StartX, the startup accelerator for companies founded by Stanford students, is just about to kick off Demo Day for its Summer 2013 startup class in Palo Alto this evening.
The non-profit StartX program, which was launched in 2010 as SSE Labs, aims to provide Stanford students with entrepreneurial ambitions the tools and connections they need to bridge the gap between dreaming of a concept and creating a real company. The organization has a solid track record: There have been four StartX companies acquired this year, so far, and seven total since the program’s 2010 launch.
At this evening’s Demo Day, 10 companies are making their debuts, while five StartX alums will be returning to provide updates on their progress.
There will be a slight change to the rhythm of tonight compared to other Demo Days. The 10 new companies are skipping the traditional five minute demo presentation and instead will be giving very, very brief pitches on stage, without any of the typical slide shows. This is to give more time for in-depth discussions with attendees at their respective stations in the room. StartX founder Cameron Teitelman explained the change in an email to attendees RSVPed for this evening thusly:
“Our goal is to make this a more personalized experience for both you and our founders.
Since all our companies have the hockey-stick user growth and the $100 billion market slides to show you, this time we’ll get right to the good part. Founders from new StartX companies will briefly introduce themselves on stage at the start of the event and then they’ll be available at demo tables for the rest of the evening. This should give you more time to meet with the teams and learn about their technologies in a more personalized way.”
It should be a refreshing shakeup for the typical scene that’s become de rigeur at Demo Days across Silicon Valley, and it’ll be interesting to see how it’s received — we’ll make sure to check back.
For now, here is a rundown of the 10 companies set to debut for the first time this evening as part of StartX’s Spring 2013 class, with their own self-descriptions:
- analyticsMD: Empowering hospital staff with data to reduce patient wait times and improve operations.
- Beyond the Box: Sports timeline to complete fan viewing experience.
- BioTX: Building miniaturized, implantable devices for neurostimulation treatments in the gastrointestinal system.
- BitBuilder (aka SayWe): Short instant voice messaging platform for the enterprise.
- Chatous: A social discovery platform through conversation. We predict who you’ll like talking to and connect you accordingly.
- Docmunch: Helps companies transform unstructured documents into a custom structured data feed.
- FlameStower: An energy, materials, and design company focused on keeping cell phones charged, no grid required.
- MedWhat: Instant answers to health and medical questions.
- Spire (Breathware): Changes the way you breathe to improve brain and body health.
- Sonitrack: Enables precision targeting for radiation therapy using robotics and ultrasound imaging.