation and contact outreach for sales and recruiting.
The company previously graduated from Blueprint Health accelerator and has raised $20K prior to joining NVP Labs.
Trendalyze
Founded in 2014 in New Brunswick by Dave Watson (IBM), Trendalyze is a motif discovery platform that recognizes time patterns through deep learning and a search-based approach that is designed for IoT data. The platform allows detection of patterns, root causes, and monitoring from any source and you can share this data with others to collaborate on. With use of IoT growing exponentially, Trendalyze is in a position to capitalize on this trend by ingesting this data and making it actionable without the need of data scientists.
WearAway
Founded in 2014 in New York by Lee Greene (Fashion Model, Launchpad LA), WearAway is an online wardrobe platform for the production industry. Stylists are able to browse through thousands apparel and accessories for use in their film, television, and production projects ensuring they have the perfect piece for the perfect project. The company handles delivery and return seamlessly. Think of it as Rent the Runway for the entertainment industry.
The company is a graduate of the second cohort of XRC Labs.
Claim it!
Founded in 2014 in New York by Kaza Razat and Ali Abdullah (Google), Claim it! is a mobile marketing giveaway platform that connects brands with local audiences by giving away free stuff. Who doesn’t like free? Each week, users can win free items by watching short advertisements from brands. The marketing platform already has an impressive customer base includes Apple, Google, GoPro, Shake Shack, Nike, AMC Theaters, and Under Armour.
The company has previously raised $700K from investors that include David Blitzer (Blackstone), Steve Sadove (Former CEO of Saks), and Dan Petrozzo (Goldman Sachs).
WellSheet
Founded in 2015 in New York, WellSheet uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize a clinicians use of EHRs to make it actionable and tailored to specialties. Clinicians are able to use one sheet called the “CoverSheet” to see an accurate and complete view of a patient’s history. This one sheet is enhanced to focus on what matters the most, saving clinicians time and improving outcomes for the patients.
GitLinks
Founded in 2016 by Ian Folau (US Army Data Intelligence) and Nwamaka Imasogie (Chevron), GitLinks is a compliance and security-monitoring platform for open source implementations. The use of open source software in technology stacks has grown widely popular with a 400% in usage in the last 6 years. However, reducing development time with open source adoption presents its own challenges and risks that need to be managed. Security vulnerabilities in open source applications can be exploited and any gains in productivity can easily be wiped out with a data breach. This platform will make sure that you are legally compliant, always up to date, and secure.
The company is backed by Cornell University, Rough Draft Ventures, and Highland Capital Partners.
POMCO
Founded by Andrew Leahy and Lukas Lampe in Albany in 2013, POMCO is a personal safety device that connects you to the nearest 911, public safety department, or designated family member or friend. The key chain-sized device sends your GPS coordinates and initiates a two-way voice call through its embedded speaker and microphone. The company has designed this iteration for use in university environment by both faculty and students.
Sam.AI
Founded by Raz Choudhury (IBM) in New York, Sam.ai is a marketing and sales intelligence platform. The platform centralizes a number of functions including email marketing, lead management, lead intelligence, social marketing, search, automation, mobile, CMS, direct mail, and event management all into one system, reducing fragmentation in your sales pipeline and marketing efforts. The platform ranges in price from $495-$1500 per month based on usage.
