Thanks to last month’s Moxie Awards, it had been a while since our bustling community of entrepreneurs, engineers, students and more met up at Rockit Bar & Grill. After a month off, we were back to reality with a solid group of pitches—some of whom were reaching out publicly for the first time.
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But before we got to hear from these expectant entrepreneurs, Built In Chicago founder Matt Moog took the mic to share some great news. In the three years since the site launched, it’s had more than 1.5 million visits. Not only that, over 100,000 people browse jobs, company profiles and blog posts like this one every month. It’s almost not surprising, considering Built In Chicago has more than 1,500 companies and nearly 17,000 registered members.
The growth of this community is due in no small part to great events, as last night’s Launch demonstrated.
Spare to Share CEO Gint Rudis took the stage first. His company allows users to offer their possessions for sharing, renting or selling among trusted communities. “Why don’t we share more,” Rudis said in his pitch. “We learned this in kindergarten.” One of the biggest barriers to lending out our possessions is trust, and the other is knowing both what someone needs and what someone else is offering. Rudis mentioned groups such as apartment buildings, but I think this idea could apply to school and work communities as well.
Next up was LineHop founder Steve Dinelli, who recently won top honors at Amplify’d. His product is a mobile ordering and payment app for family entertainment venues. It allows bowlers to order food and drinks straight to their lanes, rather than wasting time traveling to concession stands. According to Dinelli, the opportunity is equivalent to 200 million people per year, based on the number and frequency of people who bowl. Currently in 10 alleys across the country, Dinelli is looking to expand and asked for $350,000 to hire salespeople.
Steve Corby from Specless, a responsive ad design company, addressed the crowd next. Having previously worked in publishing, Corby has seen firsthand the challenges that arise when advertisers want to reach viewers across devices. He created Specless to address that problem, by giving advertisers a way to create a single ad that can be automatically and dynamically adapted and optimized based on the viewer’s device. Corby says this will finally give advertisers a way to make apples-to-apples cross-device comparisons. He is looking for mentorship and beta testers.
Then another Amplify’d alum presented—this time it was the runner-up, BadgeCert. Managing Director Ginger Malin shared her team’s plan to certify non-degree professional, educational and personal achievements. She wants to give BadgeCert issuers a chance to recognize people who participate in their programs, such as conference attendees or even Marathon finishers. Set to launch to the public in September, Malin is looking for launch and integration partners. She also said they are raising capital.
Finally, Sean Korb of local shopping site Reppio took the stage. This app allows users to browse, discover and shop local stores and boutiques without the hassle of visiting in person time after time. Reppio features up-to-date store inventories, as well as sale alerts and more. In a single month, Reppio has racked up 3,500 users and offers more than 2,000 finds from 100 stores and 20 artists. Currently, Reppio features products from Chicago but plans to expand to other cities and countries.
And with that, we’re back on track with yet another successful BIC Launch. If you’re interested in any of the companies that pitched last night—and particularly if you can respond to their asks—reach out via Built In Chicago. See you next month on August 22nd at Rockit Bar & Grill!
