Heading to Techstars Boston for Demo Day

SparkCharge team in their laboratory
SparkCharge team

The Blackstone LaunchPad team at SU is headed to Techstars Demo Day in Boston this week as SparkCharge takes the stage in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,000 for its official product launch announcement. The company opened pre-orders this week for its ultrafast, portable charging device that will end range anxiety for electric vehicles.

Pre-orders are at: https://www.sparkcharge.io/

Techstars Boston managing director Clement Cazalot, says, “This is an exciting time for Techstars in Boston and it is a pleasure to see such innovation being fostered here.”  The April 26 exclusive showcase will put ten companies that completed the highly competitive Boston Techstars program in front of investors and industry leaders. The event follows a four-month accelerator residence that features intense meetings with key mentors from respective industries, and how to “embark on their vision, or continue pioneering in their industry.”

SparkCharge officially launched out of Syracuse University at the beginning of 2018 when it was accepted into the prestigious and highly competitive Techstars program.  Alumnus Josh Aviv G’17, who worked closely with the Blackstone LaunchPad and other campus ecosystem partners, will base his finance and sales operations in Boston, following his completion this week of the Techstars program.  The company’s R&D and engineering team will remain based at the Syracuse Center of Excellence.  The engineering team is now overseeing testing and the first manufacturing run, and preparing to scale.  It is expected that the number of electric vehicles on American highways will grow from 800,000 in 2018 to 3 million in 2020, as so many car manufacturers are announcing plans to build EVs.

Josh Aviv and his team join a cohort of 147 companies that have been through Techstars Boston over 12 years. “Boston is proud to have helped bring PillPack, Localytics, Placester and Synack to market – just to name a few,” says Cazalot.

“We are also proud to have an incredible mentor network, stretching from alumni, to some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Boston. The help of this Techstars community makes the experience what it is today.”

Read more about SparkCharge here: https://news.syr.edu/2018/03/sparkcharge-raises-capital-and-joins-techstars/

Here is a look at some of the companies in the Boston Techstars galaxy:

Brio Brio Systems puts preventative health within reach of consumers. Using a monthly health check service in the form of a painless blood test, anonymized datasets provide corporations with insight on their population health and effective ways to optimize their healthcare expenditures.
Chameleon Banks in the U.S. spend $7.5B per year managing their existing commercial loans, which they could be spending on generating new loans. Managing this backlog of data is a time-consuming, manual process. Chameleon enables commercial lenders to generate more loans by unlocking the $7.5B tied up on data entry.
Fazta In today’s digital era, contractors have no good way to deliver an experience that meets consumers expectations. With Fazta, Contractors get a mobile app that instantly digitizes their business with a website, online billing, and a business phone number.  The online operation that builds loyal customer relationships.
Meenta Meenta eliminates researchers purchasing problems when mapping their experimental design to instruments. Consequently, when it’s easier to buy, scientists buy more often, instruments run more often and the cost to own and operating instruments decrease. We eliminate 80% of the project consultation costs normally associated with educating new users.
Noria Noria’s launch product is a 5,000 BTU connected window air conditioner that’s just 7” tall and twice as quiet as existing units. It installs securely and safely in minutes and is easy to move and store. It works with Alexa, Nest, and Google Home or via iOS or Android app.
Openly Insurance carriers  offer products that innovate based on the coverage terms and the experience of quoting and buying insurance–for example, enabling a sellable quote in under 60 seconds. Openly leverages advanced statistical models at every decision point to reduce expenses, and to offer the best rates to win high value consumers.
Securicy Cyber security is a complex and evolving discipline. Cyber attacks and data breaches threaten the bottom line. Security is a complete solution that’s tailored to small to medium-sized organizations, and that enables the user to efficiently build, implement, maintain and enforce a compliant cyber security program in their organization.
Sophia Sophia, a marketplace for therapy. Patients fill out a simple form about their needs, then Sophia provides top predicted matches from its therapist network, making it easy to set up the first appointment, and follow up to ensure a good fit. Over time, the plan is to expand into additional services  to improve therapeutic outcomes.
SparkCharge SparkCharge makes Portable Modular Ultra Fast Charging Stations for electric vehicles that go in your trunk. For the first time EV owners will be able to charge their car anytime and anywhere they want. SparkCharge rapid chargers can charge electric vehicles at 1 mile every 60 seconds, which makes charging fast and convenient.

3D Printing   decorative graphic

“The Techstars accelerator program builds on the solid startup foundation we received through Syracuse University’s amazing innovation ecosystem,” says Aviv. “Having a well-connected and collaborative support network at SU helped us move from idea to venture, and positioned us to now scale to the next stage. We intend to stay engaged with SU as we grow.”

Aviv’s connection to Techstars was catalyzed by his participation in the Blackstone/Techstars global venture pitch competition where he won grand prize last fall. The competition came at the conclusion of a two-day Blackstone LaunchPad/Techstars Training Camp, an innovative new program for collegiate entrepreneurs by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. The program leverages the resources and intellectual capital of Blackstone, empowering entrepreneurs, generating job growth and supporting local communities.

Clement Cazalot is the managing director of the Techstars Boston Accelerator and “discovered” SparkCharge at the LaunchPad /Techstars Training Camp.  Previously, Cazalot was the co-founder and CEO of docTrackr, an alumni company from the Techstars Boston Accelerator that was among its first exits. Engineer, Designer, Hacker, Angel, Restaurant partner, Triathlete. He calls himself  “a hyperactive founder who invests and helps tech startups by passion.”

#domorefaster with the support of the Techstars ecosystem. Stay tuned for updates.  What’s it like to be at a Techstars Demo Day?  Read this Fortune article to get a taste:  http://fortune.com/2015/04/17/techstars-nyc-demo-day/