The CNN 10: Startups to watch

CNN has identified 10 companies you haven’t heard of yet, but be prepared to.

From social media to mobile dating to health care, these companies are poised for growth and have attracted some much-needed interest from investors. Time will tell if they break into the startup spotlight. Check out the first five and click the link for the rest of the list:

1. Beyond Meat has set out to make the most chicken-like non-animal food product on the market, and it has a plant in mid-Missouri.

2. Branch Media is a social-conversation website started by Princeton and New York University students (sound somewhat familiar?). The difference from Facebook or Twitter is that it aims to create a two-way conversation, and less of a monologue, by inviting specific people to chat.

3. Leap Motion has built a next-generation motion controller the size of a cigarette lighter to track arm and hand movements within 4 feet of a computer.

4. LittleBits’ toys snap together tiny circuit boards by using magnets to create mini-robots to an Easter-egg decorator. The company is merging engineering and art; think digital Legos.

5. Lyft is a ride-sharing app designed to get more people into empty car seats on the highways. Booked through Facebook and the smartphone app, it’s like car-pooling with strangers, but official Lyft drivers have a trademark furry pink mustache affixed to the grille.

Read more from CNN.