1776 Challenge Cup announces Philly finalists

When well-known global incubator 1776 and Steve Case’s Revolution team up to deliver the 1776 Challenge Cup Competition to your Philly doorstep, you sign for the package. Challenge accepted.

The 1776 Challenge Cup is more than a worldwide pitch competition. It also reinforces the idea that small businesses can start and scale, anywhere. More than 75 cities across the globe have gathered their top startups to back that claim. That’s right, Silicon Valley, you are certainly no longer the only player in the game.

So what has the Benjamin’s Desk team learned after reviewing over 130 submissions to pitch at the Philadelphia Cup?

What we’ve confirmed is that being dubbed an “ed and meds” city is a valid claim. But what Philadelphia (and the rest of the world) can’t sleep on, however, is the growing number of startups in our region creating innovative technologies that lend themselves to the “smart cities” revolution, and those thinking on a large scale to bridge gaps between corporates and startups.

Moreover, with access to world-class facilities such as Pennovation, which houses the likes of PERCH, DJI and Qualcomm, the emergence of Philadelphia startups in the drones/robotics space is nothing short of impressive.

But why take our word for it? Here’s a look at the 11 companies selected to pitch at Challenge Cup Philadelphia on Oct. 10. It’s free to see these startups take the stage, but you gotta register.

Yellowdig

• Yellowdig is a social learning platform driven by peer collaboration, gamification, and data science. Yellowdig currently has 30 contracted universities (with that number expected to be in the 50s by year’s end) and raised $1 million from venture capital firm SRI Capital.

LeagueSide

• LeagueSide connects it’s network of 4,000 youth sports leagues with sponsors. By 2018, the growing LeagueSide team will have helped over 600 leagues, in over 16 states, secure over $2 million in funding from corporate sponsorship.

Roundtrip

• Currently accepted into the M-1 Ventures Accelerator and MedStar #Patient2Consumer Challenge (run by 1776), Roundtrip is an online platform that connects hospitals and patients with on-demand, non-emergency medical transportation. Not only is the company providing more efficient transport for patients, but the software is also able to grab valuable data points on patients that health institutions can use for predictive analytics.

StudyTree App

• A SaaS platform that provides universities with an artificial college advisor, LEON. LEON analyzes KPIs and behavioral patterns to construct personal recommendations to improve student performance. What’s most interesting is that the company has received only $30,000 in funding to-date, but has generated almost $100,000 in revenue.

Tern Water

• Tern Water makes products and services that help users get access to smart, sustainable and healthy water. Its multi-purpose, consumer-friendly device allows users to collect real-time data analytics on the quality of their water, and can also use the data to create comprehensive databases of water quality on a city scale.

Aerial Applications

• Aerial Applications is a leader in drone data processing and management software that makes complex, geographically-defined data easier to manage, access and understand. With a recent focus on disaster relief efforts, the software is able to analyze drone collected data in less than 24 hours, getting first responders to areas that are in most critical need to assess the situation and start solving problems.

Lovoco

• Lovoco’s product, Stenopoly, actively captures the voice of a speaker and translates it into bilingual subtitling — in real time. Though the company has been focused on optimizing the learning experience in university classrooms, the use of Stenopoly could be extended to the media and entertainment industry, multi-national corporations and government communications.

Tassl

• Tassl is an engagement management solution that helps to centralize network communities and data to better analyze the engagement impact. Having raised over $1.2 million in funding to-date, and with founder Melissa Schipke at the helm, this team is looking to bring connectivity to campuses across America and beyond.

Strados Labs

• Strados is the world’s first breath and activity tracker that uses acoustic lung sound technology for better respiratory health. While aimed at helping patients with chronic respiratory conditions (asthma), the product also spans to markets of those looking to increase athletic performance and overall health.

GuestOf

• Recently featured on TechCrunch Disrupt, GuestOf is creating a tech solutions for real estate, allowing for greater control of building access. With two affordable revenue models, for both tenants and management, GuestOf is drawing attention from multi-family, office and vacation real estate.

NeuroFlow

• NeuroFlow is a digital health solution that leverages wearables to measure biometric data in real-time to quantify stress. The company is poised to provide physicians with the ability to personalize healthcare, in the moment, giving them qualifiable objective brain data — something very few softwares can yet do.

“We are thrilled to be the city chosen to end the 2017 Challenge Cup Season for 1776 and Revolution, and I can promise you that this will be a night to remember for Philadelphia,” said Benjamin’s Desk cofounder Anthony Maher. “We expect many Northeast Corridor investors and influencers to attend the event on Oct. 10, but more importantly we expect to have national attention on Philadelphia and on the many talented PHL founders participating in the entire day of programming.”

The Philadelphia event will be the 2017 Challenge Cup Season Finale leading up to the Global Finals in Washington, D.C., later this fall.

Apply to have your company featured in the Startup Showcase after the Oct. 10 Challenge Cup Philadelphia event, which takes place from 6–9 p.m. at the Pennovation Center.