Groupinion announces launch at 15th annual Angel Venture Fair

Groupinion, a Wyncote, Pa.-based mobile app that crowdsources decisions, is launching this week and it’s aiming to get 250,000 users by the end of the year.

“This is imminently doable,” said CEO Don Milley at his second pitch of the day at the 15th annual Angel Venture Fair Tuesday. He clicked over to his next slide, a list of mobile apps, and said that all of these apps had hit the 250,000 user mark — and he hadn’t even of some of them until he put together this slide.

The goal is dependent, largely, on one thing: funding. Groupinion has already raised $115,000 from a friends and family round, but Milley, who’s on his third tech startup, aims to raise a $500,000 round for a runway to launch.

Milley was just one of more than two dozen entrepreneurs that pitched at the Angel Venture Fair, which is usually held at the Union League but due to construction was held at Penn’s Houston Hall. The fair also included about seven companies that did not pitch but had a table in the exhibition area. Venture capitalist Jeff Bussgang gave the keynote address.

Graphene Frontiers’ exhibit table.

Two other startups that caught our eye included:

• Graphene Frontiers: the University City Science Center-based graphene manufacturer is looking to raise $1.2 million. It already raised a $600,000 seed round, in which Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners participated. Graphene Frontiers is also backed by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The company has developed a technology that can make graphene cheaply and without harsh chemicals, said CEO Mike Patterson. It also developed a graphene sensor that can detect lyme disease in blood, Patterson said, and it’s the first of its kind to be able to do that.
• One Green Apple: this King of Prussia edtech company has a platform that allows for parents to get engaged with their childrens’ education. Parents can monitor their child’s performance in school and see if they’re meeting parents’ expectations. The software is meant to work as an early warning system for parents. It also translates teacher messages into different languages based on parent preferences. One Green Apple is expanding to 5,000 students in New York City this September and is looking into working with Philadelphia charter schools.