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The 2020 Ventures to Watch
VentureFuel builds innovation programs for large corporations. As part of our service we evaluate thousands of emerging technologies and pioneering startups. Each week we highlight one that we believe can drive significant value for corporations through pilots and partnerships.
Unsplash
Description
THE source for the internet's images. Unsplash is a creative platform built on a community of users who share high-res photos for others to download and use in campaigns, presentations, blogs, social media and more. Brands can leverage Unsplash's millions of downloads by integrating their own branding or campaign messaging into images to drive views, downloads and engagements.Reason to Believe
Images are seen 12b times by 300m people every month. Successful brand campaigns with Timberland, Harley Davidson, Boxed Water and more. Raised $10m+ from Betaworks, Bedrock Capital and more.Links
More on using Unsplash for brands here. Listen to our conversation with co-founder Mikael Cho here.
Pod Foods
Description
Bridging the gap between emerging food brands and retailers. This next generation wholesale food distribution platform helps new food/beverage companies get placed onto shelves, avoiding the painful challenges of big distributors. Pod Foods also provides value for retailers through access to new and emerging products to help them stay ahead of the curve, all while simplifying the back end process.Reason to Believe
Co-founders named as Forbes 30 Under 30. Raised $3.3M from Microsoft Ventures and others. Catalog includes hundreds of products across a variety of categories.Links
Recent press in Food Navigator. Listen to our conversation with co-founder Fiona Lee here.
Recess
Description
The power of programmatic media buying for live events and experiential marketing. Recess is the easiest way for brands to find, contract and sponsor in-person and virtual events through their online marketplace. With thousands of event organizers in one place, Recess enables brands to reach millions of consumers via event marketing at scale.Reason to Believe
Corporate clients include Google, MTV, Lyft, Utz, Square and more. Raised $3.7M in a recent round of funding. Quickly pivoting to support the virtual event marketplace.Links
Recess media kit here. Insight into the virtual event sponsorship landscape here . Listen to our conversation with Co-Founder Jack Shannon here.
Write Label
Description
Leverage the human cloud for creative and campaign copy. Write Label is an online crowd-sourcing platform allowing brands to source creative ideas and copy from a vetted network of tens of thousands of writers. Enterprise use cases include social media copy, radio/tv ads and more, as well as original ad scripts for media sales teams.Reason to Believe
Corporate clients include NBC Universal, iHeart Radio, Hearst, Spectrum and more. Delivers immediate ROI to customers time and again.Links
Write Label press page: https://writelabel.com/in-the-news. Case studies for radio and television. Listen to our conversation with CEO Gideon Stein here
XAPP AI
Description
"Alexa, what is machine teaching?" XAPP AI is a machine teaching company, making virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, chatbots and contact centers smarter. Their technology teaches these assistants to speak on behalf of an enterprise just like a well-trained employee. With Optimal Conversation Studio, XAPP enables audio interactions that understand customer needs and respond intelligently across all channels and devices.Reason to Believe
Corporate clients include PepsiCo, General Motors, Progressive Insurance, Toyota and more. XAPP has four patents and more pending.Links
Listen to our conversation with founder Pat Higbie here
OpenSponsorship
Description
No games, no problem. OpenSponsorship helps brands tap into the personality and reach of athletes through its all-in-one brand sponsorship platform. Connecting brands to thousands of athletes across a variety of sports, OpenSponsorship's technology helps facilitate authentic, data-driven digital marketing campaigns that drive real results for brands.Reason to Believe
Corporate clients include Anheuser-Busch, Verizon, CBS Interactive, Draft Kings and more. Generated almost $2M in athlete endorsement deals in the last year alone. Featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, Sports Techie and MarketingDive.Links
View OpenSponsorship's complete list of athletes here. Listen to our conversation with founder Ishveen Anand on the VentureFuel podcast.
Lately
Description
Write, re-purpose, approve and share with ease. Lately is a social media marketing platform that uses AI to learn what messages your consumers want to read and builds a writing model to generate new and re-purposed content. By inputting a long-form resource (article, podcast, video), Lately can generate dozens of relevant and engaging posts to spread across social or syndicate to partners or influencers.Reason to Believe
Corporate clients include Vayner Media, SAP, AB InBev, NBC, etc. Strong investment. 50% trial to sale conversion.Links
Lately overview in more depth: Covalent Bonds. Hear founder Kate Bradley Chernis discuss Lately on the Venture to Watch podcast.
Tribute
Description
Tribute is transforming the way people celebrate each other, and revolutionizing the greeting card industry through the power of video. Tribute's platform helps users easily invite friends, collect videos and compile them into video "tribute" montage gifts. With major corporate clients and a user base growing 10x, Tribute is well-positioned to add real value to the way people connect and share with each other in our digital age.Reason to Believe
Featured in The New Yorker, Daily News, Huffington Post and more, strong corporate clients, 10x growth in current weeks, strong emotional relevance.Links
Recent articles in Martha Stewart and Real Simple . Hear founder Andrew Horn discuss Tribute on the Venture to Watch podcast .
Kara
Description
Save your marketing and design team time and money with Kara's automated marketing production platform. Built as an enterprise SaaS platform, Kara's patented technology automates the production of marketing material, while maintaining brand integrity. With recent beta customers like TikTok, Beats by Dre and more, Kara is well positioned to deliver brand-perfect campaign materials at scale not only for large corporations, but also for growing challenger brands and startups looking to scale their marketing efforts.Reason to Believe
Strong founder team with global marketing background and product/tech experience. Notable corporate customers. Patented technology based on brand validation API, machine learning and a proprietary file format.Links
Product feature video: https://www.getkara.co/how-it-works . Listen to founder Marie Berry discuss Kara on the Venture to Watch podcast .
Messy.fm
Description
Podcasts are undoubtedly growing -- over half of US consumers are podcast listeners and podcast ad revenue is expected to surpass $1b by 2021. Messy.fm is fueling this growth with its all-in-one podcasting solution. Its platform enables leaders and organizations to record, edit and publish their podcasts with ease. The platform powers thousands of publicly available shows, while also working with enterprises on private, secure podcasts for internal use. Messy.fm has created the Wordpress for podcasts.Reason to Believe
Strong corporate clients. Have worked with events and learning/research institutions. Female-founded and owned.Links
Messy.fm VentureFuel podcast episode with founders Fred Schonenberg and Molly Beck
Perksy
Description
The future of feedback has arrived. Perksy's interactive and engaging DIY consumer insights platform powers real time research with everyday people through its immersive mobile app. Brands can leverage this innovative marketing solution to gather real consumer feedback and take advantage of insights that give rise to brand growth, product development and customer satisfaction.Reason to Believe
Perksy works with the world’s leading brands and agency networks, such as Target, Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive, Smucker’s, IPG, WPP and is backed by venture firms like Bain Capital, Torch Capital, and Founder Collective. Founder and CEO, Nadia Masri, was also named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 .Links
Perksy in the press here: https://www.getperksy.com/press
Twenty
Description
Our world has never been more digitally connected and as a result we’ve never been less engaged in real life. This has led to major changes in how we communicate and socialize. 58% of GenZ/Millenials are seeking relief from Social Media, 30% of Millennials say they're lonely and 22% say they don't have a single friend. Twenty is a new social platform that is the best way to get together with friends in real life by allowing people to see who’s around, see who’s down and hang out! With over 2M users and strategic partnerships with Live Nation, Endeavor, Roc Nation and TAO Group as well as influential board members such as Arianna Huffington, Twenty's technology is well-positioned to change the way GenZ/Millennials socialize.Reason to Believe
Strong momentum due to user growth, solid strategic investors, and experienced management team. Early corporate pilots successful.Links
Description, videos and press here: https://www.twenty.co/
Ryff
Description
In our increasingly ad-free media landscape with its abundance of content, advertisers are turning to brand integration and product placement to reach consumers. Ryff's proprietary platform integrates 3D models into popular entertainment, saving content creators, TV studios and brands valuable time and money by inserting their products directly into pre-produced content.Reason to Believe
Raised $8.6M in 3 rounds of funding. CEO Roy Taylor is the former acting head of AMD Studios in Hollywood. Generated press from the likes of Adweek, VentureBeat and TechCrunch.Links
Video examples included here: https://www.ryff.co/ and industry impact analysis from: TechCrunch
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