Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), the longest-running accelerator program in New York (since 2011), has graduated its 22nd cohort of 15 startups that each received $100K in investment and mentorship from a pool of 400+ experts for the four-month program. Led by Murat Aktihanoglu and Jonathan Axelrod, ERA companies have gone to raise in excess of $1B in funding and currently boast a $6B market cap collectively.
Here is a look at the companies that hit the stage:
Arvia
Founded by Burhan Bozkurt and Ozge Bozkurt in 2017 in Istanbul, Arvia is a video chatting app for e-commerce merchants and brands that are looking to enhance the interactivity of their chat and commerce experiences in real-time. Offering a pre-built video chat widget, companies can easily deploy to their websites in under five minutes. Arvia also offers a suite of analytics, SDKs, webhooks, and APIs for customized implementations.
bOPS
Founded by Jorge Risquez (Deloitte) and Domingo Noriega (Yext, Magic Leap) in New York, bOPS is a supply chain intelligence optimization and visibility platform that enables companies to manage and balance inventory, assess supply chain risk, demand forecast, and optimize cash flow.
Circle
Founded by Kidae Hong (NYU) and Claire Park (NYU) in 2020 in New York, Circle is an online platform that’s specifically built for groups to assemble for video chats with added engagement experiences through the creation of virtual chat circles just as if you were roaming from group to group at an event in IRL. The platform is currently free.
Crafted
Founded by Todd Baldwin (Princeton) and Sarah Nesheim (Axiom) in 2021 in New York, Crafted is a live streaming cooking community that allows creator cooks and aspiring cooks to connect around their shared passion for food. The platform is currently in beta with a waitlist.
Hyve
Founded by Samy Abisaleh (Ford) and Eduardo Simon Martinez in 2021, Hyve is an operating system and fleet management platform that allows fleet operators to centralize and optimize their operations including managing maintenance, fuel, insurance, and safety through a data-driven approach. The company was founded under the name Olio.
JobStep
Founded by Eleanor Meegoda (Jobcase, Princeton) in 2019 in Los Angeles, JobStep is a curated career platform that assists job seekers by scheduling interviews for desired roles. The platform promises to get at least 5 interviews in 6 weeks for desired roles that candidates are qualified for. JobStep currently supports customer support, onboarding, data analyst, customer success, and solutions engineering roles and costs $399, which includes career coaching, resume preparation, and interviewing scheduling with a money-back guarantee.
The company is also a graduate of the MassChallenge Accelerator program’s 50th cohort in 2021.
Ktchn Apothecary
Founded by Kevin Lesser (Beam Suntory) in 206 in New York, Ktchn Apothecary is a direct-to-consumer anti-aging skincare brand. Traditional skincare products lose efficacy from their natural ingredients as a result of sitting on shelves and in warehouses for extended periods of time. Ktchn Apothecary’s handcrafted products are delivered to a customer at a time when the formulation is at peak freshness and effectiveness. All products are made in the US with facial cleansers starting at $19.95 with a collection of several items starting at $49.95; available on the company’s site and via Amazon.
Lilo Health
Founded by Alexandra Bendicakova in 2019 in Brussels, Lilo Health is a patient engagement platform that helps optimizes the patient experience for both providers and patients. The platform is designed to improve education around a patient’s diagnoses, adherence to treatment, and provide support from caregivers, family members, and providers.
ModernFi
Founded by Paolo Bertolotti (AQR, Columbia, MIT) and Adam DeVita (Citi, Columbia) in 2021 in New York, ModernFi is a B2B banking digital marketplace that connects banks that have excess capital to banks that need additional funding in order to meet lending reserve requirements and lending demand.
Oko
Founded by Darren Small, Allyson Alves, and Sebastian Pedraza in 2021, Oko is a comprehensive trade management platform for the supply chain for physical commodities. The platform provides document management, supply insights, compliance, and payment capabilities, removing risk and uncertainty to between trade partners.
Prior to its acceptance in ERA, Oko had raised a total of $400K from investors that include Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and Dan Magnuszewski.
Pollen
Founded by Spencer Kieboom, Mark Hart, and Chad Ozgur in 2020 in Atlanta, Pollen is a platform that allows retailers to minimize the cost of returns by scheduling pickups through a network of gig drivers. By aggregating returns, Pollen saves retailers up to 80% on the per-unit cost of returns while reducing inventory carry costs by 30%.
The company had previously raised $1.5M in the Fall of 2021 for the reverse logistics last-mile platform.
Stronger Brains
Founded by Cameron Backes, Michael Mezenich, and Logan Erickson in 2019 in San Francisco, Stronger Brains is a platform that focuses on improving a student’s cognitive skills and social-emotional health through a series of brain training and learning exercises. The curriculum is specifically designed to optimize neurocognitive skills and mental wellness needed for academic success by focusing on brain plasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt in response to varying experiences.
The Bright App
Founded by James Zhang in 2019 in San Francisco, The Bright App is a one-on-one online personal training platform that allows users to connect with fitness professionals. The company estimates that its virtual platform saves customers 40% as compared to the cost incurred at a gym using their trainers.
The company is also a graduate of the Alchemist Accelerator program’s 28th cohort in the Fall of 2021.
Topmarq
Founded by Quinn Osha in 2020 in Austin, Topmarq is a comparison platform that automates the process of selling used cars to dealers, marketplaces like Carvana and Vroom, or through private parties. The number of destinations where a car owner can sell their vehicles has increased exponentially and by just inputting a license plate number or VIN, owners can get a no-obligation cash offer within minutes, saving time and effort. Think of it like a Kayak for used car sales that aggregates offers.
Zenlaw
Founded by Clement Perrot in 2021, Zenlaw is an AI-powered data extraction and workflow management tool that reviews all legal documents and organizes them while analyzing key details to make them instantly accessible and searchable. The platform works directly in your inbox and all users need to do is CC Zenlaw. Automated and buildable workflows similar to Zapier can also be activated to move documents along a contracting or similar collaborative process.
