Startmate unveils its start-up class of 2013

Niche dating website 7pm anywhere is among the eight start-ups accepted into the 2013 Startmate program, which will include two demo days and a two-month stint in Silicon Valley.

Now in its third year, Startmate is Australia’s oldest start-up accelerator. It has a successful track record including BugHerd, Flightfox, Grabble, Happy Inspector, Ninja Blocks and ScriptRock.

Startmate has announced the eight teams that will take part in its 2013 program, which has been extended to five months. Startmate has also doubled its investment to $50,000 per start-up.

The teams will work full-time on their ideas at Startmate’s offices in Sydney for three months, beginning in early January, before relocating to San Francisco for a further two months.

The 2013 program will also include two demo days – one in Sydney and one in Silicon Valley – designed to help teams explore their options with regard to capital raising.

“After a few busy weeks sifting through applications, interviewing founders and plenty of robust deliberation on our part, we’re excited to announce the eight teams which will take part in the 2013 Startmate program,” co-founder Niki Scevak said in a statement.

“Once again, we have been looking for those unique ‘two shit’ teams – those which get shit done, and also give a shit about the customer and their problems.”

The 2013 teams are as follows:

• 7pm anywhere: Searching for soul mates shouldn’t be like flicking through a catalogue, so 7pm anywhere has developed a novel way to meet people online.

• Bugcrowd: Describing itself as “Kaggle for security vulnerabilities”, Bugcrowd uses the power of the crowd to help users find and eliminate security bugs in web and mobile applications.

• GetStall: GetStall lets people sell their handcrafted and personal goods on Facebook. It claims to be “as easy as taking a photo”.

• Kinderloop: Referred to as “Instagram for preschools and parents”, Kinderloop is a mobile application that enables better communication between preschool teachers and parents.

• SalesTeam: SalesTeam is a marketplace of trusted, professional salespeople from around the world.

• Shiftr: Shiftr offers simple shift changing for casual employees.

• Storyberg: Product development should be about improving metrics rather than closing issues, so Storyberg has built a lean start-up management tool.

• Tutor On Demand: ToD is a specialist provider of online, on-demand video lessons covering VCE subjects, enabling users to reward outstanding teachers and lower the cost of education.