First Sputnik ATX Cohort to Graduate: Inaugural Class of Startups to Present to Investors on Demo Day Tomorrow

The Texas capital, Austin, has been a city of technology and innovation for well over a decade with technology companies like Dell whose headquarters are located there. Coined as “Silicon Hills,” Austin has been named the 8th America’s Fastest-Growing Cities 2018 and 2nd The Best Cities for Young Professionals in 2017 by Forbes. Since 2011 the city has hosted Austin Startup Week which is five days of events celebrating Austin startups, the organizations and meetups for networking. During the annual event organizations and startups open their doors and host events for both locals and visitors who are interested in learning more about the startup scene in Austin. It is clear that Austin, currently, is ideal for startups, innovators and entrepreneurs.  

Currently, startups mostly lean towards incubators or accelerator programs to get their business off the ground and funded. One of the newest accelerators in Austin is Sputnik ATX that combines capital with training and experience to prepare businesses for future rounds of funding. Their formula consists of a community of Nerds + Investment + Training + Mentoring to equal success. Today, Sputnik ATX announced that its inaugural class is graduating from its launch program. The graduating class will participate in a Demo Day tomorrow, Thursday, April 12, where each founder will present to a panel of investors.

The four founders presenting on Sputnik ATX Demo Day include:

  • Kelly Ernst, CEO of Redenim – a personal styling, AI, and data analytics platform for women that sends jeans to customers’ homes, matching their personal style and size, and spares them the time wasted in dressing rooms. Customers decide which pairs they would like to buy and which to send back.
  • Tom Bachar, CEO of Pei – Pei helps its users get savings from their everyday purchases, even from local businesses in their communities. The platform links to any debit or credit card to provide automatic cash back in Bitcoin or USD. Pei currently has an early access list of over 120,000 users and works with 5,000 partner brands like Sam’s Club, Forever 21, Denny’s, and even the local shops around the corner.
  • Sonya Petcavich, CEO of Meowtel – a tech company that has created a platform to connect cat owners to verified cat sitters nearby. While many apps exist for dog sitting, there is an unmet need for the cat community – Meowtel meets that need.
  • Jonathan Gill, CEO of Backtracks – a podcast analytics and hosting Saas platform that provides podcast publishers and advertisers with actionable data and insights, allowing them to adjust and target content for their audiences. What Google does for text, Backtracks does for audio. Backtracks is in the business of making ‘spoken knowledge’ discoverable, measurable and ‘monetizable’.

Each founder will give a 15-minute presentation, followed by 15 minutes for questions.

During Demo Day, Sputnik ATX, will open the application for its summer cohort tomorrow. It is very important to point out that ALL entrepreneurs are eligible to apply so long as they have a minimum viable product, at least one paying customer and agree to move their business within a 300-mile radius of Austin once accepted, if not already located there. If you are a startup or entrepreneur I strongly suggest to apply or if you are located near or in Austin try to attend Sputnik ATX Demo Day! It will take place on April 12, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in downtown Austin, TX. For more information, visit https://www.sputnikatx.com/events-startup-accelerator/sputnikdemoday.

Congratulations to the Sputnik ATX Graduates and good luck to all that apply!

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Source: Forbes, Sputnik ATX, Austin Startup Week, Wikipedia