In Pictures: Extreme Startup's Demo Day showcases five promising startups
Hundreds from Toronto’s startup community packed Berkeley Church for Extreme Startup’s Spring 2013 Demo Day on June 13, 2013
Hundreds from Toronto’s startup community, including 125 investors, packed <a href="http://www.berkeleyevents.com/">Berkeley Church</a> for Extreme Startup’s Spring 2013 Demo Day. <a href="http://www.extremestartups.com/overview/">Extreme Startups</a> is one of Canada's top accelerators.
Each startup receives $50,000 up front, and up to $150,000 from Business Development Bank of Canada</a> at the end of the program. The third cohort included BRIKA, Instaradio, Koge, Polychart and Sciencescape.
<a href="http://www.brika.com">BRIKA</a> describes itself as a curated online shopping destination for discovering well-crafted lifestyle products from talented and inspiring makers. It’s essentially Etsy meets Fab.
BRIKA announced that it has lined up partnerships with tastemakers and high-profile celebs including Lauren Bush and Donna Karan, and secured deals with J. Crew’s brand, Madewell, and the Hudson’s Bay Co. Follow them @ShopBrika
Its company name and skeuomorphic logo may look familiar, but what differentiates <a href="http://www.instaradio.com">Instaradio</a> is its ability to create live audio streams that can be shared instantly. Dr. Kevin Kilman, who gave up his career as a dentist to found the company, says his app is especially useful for comedians and musicians who want to amplify their reach to the global stage.
Since posting its app 10 days ago, it’s been downloaded 4,000 times and 8,000 broadcasts have been made. The company is looking for $1-million in funding and it has raised about $300,000 so far.
<a href="https://www.kogevitamins.com">Koge</a>, one of the Globe's featured <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/starting-out/how-a-toronto-startup-plans-to-transform-massive-vitamin-industry/article11606333/">Disruptors</a>, is a vitamin retailer that provides a premium experience built around each customer’s unique background. Andrew Lenjosek pegs the vitamin market at $28-billion a year, with 140-million people regularly taking “lifestyle” vitamins.
The startup also just signed a strategic partnership with Loblaw Cos. Ltd., aiming to grow its distribution in Canada. With $500,000 secured, they’re looking for $850,000 in funding.
<a href="https://www.polychart.com">Polychart</a> dubs itself a lightweight ‘business intelligence’ tool for small to medium-sized businesses.
Its claim to fame is that it offers owners powerful analytics, but the interface is easy enough for anyone (even non-techy people) to use. Follow them @Polychart
<a href="http://sciencescape.org">Sciencescape’s</a> goal is to speed up the discovery, organization, and distribution of scientific research. It's an undeniably hot industry, as evidenced by recent investments and acquisitions, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/13/extreme-startups-demo-day-wrap-up-canadian-startups-make-a-strong-showing/">notes TechCrunch</a>.
Leveraging the power of big data, the team curates research in real-time, allowing users to rapidly navigate thousands of papers and find out what’s happening in the world of research. Follow them @sciencescape