Wash Cycle Laundry expands to Austin [Startup Roundup]

WHO’S GETTING FUNDED?

VeryApt, the online apartment guide from a pair of Wharton MBAs, raised $270,000, according to an SEC filing.

Spor, the Drexel undergrad startup making solar-powered phone chargers, revealed more details on its recent $225,000 raise: its lead investor was a Drexel alum named Francis Wisniewski. Wisniewski, who invested $200,000 in the company, is a Chicago-based investor who used to trade futures and options on the Amsterdam Options Exchange, according to a Spor release. One of his other investments is an “oversize-only gym with a pre-requisite weight loss goal of at least 50 lbs.”

Jail Education Solutions, the Chicago-based company that participated in Philadelphia’s FastFWD accelerator (and won a city contract to pilot its program in the city’s prisons), raised an undisclosed amount of funding, CEO Brian Hill confirmed. Social good investment group Investors Circle participated, and Hill said that there is a Philadelphia investor on the company’s board.

 

WHO’S MAKING MOVES?

Wash Cycle Laundry is launching in Austin, Texas, according to a release. The sustainable laundry service opened up shop in Washington, D.C., this summer. Austin will be its third market.

“After researching and visiting a number of cities throughout the country, Austin was clearly the perfect fit for our third market,” CEO Gabriel Mandujano said in a statement. “This city has the right mix of small business support, bicycle infrastructure, and the growing population looking to use a service like Wash Cycle Laundry.”

Ken Tomlinson, former accounting analyst in First Round Capital’s University City office, is now NextFab’s Chief Financial Officer, according to LinkedIn.

“I decided to leave because it felt like I had my nose pressed on the glass to the startup world and wanted to get inside,” Tomlinson wrote to us. “I come from a blue collar background of mechanics and construction, so NextFab lets my interest and personal history mix with my skills and ambition, it was a perfect match of things.”

MilkCrate, which wants to be the eco-minded version of Yelp, got its Indiegogo campaign extended 30 more days. This is a common Indiegogo practice, an Indiegogo spokesman told us. MilkCrate has raised nearly $14,000 and is still working to meet its $20,000 goal.

Artisan Mobile has an announcement on some new features.

Rescufy, a mobile app that helps those with allergies or asthma alert 911, is now in private beta, according to its founders. The app was one of the winners of Penn’s AppItUP contest last year.

 

WHO’S GETTING BUZZ?

From the Department of Now That’s One Way to Rep Philly: Center City’s Curalate was named number 1 on a list of “Hottest Startups to Work for in NYC” on Hired.com. And if you haven’t yet, check out the Curalate creation myth.

Goods of Record, the ecommerce startup from a Wharton MBA founder we told you about this summer, was featured in the Daily News.

Also in the Daily News recently: The Hive, the forthcoming Old City coworking space for women that we told you about this summer.

Sayfty, one of the startups in the city’s second FastFWD accelerator, is working to promote safety for women in India. Read about them on our sister site Technical.ly Brooklyn.