Software Development

Missed the mobile-focused DC Tech Meetup #40? Here’s a post for that

The latest edition of this monthly gathering focused on the ever-evolving promise of mobile technology.

Anna Petrone presenting Split during DC Tech Meetup #40. (Photo by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)

A crowd of D.C. tech enthusiasts descended on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on Tuesday night for another edition of DC Tech Meetup. This time, the focus was all on mobile.
The evening, emceed by organizer Brandon T. Luong, began with a general recap of important DMV tech news (of course if you’ve been reading Technical.ly DC closely then you’re probably in the know) and ended with an “open mic” round of events and jobs announcements.
But the main focus was on the demos — seven mobile app startups took the stage to introduce themselves or unveil updates.
Here’s who spoke:

1. Spotluck

The team behind the dining app billed as “food meets fun meets local” showcased the latest version of their app during the meetup. The update has yet to be released to the public.

Cherian Thomas from Spotluck.

Cherian Thomas from Spotluck. (Photo by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)

2. DrunkMode

The app that, as CEO Joshua Anton told the crowd, “makes it convenient to party.” DrunkMode has various features to keep you safe on a wild night out, including “breadcrumbs” in case you can’t remember what you did last night and “find my drunk” to keep track of that one friend. We profile the company back in June.

3. DOT

Leslie Heyer from Cycle Technologies presented the company’s newest app — a smart period tracker that can be used to prevent or plan a pregnancy. The app tells women, on a daily basis, what their chance of becoming pregnant is based on the start date of their cycle and a “complicated statistical algorithm.” DOT launched in mid-August and has seen around 50,000 downloads since.

Leslie Heyer presenting DOT.

Leslie Heyer presenting DOT. (Photo by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)

4. CircleBack

An AI-powered address book app that makes it easy to keep your contacts complete, clean and up to date. The startup raised $12 million in July.

5. Split

D.C.’s own ridesharing app compares itself more to public transportation than uberX or Lyft. “It’s like a personalized bus,” Anna Petrone said of the app that combines people traveling similar routes around the same time in order to reduce road congestion. Split started in downtown D.C., but recently expanded to the neighborhoods of Yards Park, H Street, Petworth and Mount Pleasant. We profiled the company in July.

6. Darwin Beats

Darwin Beats is music streaming for the committed hipster — it caters to listeners who want to hear indie artists without having to wade through the mainstream hits. Currently in beta, the app also has its own “charts” system based on voting by listeners.

Cou Kalantary of Darwin Beats.

Cou Kalantary of Darwin Beats. (Photo by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)

7. Road Warrior

A multi-destination route planner that aims to solve a “traveling salesman problem” by optimizing a route based on number of stops, timing, traffic and more. Road Warrior has mainly targeted individual delivery people till now, but is looking to incorporate more features for delivery companies in the future.

Rick Kennedy talking all things Road Warrior.

Rick Kennedy talking all things Road Warrior. (Photo by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier)


The next DC Tech Meetup, set for Nov. 17, is still looking for a venue, though you’re welcome to RSVP now:
http://www.meetup.com/DC-Tech-Meetup/events/221440242/
Companies: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

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