500 Startups Demo Day: Meet The 27 Newest Dave McClure-Approved Startups

We’re here at Microsoft’s Mountain View, California offices waiting for the kickoff of 500 Startups’ Summer 2012 Demo Day. Today, the fourth batch of startups to pass through the famed Silicon Valley startup accelerator program will show off their stuff to a room full of investors and media.

As a refresher: 500 Startups is an early-stage seed fund and incubator program for startups with an edge when it comes to the “three D’s” — Design, data, and distribution. The program, which was founded by Dave McClure in 2010, invests between $25,000 to $250,000 in each of its startups. 500 Startups has grown over the years from essentially being a one-man-band to a full-on venture capital firm in the process of raising $50 million for its second investment fund, twice the size of its first.

Dave McClure (image courtesy of Flickr user Technotheory)

This latest batch is comprised of 27 startups who have been immersed in the 500 Startups program since the session began April 2nd. If we know Dave McClure, there is sure to be lots of fun (and a healthy dose of foul language) ahead. We’ve embedded the live stream in this post so you can catch the action as it happens:

Ryan Lawler and I are on the scene along with TechCrunch TV camera guy/producer/editor extraordinaire John Murillo, so more in-depth coverage is on the way. But for now, here are the facts and figures about this Demo Day:

  • Ladies are representing: Seven of the 27 startups have at least one female founder
  • It’s geographically diverse, too: More than half of the startups are from outside Silicon Valley, and 12 of them are international — countries represented include Slovenia, Japan, Brazil, and beyond
  • Today is just the start: Demo Days will occur today and tomorrow in Silicon Valley, and the group will head to New York City for a July 23rd session

And here in alphabetical order is the full lineup of the latest 500 Startups class, along with their self-descriptions:

ActivityHero: We take the project management out of parenting by making it easier for parents to find, schedule and coordinate kids after-school activities and summer camps.

Bluefields: Intelligently organising recreational sports, in order to engage the 2.3B strong amateur sports audience.

Bombfell: Bombfell makes dressing well easy for guys. We send monthly shipments of designer clothes that are picked for you by a stylist.

Chalkable: Chalkable is an app store for school and a platform to make those apps work.

Fontacto: Cloud based phone system for SMBs in Mexico & Latam. It’s the Google Voice (for Business) / RingCentral / Grasshopper for Latin America

Glyder: SMB Marketing Done Right. Simple, Beautiful & Mobile.

Groupiter: We make your Dropbox… social! Groupiter adds group conversations to the files you share on Dropbox.

Happy Inspector: Fixing the way we inspect rental housing

Ingresse: Ingresse is Brazil’s first social ticketing company. We allow people to find events they love and event organizers to reach their audience. Anyone can post an event for free and sell out like a pro.

Monogram: Monogram is your personal shopper on the iPad. We help you curate the best fashion products and sales based on your style.

Network (formerly known as CardFlick): The Smarter Way for Professionals to Connect (and Stay in Contact)

PublikDemand: PublikDemand helps consumers launch viral complaints against big companies and use the power of the collective voice to get their problem solved.

Reclip.It: A Personalized Dashboard for Frugal Shoppers

Sqoot: Klout for SMB.

Storypanda: Making reading more collaborative for kids.

Teamly: Teamly helps companies get rid of pointless performance reviews and instead replace them with a real-time alternative to help them manage their employees all year round.

TeliportMe: TeliportMe is the social network for immersive experiences.

TenderTree: TenderTree helps families find a caregiver for the elderly or disabled.

Tie Society: Netflix for ties and more, a try-before-you-buy subscription service for men’s neckwear. When you have to look good, we help you look your best.

Timbuktu Labs
: The iPad magazine for you and your children.

TokyoOtakuMode: TokyoOtakuMode builds the world’s largest online Anime & Cosplay community, curates the best Anime content!

Toshl: Super easy personal finance assistant, making finance fun. Importing data from banks worldwide.

Tuckernuck (formerly Uscoop): Tuckernuck is e-commerce for the all-American lifestyle.

TwitMusic: Twitmusic.com lets music artists post their tracks to Twitter & Facebook and access tools to increase their fan base and reach new audiences.

UmbaBox
: A curated discovery service for handmade goods.

Wanderable: Honeymoon registries for couples who want experiences, not stuff.

Yogome: Mobile Learning Games Platform for Kids ages 4 – 10