In the midst of calls to break up Facebook, struggling IPOs, and some fan drama over the Game of Thrones finale — no spoilers we promise — some people are working away at smaller, very specific issues. There are many thrones to conquer, but focusing on particular problems goes a long way when it comes to entrepreneurship.
We’ve got Stanford alumnae building a platform that provides companionship to aging loved ones. Former execs of GBH Communications gathered video conferencing data to prevent those dreaded video call disconnects. And last but not least, an ex-Googler helping policyholders manage their auto insurance.
Get ready for a roundup of startups that know exactly what they’re doing, and whom they’re helping!
Marketplaces for shared rides, rental spaces, e-commerce, and food delivery are becoming more and more abundant. There are, however, other overlooked pressing issues that affect different communities. With 50 million Americans over the age of 65, senior citizens are affected by problems like social isolation, which is what Mon Ami is aiding for one home at a time.
French for ‘my friend’, Mon Ami is aptly named. The San Francisco-based online platform brewed at Stanford connects elderly family caregivers with ‘Activity Companions’ who provide IT help, transportation, and visits to play games that aid in dementia healing. From socialization to brain stimulation to emotional support, the benefits are many. Check out Mon Ami’s Companion Diaries for some heartwarming stories.
Founding Team
It all started with these two Stanford-ettes. One with a track record in product and digital media, the other with experience in hospice care and health. Madeline Dangerfield-Cha and Joy Zhang met in Stanford School of Business for their MBA in 2016.
Madeline graduated from Columbia as a creative writer to become a digital media and analytics whiz. She worked at Essence for five years, acquiring digital media positions to eventually become their Director of Analytics. She is passionate about using technology for effecting change and believes in “the magic at the intersection of generations” that sprouted Mon Ami. She also believes in the power of gaming and plays designed to support elderly wellbeing, particularly for improving brain activity and social interaction for those suffering from dementia.
Joy Zhang is no newbie to elderly care. She has almost a decade of experience in welfare and aging. She was a World Health Organization consultant for healthy aging innovation. She was also an Associate at Skoll Foundation, which invests in social entrepreneurs driving large-scale impact. An advocate for the aging population, Joy notes how vulnerable they are especially in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. “Social isolation is a major risk factor for older adults, and social connections are the most important asset, especially during a crisis,” she wrote.
Madeline and Joy were recently joined by CTO Steve Fram to lead the tech arm. Before Mon Ami, Steve was CTO of Caring.com, a marketplace that helps caregivers of aging loved ones find the services they need. He was VP of Engineering at BabyCenter of Johnson & Johnson. He was also Technical Director of UNDP’s Rio Earth Summit, the biggest environmental conference ever held which gave the world its climate change framework and sustainable development blueprint. He holds a BS in Mathematics and Zoology from the University of Michigan, where his undergrad research focused on “the morphology of the basal ganglia” and “identifying mathematical errors in brain/bodyweight allometry.”
This San Francisco-based tech startup is a little stealthy and has only been brewing for five months. It’s neither the seed-to-sale Cannabis software Trellis nor the board game of vines, blooms, and flowers! Word on the street is that this Trellis is providing property and casualty insurance services. With more than 80 companies on Crunchbase using Trellis as part of their name, we dug into the meaning of the word: A metal or wooden framework made to support vines and fruit trees. Why Trellis though? Our AI wizards are still trying to figure that one out.
Founding Team
CEO Daniel Demetri is a serial entrepreneur with a blend of expertise in computer science and financial services skills, which he learned at Harvard and honed at Google, Earnest Inc., Angelo, Gordon & Co, and KAYAK.
He previously co-founded States Title, a real estate insurance settlement startup which raised $10.2 million in seed funding and acquired North American Title Company early this year. As ex-Product Lead at Earnest Inc., Daniel was on a mission to democratize high-quality financial services where he created “the best-in-class student loan refinancing product.”
Daniel proposes insightful ways to overcome decision-making hardships and deal with the mind’s working memory limitations. “Confronted with 24 pieces of data, we physically have no choice but to narrow our focus,” he writes recommending compressing complexity with cognitive reasoning, discarding less critical considerations and using gut feeling for difficult trade-offs. Daniel provides a super fact-based opinion piece but you’ve got to be careful with the gut feeling one as some neuroscientists are arguing against Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink!
VisibilityOne is a patented video conferencing monitoring solution that provides real-time performance and health data across multiple platforms, including Zoom, Cisco, and Poly. The California-based startup simply aims to make video collaboration management easier, minimize video call disconnection, and reduce IT troubleshooting time by 90% through its data collector.
The startup was awarded the prestigious “Excellence in Product Innovation”from the National Systems Contractors Association. “These companies may not be unicorns, but they’re some of the workhorses behind countless organizations of all sizes,” says entrepreneur Rebekah Ilif in her Inc. piece, which featured VisibilityOne.
Founding Team
This powerful team of industry veterans is armed with decades of experience and a career track at leading firms. Jose De La Paz, CEO, holds three patents for his work in the communication and video conferencing space which spans over 20 years. Jose led GBH Communications as CTO and COO until its acquisition by SKC Communications in 2018.
“I will continue to invent, create, and dream of ways to push the boundaries of technology,” he told Forbes. When he is not on tech duties, Jose plays video games with his five sons, and travels the world with his family. He enjoys a good old cup of coco with Mexican abuelita, paired with butter-toasted bolillo. Are you drooling too?! He also sparks his creativity with a blank canvas and some spray paint.
An art enthusiast, Jose admires the stories portrayed in the work of Banksy, the UK’s mystery street artist!
Chief Risk Officer, Von Bedikian, founded his first company, GBH Communications, at the age of 26 and reigned as President for 33 years. What kicked off as a one-man reseller, grew to become an industry leader, globally recognized value-added reseller for Fortune 100 clients, including Plantronics, Polycom and GN Netcom. He also served as President of Direct Access Systems, a leading supplier of conferencing solutions focused on reseller markets. He holds a BA in Business Administration and Marketing from San Jose State University. When he is not building long-standing successful tech firms, Von loves to unleash his creative juices in oil painting.
A tech architect, with two-decade expertise in data and cloud architecture, CTO Frankie Alvarado was also former GBH Communications, where he headed the company’s market strategies of emerging technologies. Frankie was BT Lead Technology Engineer in London, where he played a key role in making the 2012 Olympics the most connected.
Frankie describes “communication” as the biggest and easiest problem to solve. “The simplest way to get the ball rolling into optimizing your technology and your user rates is to communicate. [Everything] starts from that — which is kind of what video conferencing is all about, when you think about it,” he wrote.
When he is not too busy building scalable technologies, you’ll find Frankiecleaning local beaches or holding competitive video game tournaments with his children.
As you can tell, startups that are focused on specific technical or human needs are the ones that make it past the eighth season — we mean, past ideation. Our stargazing powers tell us that these founders will conquer all the thrones in their way.
Mobile apps are detecting skin cancer. Drones are delivering aid across continents. Artificial intelligence is disrupting every aspect of our lives. The venture capital world is no exception.
VCs are heading in the same direction, where AI augments human intelligence. Lately, VCs have been following more or less the same pattern. They are waiting longer to see some startup traction. But this entails seeing a significant increase in the valuation of the startup. Even worse, they could end up excluded from the next funding round. AI can change these dynamics. It can help investors find promising startups in earlier rounds, pre-traction if necessary.
This will open the door to SV. It will provide opportunities for investors and family offices from the Middle East. It will decentralize venture capital with new investors from all over the world. They may not have local expertise. But they come armed with data-driven investment decisions. The SV early-stage startup investment space may no longer be in the hands of a few.
Catching the AI wave
The VC world is changing fast. Many are exploring the rising popularity of data-driven investing. They are building their investment portfolios the Moneyball way.
A KPMG report puts total investments in Q1 this year at USD 49 billion across 2,661 global deals. The report noted that AI and Machine Learning are the center of VC attention. More companies are integrating such enabling technologies into their solutions. And more investors are becoming aware of their disruptive potential.
Data-driven VC Funds are on the rise. Key players include Correlation Ventures, SignalFire, and Google Ventures. More and more platforms are positioning themselves as trusted data providers. The go-to place for information on early-stage startups. Famous among those are CB Insights, Crunchbase, and Pitchbook.
Changing the traditional model
More VCs are using AI in their deal sourcing and selection to catch the next Airbnb or Facebook. It’s not a coincidence that SV is getting more data-hungry. Several companies are working with investors on honing data-driven decision-making. This includes Aingel, an AI startup I co-founded in 2016 with my Master of Science colleagues at NYU. It’s where we envisioned an algorithm that predicts the success of brand-new startups.
VCs are taking a more data-driven approach toward investment decisions in Silicon Valley. This is where Aingel comes in. We help investors find those diamonds in the rough. Our team of data scientists is currently using a patent-pending algorithm. They score startups and match them with ideal VCs most likely to invest in their stage and space. This will help VCs focus on the next disruptive startups. It will attract more investors to Silicon Valley. More money is poured into fewer startups, especially in the early stages.
Stepping Stone to SV
The data-driven investment models are an opportunity for new investors. They can enter, compete and succeed in Silicon Valley – a field dominated by few, big local players. Quality deal flow is important for both local and international investors. The more we use data, the better we are at finding and investing in great startups. This is before they even show traction and get popular among other investors. Our algorithms show that we can reduce portfolio risk and improve returns by 2.5x.
Data-driven investing has the potential to open up Silicon Valley to the world. This will bring in a new funding channel that can fill the fundraising void for early-stage startups. Several investors from the Middle East would love to hop on. They would not hesitate to invest in the next game-changing startups in Silicon Valley. All they need is deal flow, data, and access.
Beyond investing
Besides opening up investment opportunities here, AI is creating jobs back home. There is ongoing rhetoric about the impact of AI on unemployment. But AI can also provide global employment and cultivate future talent.
Let’s take Egypt as an example. Current data show a growing population approaching 100 million with a median age of 24. National statistics for employment in Egypt tell an interesting story. During such economic hardship, unemployment dropped 11.8% in 2017, down from 12.5% the previous year.
The country’s young tech talent can make use of remote work opportunities. They can contribute to disruptive technologies anywhere in the world. This will also reflect on their expertise and skills as they work on the latest in the tech field.
At Aingel, we are hiring around 42 data researchers based in Cairo. We tried Amazon Mechanical Turk for aggregating data. But we discovered a need for more nuanced data. Most of my remote team works on aggregating startup founders’ data. We use this data in our work at Silicon Valley with top international and US investors.
The VC world is investing in potential future disruptive startups. Our talent is setting the gears in motion and getting the job done. We hope data-driven investing will encourage VCs from the region to make it in Silicon Valley.
Amr Shady
Amr is the Co-founder and CEO of Aingel Corp., a spin-off from his research on predicting startup success at New York University. Aingel works with top Silicon Valley and international VCs to scale their deal flow sourcing and selection process. Its algorithms also help promising startups fundraise faster by identifying best-matching VCs. Aingel’s investors include Silicon Valley Bank, 500 Startups, Endure Capital, BECO Capital and OTG Ventures. Amr has over 18 years of experience in building and scaling companies. He founded TA Telecom at 22 and bootstrapped it with $50,000 to millions in revenue. He earned several international awards, including Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 EMEA. The Financial Times also dubbed his first startup a “local hero.” Amr is a board member of Endeavor and TechWadi, two non-profits promoting entrepreneurship. He earned his MSc in Business Analytics from NYU. He graduated from Dalhousie University with a BSc in Electrical Engineering.
Which startups raising funds through ICOs are most likely to succeed? Using Aingel’s AI based Deal Flow Analyzer, we generate an Inception Score™ that helps investors identify the next game-changing companies in the blockchain space.
Here are the top 12 blockchain startups our algorithm picked out of 69 ICOs launching this month:
1. GiftCoin
Inception Score™: 99%
ICO Date: 1 Feb – 1 March 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 5
Headquarters: UK
What is it about?
GiftCoin is a cryptocurrency for charitable causes. It promises donors delivery of funds to the exact causes they have chosen while offering charities more transparency, funds and greater impact.
Who’s behind it?
Alex Howard is charity founder and visionary. He founded The Optimum Health Clinic in 2004, a UK charity with patients in 40 countries. He also founded Conscious Life, a self-development online platform. He holds a BSc in Psychology from Swansea University.
Tim Bichara is co-founder and technology consultant. An entrepreneur and CPO, he co-founded Q App, a FinTech startup that was acquired by Yoyo wallet in 2016. He was recognized in 2015 by Times as one of the top 10 disrupters to watch. He earned his BA from the University of London.
Jonathan Beddoes is co-founder and advisor. He is an entrepreneur and investor who started his career at 15 by launching a web hosting company. He founded Monetisation, a software platform; Techtopia, a tech incubator; and Safer Technologies, a security software company acquired by Avast Software. He studied Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Vlerick Business School. He also holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Manchester.
Ben Evans is co-founder and CTO. He is a technologist and blockchain enthusiast with previous work experience at Morgan Stanley, where he oversaw the 2004 Google IPO. He was also lead architect at Deutsche Bank prior to co-founding JClarity. He wrote a number of books on Java Development. He holds an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University.
Christopher Cain is co-founder, IT consultant and entrepreneur. He specializes in designing and implementing decentralized P2P networks, as well as consulting on blockchain platforms in the cryptocurrency space. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Lamar University.
RightMesh is creating an ecosystem that aspires to make the world more connected by empowering next generation digital entrepreneurs. It provides a software solution that can be integrated into all applications without the need of additional infrastructure or hardware, bringing connectivity to populations who don’t have internet access.
Who’s behind it?
Chris Jensen is co-founder and COO, with a banking, corporate development and operations background and experience at several startups. He holds a BSc in Economics and History from Queen Mary University of London.
John Lyotier is co-founder and CEO. He has more than two decades of experience in marketing during which he launched, designed, and jump-started companies and new products. He holds a BA in English and Art History from the University of British Columbia.
Rakib Islam is co-founder and CTO. He is an expert is software architecture development. He is also a member of the Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services. He holds an MSc in Computer Science and Applications from Pune University, India.
3. Hearthy
Inception Score™: 90%
ICO Date: 5 – 25 Feb 2018
Founded: 2015
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Spain
What is it about?
Hearthy aspires to create a decentralized, patient-centered ecosystem that provides access to improved and affordable healthcare for people regardless of income. Hearthy’s solution focuses on cutting out middlemen to decrease the costs incurred during the access-to-health process, reduce waiting time, and provide quicker access to reliable personal health records through its open source platform.
Who’s behind it?
Javier Blanco is CEO and co-founder. In his 11 years of experience in building digital products, he founded Glue Digital, which serves around 25 million users, and worked with Fortune 500s such as Carrefour, KFC and AXA. He holds a degree in audiovisual communication from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and a Master’s degree in video digital direction from Trazos.
Juan Sebastián Valencia is experienced in the area of medical care innovation, with a focus on helping doctors spend less time analyzing big amounts of data and more time on therapy with patients. He is a project manager in AI for MédecinDirect, and chief medical informatics officer at Carians. He holds an MD from the Université Paris Descartes, where he also studied Emergency Medicine.
Shafi Ahmed is co-founder of Hearthy and Medical Chief Officer at Medical Realities. He is a member of several esteemed medical associations. He is a medical advisor to Beani Bazar Cancer Hospital Project in Bangladesh. He holds a PhD from Queen Mary University of London with a specialization in colorectal cancer, and a BSc in Medicine from King’s College London.
4. Acomobase
Inception Score™: 89%
ICO Date: 1 – 28 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 5
Headquarters: Cyprus
What is it about?
Acomobase is a blockchain-based and AI-powered decentralized marketplace that offers accommodation using smart contract tokens to connect users with hosts. Its new token, ACO, can be exchanged on the platform between hosts and users, offering a direct P2P international payment that eliminates the middleman.
Who’s behind it?
Alexandros Malioukis is community manager and psychologist. He is a Greece-based therapist with work experience at mental health institutions and a clinical background in a variety of mental disorders. He holds a BSc in Psychology from Ethnikon kai Kapodistriakon Panepistimion Athinon.
Alketas Malioukis is CEO and co-founder. He is experienced in web analytics, business development, social media and content strategy. He holds an MSc in Marketing and Communications with New Technologies from The Athens University of Economics and Business, and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Iulia Lazea is co-founder and business development head. She is experienced in international management consulting with a focus on financial, Oil & Gas, transportation and pharmaceutical industries. She holds a Master’s degree from Universität zu Köln with a specialization in corporate development, organization, HR and asset management. She also holds a BBA from the Academia de Studii Economice din București.
Jiří Svoboda is finance officer and co-founder. He is head of reporting at Kiwi.com, and he perviously held several positions at EY. He studied Accounting and Financial Management at Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze.
Zenos Pavlakou is co-founder, smart contract developer and blockchain consultant. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Sussex.
5. Narrative
Inception Score™: 89%
Total Funding: USD $12,225,000
ICO Date: 15 Feb – 22 March 2018; pre-sale from 7 – 14 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Gibraltar
What is it about?
Narrative is a blockchain-powered content platform and social media network that gives users autonomy and distributes 85 percent of all revenues to active participants who demonstrate positive impact on the quality of content. Narrative uses both cryptocurrency and fiat to reward user-generated content.
Who’s behind it?
Ted O’Neill is co-founder, with more than two decades of experience in creating user-generated content platforms. He is also the founder and CEO of Social Strata, where he has been developing community platforms since the late nineties. He is a viral marketing, UI design and development pioneer. He also created BBCode. He studied at William & Mary University.
Rosemary O’Neill is co-founder of Social Strata, with more than two decades of experience as a writer, speaker and entrepreneur who specializes in online community building, digital marketing and corporate communications. She holds a BA in Political Science from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Brian Lenz is co-founder and CTO. He is a software engineer and architect with more than 17 years of experience in SaaS, covering software development, security, infrastructure and systems. He is also the VP and CTO of Social Strata. He holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from the University of Washington.
Michael Farris is co-founder, with a track record in the information technology and services industry. He founded Geofy Inc., and he previously held the position of director of learning technologies at Red River College. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Toronto, and a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Toronto – University of Trinity College.
PolySwarm is a decentralized marketplace that rewards global security experts for identifying malware and building anti-malware engines in a timely manner. It encourages competition between security experts and incentivizes rapid innovation in the cyber threat intelligence space.
Who’s behind it?
Steve Bassi is CEO, developer and co-founder. He founded Narf Industries, an R&D firm that specializes in information security. He has over two decades of experience in information security development. He held key roles in a number of government and industry projects, which included R&D in blockchain-based identity management. He holds an MSc in Computer Science with a specialization in Information Security from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a BSc in Computer Engineering from Santa Clara University.
Paul Makowski is CTO, developer and co-founder, with more than a decade of experience in program analysis, modern software exploitation and cryptography. He reverse engineered malware disinfection tools at Narf for Fortune 100 companies. Prior to that, he led information security research and development at CERT/CC and McAfee. He holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from Santa Clara University, and an MSc in Information Technology and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Ben Schmidt is director of product security, developer and co-founder, with more than 10 years of experience in information security. He led automated program analysis research, secure software development and cryptography, among others. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science from the University of Tulsa.
Nick Davis is COO, developer and co-founder. He has a track record in leading digital forensics, malware reverse engineering and threat analysis. He also co-founded Narf. He holds MSc and BSc degrees in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School, and the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities, respectively.
Maxwell Koo is co-founder and senior backend developer with nine years of experience in secure software engineering, digital forensics and vulnerability analysis. He holds a double BSc degree in Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
7. Havven
Inception Score™: 87%
Total Funding: USD $250,000
ICO Date: 28 Feb – 6 March 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Australia
What is it about?
Havven is a decentralized blockchain based payment network that aspires to solve the volatility issue of cryptocurrencies by allowing holders of its tokens to issue a secondary US dollar-denominated token. By connecting collateral holders with users who need low volatility, Havven enables a stability market that is driven by incentives; collaterals are compensated when users transact in stablecoin.
Who’s behind it?
Kain Warwick is founder of Havven and CEO of Blueshyft, one of Australia’s biggest cryptocurrency payment platforms with a transaction volume worth tens of millions. He previously founded Ai and Pouncer. He has a BSc in Genetics from The University of New South Wales, Australia.
Medicalchain is developing a blockchain-based electronic health records platform, allowing users to give health professionals access to their personal data. Medicalchain will also be used for building applications and services that enhance the user experience.
Who’s behind it?
Abdullah Albeyatti is co-founder and CEO. He also co-founded Discharge Summary, an application that hospitals use to generate accurate patient medical reports, which is the first seed of Medicalchain. He studied medicine at Imperial College London. He previously developed solutions to help NHS overcome some inefficiencies.
Mohammed Tayeb is co-founder and COO, with entrepreneurial and investment experience in the technology sector. He worked with Morethan.com as head of development. He is also a partner at Hearn Capital. He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford, and a BSc in e-Commerce from Brunel University.
FarmaTrust is an Ethereum blockchain-based security tracking system for patients and pharmaceuticals that ensures counterfeit drugs are blocked from the supply chain.
Who’s behind it?
Raja Sharif is founder and CEO, with a career track in managing several international technology and media projects. He managed strategy implementation at Al Jazeera Media Network and AJ+. He was also senior legal council at British Telecom. He holds an LLM in International Trade, Finance and Banking from the University of Nottingham, and an LLB from The University of Hull.
10. TheKey
Inception Score™: 83%
ICO Date: 1 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Singapore
What is it about?
TheKey is an identity verification tool powered by big data, AI and blockchain technology. TheKey aims at delivering an online identity verification tool that is cost-efficient and suitable for all legal relations (e.g., copyright and data exchange).
Who’s behind it?
Catherine Li is CEO and founder, with a diverse experience in several areas including medical informatics and big data. She founded the Dynamic Multi-dimension Identification technology, and she was named among the Most Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs in China in 2017. She holds an MSc in Computer Science from McGill University.
11. ExsulCoin
Inception Score™: 82%
ICO Date: 12 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: US
What is it about?
ExsulCoin is building a blockchain-based crowdfunding platform to support refugee-led projects. The ExsulCoin cryptocurrency allows holders to recommend, vote for, and fund ideas. Platform users also earn ExsulCoin after finishing required tasks such as delivering medical supplies, which contributes to the development of a refugee-empowering ecosystem that is financially inclusive.
Who’s behind it?
James Song is founder and CEO of ExsulCoin and Exsul, an AI-driven educational app for refugees which is being tested at a Rohingya Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. He is a senior advisor for Faircap Partners equity firm. He pioneered using self-hypnosis in the treatment of HIV patients in Uganda during his Fulbright Scholarship. He holds an MSc in Neuroscience from the University College of London, and a BSc in Psychology from Harvard. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
12. SnagRide
Inception Score™: 80%
ICO Date: 7 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: US
What is it about?
SnagRide is a decentralized AI-based ride sharing app, which offers affordable programs for mid and long distance rides using the Ethereum blockchain. The platform connects drivers and passengers who are traveling between cities.
Who’s behind it?
Terry Chan is CEO and founder, with a decade of experience in the e-commerce industry. He is skilled in analytics, data mining, software quality assurance and automation. He holds a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego.
How do we score companies?
The Inception Score is based on a Monte Carlo wrapped machine learning algorithm developed at NYU where we analyzed more than 6,000 startup founders based on their educational background, work history, startup experience and personality (deduced using AI from their digital footprint analysis).
We input this data into our patent-pending algorithm, which then generates multiple seed-stage investment portfolios of startups predicted to be successful. The percentage represents the number of times each startup is selected in 1,000 iterations of portfolio generation. With backtesting, overall accuracy is 95% and true positive rate is 70%.
READERS OF THIS POST ARE NOT TO CONSTRUE THE CONTENTS HEREIN OR ANY PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUTHOR AS LEGAL, TAX, OR INVESTMENT ADVICE. EACH READER SHOULD CONSULT WITH AND RELY ON ITS OWN PERSONAL COUNSEL, ACCOUNTANT, OR OTHER ADVISORS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION DESCRIBED HEREIN AND ITS SUITABILITY FOR THE READER.
Which startups raising funds through ICOs are most likely to succeed? Using Aingel’s AI-based Deal Flow Analyzer, we generate an Inception Score™ that helps investors identify
Aingel logo
the next game-changing companies in the blockchain space.
Here are the top 17 blockchain startups our algorithm picked out of 58 ICOs launching this month:
1. Colu
Inception Score™: 99%
Amount Raised: USD $26,600,000
ICO Date: 18 Jan 2018—unknown
Founded: 2014
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: UK & Israel
What is it about?
Colu allows people to directly exchange digital cash locally in an attempt to encourage sustainable economic growth. By using local currencies, Colu encourages people to shop, eat, buy, and live local, strengthening the local economy as well as fostering social responsibility.
Who’s behind it?
Amos Meiri is co-founder and CEO. He held several positions at other companies, including head of dealing at eToro and foreign securities desk manager at Meitav Trade Securities. He studied Business Administration at the College of Management Israel.
Mark Smargon is a co-founder and VP blockchain. He previously founded Bitgo and Creatix, where he held the position of CEO for 13 years.
David Ring is co-founder and VP of R&D, with over 20 years of experience in software development and management. He co-founded eToro where he held the position of CTO. He also worked as a senior director at 888.com. He holds an MSc in Computer Science from IDC Israel, an MBA in Finance from Manchester and a BSc in Electronic Engineering from the Technion Israel.
What is it about? BitMinutes is a unit of exchange for mobile payments that turns prepaid airtime into cash. The new cryptocurrency allows international mobile operators, retailers and trusted agents to support the transfer of money to all mobile phone users across the globe free of charge. BitMinutes is designed to use prepaid cellphone minutes to finance micro-loans, which are considered by banks as too small and unprofitable. By supporting small financial transactions, BitMinutes offers micro-loans for 50% less than bank rates.
Who’s behind it?
Tom Meredith is CEO with a solid background in the internet, financial services, and telecom. He worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, Franklin Computers, and Lisp Machine. He also founded VoxLink and Internet Gaming. He graduated from Harvard Business School with a specialization in Entrepreneurial Studies and Stanford University School of Engineering.
Morris Mwanga is a CTO and FinTech entrepreneur with over 12 years of programming experience. He developed mobile wallet technology and financial exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science.
Donald Chapman is head of business development, with over 15 years of experience as FinTech services and payments professional. He helped establish PayNet for Fidelity National Information Services and worked as a corporate consultant with Prudential Financial, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Discovery Communications, and Ocean Spray Cranberries. He holds an MBA with a specialization in investment from Babson College.
Peter Carruthers is head of banking, compliance and foreign exchange. He has been providing innovative FX solutions as an advisor to Fortune 500 clients for the past 25 years. He is the former director of capital markets at Citibank, and he also worked with Credit Suisse, Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Scotland. He holds a BSc in Finance from Manhattan College and an MBA from Fordham University.
3. ATFS Lab
Inception Score™: 95%
ICO Date: 10 Jan—9 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 5
Headquarters: Cayman Islands
What is it about?
ATFS is an agricultural technology and food science company powered by Ethereum and Smart Contracts. The ATFS token finances the Smart Farm 2.0 and the production of plant-based meat. The company aspires to provide a solution to the world’s food crisis through agricultural technological advancements built on providing new revenue and supply systems as well as offering an alternative to meat consumption.
Who’s behind it?
Austin Chung is co-founder and CFO, with 16 years of experience in the financial sector, lifestyle goods manufacturing, marketing, and bio-venture companies. He is an expert at ICObench. He is the former CFO of Dmajor, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Statistics from Korea University.
David Kim is co-founder and CEO, with more than 10 years of experience in business strategy at Samsung Group. He also worked with VC firms in Korea, including HOSEO Venture Capital and Benex Investment. He held VP positions at BNCP Co., Candle Media, A2X Games, and Creants. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Korea University.
Jay Choi is co-founder and COO, with over two decades of experience in management consulting and finance. He held several corporate positions at Korea Investment Bank, Ernst & Young, IBM, and KPMG. He holds a BBA from Korea University.
Allen Sung is co-founder and CTO, with more than two decades of engineering corporate experience at Daewoo Electronics, RealNetworks, DSPG, and DesignIt. He graduated from Seoul National University.
Rachel Chung is co-founder and marketing lead, with top global brands experience in tech, leisure, fashion, and home furnishing. She previously worked with Group IDD, Dmajor, and Visually Unboxed. She graduated from the University of British Columbia.
4. Origami Network
Inception Score™: 94%
ICO Date: 12 Jan—15 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: France
What is it about?
Origami Network is a global solution that aspires to build decentralized P2P marketplaces powered by blockchain. Businesses create their online marketplace on the Origami Marketplace, which acts as a platform for buying and selling goods and services online. Origami’s payment system is powered by Ethereum, ORI, and ERC20.
Who’s behind it?
Julien Bruitte is co-founder and CEO. He also founded Comptoir Du Code, CommentSeRuiner.com and Cute. Land. He is a former Atos software engineer. He holds a BSc from the Institute of Technology, Carlow with a specialization in Software Development.
Vincent Pichon is co-founder and CTO with a background in e-commerce and marketplace. He is also the CTO of CuteLand, and he previously founded CommentSeRuiner. Prior to that, he was a software engineer at Worldline by Atos. He studied at the University of Lille 1 Sciences and Technology, and the Institute of Technology, Carlow.
Alexandre Duquenoy is co-founder and CMO. He also co-founded Cute.Land, Du Code and CommentSeRuiner. He holds an MSc in Engineering from the University of Lille 1 Sciences and Technology, and a BSc in Software Development from the Institute of Technology, Carlow.
5. UbiquiCoin
Inception Score™: 93%
ICO Date: 16 Jan—28 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Gibraltar
What is it about?
UbiquiCoin is a digital currency that is backed by a financial guarantee to overcome current cryptocurrency challenges, including high price volatility, transaction time latency and lack of support. UbiquiCoin addresses these problems by building a two-coin infrastructure. It provides one coin that is stable in value for transactions as well as another coin for investors’ free trading, which is supported by a revenue share from UbiquiCoin’s ecosystem. The currency scales with the size of the ICO.
Who’s behind it?
Jeff Mahony is co-founder and CEO, with a track record in financial services and technology. He has almost three decades of experience in developing internet strategy and managing large-scale projects for financial trading systems. He founded SaveDaily and Jeda Group. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science.
AbdulQadir Mohidin is co-founder and CVO. He studied finance and technology in the US. He previously managed private and public equities at Schneider Finance and worked at Schneider Brothers ltd.
Steve Durbin is co-founder, president, and CFO with a career track in financial services. He founded Quail Bend Capital Partners in 2010 and served at The Watley Groupas as senior managing director and head of investment banking. He also worked at Red Mountain Capital Partners, Oak Hill Capital Partners, and JP Morgan. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Economics.
6. SureRemit
Inception Score™: 90%
ICO Date: 10 Jan—10 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: US
What is it about?
SureRemit is a blockchain-powered ecosystem that connects providers of non-cash remittances globally.
Who’s behind it?
Adeoye Ojo is co-founder and head of sales operations. He previously led marketing business intelligence at Jumia. He also worked as an e-commerce consultant. He holds a BSc in Statistics from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
Babafemi Lawal is co-founder and head of technology operations. He worked with Jumia and Samsung. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Lagos.
Olaoluwa Samuel Biyi is co-founder and head of remittances. He worked with Venture Garden Group and Jumia. He is also a venture partner at Greenhouse Capital. He holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from The University of the West Indies Cave Hill.
BitNation identifies itself as the world’s first virtual nation that allows people to make a choice on how to govern themselves peer-to-peer, locally and globally.
Who’s behind it?
Susanne Tarkowski Tempelhof is co-founder and CEO. She is an entrepreneur, author of The Googlement, and founder of Shabakat Corp. and Wise Strategic Communication. She started her career as a journalist with Magazine Groove in Sweden.
James Fennell is co-founder and COO, with tech solutions expertise in the areas of governance, security, conflict, and refugees. He holds advisory roles with several organizations, including DFID, G4S International and CARE. He has a BA in Geography from King’s College London and an MSc in Agricultural Engineering from Cranfield University.
Ma Wo is co-founder and head of infrastructure and security. He is the lead developer of Horizon Coin and NFD Coin. He studied Computer Science.
8. Scorum
Inception Score™: 89%
Amount Raised: USD $800,000
ICO Date: 14 Jan—11 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Belarus
What is it about?
Scorum is a sports media platform powered by blockchain that rewards active users with tokens. Content creators are rewarded for contributing to the platform with written work, comments, and images while readers are rewarded for voting for quality sports content.
Who’s behind it?
Vladislav Artemyev is co-founder and CEO. He is an IT executive with more than 12 years of experience. He also co-founded TimeToDraft and TimeToDevelop. He studied at the Belarusian State University.
Alexei Belov is a co-founder and chief sports analyst. He has over eight years of experience in professional sports journalism and editing with numerous publications. He is also an expert in analyzing sports stats. He studied Journalism at the Belarusian State University.
Andrey Filipovich is co-founder and user experience director, with more than a decade of experience in UX/UI at Google, Thomson Reuters, and IMAX among others. He studied Engineering at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics.
Mikalai Pobal is a co-founder and operations manager. He also co-founded TimeToDevelop and TimeToDraft. He studied International Economic Relations at the Belarusian State Economic University.
9. Thrive
Inception Score™: 89%
ICO Date: 15 Jan—5 March 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Malta
What is it about?
Thrive is a blockchain-based premium decentralized advertising marketplace that competes with Google’s AdWords. It aspires to buy and sell advertising at low fees while paying people for sharing their data as well as for reviewing websites’ quality.
Who’s behind it?
Priya Parker is the founder of Thrive Labs. He previously worked as an analyst for PRS Legislative Research, and a program associate for the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia.
10. Solareum
Inception Score™: 88%
ICO Date: 11–18 Jan 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: US
What is it about?
Backed by leading solar companies, Solareum is a currency powered by the Ethereum blockchain that offers discounts on renewable items, solar panels, solar heating, as well as rewards for ownership of solar-powered products.
Who’s behind it?
Kenneth Reece is co-founder and director of strategic relationships at America Green. He is the former CEO of The Brand Firm and NY Marketing Firm. He studied Network Communications at DeVry University.
Desiree Guinto is a co-founder and managing director at America Green. She is the former COO of the Brand Firm and ex-VP marketing at the NY Marketing Firm. She holds a BA in International Relations from De La Salle-College of St. Benilde. She specializes in recruiting, brand identity and market research among other operational related areas.
Karl Unterlechner is co-founder and CEO of InterfaceIT, former head of strategic business at GeoOp, and ex-COO at the SMART Group. He studied Business Information Systems and Management at RMIT University. He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Melbourne.
11. Skara
Inception Score™: 87%
Amount raised: GBP £2,500,000
ICO Date: 23 Jan—23 Feb 2018
Founded: 2012
Number of Founders: 2
Headquarters: UK
What is it about?
Skara is a team combat video game for up to 10 players, which is available for PC users on the Steam Store. Skara revolves around different cultures contending to survive a cosmic catastrophe. It combines video games, novels, and comics.
Who’s behind it?
Pablo Rodriguez Valero is co-founder, CEO and creative director, with over 15 years of experience in developing and launching video games. He also teaches a Master in Video Games class at Alicante University. He has a BA in Fine Arts from the Universitat de Barcelona.
Cesar Ortega is a co-founder and executive producer. He has three engineering degrees and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He previously worked in Corporate and Investment Banking for global institutions.
12. CrowdCoinage
Inception Score™: 85%
ICO Date: 15–21 Jan 2018 (Presale); 22 Jan—12 March 2018 (Sale)
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Estonia
What is it about?
CrowdCoinage is an operating system for Ethereum-based fundraising for investors. It allows several parties such as startups, real estate investors and developers to launch crowdfunding and ICO campaigns through the sale of dividends or equity tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges. CrowdCoinage’s future cryptocurrency and blockchain-based financial services cover debit cards, insurance, P2P loans, wallet, and exchange among others.
Who’s behind it?
Peep Paum is co-founder and CEO. He took part in several technology projects over the past decade, providing many mobile apps with user-friendly UX and UI. He co-founded Indoor.Ninja, GoOffline.today and Totalstar. He studied Industrial Electronics Technology.
Tauno Poks is co-founder and CTO, with over a decade of experience as a developer. He is the former CEO and project manager of EstPres, and he studied Multimedia at the University of Tallinn.
Sven Kauber is a co-founder and senior backend blockchain developer, with over a decade of experience in managing servers, web development, and cloud-based services. He also worked with Freeman, Visa, and Qualcomm. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Turku.
Silver Liiv is a co-founder and frontend developer. He has around a decade of experience as a self-taught developer, building web experiences and helping companies grow their brands.
13. Dimensions Network
Inception Score™: 85%
ICO Date: 24 Jan—24 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Singapore
What is it about?
Dimensions Network is building next-generation trading platforms of cryptocurrency, supporting standard coin pairs, exchange aggregators and more. The services will expand to offer a cryptographically secure derivative trading as well as a real-time transactional currency.
Who’s behind it?
Stephen Mullens is co-founder and CEO, with expertise in corporate governance, risk management, JavaScript, Python, SQL among others. He also held several positions at Schlumberger. He has a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham.
Rin Chwe is co-founder and head of operations. She is an entrepreneur who also founded
Snovits and Dental Province. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Manu Datta is co-founder and CTO, with experience as senior developer for top banks, including Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. He studied Business Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
14. VVTOKEN
Inception Score™: 84%
Amount Raised: USD $6,100,000
ICO Date: 22 Jan 2018—unknown
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Belize
What is it about?
VVToken is a platform that offers blockchain-based payment security while delivering financial appreciation to cardholders through two products: CyberBank™ Platinum Debit Card for unbanked and low-income consumers, and the CyberBank™ Black Card, a cryptocurrency-based debit card that allows the transfer of numerous currencies.
Who’s behind it?
Lucas Sodre is the founder and CTO. He is an integration API specialist and the architect of mnichannels and Point of Sale software which are used by banks. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto.
15. Decentralized Loyalty Token
Inception Score™: 82%
ICO Date: 16–30 Jan 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Seychelles
What is it about?
Decentralized Loyalty Token is a loyalty program for customers and business people who want to build leads. DLT connects gamification marketing with loyalty as well as customers’ need for money and merchants’ need for profit by introducing a cryptocurrency to loyalty programs.
Who’s behind it?
Grzegorz Sperczyński is CEO and founder. He authored a book on assets building in early-stage companies. He previously founded a seed capital and VC fund, and the Rcpartners initiative that supports implementing new technologies. He studied Management at the University of Warmia and Mazury.
16. Origin Trail
Inception Score™: 80%
ICO Date: 15 Jan—28 Feb 2018
Founded: 2013
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Slovenia
What is it about?
OriginTrail enables data sharing on all kinds of supply chains, helping companies in exchanging relevant data and securing a means for increased accountability, brand protection, and efficiency.
Who’s behind it?
Tomaž Levak is co-founder and CEO, with experience in managing tech projects in the Middle East and Europe. He holds a Master’s degree in HR Management from the University of Ljubljana, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations.
Žiga Drev is co-founder and COO, with experience in managing complex supply chains in Europe and Asia. He holds an MBA from the University of Ljubljana, and a BA in International Relations and Affairs.
Branimir Rakić is co-founder and CTO, with experience in optimizing telecom networks and powering supply chains with the blockchain technology. He is an adjunct lecturer at SAE Institute. He holds an MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
17. CryptoBnb
Inception Score™: 80%
ICO Date: 15 Jan—15 March 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: UAE
What is it about?
CryptoBnB is a rental and tenant matching marketplace, which aims at improving options available to travelers. It offers more search efficiency, lower short-term rental fees, and more flexibility using blockchain smart contracts.
Who’s behind it?
Tariq Alwahedi is a founder and FinTech entrepreneur, with over 20 years of global work experience across diverse sectors, including oil and gas, construction, food and beverage, and real estate. He holds a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Tulsa and an EMBA from Kellogg School of Management.
How do we score companies?
The Inception Score is based on a Monte Carlo wrapped machine learning algorithm developed at NYU where we analyzed more than 6,000 startup founders based on their educational background, work history, startup experience and personality (deduced using AI from analyzing their digital footprint).
We input this data into our patent-pending algorithm which then generates multiple seed-stage investment portfolios of startups predicted to be successful. The percentage represents the number of times each startup is selected in 1,000 iterations of portfolio generation. With backtesting, overall accuracy is 95% and the true positive rate is 70%.
READERS OF THIS POST ARE NOT TO CONSTRUE THE CONTENTS HEREIN OR ANY PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUTHOR AS LEGAL, TAX, OR INVESTMENT ADVICE. EACH READER SHOULD CONSULT WITH AND RELY ON ITS OWN PERSONAL COUNSEL, ACCOUNTANT, OR OTHER ADVISORS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION DESCRIBED HEREIN AND ITS SUITABILITY FOR THE READER.
Which startups raising funds through ICOs are most likely to succeed? Using Aingel’s AI based Deal Flow Analyzer, we generate an Inception Score™ that helps investors identify the next game changing companies in the blockchain space.
Here are the top 31 blockchain startups our algorithm picked out of 252 ICOs that launched from October to December 2017:
1. Linda Healthcare
Inception Score™: 99%
ICO Date: 17 Nov — 18 Dec
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 5
Headquarters: US
Linda Healthcare is developing natural language processing for primary care. The Linda Health Coin (LNDA) allows people to purchase Crypto Health Insurance via an AI Virtual Medical Assistant App.
2. SyncFab
Inception Score™: 97%
ICO Date: 15 Nov 2017–15 Feb 2018
Founded: 2013
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: US
SyncFab is a blockchain based P2P manufacturing network that matches purchasers with manufacturers. The company is creating a platform for the virtual e-commerce supply chain, data mobilization and machine learning.
3. Proof
Inception Score™: 96%
Amount Raised: USD $1,700,000
ICO Date: 1 Nov — 1 Dec
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: South Korea
Proof, Inc. is a blockchain based platform that allows users to invest in real estate shares starting from USD $2. Proof acquires high-yielding discounted properties and offers ownership stakes as “Smart tokens” on the Proof market, making real estate investments more accessible to medium and lower income people.
Rentberry is a decentralized rental platform that connects tenants and landlords. It provides tenants with a way to reduce the requirements on rental security deposits, and currently manages over 224,000 properties in 5,000 cities across the US.
5. GUTS
Inception Score™: 94%
ICO Date: 15 Nov — 15 Dec
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: The Netherlands
GUTS is a blockchain based ticketing system that registers the ownership of SMART-tickets. The system aims at eliminating fraud as each ticket can only be sold at a fixed price, and users are not allowed to make profit from the resale.
White Rabbit is a plug-in for major internet browsers that allows users to securely pay for content streamed to their devices based on recognition of films or television series that are being watched.
7. LiveTree ADEPT
Inception Score™: 94%
ICO Date: 01–15 Dec
Founded: 2015
Number of Founders: 5
Headquarters: UK
LiveTree’s Advanced Decentralized Entertainment Platform for Transparent distribution (ADEPT) is a next generation open platform that enables people to own what they watch, be part of it and get a cut of it.
8. Insights Network
Inception Score™: 94%
ICO Date: 12–27 Dec
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Cayman Islands
Insights Network is a marketing research firm that matches providers and requesters of data through a blockchain network that rewards participants in Insights (INS) tokens.
9. SPECTRE
Inception Score™: 93%
ICO Date: 17 Nov — 10 Dec
Amount Raise: USD $6,403,261
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: UK
SPECTRE is an Ethereum blockchain based broker-free financial trading platform that eliminates brokers from the system, promising to hand power over to the retail traders. Short for Speculative Tokenized Trading Exchange, the platform predicts financial markets with a tokenized liquidity pool owned by ICO investors.
10. Crypterium
Inception Score™: 92%
ICO Date: 31 Oct 2017–13 Jan 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Cyprus
Crypterium is a crypto-bank on a mission to offer an integrated banking service for innovative blockchain based ideas. Crypterium will provide the same services offered by traditional banks through crypto-assets such as tokens and cryptocurrencies as opposed to money.
DOVU is a mobility cryptocurrency powered by blockchain that aims at simplifying access to transport data and facilitating payments for mobility services through one global token, which can be used for buying bus and train tickets, renting bikes or cars and sharing personal vehicles.
12. Jibrel Network
Inception Score™: 90%
ICO Date: 27 Nov 2017–26 Jan 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Switzerland
The Jibrel Network provides financial assets in currencies, equities, commodities among others as ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Jibrel allows anyone to tokenize real-world assets, allowing autonomous organizations to diversify crypto-holdings into stable assets.
13. Bankera
Inception Score™: 90%
Amount raised: USD $43.9M
ICO Date: 27 Nov 2017–27 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: Lithuania
Bankera is a digital fintech solution that provides blockchain-based banking services similar to regular banks. Its digital bank aims at decreasing banking costs for consumers and promises businesses improved cash flow.
Horizon State is a blockchain based voting system that prevents tampering with results, and seeks to override current outdated means of decision making and engagement through its digital ballot box.
15. Wys (Wys Token)
Inception Score™: 89%
PreICO Date: 17 Nov 2017–31 Jan 2018
ICO Date: 31 Jan — 28 Feb 2018
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Germany
Wysker is the first blockchain-powered mobile shopping app, which allows users to earn wys tokens for product views and turns consumer data into discounts.
16. Utrust
Inception Score™: 88%
ICO Date: 2–20 Nov
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Switzerland
UTRUST is a payment platform that allows buyers to pay online with their most preferred cryptocurrencies, offering payment protection that minimizes the risk of fraud.
17. CrowdHolding
Inception Score™: 88%
ICO Date: 1 Nov 2017–31 March 2018
Founded: 2016
Amount Raised: USD $343,000
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: UK
CrowdHolding is a social network that connects start-ups with individuals. New products are shared on the platform with companies pledging a percentage of their earnings to individuals on the network in exchange for feedback.
18. WaBi
Inception Score™: 88%
ICO Date: 28 Nov — 27 Jan 2018
Founded: 2013
Number of Founders: 2
Headquarters: Singapore
WaBi is developing a global blockchain based loyalty program using a cryptocoin to reward consumers for their purchases, providing discounts, bonus points and improved delivery terms with each purchase.
BitDegree is a blockchain-powered online education platform that provides token scholarships and talent acquisition in the tech space, offering students online courses with a reward system and achievement tracking.
20. MedCredits
Inception Score™: 86%
ICO Date: 17 Oct — 30 Nov
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: US
MedCredits is a blockchain based platform that connects patients with a global network of doctors, providing more efficient and affordable healthcare. It allows patients to access healthcare by submitting their cases remotely and receiving near instant diagnoses.
21. VLB
Inception Score™: 85%
ICO Date: 27 Nov — 17 Dec
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Estonia
VLB stands for Vehicle Lifecycle Blockchain, which is bringing numerous car-related industries such as OEMs, dealers, manufacturers, claim managers, banks, car owners and insurance companies into an integrated vehicle lifecycle system.
22. BlockMason (Credit Protocol)
Inception Score™: 85%
ICO Date: 8 Oct — 8 Nov
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: Belize
BlockMason is introducing a platform that creates, tracks and settles debts. Through its Credit Protocol, all forms of debt and credit requests on the blockchain (e.g., consumer loans, university meal vouchers, gift cards, etc.) will be recorded.
Mobius aims at connecting developers to the blockchain ecosystem by integrating blockchains into apps, devices and data streams. Developers can distribute and grow blockchain applications that can be adopted by the masses through the live DApp Store.
24. Earth Dollar
Inception Score™: 84%
ICO Date: 11 Nov 2017–11 Jan 2018
Founded: 2014
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Worldwide
Earth Dollar is a blockchain based cryptocurrency that supports the health of the Planet with traditional currency features to create a more sustainable economic system.
25. WELL
Inception Score™: 84%
ICO Date: 01–31 Dec
Founded: 2015
Number of Founders: 1
Headquarters: US
WELL directly connects patients worldwide with healthcare professionals, including doctors, therapists, psychologists among others. The WELL tokens will solve cross-border payments and data accessibility, making it possible for quality healthcare providers to serve anyone, anywhere in the world.
Aurora is a suite of decentralized applications and protocols that comprise an autonomous banking and finance platform to anyone in the world across geographic locations and social classes.
27. INS Ecosystem
Inception Score™: 83%
ICO Date: 04–25 Dec
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 2
Headquarters: Russia
Launching and scaling the online grocery sector in Russia, INS Ecosystem connects consumers and grocery manufacturers to facilitate operations and tokenize consumer loyalty rewards.
28. Crypto20
Inception Score™: 82%
ICO Date: 16 Oct — 30 Nov
Founded: 2017
Number of Founders: 4
Headquarters: Cayman Islands
Crypto20 is a cryptocurrency index fund that uses ICO funding for purchasing crypto assets and keeping track of the crypto market performance. It helps investors own a diverse crypto-portfolio by facilitating decision making, cutting out brokers, and addressing volatility and high risk.
Grid+ allows consumers to buy and sell energy at the most economic price in realtime through wholesale electricity markets, promising to reduce bills by around 40%. A smart device predicts usage and purchases electricity ahead of time from the most cost-effective markets.
30. ReOrder
Inception Score™: 81%
ICO Date: 7 Nov — Unknown
Founded: 2016
Number of Founders: 3
Headquarters: US
ReOrder is a blockchain based automation technology that uses cryptocurrencies to allow clients to increase efficiency and sales of retail enterprises including restaurants, hotels, etc.
31. Wala
Inception Score™: 80%
ICO Date: 01–11 Dec
Founded: 2015
Number of Founders: 2
Headquarters: South Africa
Wala is a financial platform that offers emerging market consumers and the unbanked population accessible and affordable financial services. It aspires to remove barriers and increase banking accessibility for everyone.
How do we score companies?
The Inception Score is based on a Monte Carlo wrapped machine learning algorithm developed at NYU where we analyzed more than 6,000 startup founders based on their educational background, work history, startup experience and personality (deduced using AI from analyzing their digital footprint).
We input this data into our patent-pending algorithm which then generates multiple seed-stage investment portfolios of startups predicted to be successful. The percentage represents the number of times each startup is selected in 1,000 iterations of portfolio generation. With backtesting, overall accuracy is 95% and true positive rate is 70%.
READERS OF THIS POST ARE NOT TO CONSTRUE THE CONTENTS HEREIN OR ANY PRIOR OR SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUTHOR AS LEGAL, TAX, OR INVESTMENT ADVICE. EACH READER SHOULD CONSULT WITH AND RELY ON ITS OWN PERSONAL COUNSEL, ACCOUNTANT, OR OTHER ADVISORS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION DESCRIBED HEREIN AND ITS SUITABILITY FOR THE READER.
