Startups
Roundups / Startups / Technical.ly Awards

Checking in on the realLIST startups of 2018

Product launches, acquisitions and funding rounds for 10 notable startups. Plus, who should be on our list next year?

The Amino crew at its WeWork 1601 Market office. (Courtesy photo)

With your suggestions already pouring in for the 2019 realLIST round-up of note-worthy companies, it seems pretty safe to say that there’s interest in this little exercise.

After all, Philly is ripe with interesting startups. But which ones seem to have the most potential? Through our reporting, we hope to come up with a valuable group of startups that we’ll be tracking in the new year.

In the meantime, let’s have a quick look at what last year’s honorees were up to.

(Don’t forget to suggest which companies we should check out.)

REALLIST-PHL

10. WeGardn

Per WeGardn cofounder Greg Donworth on LinkedIn, this company’s assets and business were acquired by rival Philly Foodworks. WeGardn, founded in 2017, offered a “farm-to-table marketplace” with a database of 100 local food suppliers and had landed a partnership with Postmates. Donworth is now at Aramark, the city’s biggest food service company.

9. Tern Water

This year saw Mohamed Zerban’s startup, makers of a connected water faucet that tracks water quality and filter efficiency, launch preorders for the long-awaited gadget through an Indiegogo campaign. The faucet is now being used at some 30 locations in New York and Philly, including offices and coworking spaces (such as 1776 at Pennovation, where the six-person team is based) and will ship to individuals in 2019.

8. Stitch

This past November, the Center City data analytics startup was acquired by a California-based company called Talend in a $60-million deal. The 33-person team, according to CEO and cofounder Jake Stein, will stay put and have plans to grow, now as a local office for Talend.

7. Port

Cofounder Tim Raybould pivoted Port — which aimed at giving local businesses have access to more predictable revenue — to Open Bundle, a shared news membership platform. The company’s first product is Stoop, an app that puts all your email newsletters in one centralized location.

6. NeuroFlow

From funding rounds to pitch competitions to accelerators and deals, the startup — makers of a platform that tracks behavioral health indicators — has had a busy year.

5. Keriton

Former CEO and cofounder Vidur Bhatnagar, which helped the company win several pitch competitions and awards throughout the year, stepped down as CEO in August. (He declined to comment then on why or where he was headed.)

4. LeagueSide

This company, which looks to connect youth sports leagues with sponsorship opps from big brands, raised $1.6 million in venture capital this year. It was nominated for Startup of the Year at PACT’s Enterprise awards.

3. Blackfynn

During the Fall, Center City-based Blackfynn struck a partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to aid scientists on their search of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease.

2. Borderwise

Founder Jeremy Peskin told Technical.ly that the company hit the coveted “profitable” status in April. Most of its recent efforts have been focused on expanding its law firm-facing platform in a bid to “streamline immigration for all affected parties — immigrants, employers, immigration attorneys, schools, etc.”

1. Amino

The blockchain-enabled adtech company with a well-respected founding team saw $4.5 million in capital roll into its coffers during 2018, a year that saw the startup stump hard for transparency in the adtech world.

Companies: Borderwise / Amino / Tern Water / Stitch, Inc. / LeagueSide / Blackfynn
Series: RealLIST Startups / RealLIST
Engagement

Join the conversation!

Find news, events, jobs and people who share your interests on Technical.ly's open community Slack

Trending

How venture capital is changing, and why it matters

What company leaders need to know about the CTA and required reporting

The ‘Amazon of science stores’ and 30 other vendors strut their stuff for Philly biotech

Why the DOJ chose New Jersey for the Apple antitrust lawsuit

Technically Media