The Founder Institute startup accelerator opened in Seattle in 2009, and since then, it has helped launch nearly 40 new technology companies. While all of our grads are exceptional, there are a few who stand out. The graduates profiled below have all achieved significant milestones, building meaningful and enduring technology companies aimed at improving the lives of people all over the world.
Without further adieu, we present to you the most promising Seattle startups of 2013;
PetHub helps lost pets get home faster. Founded by Tom Arnold, PetHub's unique software service works with ID tags and collars, linking the lost animal to their profile on PetHub.com. The startup has raised a total of $3m in funding, has been featured on TechCrunch, GeekWire, and many others, and is the recipient of numerous “Best Product” awards.
Puzzazz is the best way to buy and solve puzzles in the digital world. Founded by Roy Leban, this fun Seattle startup creates electronic puzzle books, including variations of Sudoku, that can be solved on Kindle and iOS. In 2012 Puzzazz released TouchWrite - an award-winning handwriting technology for solving puzzles, and in 2013 they were awarded GeekWire’s Innovation of the Year award.
Writer.ly is an online marketplace for connecting writers with the experts they need to successfully publish and market their books. Founded in 2012 by Kelsye Nelson and Abigail Carter, Writer.ly has been called the “elance for publishing” and has been featured on numerous tech blogs, and in 2012, they were finalists in the 12th Founder Showcase.
ReadyPulse is a brand advocacy platform that helps marketers leverage their social advocacy to drive revenue. Founded by former Microsoft employees, Srinivas Penumaka, T Vinod Gupta and Mihir Vaidya, ReadyPulse began to take off when they received seed-funding led by Moxie Software in 2012. They have been featured on Geekwire, and currently operate out of offices in Seattle and Silicon Valley.
OnContracting helps professionals find contract jobs at Fortune 500 companies through top staffing agencies. Prior to joining FI, founder, Pradeep Chauhan was the winner of Geekwire’s One Sentence Pitch Competition, in which he was awarded a full scholarship to the Seattle chapter. OnContracting was also a finalist at the 12th Founder Showcase. Their goal is to become the ‘Zillow for temp staffing'.
The Seattle Founder Institute is currently accepting applications for the Autumn 2013 Semester. If you could benefit from expert training and feedback to launch a company in Seattle, click here to learn more and begin your application today. Final applications are due Sunday (Jul 28, 2024).
