Entrepreneurs from four young businesses presented yesterday during The eFactory’s Demo Day at The Gallery inside Gillioz Theatre.
The second cohort of The eFactory’s 12-week accelerator program challenged online forums, outdated customer surveys, bacteria-ridden beauty products and ways of keeping up with important relationships.
The event yesterday marked the end of the accelerator process of building and refining the companies and their minimally viable products. The founders of Let’s Do Lunch, Reaction, Solely Jolie and Apt Crowd had 10 minutes apiece to pitch their startups and unveil product developments.
Among the highlights was Hector Cruz announcing his Let’s Do Lunch app
officially launched on Google Play and the iTunes App Store, and the Reaction mobile survey app amassing over 20 local business users and 300 consumers.
Cruz said the Let’s Do Lunch app serves as a personal assistant for helping users keep up to date with lunch engagements. A self-described fan of people, Cruz said he intends for Let’s Do Lunch to help users invest in their most important relationships.
According to Cruz, Springfield residents last year spent $147 million on restaurant food.
“Based on our survey, people want to invest in relationships, people are spending money to eat out and people are spending money on customer relationship management tools. Let’s Do Lunch combines all three into one effective tool that benefits you,” Cruz said.
Next up was Reaction, presented by Stuart Emerson and Brent Borelli. The mobile app gives customers of restaurants and retail stores the opportunity to earn discounts for completing quick, in-store surveys.
Emerson and Borelli, who came to Springfield from Birmingham, Alabama, for the accelerator, have been friends since childhood.
“I believe that gives us a big advantage. We know each other on a level that most business partners do not,” Emerson said.
Amy Blansit next presented Solely Jolie, a beauty tool that works to keep makeup brushes clean and is
now available for purchase on Amazon.
Brushes can be wiped on Solely Jolie’s water-free pads to keep them from accumulating dirt and blemish-causing bacteria, Blansit said, noting her business has a large market. Its demographic comprises females 15 years of age and older.
Blansit said her company currently is working with international distributors to expand her business. In fact, when creating the name of the makeup tool, Blansit had international affairs in mind.
“Jolie is actually French and it means pretty or beautiful,” Blansit said. "You’ll notice Lancome, Chanel — those are names that are common in the cosmetic industry and they’re all engrained in that French language. Even the word ‘mascara’ comes from French language.”
Apt Crowd, a tech company presented by Chad Boschert, encourages internet users to find better answers inside online forums via faster search tools. He specifically targets engineering technical communities. Boschert said Apt Crowd could eventually reach up to 260,000 online forums, which could mean financial opportunities of up to $1.6 billion.
During the accelerator program, Apt Crowd launched a private data program that collected information from forum leaders and online advertisers.
“On June 1, our first paying customer will go live with a 500-user forum,” Boschert said.
The cohort’s fifth participant, Pull Up a Seat, did not present during Demo Day. It’s unclear why the Orlando, Florida-based private community marketplace created by Camille Baker did not participate. Brian Kincaid and Rachel Anderson of The eFactory could not be reached for comment by deadline. The
company’s Twitter page description says Pull Up a Seat currently is in The eFactory accelerator program.
Through The eFactory accelerator, companies receive a $30,000 investment in exchange for 8 percent equity.
The
first cohort comprised Eagle Speak LLC, Mofin Labs, Shopzeely Inc. and The Daily Scholar.
