Today marked the demo day for the first batch of startups from SMASHD LABS, the LA-based accelerator started by legendary talent manager Troy Carter.
When it launched, SMASHD promised that it would accept a diverse group of companies from across the entertainment, media, technology, and culture industries…and it didn’t disappoint.
Companies from the inaugural batch ranged from a peer-to-peer marketplace to a new music discovery platform that describes itself as a “Product Hunt for music”. And while most of the startups were brand new, there was even one older company that joined SMASHD to take advantage of Atom Factory’s connections across the music and production industries.
Keep reading to meet the startups that presented today.
Enrou – Los Angeles, CA
Enrou is a marketplace founded by UCLA grads Ann Wang and Jessica Willison. The site partners with social enterprises based in global marketplaces, allowing artisans in developing communities to sell their product to customers around the world.
Enrou also has a component which allows buyers to stay engaged post-purchase, forging a personal connection between buyer and seller. This personal connection has resulted in a 24 percent post-purchase re-engagement rate from users, and has led to the average buyer returning more than four times for additional purchases.
Sidestep – New York, NY
Sidestep
is a tool to allow concert attendees to pre-order merchandise before, during, or after a live event.
Eric Jones, the company’s CEO, explained that recent declines in record sale revenue means that artists are now focusing more on making money from live events.
However, the act of standing in line and purchasing merchandise at an event hasn’t changed in over 50 years.
Sidestep’s platform allows users to purchase merchandise via a mobile app, and “sidestep” the checkout line to instantly pick up their gear from a separate, VIP area.
The company said that bands using their platform are already experiencing a nightly sales bump of more than 15 percent.
Throne – New York, NY
Throne
is a peer-to-peer marketplace for sneakers and streetwear.
The company also has launched a daily editorial, allowing them to create a platform that ties commerce together with original content.
Throne already has over one million dollars worth of merchandise on the platform, and has over 300,000 users.
Since joining the accelerator, Throne has created a brand ambassador program letting the company have boots on the ground at college campuses around the world.
The company’s ultimate goal is to become a centralized commerce experience, so users can both stay up to date on the latest fashion news, as well as obtain their sneakers and streetwear, all from one location.
Trakfire – Los Angeles, CA
Trakfire is a platform for music fans to discover and curate music from up and coming artists. The site is a daily leaderboard where users can find, submit, and up-vote tracks…essentially like a Product Hunt for music.
Arjun Mehta, cofounder and CEO of Trakfire, explained that the platform will eventually benefit every player in the music industry. Artists will be able to get discovered, fans will be able to find new music, and professional users (record labels, music bloggers, etc.) will no longer have to manually search for new hits.
WeTransfer – Amsterdam, NL
WeTransfer
, the last company to present, isn’t exactly a new company. Based in The Netherlands, the file transfer company recently raised a $25M Series A led by Highland Capital Partner’s Europe Fund.
That being said, the company is still relatively new to the U.S, and joined SMASHD LABS to further penetrate the U.S market, as well as gain connections in the Los Angeles entertainment industry.
During the program, the company not only redesigned the platform from the ground up, but also built a music player and platform for content discovery.
The company announced that they are now doing 85 million transfers each month, and growing 2X year-over-year in the U.S.