LaunchPad

May 7, 2014, 4:01 p.m.

Ten Stanford startup companies presented at the annual LaunchPad Beta Trade Show on Tuesday at the Stanford d.school.

Co-taught by Michael Dearing of Harrison Metal, and Perry Klebahn, founder of Atlas Snowshoe Company and Timbuk2, LaunchPad is an intense spring quarter, application-only class. Although listed as a 4 unit course that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15 p.m. to 6:05 p.m., students consider it to be one of the more demanding classes at Stanford.

(JOE HANSEN/The Dish Daily)
(JOE HANSEN/The Dish Daily)

Here are a few of the startups that featured in the LaunchPad Beta Trade Show:

Blueprint provides high school, community college and college students with a way to map and “build academic and career plans” that are “tailored to their current interests and experiences.” Founded by Rachel Romer and Mike Howard, two Stanford business school students, the website is beautifully designed but one must create a login in order to explore careers and create a blueprint. If Blueprint was integrated with one of the larger MOOCs it could have tremendous influence in student decisions around classes and career. Blueprint could also benefit high school guidance counselors and undergraduate advisors.

Switchmate is an internet of things startup that enables people to turn on and off light switches with their app. Think Nest but for one’s lights. Switchmate has begun selling these light switches for $29.99and will be launching a crowdfunding campaign later this summer. Switchmate is a team of three with strong technical talentThe Dish Daily has covered Switchmate before in a piece about internet of things and Stanford startups.

Citrine is another team composed of strong technical talent. They are “three materials scientists on a mission to accelerate materials research with data.” The team “believes that a lack of universal access to high-quality materials data is holding” the scientific and engineering community back. Their goal is to enable all materials research data to be “free and open forever to academics and small materials companies.”

Dispatcher is a company that seeks to be an Uber/Lyft for long-haul trucking. The Dispatcher team formed during Stanford’s Startup Weekend last November, in which they won first place. The concept is innovative and the team has made significant progress since Startup Weekend.

Homesuite seeks to make renting delightful by simplifying the search process and matching tenants with landlords based on the preferences of both parties. Since launching the product, the team has been busy with helping users and building out its list of available properties. The team consists of David Adams and Kiana Sharifi.

#Most is a Facebook app that is akin to high school senior superlatives in that one’s friends can tag their friends as #bestdressed, #politicallyincorrect, #techie or #TVaddict.

LaunchPad alumni graded the latest class of startups. Notable investors dropped by including Jim Goetz of Sequoia.

As with every d.school event, the experience was different and interesting. This twist included a petting zoo right outside.

This post was originally published on thedishdaily.com before it was acquired by The Stanford Daily in summer 2014.



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