the startup’s workout monitoring tools. And Testlio, a mobile application testing platform, had its founder, a former model, drop an f-bomb during her pitch to stress just how hard testing for mobile applications can be. (She certainly got our attention.)
After 90 minutes of pitches, barbecue was brought in for investors and founders to share while hashing over the details of their financial needs. And then, with the money talk out of the way, the group departed for the Cedar Street bar for a party to close out the night.
Here are the startups, and their pitches, in Techstars’ first Austin class:
Filament Labs: A patient Engagement Platform that helps doctors track and manage patients when they aren’t in the clinic
• Introduced by Evan Loomis, director of business development at Corinthian Health Services, who announced that his company was rolling out Filament Labs across 20 clinics by the end of the year. It is also investing in the startup.
Testlio: A mobile app testing service with a dedicated community of testers and a SaaS platform for testing.
• Introduced by Robin Thurston, CEO and co-founder of MapMyFitness, an online community of 20 million that relies on mobile apps that are tested on Testlio. Testlio was founded in Estonia, but is relocating to Austin.
Embrace: Helps retailers manage online customer relationships.
• Formerly known as AuManil, Embrace was introduced by Jackie Huba, a marketing consultant and author. Embrace allows e-commerce vendors to build relationships with their highest value customers by studying onsite behavior and helping pick the best ways to reach them.
Proto Exchange: A professional 3D printing network
• Introduced by serial entrepreneur Matteo Franceschetti, Proto Exchange aims to build collaborative manufacturing by pulling together a network of 3D printers that can quickly and cheaply manufacture goods.
Atlas Wristband: A wristband that tracks a range of physical activities
• Introduced by Brian Wang, CEO and co-founder of Fitocracy, a large social network around fitness. Atlas had a fitness model demonstrate how its wristband doesn’t just track steps, but can distinguish among activities such as regular pushups, triangle pushups, and even squats.
Gone: An app that helps you dispose of your extra stuff, no matter what it is.
• Introduced by Mason Arnold from Greenling, an online grocery store focused on organic and local food markets. Customers drop an item in a shipping box, and the startup sells, recycles, or “upcycles” it on multiple marketplaces to maximize the sale price.
MarketVibe: A content recommendation service for B-to-B companies.
• Introduced by Mat Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Cloudability, which has accounting technology that tracks and analyzes a company’s spending in the cloud and analyzes that activity, and a former Techstars Cloud startup. MarketVibe founder Erica Douglass is a longtime blogger who has made a science out of converting blog posts into “engaged content.
Accountable: An online system to help companies comply with HIPAA.
• Provides a turnkey solution for HIPAA compliance. Although HIPAA has been around since 1996, since January 2013 the law has also covered companies that partner with HC orgs. Accountable sets up and manages the compliance program to prevent penalties and maintain compliance.
Fosbury: Offers mobile coupons, reward cards, and gift cards.
• Introduced by YouEarnedIt CEO Steve Semelsberger, Fosbury is a Dutch startup focused on being the buddy media for mobile wallets. It allows a company to work with Apple Passbook, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, and Windows Wallet.
Ube: A service that offers connected lighting control for the home.
• Introduced by Andrew Busey, CEO of Team Chaos, which makes mobile games. Ube aims to replace the approximately one-billion light switches in the U.S. with its wireless-connected light pad. Ube has $500,000 in pre-sales through Kickstarter and Amazon.
