Startup with Coolest Medical Tech
With the tagline “Next-Generation Smart Textiles,” Siren Care has developed the ability to weave sensors into fabric. Their first application is a temperature monitoring sock that is used to prevent foot ulcers for diabetics.
Startup with Coolest Lifestyle Concept
DigitalOutposts, an experiential lifestyle startup, allows people to remotely work at their day job in exciting locales like Bali and Thailand. The company handles planning, accommodations, co-working spaces and social events for their customers. A month in Bali only costs $2,000. Theoretically, if you live in the Bay Area, you can put your apartment on Airbnb and make money while you work in an exotic location.
Startup Most Likely to be Acquired by Google
Andromium has developed hardware that can convert an Android phone into a laptop. Just download the app, connect the phone to your laptop shell and you have a working laptop. I tried out their demo and it had the full laptop experience, including the ability to use a mouse. With smartphones that often have a faster processor than laptops, Andromium may have developed a product that can rival laptop makers like Dell and Apple. I also would like to mention that Andromium has raised almost $3 million in their Kickstarter campaign.
Startup with Coolest iPhone Attachment
Prynt created a case that turns your iPhone into a Polaroid camera. There’s no ink involved in the printing, as all the magic happens on Prynt's special paper. They also have an interesting augmented reality feature and you can send free postcards using the app. Prynt is gaining some traction and their case and photo paper are now available at Target.
Startup with Best Use of Bots
SimplifiMed uses a combination of big data and artificial intelligence to develop a chatbot that will allow a medical staff to manage 10 times as many chronic patients. With the health industry’s need to do more with less, SimplifiMed provides an ideal solution for patient management.
Startup with Tech that I Would Use
Lighthouse has developed a tool to help managers oversee their teams. The platform allows a manager to track team member’s progress in meeting goals and feedback. As Salesforce is to sales, the startup wants Lighthouse to be synonymous with management. As a manager, I found that I would use Lighthouse. I’m actually quite surprised this hasn’t been developed before.
What's Next? Join the Next Batch of 500 Startups
How well the Batch 18 companies do remains to be seen, but 500 Startups does have an excellent track record, producing three "unicorn" startups (valued $1 billion or more), 37 "centaurs" (valued $100-999 million), and over 300 "ponies" ($10-99 million). You might be wondering how to get into 500 Startups. Well, first you have to apply!
If I piqued your interest in 500 Startups, they are currently looking for applicants for Batch 20. Good candidates should have:
• Balanced Team
• Product Launched
• Traction with Good Metrics
You can find the Batch 20 application here. After applying, ask your local Startup Grind director if they can give you a warm referral!
