Techstars Accelerator Standouts: A Deep Dive

Following TechCrunch’s report on the recent 500 Startups demo day, we are now focusing on noteworthy companies from three recent Techstars accelerator programs.

Exploring Techstars’ Latest Classes

Our team has identified four particularly promising ventures from Techstars’ Boston, Chicago, and workforce development accelerator initiatives.

We evaluated these startups by attending the live pitch events and reviewing recorded presentations to ensure a thorough assessment.

Our Top Picks

It’s important to note that these selections represent our team’s preferences. We encourage readers to independently review the pitches and explore these early-stage companies.

• Discovering innovative startups is always a worthwhile endeavor.
• Directly examining the pitches provides valuable insight.

Techstars consistently showcases emerging talent, and these programs are excellent venues for identifying potential disruptors.

The diversity of programs – from geographically focused accelerators like Boston and Chicago to those centered on specific themes like workforce development – highlights Techstars’ broad impact.

We believe these companies represent a compelling snapshot of the current startup landscape.

Four Companies from Techstars Boston

Everyday Life

What: This platform aims to revolutionize life insurance by offering flexible and personalized coverage options.

Why we like it: The recent growth in insurtech, particularly in areas like auto and home insurance, has highlighted the demand for more accessible and consumer-focused plans. Life insurance, however, remains relatively unchanged. Everyday Life intends to leverage technology to simplify the process and reduce costs.

The company’s founders report increased interest in life insurance during the coronavirus pandemic, representing a substantial $20 billion market opportunity.

Another Lane

What: A curated marketplace for buying and selling exclusive sneakers.

Why we like it: The resale market for sneakers is experiencing significant growth and profitability, as demonstrated by the success of platforms like StockX. Another Lane operates within this same market, but with a distinct approach.

Unlike StockX, Another Lane primarily sources its inventory from dedicated sneaker collectors rather than general consumers. The company focuses on building a community through memberships, media content, and personalized shopping experiences, rather than simply scaling a large marketplace. This represents a belief that a specialized, community-driven service can effectively compete in the sneaker resale space.

Lunasonde

What: This company has created subsurface imaging technology for sustainable resource exploration.

Why we like it: Consider it an MRI for the Earth. Despite the global push for decarbonization, the need for resource exploration and mining will persist. The transition to electric vehicles and increased electrification will actually increase the demand for the metals and minerals required for battery production.

Lunasonde’s technology offers a potentially more accurate and efficient method for locating these essential resources.

Machinery Partner

What: A startup that connects contractors with a marketplace for buying and selling quality machinery.

Why we like it: Machinery Partner functions as a digital alternative to traditional heavy machinery dealerships, providing access to a wide range of equipment, along with servicing, repair, and ordering capabilities.

The platform also offers features like order tracking, support records, and purchase reviews, bringing organization to a historically fragmented process. Similar to the success achieved by companies like Shop-Ware in digitizing traditional auto shops, Machinery Partner has the potential to evolve beyond a simple marketplace.

Four Standouts from Techstars Chicago

Improovy

• What: Improovy functions as an online marketplace connecting homeowners with vetted painting contractors, with plans for future service expansions.
• Why we like it: The process of securing reliable contractors is often fraught with difficulty; without personal referrals, navigating online listings can be overwhelming. Improovy aims to streamline this process by uniting painters with potential clients in a centralized location. The platform focuses on providing painters with actual jobs, rather than simply leads, and offers consumers a more convenient alternative to multiple online bidding sites. Improovy facilitates quote generation, potentially accelerating project initiation and completion. The company reports $500,000 in revenue generated within the Chicago region, alongside robust search engine optimization-driven demand and cost-effective market expansion strategies. Adding further service categories could position Improovy for significant growth.

ScriptHealth

• What: This platform empowers pharmacists to offer services akin to minute clinics, including prescribing common medications and treatments.
• Why we like it: Companies such as Ro, Hims, and Hers have achieved substantial success by delivering prescription services online for specific health conditions. ScriptHealth now extends this model to pharmacies and drugstores, capitalizing on evolving regulations regarding pharmacist-provided services. Given the anticipated physician shortage in the U.S. and the escalating costs of healthcare, enhancing access to care in diverse settings benefits all stakeholders—and represents a potentially multi-billion dollar market opportunity.

Hiki

• What: Hiki is a dedicated matchmaking application designed specifically for individuals within the autistic community.
• Why we like it: Estimates suggest that approximately 66.2 million Americans live with autism, representing 2% of the global population. Individuals diagnosed with autism are 79% more likely to experience loneliness compared to their neurotypical peers, and chronic loneliness increases the risk of premature mortality tenfold. Alarmingly, autistic adults aged 18-33 are up to fifteen times more likely to attempt suicide. Hiki establishes a social environment intended to foster healthy lives for neurodivergent adults, beginning with a dating and matchmaking service and addressing this pervasive loneliness epidemic. This matchmaking service has the potential to be life-saving.

Bird

• What: Bird is a running application and community centered around personalized coaching.
• Why we like it: While seemingly straightforward, running presents considerable challenges. Maintaining motivation and obtaining tailored guidance based on individual fitness levels can be difficult. Bird addresses both aspects, cultivating a community for runners of all levels and integrating coaching directly into its platform. The Bird team highlights the difficulties runners face in finding qualified coaches, and conversely, the challenges coaches encounter in attracting clients. The platform aims to connect them in an environment less focused on performance statistics than competing services. Successful scaling and the creation of an accessible running community, coupled with coach monetization, could significantly improve fitness levels and enhance the enjoyment of running for many.

Four Promising Ventures from Techstars Workplace Development

TiLT

• Overview: This startup addresses employee guilt associated with taking time off, whether for mental wellbeing or parental leave. It empowers organizations to clearly communicate and support employees navigating the complexities of paid leave policies.
• Key Strengths: TiLT envisions its absence management software becoming a standard component of the HR technology ecosystem, much like payroll software. Demonstrated success includes a 20% conversion rate within a 90-day sales cycle and complete retention of employees who utilize the TiLT leave experience.

Caresplit

• Overview: Caresplit is a platform designed to provide working parents with flexible, part-time childcare solutions to bridge gaps in their existing schedules. It functions as an employee benefit offered through employers.
• Key Strengths: The recent pandemic has dramatically altered the landscape of childcare. Even with established arrangements, unforeseen circumstances frequently arise. Caresplit connects parents with thoroughly vetted caregivers for 3-4 hour activities, such as outdoor adventures, arts and crafts, or LEGO construction. The constant conflict between work demands and childcare needs is a significant stressor for many parents, and Caresplit offers a readily available solution to mitigate this and prevent burnout.

FutureFit

• Overview: This AI-powered platform assists employees in identifying potential career paths following a layoff. It analyzes individual skillsets, suggests relevant career options, pinpoints skill gaps, estimates the time required for upskilling, and connects users with prospective employers. It is intended for implementation by companies and staffing agencies during workforce reductions.
• Key Strengths: Layoffs are inherently difficult and can leave highly skilled individuals uncertain about their future. A simple expression of sympathy is often insufficient. FutureFit provides a proactive approach to helping employees navigate this transition, going beyond merely offering well wishes and facilitating a clear path forward.

AdvanceEDU

• Overview: A platform focused on connecting students with universities, aiming to reduce student debt and streamline the college application process. Each student receives personalized guidance from a success coach to maintain accountability and support throughout their academic journey. Currently piloting in Denver, Colorado, with a target of serving 75 students in its initial year.
• Key Strengths: With the limitations placed on traditional college tours due to COVID-19 and evolving perceptions of the four-year university model, institutions require innovative methods for student recruitment. AdvanceEDU presents a creative solution, integrating elements that are currently prioritized by students – namely, workforce opportunities and mentorship – directly into the enrollment process. The long-term goal is to support 10,000 students within the next decade.

These four companies represent innovative approaches to challenges faced by both employers and employees in today’s evolving work environment.