We’ve gone through more than 1,000 companies to get down to the final 50 (okay, 52) that will present on stage at TechCrunch50 starting later this morning. We will be covering all of the companies as they present onstage or shortly after. But for now, here’s a list of all the companies that made it (except the last one, which will be picked from the DemoPit by the audience at the event).
Learn more about these companies on CrunchBase by clicking “CB”. You can also visit the official TechCrunch50 website to watch their presentations live, or stay tuned right here for coverage throughout the week.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Session 1: Youth and Culture. 9:00-10:15am
- Blah Girls (CB)- Backed by Ashton Kutcher, Blah Girls is a gossip site that features a group of animated teenage girls who provide opinions on what’s going on in the world of entertainment
- Tweegee (CB) — A hub for tweens, Tweegee offers the youth market a suite of online tools for social interaction and organization
- Shryk (CB) — Web-based financial software for children aimed at promoting financial literacy and good saving habits
- Hangout Industries (CB) — Blends social networking with virtual worlds by creating a 3D, online environment where 16-24 year olds can chat and share media
Session 2: Memes & News. 10:30 - 11:45am
- DotSpots (CB) — Tracks the memes spreading across the web, aggregates the content associated with them, and gives everyone Wikipedia-like control over that content
- Angstro (CB) — Lets you set up a feed of news about your friends, instead of news by your friends
- LiveHit (CB) — Tracks the music, videos, and entertainment sites people are clicking on right now
- Quant the News (CB) — Creator of StockMood.com, a service that tracks the sentiments of online news stories about stocks and then measures their potential impact on the direction of those stocks’ prices
Session 3: Enterprise. 2:30 - 3:45pm
- FairSoftware (CB) — Creates virtual shares around software projects that gives each contributor a portion of any resulting revenues
- Yammer (CB) — A web application designed for businesses and organizations that asks its users to answer the question, “What are you working on?”
- Connective Logic (CB) — Along with the company’s real-time middleware, Blueprint will make it easier for developers to design, generate code, and deploy complex multi-core software applications without requiring expertise in multi-threaded software development
- Devunity (CB) — A platform for writing code in a browser-based editor that doesn’t force developers to use a proprietary layer
- OpenTrace (CB)- Traces items through the supply chain and adds them together to show the impact of products on the environment
Session 4: Advertising & Commerce Monetization. 3:45 - 5:00pm
- Burt (CB) — Collects user data to tailor individual advertising campaigns and target users more effectively
- Adgregate Markets (CB) — Brings online stores to consumers through a display ad that is a fully transactional widget
- Adrocket (CB) — Contextual text-based advertising for email; assigns keywords to each address depending on known demographic and contextual data
- OtherInBox (CB) — Provides an easy way to quarantine the spam and the messages you receive from online services
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Session 5: Collaboration. 9:00 - 10:15am
- Tingz (CB) — Offers a unified platform for delivering internet content across multiple devices including mobile phones and PCs
- MIXTT (CB) — A group based social network/dating site that encourages real world interaction that’s more comfortable than the 1-on-1 format of most similar sites
- Imindi (CB) — Based on neuroscientific principles, Imindi’s Thought Engine tries to exceed human thought and help its users find new ideas, concepts, and questions on the Web
- Popego (CB) — Surfaces the most meaningful information from within your social graph based on your interests and other factors
Session 6: Finance & Statistics. 10:30 -11:45am
- PersonalRIA (CB) — Allows users to shadow a professional investment advisor’s portfolio, automatically executing trades (which most brokerage sites cannot do)
- Emerginvest (CB) — A global finance portal that helps you invest in international stock markets.
- ExchangeP (CB) — Dubbed a “fantasy stock market,” ExhangeP’s service allows users to sign up for free and start investing in private companies
- Me-trics (CB) — Lets you see how mood, weight, and goals correlate with other metrics, including web services like Facebook or RescueTime
- iCharts (CB) — YouTube for embeddable, interactive charts
Session 7: Mobile. 2:15 - 3:30pm
- Mytopia (CB) — A gaming platform that lets players compete across mobile devices and social networks
- Tonchidot (CB) — Makes the Sekai Camera, a camera system that aims to merge the virtual and real worlds by using a digital device as a viewfinder
- Mobclix (CB) — An analytics and monetization platform for iPhone developers
- FitBit (CB) — Developing a small wireless sensor called the Fitbit Tracker, which automatically records data about a person’s activities, calories burned, sleep quality, steps, and distance throughout the day
Session 8: Language & Communication Tools. 3:45 - 5:00pm
- Alfabetic (CB) — Translates any blog or Website into another language and places ads alongside it in the new tongue
- Postbox (CB) — Based on Mozilla technology, Postbox saves users time when looking for particular information within their email
- Swype (CB) — A new method of text input on touch screens; does away with traditional “hunt and peck” in favor of a more fluid motion
- DropBox (CB) — Provides an easy way to backup your files, share them with coworkers and friends, and synchronize them between computers
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Session 9: Rich Media. 9:00 - 10:15am
- VideoSurf (CB) — A visual video search engine that allow users to search across millions of videos for a given actor and to view summaries of videos through a series of detected keyframes
- GazoPa (CB) — An image search engine developed by Hitachi that uses visual similarities between photos to suggest matches (rather than simply relying on keywords).
- Fotonauts (CB) — A photo sharing application that turns every album instantly into a Web page.
- Bojam (CB) — Although there are a slew of online music services already on the Web, Bojam is trying to do something a bit different: it wants to connect musicians and allow them to collaborate over the Web.
Session 10: Games. 10:30 - 11:45am
- Grockit (CB) - A “Massively Multi-Player Online Learning Game”
- Akoha (CB) — A web-based social game played with trading cards aimed at spreading good deeds around the world
- Atmosphir (CB) — A platform for creating 3D interactive games by selecting blocks (such as a sand castle tower, fireball-breathing bird, or trap door) and snapping them onto a grid.
- PlaYce (CB) — Provides a 3D virtual world inside the browser for games and social interaction that is based on the real world
Session 11: Vertical Social Networking. 2:15 - 3:30pm
- Birdpost (CB) — A social network for birdwatchers
- Closet Couture (CB) — Fashionistas need a social network too and Closet Couture is looking to give them one by connecting them to other fashion lovers, stylists, and retailers
- Footnote (CB) — For those looking to create historical records of loved ones or themselves, Footnote offers a timeline-based archive where you can upload photos and documents linked to historical databases
- Causecast (CB) — Causecast leverages social networking to connect nonprofits, leaders, celebrities and brands with those who want to make a difference through good causes
- Shattered Reality Interactive (CB) — A new massively multiplayer online game (think World of Warcraft) that lets the crowd guide the direction of future expansions
Session 12: Research & Recommendations. 3:45 - 5:00pm
- GoodGuide (CB) - Provides information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of products and companies
- GoPlanit (CB) — A one-click travel planner that assembles a customized trip itinerary with the click of a button; also supports mobile microblogging
- TrueCar (CB) - A site that allows users to assess the current market value of their automobiles in a given geographic area
- Goodrec (CB) - A mobile and online recommendation service that provides brief, to-the-point recommendations from friends and trusted sources
1st!!
What happened to SEARCH? The greatest holygrail to everyones online success. Pretty important stuff when we will soon have 2 companies YandG sleeping together getting 90% of the Market. We are in a Search Crisis.
Hard to believe that anybody “seriously” went and wittled down 1000 companies and this is the best they could come up with.
I bet i can make it into next years show if I marry a movie star and start a site called BlahDudes.com or PukeBuddies.com and have some avatars talk about all the nonsense on the internet. Thanks for the inspiration.
MyLocator.com
We wished to be there, but hard luck.
Congrats to all winners! Waiting to see live streaming.
Don’t scorn too much! Just with the best for the TC50 companies now. Your time will come if you really pour your heart into it!
–
We just launched our startup today, check us out at http://www.adexcel.com
AdExcel is “The Ning for Advertising Networks with more juice in Socialized Ads”..
Let us know what u think
Best,
Darren
Cofounder of AdExcel
tinyCrunch placing bets that DropBox will win this thing hands down.
2nd… lolz
It’s really weird, I got to know about Causecast through Scoble ( he blasted the demo startups for having sucky websites and said that Causecast was one of sites that Demo startups show look up to ) and I thought Causecast was a Demo startup, but I’m wrong. Scoble’s psychics?
Meh, it doesn’t look all that interesting. Maybe a few that I will look out for.
I thought the rules where startups should have never launched publicly .. so a private beta doesn’t count? I’m talking about Dropbox. They’re not really in stealth mode.
Quoting Erick: “(ParaScale nearly made it into TechCrunch50 this year, but was just shy of making the cut, largely because it was no longer in stealth mode)”
No Search and Discovery….
hmm…….
Here’s my prediction: Dropbox. They’re awesome and they will win.
Everyone feel free to name your pick.
Dropbox is great. I’ve been using it for a couple months now.
Not that impressive at all.
BTW, the Blahgirls link does not work.
I’m not sure how many have seen this post yet, but then again, its great to see this launch. Blah Girls, Video Surf, Dropbox, Angstro are the contenders
Another TC50, venture funding calleth thee new borns.
Did Mike & Jcal realy vet these? They are largely crap and they should open the conference by apologizing to the expert panel.
I’m glad the conference is finally being broadcasted live! Thanks for that. I remember last year, lots of people were wondering where the live stream was, since “lifecasting” websites had already emerged..like ustream, justin.tv, but it was still a new thing I guess.
This may already have been covered, but what’s the reasoning behind calling this Techcrunch50 if you have 52 startups??
And what’s with the “First commenter” phenomenon? I thought that was restricted to icanhascheezburger and similar?
Dropbox is more widely used than most ‘public’ startups and invites are readily available. How did they make the cut? Looks like the rules were applied liberally.
Michael, Gratulations to Techcrunch50.
It will be the event to be this year
Gratulations?
Monty, das Sie diese Anmerkungen durch einen Übersetzungsdienst laufen lassen wünschen konnten.
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
Ok good, just had to make sure none of my competitors are on the list
Quant the News (StockMood) sounds interesting. I can see a reason to pay for this so they have a possible revenue stream, will depend how they implement it.
Angstro could also be interesting - although not sure I would pay for the service, so I hope advertising brings in some money!
OpenTrace could be good if it is delivered correctly.
Some of the rest sound like good ideas but I really cannot imagine them having a long term future. Will be interesting what comes out of the presentations.
The best category has to be Advertising & Commerce Monetization. I am going to have to get OtherInBox to capture the Spam sent by users of AdRocket - any e-mail coming to me with ad’s contextual based ad’s in it I would classify as spam!
This is an interesting group, but I must admit I was hoping to see more interesting companies come out of the Advertising section!!!
You should really slap yourself for saying that.
I want to see what Swype is going to be like. I like touch screens, and I have ideas about how I’d like input to work. I wonder if they’ll live up to my imagination or better it.
Impressive competition !
oh come on, just out the question mark, google chrome, you won’t miss a chance to parade Marissa around
im pretty sure the question mark is for the best company to be named from the demo pit
Great list, thanks, but frankly I’m a little underwhelmed, especially on the enterprise offerings. I’ll keep an open mind but I also better look at the DEMO site.
Congratulations to PopEgo!
A top team that deserves to be there
Hmm… I’ve been using Dropbox since June based on coworkers recommendations. Solid stuff so far.
I’m very pleased to see Joshua Baer’s OtherInbox made it.
Congratulations to the finalists!
Eric, the title on the URL http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/conference/ is last year’s
I know of one startup that was told that despite being in private beta were disqualifed because they already had coverage about them in TC. A quick count shows 4 TC articles regarding DropBox, and everybody and their mother using them.
however we have to take into account that they are Sequoia Backed who happens to be one of the sponsers.
Such is life.
Maybe they have a new product offering or something?
The image link for this post is broken….
Interesting that some of these companies have > 20 employees and some are very well funded.
Hardly ’startups’ imho.
Bad logo award goes to: imindi; runner up: emerginvest
Stupid ‘web 2′ name award goes to: atmonsphir; runner up: me-trics; honourable mention: plaYce.
Right on. The list demonstrates that there is a tremendous crisis in company names. Dropbox may win just on the basis that it’s the only name that doesn’t have to be spelled out in the elevator.
Any chance we can get city, state, country demographics? (for Demo Pit, too)
thanks!
Ed
On first blush, the list looks a little weak. Too many social interaction sites ( a social network for bird watchers?), not enough real innovation. About a dozen good potentials on the list … so can’t figure out why it went to 52.
exactly. Hell, install PHPFox or Pligg, and you have a custom MySpace or Digg clone in minutes.
How about some real innovation, with some real product names?
Whats’ with Dropbox, they are already launched IMHO. How did they get chance to be on TC50.
I Hope Mike and Jcal are not bending rules for some of their favorites.
I thought you had to be a new company. Grockit has been in service since 2006. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008.....ning-game/. WTF?
Grockit’s got millions in their bank account, why bother with the $50k, shouldn’t that chance be given to a real startup that hasn’t raise any money?
So much for “learning” - looks more like a game with some learning. Boring. I’d rather play Oregon Trail.
There’s no money in companies with no money.
they look like mostly crap - what will be awesome is to do a deadpool50 in one year to review all of the losers you pick, year after year….
what you oughta do, techcrunch, is create a fake stock tracker and point system and let your users take positions based on interest and faith - let the readers decide with forward looking prices that move based on waning interest in these kinds of startups (really, ashton kutcher’s startup? are you that desperate for a C-list celebrity to show up?)
This is quite a boring list of companies with some that have already raised tons of funding. I guess TechCrunch 50 really isn’t about helping bootstrapped companies get to the next level, but being a PR machine for venture-funded startups.
Hi, any chance of the videos of the presentation being availabe online?
Any chance you care to actually read the above post? Geez, I mean you can’t bother to that before asking for something that’s provided? Moron.
I meant video for streaming/download later the week since I cant watch live due to timezone difference
I’m just happy that there’s a social network for birdwatchers as a finalist.
*Not impressed with these startup picks at all. Doesn’t make for a good leap to the TC60 next year. I’m guessing you guy’s had a hard time figuring out between how to choose good companies with similar business’ to what’s out there already and new/innovative ones. I mean the bird watchers thing, some of these mmo’s, causecast, etc. Let’s face it, DropBox is 2 to 1 to win this thing.
I wonder what dropbox are annoucing? I have been using it for a couple months and its no secret what thier current product is. Its awesome and I hope it wins as its deserved just of the top of what they currently have.
Akoha is really excited to be part of the Techcrunch 50 finalists. We are keeping the ‘no peeking’ rules in effect until Wednesday when we present, so don’t be surprised if the content and details become more interesting then.
Congratulations to all the other TC50 finalists.
“Shattered Reality Interactive (CB) — A new massively multiplayer online game (think World of Warcraft) that lets the crowd guide the direction of future expansions”
Sounds good on paper, but your player base could really drive your game into the ground!
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I would like to permission to link your article to me and will glad if you make link to my blog
the article at
http://the-success.blogspot.co.....oogle.html
thanks
the success
Could you recommend a good asbestos lawyer for me? I’m on Vioxx right now and my head is kind of cloudy.
This is amazing blog with good pagerank
how you can do it?
Wonderful….
Cheers - Leet
I wonder if any of these finalists are working on an alternative operating system to Windows…
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2.....ba_chrome/
Michael Arrington is a big FAIL, indeed. LOL!
emerginvest link is wrong (emerginvent)
It’s amazing how awful the domain names are for nearly every finalist (footnote.com perhaps being the only “quality” name). Some are not even .com domains! I can understand it for poorly funded operations, but some appear to have good financial backing.
Hopefully their services/products can overcome the poor branding.
Typically a company with a bad name overcomes poor branding by being acquired. Maybe that explains the presence of highly-funded companies this year, to get the merger juice flowing.
blame the domain squatters.
What? No Semantic Web company??
I weep for the future.
We’ve got some very cool semantic web technology at ShoppingNotes.com. In fact, we even knocked down a problem that Wikipedia currently says is impossible (http://www.shoppingnotes.com/about). Unfortunately, we didn’t even make it into the first round of screening. Guess it’s not this year’s fad.
why all the wrap crap? on ustream
Whats up with the live steam? It’s supposed to start at 9, it’s currently 9:30 and all I hear is crappy R&B
Its live, but not able to get any audio
TechCrunch 50… sycophants on parade