Here's what to expect at Techstars Chicago Demo Day

by Sam Dewey
October 12, 2015
It’s a momentous week for Chicago, but not just because of the success of our beloved Cubbies. 
 
Techstars Chicago, a celebrated accelerator program that provides startups with seed-level funding, formative mentorships, and an invitation to join a network of entrepreneurs, celebrates its Demo Day Tuesday. 
 
This year’s 10-strong cohort was chosen from a select pool of 900 prospective applicants and are waiting in the wings to show off what they’ve been working on. 
 
The graduating class marks the accelerator’s sixth go-round for Chicago, and Techstars managing director Troy Henikoff said the program continues to gain in speed. As results have continued to impress year after year, the accelerator has cultivated a series of premier startups.
 
“We’re building on the momentum of previous years,” Henikoff told Built In Chicago when this year’s cohort was announced. “And I think it’s going to be the best class yet."
 
This week, 10 Techstars companies will finally be able to pitch their best ideas to a room full of excited investors, mentors, and supporters. And be sure to check them out at the Techstars Community Demo Day on October 22!
 
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll see: 

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BetaOut

How has Techstars impacted the growth of your business?

Techstars has helped in multiple aspects of our business, ranging from customer acquisitions, partnerships, and access to the mentor network. We have brought down our CAC by 75% in Techstars, which is amazing for us.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peak of what you'll be pitching?

We are superbly excited about the demo day. We are trying to tell our story about why we started Betaout in the first place. It was an incident which happened to us a year ago that highlighted the inefficiency of the existing systems, and how we were able to build an entire company around it.

 

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Shutterstock

Glidera

How has Techstars impacted the growth of your business?

Techstars provided enormous impact for Glidera. Troy and the Techstars team have been invaluable resources, providing guidance and resources for our team. Further, the broader network of Techstars mentors has helped connect Glidera with relevant experts in areas related to FinTech that helped accelerate the pace of our business.  

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peak of what you'll be pitching?  

We're thoroughly excited for Demo Day and to connect with hundreds of other individuals involved with early stage technology companies. For Demo Day, we'll be pitching both Glidera's business model and our latest status as a company, including our most recent partner launches.

 

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Infiniscene

How has Techstars impacted the growth of your business?

Introductions to mentors and advisors have been a huge boost to our business. Utilizing the Techstars network of specialized experts to bolster our teams' skill set enables us to move faster than ever before.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peek of what you'll be pitching?

We're excited to share our role in the booming live streaming market. We've recently launched our closed beta token system, allowing users to share access tokens with their friends. 

 

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Routific

How has Techstars impacted the growth of the business?

This is how I've always described Techstars to family and friends: It's like a crash course MBA program -- where we have access to some of the nation's greatest entrepreneurs and mentors -- but instead of working on case studies we get to experiment and iterate on our living and breathing business.

Since the first day of Techstars, we've been focused on growth. Attracting more customers, nurturing them, and converting them. The Techstars program put us in touch with some of the best sales people in the country. This mentorship, combined with constant, accelerated iteration, gave us an opportunity to test hypotheses and run experiments that have resulted in enormous growth for our business. We are so grateful to Techstars and to the amazing Chicago entrepreneurs who have volunteered their time to mentor us this summer.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peek of what you'll be pitching?

We are psyched for Demo Day, and can't wait to show investors what we have achieved. Sneak peak? We don't want to give too much away. All I can say is be prepared to geek out on logistics!

 

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Specless

How has Techstars impacted the growth of the business?

Our revenue has grown by 10x since we began Techstars. We've gone from $5,000 to $50,000 in monthly revenue in just 4 months! Techstars has helped amplify our efforts across all aspects of our business and the accelerator experience has kicked our team into overdrive.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peek of what you'll be pitching?

We're really excited to share our growth story and show everyone how Specless is changing digital advertising for some huge publishers and advertisers. Other than that, you'll have to come check out our pitch for more details!

 

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Tribe

How has Techstars impacted the growth of the business?

Techstars has impacted our growth in countless ways. Mainly through education, and experience passed on through Techstars mentors during the program. We've been given sessions on everything from effective sales strategies, to best funding practices, to building a team/company and everything else in between. It's been an incredibly rewarding experience, with things learned during the program we couldn't have ever learned without Techstars.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peek of what you'll be pitching?

Demoday is an incredible opportunity for us, with, literally, hundreds of hours of preparation that have been put in. The Techstars team here in Chicago has really helped us refine our pitch, and we're very excited to tell people where we are, and where we're going. As far as a sneak peek, I can tell you that by demo day, we will have 2.5 billion people that will know how to use Tribe. You'll have to hear the pitch to hear how.

 

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Urbanleash

How has Techstars impacted the growth of the business?

Techstars has had a huge impact on both our short-term and long-term growth. During the program, we tested strategies on a weekly basis and identified scalable and repeatable solutions for growth. We were also introduced to mentors whose relationships will help us grow well into the future.

Can you comment on your excitement for Demo Day/give sneak peek of what you'll be pitching?

We’ve very excited about Demo Day and presenting our accomplishments in front of such a large group and mentors. We’ll be pitching some very compelling numbers that show what we know to be true: People absolutely love their pets, and want the best possible care for them.

 

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Akouba Credit 

Who they are: Akouba Credit provides lenders an algorithmic underwriting platform that reduces the cost and time required for banks to issue a small business loan. The platform, customized to each lender's underwriting principles, allows small businesses to apply and track their application electronically, with results delivered within 48 hours. Banks that use Akouba love it because they get more happy borrowers faster.

 

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Growth Geeks

Who they are: Growth Geeks is a marketplace for growth hackers and marketers. We make it easy to discover and hire freelance marketing professionals to grow your business, on a hourly or project basis. With thousands of vetted geeks already on board, and our 100% money back guarantee on every project, Growth Geeks makes shopping for marketing talent fast and foolproof.

 

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Hooks

Who they are: Hooks lets you discover and create push notifications for just about anything, and configure the notifications based on your needs. Choose from thousands of subjects and types, from television, music, sports, social media, weather, and more. Hooks has already sent more than 30 MM notifications worldwide to more than 100K people just like you.

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