First, the details. Ten companies. Three months. $40K in funding. And seven of the companies have women founders. This time around, they’re taking on everything from home renovations to financing home re-developers; audience development to marketing-made-easy. There’s a focus on platforms and marketplaces. And one startup that’s just the icing on the cake.
And they’re already delivering.
It’s one of the top accelerators and not easy to get in – but worth the effort for all that they’ll get out of it. A lot will change by demo day, but here’s your first look at the newest batch of problem solvers.
Image credit: CC by Roger
Dezignable
Dezignable is a marketplace for online home design and remodeling that offers a complete remodel and design solution for the DIH-er (do it with help-er). It’s a solution that helps home design enthusiasts work with professionals to design, renovate and furnish their dream home, with the help of the pros they vet and hand pick themselves, to help keep the projects on-time and on-budget.
Four Mine
Finding those perfect wedding and/or engagement rings is hard enough and FourMine is an online jewelry store that makes it a lot easier, with a “try before you buy” option that lets shoppers experience their favorite engagement ring styles at home through a replica program. The company has smart shopping tools to help identify the customer’s preferences and pinpoint the ideal ring. And they managed to eliminate the uncertainty of buying online. And let’s face it: buying those all-important rings are definitely a hands on experience.
Fund That Flip
Fund That Flip is an online lending platform that enables investors to finance real estate redevelopment projects. The team is a group of technology, real estate and financial service professionals on a mission to create new opportunities for Investors to take advantage of the positive returns real estate can provide, while helping re-developers access a new source of capital so they can focus on what they do best – finding and rehabilitating homes and making them livable again livable. FTF lowers the cost of capital for developers and allow investors to maximize diversification and access the asset class with $5,000 minimum investments to help give old homes – has to be said – a new lease on life.
Grsp
Grsp is a mobile purchase decision tool that helps people make better, faster in-person shopping decisions. We’ve all been there – gone out to buy something, and either can’t find the precise item we were looking for, or were suddenly overwhelmed with choises. With Grsp, users can take a photo of any product and receive instant product reports – which is much less frustrating and time consuming than standing there and having to do manual searches for prices, reviews and specifications.
Kitsplit
KitSplit is a marketplace for renting equipment from vetted local photographers, filmmakers and other creators. KitSplit makes it easy to list, find and rent equipment like cameras, lights and drones nearby and on demand. Renters safely and easily rent from locals, while owners earn extra income on idle gear. It’s a win-win for both sides of the equation. The rentor and rentee sign the contract, and the time period and price of the rental is up to the users.
Lately
Lately is a comprehensive, cloud-based marketing management platform that’s basically collaborative marketing made easy, allowing teams or any size and with any level of experience to plan, execute and track campaigns in real time, and with improved oversight. The platform includes templates, prompts and pricing for all budgets.
LIVEalpha
LIVEalpha is an online lending platform that helps international and underbanked U.S. citizens build and access credit, using non-traditional metrics to determine their creditworthiness, so that they can access financial produce. The platform allows qualified individuals without an SSN or FICO score can access financial products in the U.S. for the first time.
Macromeasures
Macromeasures is an audience intelligence platform that helps marketers to better understand their consumers by transforming the vast universe of public social data available into deep profiles on the demographics and psychographics of a brand’s audience and customer base.
And you know the first rule of marketing: know your audience.
Musefind
Musefind is a marketing platform that connects brands to social media influencers – and shows them how to work with their most important Instagram bloggers. The company also matches brands to the right influencers they need to reach and engage an audience segment, delivering a greater reach with a lower cost.
Sweetist
Sweetist is an online ordering and delivery service that brings dessert lovers the sweets they crave from the most popular bakeries. Sweetist makes it simple to satisfy your sweet tooth for any occasion—from croissants for an office meeting to cupcakes for a birthday party. And again, we’ve all been there: had to arrange to have those breakfast croissants or birthday cake, and the best bakeries in the city aren’t necessarily near the office. So Sweetist brings the best from the best the city has to offer, right to you. Or to someone whom you want to send a sweet treat – because sometimes, it’s just gotta be done.
