It is 2017, and starting a new business has never sounded so popular. It seems like a new startup is announced every day. Keeping up-to-date on the industry is important for you to grow your business, but tracking all these new businesses can be a chore. So while we can’t promise this article can replace your own research, we wanted to tell you about six new startups that you should be keeping an eye on.
1: Reserve
Reserve is an NY based restaurant reservation service that has secured over $25 million in funding. Recent acquisitions have positioned the company as a possible competitor to OpenTable, its largest rival. Reserve focuses on customer satisfaction and offers lower fees for restaurants. If they can succeed, it will prove once again that toppling the king of a market is not impossible.
2: Discord
While communication has evolved around the phone, online communication has stayed relatively the same. Discord aims to change that offering online communities a way to voice, text, and video chat all on the same platform. Aimed specifically at gamers but open to anyone, the company has made major improvements to their platform and experienced incredible growth. And with an additional $29 million in funding, it is likely they will keep up the pace.
3: Robinhood
Phone apps are making waves in the investment world, and Robinhood is one company that stands out. Its platform offers fee-free stock trading, and is available to anyone with a bank account. This app is making investment easily accessible to an entire new market of millennials. During its most recent funding round Robinhood received almost $110 million, setting it up for major expansion in the future.
4: Hooked
Apps continue to be a major trend, and Hooked capitalizes on this by providing quick and easy to read stories for users. The app aims to provide stories that engage and showcase fresh writing talent. With its $3 million in seed funding, the company has been doing a major advertising push to draw in users to the platform. The entertainment industry has started to take notice, with people like Warner Bros. President Greg Silverman becoming investors.
5: Opendoor
The housing industry is chock-full of services, but Opendoor aims to change the way that selling a house is done once and for all. The service provides a guaranteed sale for a home, and re-sells the home itself later. According to the company, they’ve had a major impact in the Phoenix housing market, with plans to expand soon.
6: Ripple
Dairy-free milk is nothing new, but Ripple wants to bring protein into the category. The milk alternative boasts protein levels equal to that of regular milk, and a plant based formula that still tastes good. A recent expansion to Whole Foods and Target should allow the company to expand even further.
While these are just a handful of some of the up and coming companies, they all definitely deserve keeping an eye on. Each new business is an opportunity to learn from, so keep reading and growing so that your business can grow as well.
