The collection of upstarts that turn out for the District’s semi-regular Tech Cocktail mixers are always a grab bag. Last Thursday night was no exception.
From a social media site that tracks illness to photographs that adhere directly to walls, entrepreneurs pitched ideas at an event that felt part tech expo, part science fair on the 14th floor of the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington.
(Jeffrey MacMillan/For Capital Business) - Lauren Thorp, chief executive of gift subscription service Umba Box.
David Simnick was a Teach for America educator in one of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods when he conceived the idea for TalkChalk, a Facebook application that connects teachers, parents and students.
“Schools are missing out on an amazing opportunity to reach students where they want to be,” Simnick said. He and co-founder Daniel Dollsaid teachers can remind students about assignments, set up discussion boards and communicate with parents.
Sickweather also built its company on the backs of popular social networks, combing Twitter and other sites for references to sickness. Chief executive and co-founder Graham Dodge said the Web site, which is still in test mode, then plots those references on a map to show outbreaks.
“If you’re coming down with something, you can go on Sickweather and see if it’s something that’s going around with everybody,” he said. How will it make money? Ideally advertisements from drug manufacturers.
Thursday’s event was a return engagement for Klaggle , an online review company that first presented at a Tech Cocktail reception last year.
The firm now provides a software that skims a review before it posts and offers the writer a score with suggestions on how to improve the review’s balance, detail and clarity. Top scorers can share the write-up on social networks and earn reward points.
Lauren Thorp’s creation stood out as one of the evening’s lower-tech enterprises, but could prove no less genius for any husband or boyfriend who has a habit of forgetting special occasions.
Umba Box mails subscribers hand-crafted gifts from artists every month. Products like an eye glasses pouch, beeswax birthday candles and ginger lip balm arrive in a decorative box for $26 a month. The get-out-of-the-doghouse card comes free.
Any attendees using Sponto at Thursday’s reception would have no trouble spotting the crowd. The mobile app helps users find large gatherings by highlighting areas where many users have congregated.
In all, 18 startups peddled their ventures. Here’s a rundown:
How many unused cell phones are you hoarding? Yippity touts a mobile app that assesses a phone’s resale value. The company then buys the phone and resells it whole or for parts.
InStream Solutions created an online platform for financial advisers who want to monitor a client’s money. Alerts remind managers of predetermined financial milestones and notify them when a financial plan slips.
Another local wealth management player, HelloWallet, put its product on display. The expanding company sells software as a benefit to 401k providers and employers to help people of average wealth save money.
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