Last night I had the privilege of attending a business workshop organized by Fownders, Newark. Fownders is a non-profit business incubator determined to make Newark a major hub of entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the entire event since I have a day job but the business pitches I heard during their "shark tank"-like competition gave me a lot of hope that not only does Fownders have the right idea but there is a wealth of untapped talent in the Brick City. Below I've listed a few of the companies that made their pitch last night. I've limited it to the ones that really impressed me with their ingenuity and the compassion they displayed in choosing which problems they're working to solve. For the full list, search #Fownderslive on Twitter.
1. BlastChat: http://whatsblasting.com/
Jhamar Youngblood has a unique solution to those god awful group texts.
“I could go on Facebook or Twitter and post, ‘Who wants to play?’ but my friends don’t check their accounts all day, and they probably follow over 100 to 5,000 people,” the Dartmouth graduate student said. “So posts go missing—less than 10% of tweets or Facebook posts are seen by followers or friends—I couldn’t get in touch with my friends in real time.”He also thought about texting, but that presented a similar problem of having to copy-and-paste the message.“I could text the same message 30 times. There had to be a more effective way to get in contact with all my friends in real time with one message,” he says.It was here that Youngblood got the idea for Blastchat, an iPhone application he says will make “mass communication as easy as possible.”Blastchat allows users to send a message to a group of contacts. Through the app, messages are delivered to other users, but though they are notified of the message and respond to it through the Blastchat app, the conversation with the individuals from the group actually takes place in the iPhone’s iMessage app. --Blackenterprise.com 5/26/2015, Blastchat Creator Jhamar Youngblood Stives to Simplfy Group Communication, Joel Lyons
2. SafeHalo: Unfortunately, they don't seem to have an online presence yet but the idea is simple, much needed, and brilliant. In a nutshell, they're a "buddy on demand" service modeled after Uber. It's meant to prevent sexual assault and robbery by allowing you to call for one of many "Halos" or volunteers to walk with you when you feel unsafe on your college campus until you reach your destination. The Halos are vetted with a thorough background check and basic training in behavioral psychology (the pitchman's words not mine) so they can also see possible threats before they happen. Each Halo would also carry a device that would track their movements much like Uber tracks its vehicles, from a central computer. The company is designed as a stop-gap measure, providing a little more peace of mind without having to involve a uniformed officer. People taking care of people before the police ever have to become involved. This was my favorite idea of the night.
3. New Pearl: Also no online presence yet but the idea is to use a siri-like proprietary algorithm called Pearlo to help small businesses become more efficient without needing a high degree of technical knowledge like what's required for using IBM's Blue products. Targeted at mom and pop shops rather than large firms, the idea is that you would describe your business process (employee hiring, payroll, taxes, transportation, etc, etc) to the program with a voice interface (English only for now) and it would determine not only if you're doing the process efficiently but suggest how it could be streamlined. In theory, this would allow small business to focus on growth more quickly instead of wasting months or years on cleaning up inefficient practices.
4. Fitsy: Again, no online presence. (Should have realized this was a theme considering most of these companies are still in the pre-launch stage.) The founder of this company is a member of the famous MMA, Gym American Top Team. He fell in love with the sport so much he decided to share his experience with everyone by allowing top trainers, not limited to MMA fighters thank god, to share their workout routines with their customers directly for a nominal fee. No infomercials, No home gyms. If you want to know how NFL Linebackers train for the season? The app puts you in touch with an NFL Trainer who can sell you a step by step video on the regimen he gives his players. Yoga? Tai Chi? Martial Arts? Crossfit? All will eventually be found on the app when it launches.
5. T.R.A.C.E.R. by Momentum Mechanics: http://www.momentummechanicscorp.com/
A more developed firm presenting an idea that's meant to protect both law enforcement and civilian alike by providing real-time GPS driven data that would eliminate faulty eyewitness testimony in police-involved shootings. Ironically, the creator, Adam (didn't catch his last name) was inspired by the events in Ferguson, Missouri surrounding the death of Mike Brown. A major sticking point about the casee that was never cleared up was just how many times Brown was shot and when the shooting began. With T.R.A.C.E.R., as soon as an officer unholsters his weapon, the device implanted in the weapon would be begin transmitting data in real-time to a 911 center and not only give other officers his or her location and vitals but how many times the weapon had been discharged. Backup could be sent within seconds without anyone radioing in. Though he didn't mention it, an added benefit is that neither party has much time to create fiction that would line up with the facts. A video option is also being considered when the product is finally rolled out. Though the idea was presented as a tool for law enforcement safety, I think this could also expose a lot of dirty cops and make the streets safer for everyone.
6. AriseAlarm: The $10k winner of the night. Arise's premise is simple. It's an app that acts as an alarm clock that you can't snooze until you retype a positive affirmation into the phone. For example, say you're deep into the Word and a quick verse in the morning helps you really get motivated. You set your alarm for @ 6:45am and instead of rolling over and hitting the snooze button, which sends most people into an even deeper sleep, the alarm will keep going until you type out, "Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Or if FDR was your hero, only "There is nothing to fear but fear itself," typed into Arise's screen will silence your phone. Maybe I'm slow but the power of positive affirmation isn't something that resonates with me yet. People swear by it, though, considering the overwhelmingly positive response to the pitch from the audience and obviously the judges. Maybe they're on to something.
It was awesome being around so many creatives and so many business minded young Newarkers who aren't afraid to follow their dreams and think outside the box. Thanks to Fownders, Newark for organizing the event and a special thank you to Sirius XM's Karen Hunter (Twitter: @KarenHunter, Facebook: www.facebook.com/karenhunter, instagram: Karenhuntershow) and her "Tech Tuesday" segment, without whom I would have never heard about of any of this. Newark's future is bright and companies like Fownders are going to helping to keep the city in the spotlight. Shine on! Brick City Stand UP!
For more information or to partner with Fownders, please visit www.Fownders.com
follow them on Twitter (@Fownders) and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Fownders
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