Once Labor Day passes, New York City’s startup scene comes to life as accelerators and incubators bring forth their cohorts of startups via “Demo Days” or startup showcases, introducing them to the broader entrepreneurial tech ecosystem. During the month of September the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA), 1776 and the Zahn Center for Innovation at CCNY held such events in their own style and way, and in different locales around NYC.
Having a startup gain the attention of an investor is the paramount purpose of these events. Over the course of the weeks leading up to the big day, the entrepreneurs are taken through an intensive training period and mentorship that results in a better honed business model for each of their startups. That achievement is seen through well-rehearsed and well-articulated presentations given on a culminating day—that is well attended by invited investors.
Over the course of these intensive programs, the startups usually pass key milestones such as achieving a minimum viable product, a first customer or even early investor involvement. Typically, these key milestones are facilitated through a range of resources and network that each organization offers.
Once the “Demo Days” are completed for the Accelerators, the process begins anew, opening up applications for their next cohort who are selected via a highly competitive process. In the instance of ERA, applicant entrepreneurs come from all over the world, while 1776, a global platform, draws from their membership base for training via their curriculum.
ERA makes a $100K investment in each startup accepted into their program. Zahn Innovation Center provides a $10,000 stipend to each team for the summer. 1776 has a venture fund supporting their platform.
A brief summary of each Demo Day or Showcase follows:
1776 Brooklyn
1776 located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, held its Fall Startup Showcase on September 20th, unveiling eight entrepreneurs and their business models to an audience that included a panel of judges: Sallie Jian, Venture Capitalist at SeedInvest, JJ Kasper, Founder & Partner at Blue Collective, and Joshua Levin, Director of Business Development at Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.
1776 is a global platform for entrepreneurs that also incubates startups at physical locations around the US. Their focus is on government-dominated markets because of their legacy roots and headquarters in Washington, DC that gives them proprietary connections, insights and tools to assist startups to scale quickly. Their curriculum plus a network of expert mentors help startups solve challenges and accelerate their go to market strategies.
The startups presenting at the Fall Showcase were:
Battery: a digital learning environment built for the future of education
Bixby: an easy-to-use web & mobile platform that gives landlords a powerful tool to manage their properties, while providing residents, travelers, tenants & guests with a virtual amenity to make their apartment experience a perfect one.
Buk.io: changing the way that books are cited, shared and sold
Hey Mayor!: helps departments from sanitation to planning to IT get 50% less emails and calls from constituents.
Maude: championing sexual awareness
Simplifi: personal guide to tackling student debt
TriviaNote: AI-backed study platform generates all of your study tools with just a click of a button
Venture Smarter: navigating smart cities and the internet of things
Zahn Innovation Center
On September 26th the Zahn Innovation Center, a startup incubator at the City College of New York (CCNY), located in Harlem in upper Manhattan, presented their cohort of six student startups who emerged from their 10 week summer accelerator program. Each team received a $10,000 stipend earmarked for at least two members to work full time in the program.
The presenting student startups were:
Active Hands: building quantified remote therapy devices for hip and knee replacements
dawaCare: a social impact startup helping hospitals in emerging countries improve patient outcomes via patient follow up
fxn: a cosmetics startup creating makeup for trauma victims that both covers and improves the appearance of scars
Nuravine: an agtech startup building the brains behind automated hydroponic farming
Ouvos: a startup launching situational awareness IoT device for cyclists that combines turn by turn directions with accelerometer data, road congestion data and a backup sensor to score routes for safety.
Wrkbook: A startup building a just-in-time employment market for contractors and skilled trade laborers
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator
On September 27th Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, one of the most prominent and established accelerators, hosted its Demo Day in the Chelsea section of New York, not far from its Madison Avenue, Manhattan based headquarters. Eleven startups were unveiled to a packed invite only audience, predominantly investors, giving an important platform to these startups who unveiled their business models with the hope of gaining investor interest.
More about the presenting startups is detailed in an article covering the full event.
