MORE►
startup
Tom Vazhekatt, co-founder and CEO of Routora [Photo: Routora]
Dallas Route Optimization Startup Routora Aims to Help You Save Time, Money on the Road
by Kevin Cummings | Sep 20, 2022
It's easy to get from A to B. But what if you have to go from A to B to C to D to E? Finding the fastest way to complete all the stops can be daunting. But now a UT Dallas computer science student has co-founded Routora—a free Google Maps extension tool that reorders your stops for the fastest, most efficient trip. While still in beta, the tool has already attracted around 3,000 users from 70 countries.
“By creating more efficient routes, not only are they saving money on gas, but they're also emitting less carbon into the atmosphere," says Routora Co-founder and CEO Tom Vazhekatt.
by Kevin Cummings |
Sep 19, 2022
Dallas-based MLTPLY launched late last year with the goal of helping seed-stage insurtech startups get to market up to 18 months sooner than they would on their own. Today it announced the launch of its third portfolio company, Proxima—which helps clients develop "highly complex" insurtech projects while providing back-office support via "operations hubs" in Latin America.
“This partnership also allows MLTPLY to expand our footprint into Latin America, where extraordinary talent is already yielding impressive results for the insurance sector," MLTPLY Founder and CEO Gloria Gutinas says.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Aug 30, 2022
Husband-and-wife co-founders Neha Shah and Vir Mehta know the feeling. When you lose something, you want to get it back—but how does the finder know how to reach you? Their solution: DoTells, QR-tagged stickers for everything from keys to luggage to cell phones. After years of reading menus by phone cameras during COVID, people "just get it," Shah says. Finders scan the tag and connect anonymously with the owner to return the item.
“It’s a low-key technology, but with game-changing effects,” Shah says.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Aug 4, 2022
SKU Dallas set up shop in North Texas in 2020, partnering with DFW CPG as a local arm of the Austin-based CPG-focused accelerator. It's graduated 12 companies since then, including local plant-based jerky brand All Y’alls Foods, along with Texas-based mmmpanadas and Meli’s Monster Cookies.
Now it's announced its third lineup of CPG startups. All female-founded, they range from a Brooklyn sexual wellness and body product company to a California-based Vietnamese cold-brew coffee brand.
MORE►
John Green, co-founder and current CEO of Nada, will transition to COO. [Photo: Nada]
Dallas-Based Nada Closes $8.1M Seed Round to Make Real Estate Investments More Accessible to All
by Kevin Cummings | Jul 27, 2022
Nada's Cityfunds enable people to invest in single-family rental homes and fractionally invest in owner-occupied homes in Dallas, Austin, and Miami. With the new funding, Nada plans to expand Cityfunds to six new cities, grow its Oak Lawn-based staff to around 60, and develop a home equity-accessing debit card.
“We fundamentally believe that we can make a material difference to people's lives by making real estate as an asset more accessible,” co-founder and CEO John Green told Dallas Innovates.
“We fundamentally believe that we can make a material difference to people's lives by making real estate as an asset more accessible,” co-founder and CEO John Green told Dallas Innovates.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jul 26, 2022
Co-Founder Clifton Harness says TestFit is the first company to connect pro forma, construction cost, and asset design through building configurator software. The technology allows companies to "de-risk decisions" and log critical time savings when they develop new real estate. The funding will help the startup expand its R&D, quadruple its product and engineering teams, and build a new HQ.
“With TestFit, we see a disruptor driving a paradigm shift in the real estate industry,” said Gregg Hill, co-founder and managing partner at Parkway Venture Capital, which led the funding round.
“With TestFit, we see a disruptor driving a paradigm shift in the real estate industry,” said Gregg Hill, co-founder and managing partner at Parkway Venture Capital, which led the funding round.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jul 19, 2022
Frisco-based OpTic Gaming—which rebranded from Envy Gaming last month following its November merger with OpTic—has acquired Dallas streamer tool startup Botisimo.
Botisimo's tools reach more than 36 million unique viewers each month for 30,000+ streamers including Snoop Dogg, Monstercat, and Dude Perfect. OpTic believes it's "one of the most powerful tools a creator can use to engage with their audience," said OpTic CEO Adam Rymer, who joined the startup's board last year.
Botisimo's tools reach more than 36 million unique viewers each month for 30,000+ streamers including Snoop Dogg, Monstercat, and Dude Perfect. OpTic believes it's "one of the most powerful tools a creator can use to engage with their audience," said OpTic CEO Adam Rymer, who joined the startup's board last year.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jul 12, 2022
Bitewell—which has already served about 5,000 subscribers in a months-long pilot—is officially launching its personalized meal planning app in the Dallas area. The platform helps users make healthy eating decisions when eating out or dining in. After launching in Dallas with backing from several seed funders, it plans to expand to cities like Chicago in the future.
“Our mission as a business is to make healthy eating simple and accessible for all,” says Bitewell co-founder and CMO Samantha Citro Alexander.
MORE►
Meritize CEO Chris Keaveney [Photo: Meritize]
Frisco Student Loan Startup Meritize Gets New Funding, Aims to Change the Way Access is Provided
by Kevin Cummings | Jun 30, 2022
Meritize CEO Chris Keaveney, in a previous stint as a student loan credit officer, saw that "educational finance was really not student lending—it was family lending. And the loans were really made to prime and super-prime co-signers."
Meritize provides an alternative to the traditional way of securing an educational loan, he says. The platform looks at a person's "potential to succeed," providing options that can help get workers trained and placed in a variety of industries.
Meritize provides an alternative to the traditional way of securing an educational loan, he says. The platform looks at a person's "potential to succeed," providing options that can help get workers trained and placed in a variety of industries.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jun 22, 2022
AlgoPear, a subscription-based algorithmic stock trading platform, has onboarded more than 4,000 users and grown its monthly recurring revenue with a team of 15, according to co-founder and CEO Ronnie Green.
Green says the startup is seeing the "hypergrowth that any founder or any investor would love to see right now."
Green says the startup is seeing the "hypergrowth that any founder or any investor would love to see right now."
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jun 21, 2022
Go-To-Green's patented audio-visual system can detect both the sound of a fired gunshot and the pressure change made by a bullet in the air. The system lights up to direct people to the safest exit—and tracks the source of shots.
In North Texas, the system is currently being installed in Anna's city hall, and talks are underway with three school systems and a grocery chain, the startup's CEO told us.
In North Texas, the system is currently being installed in Anna's city hall, and talks are underway with three school systems and a grocery chain, the startup's CEO told us.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
Jun 14, 2022
With a grant from the McKinney EDC added to its $2.9 million 2021 seed funding round, Aiden Technologies is moving to Serendipity Labs in McKinney's Craig Ranch Development. The startup has been on a tear since it launched its tech a little over a year ago. With offices in New York and California and $1 million in annual recurring revenue, it plans to grow its team and expand its market.
MORE►
Illustration: LuckyStep48/iStock
Plano Information Security Startup Raises New Funds Amid Growing Global Threats
by Kevin Cummings | Jun 1, 2022
In about 24 months, Plano-based Tentacle has grown from an "idea sketched out on a PowerPoint deck to a valuable enterprise application that's able to solve real problems," says founder and CEO Matt Combs.
Now a new investment by Providence Strategic Growth will help the cybersecurity startup expand both its functionality and market position, after a 105% surge in ransomware attacks and a 350% increase in social engineering attacks in 2021.
Now a new investment by Providence Strategic Growth will help the cybersecurity startup expand both its functionality and market position, after a 105% surge in ransomware attacks and a 350% increase in social engineering attacks in 2021.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
May 31, 2022
Many who are diagnosed with a mental health condition had no idea the symptoms they suffered were related to mental health. McKinney-based Connected Mind aims to change that with technology that screens people for the most common types of mental health conditions.
“It's like being interviewed by a psychologist, but it's a computer,” says CEO and CTO Christian Lehinger.
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
May 12, 2022
AyuVis, an immunotherapy startup, is set to get a $1.8 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The funding will support the pre-clinical research of its drug candidate to treat the second-leading cause of death in premature babies.
Founder Suchismita Acharya calls the timing "perfect."
Founder Suchismita Acharya calls the timing "perfect."
MORE►
by Kevin Cummings |
May 11, 2022
Dallas-based software startup HireLogic aims to improve the job interview process with its AI- and machine learning-powered platform, designed to help automate the screening process. Its CEO says he wants to help companies "gain insights from interview data to make faster, better hiring decisions."
MORE►
