TechStars unveils the latest batch of startups

12 new startups launch at TechStars' Demo Day on Tuesday

Today is Demo Day for TechStars, and the uber-selective startup accelerator has debuted 12 new companies at the NYC event, which also saw a cameo appearance by Mayor Bloomberg, himself.  

"I think this group was incredibly focused, and really unitized the tremendous opportunities mentors and the nyc community offered them to the fullest extent," TechStars managing director David Tisch told me.  "They all made an amazing amount of progress in three months, very excited about this group."

Here is a rundown of the companies that launched today:

Contently: a platform that aims to connect freelance journalists with publishers.  The company bills itself as the “anti-content farm.” At today’s event, Contently co-founder Shane Snow revealed that 90,000 journalists have been laid off over the last several years, and Contently’s platform can connect them with brands-turned-publishers. It sounds very similar to what EByline.com is doing.

Ordr.In: more than just a takeout ordering service, Ordr.in claims to be an API that can turn any device or app into a way to order food.  Any developer can embed the Ordr.in API on their website or app and begin taking a cut on all of the orders they generate.  CEO David Bloom says that without a sales and service team, they’re able to scale quickly and have already added 7,000 restaurants to their API.  Roger Ehrenberg says that the company “is boss.”

URTAK: a Q&A tool designed to generate more discussion around a website’s content.  For example, The Blaze, a news and opinion site launched by Glenn Beck, generated some 555 comments on one article.  With URTAK, the same article received 200,000 responses.  URTAK claims to be able to generate 100 responses for every comment a story receives.

MobIntent: a startup geared towards optimizing mobile ad campaigns.  MobIntent offers analytics that show how your campaign is performing, where you’re generating interest, what time of day people are checking out your campaign, and so on.  CEO Matt Chun says it’s a nerdy business, but “we are the nerds to make this business happen.”

Spontaneously: a new way to connect with friends online so that you can connect in real life.  The idea isn’t new, but it sounds unique.  With Spontaneously, you can set your availability and send it to a list of people who may or may not use the service to connect with nearby friends who are also available.  This sounds very similar to another company that presented at Vator Splash last February—Who’s Free.  Unlike other social apps, users will also be able to book tickets and make reservations through Spontaneously.

Piictu: a mobile network in which every interaction occurs through a picture.  The startup addresses the rising trend of posting status updates with a picture, and CEO Jon Slimath says “we’re in the age of participatory content.”  The company also offers brands an opportunity to connect with users.  Most recently, Piictu partnered with JetBlue and asked users to submit pictures (called piics) of what they were doing.

SideTour: a peer-to-peer marketplace for local experiences, SideTour allows anyone to create an event or experience for which other users can sign up.  The startup launched eight weeks ago and has already sold 30 experiences.  Each event draws an average of 6.5 people, each of whom pays an average of $76.

Ambassador: a social referral platform that allows companies to track and manage customer referral programs. The company currently has 15,000 brand ambassadors and has a six figure run rate. SideTour is raising $800,000.

ChatID: a platform that lets businesses chat with customers anywhere on the Web.  The company integrates with the business’s existing chat system to allow them to connect with customers online or through any mobile device.  For example, a number of large e-commerce sites already offer customers the option of chatting with customer service online. ChatID is raising $1 million.

Wantworthy: a fashion wish list that lets users drag and drop the Wantworthy “I want this” button into their toolbar and click it to save items from any site.  You can organize your Wantworthy wish list and see trends, new stores and brands, as well as your friends’ wish list. Wantworthy is raising $750,000.

Dispatch.io: lets you manage your files in the cloud.  The platform lets you drag and drop files across the cloud and share with others regardless of which service they use.

Coursekit: a social education platform that aims to replace Blackboard by streamlining file sharing, including images, documents, and videos.  The company takes a note from Facebook by making something like a Facebook wall on which professors and students can post.