Startup Watchdog Issue #14
Welcome to the 14th edition of our weekly newsletter. As you explore, you'll see how indispensable we’ll become in helping you stay ahead of the next big thing !
Startup Watchdog is your go-to resource for spotting the next breakthrough, whether it's the next Tesla or a game-changing tech innovation. Built for investors, journalists, and tech enthusiasts, we specialize in revealing the hidden moves of stealth companies and rising stars before they hit the headlines.
Building on the core idea of distruption 'The next big thing always starts out being dismissed as a toy.' We help you find those 'toys' early, tracking key talent shifts and company activity through cutting-edge data analytics. Startup Watchdog monitors everything from job changes to quiet updates like ‘working on something new,’ giving you a front-row seat to the world of emerging innovation. We will help you stand out !
In this issue of the Startup Watchdog , here is what we will uncover:
AI-Driven Solutions to Revolutionize Talent Management – A new platform optimizes workforce development and retention using AI-powered recommendations.
Mastering Golf Tourism with a Premium Experience – An innovative startup combines luxury with golf travel, creating unique, bespoke properties for golf groups.
Fintech's Next Big Thing: Reward Ecosystem for Banks & Merchants – A cutting-edge SaaS solution promises high ROI through dynamic reward partnerships between businesses and financial institutions.
AI and Sustainability at the Forefront – Leveraging AI for personalized care and improving environmental sustainability through innovative biotech solutions.
Transforming Legal Tech with AI Innovations – A legal tech startup is changing how in-house legal teams operate by utilizing AI to streamline processes.
Now let’s shine the spotlight…
Startup : Fealtyx
Founder : Akshat Arora
Location : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Company Description : FealtyX (Catagrowth Technologies)is a cutting edge B2B fintech SaaS startup focusing on creating a new-age Reward Ecosystem enabling high ROI reward partnerships between Merchants and Banks.
Now discover your preferred partners in a marketplace , setup and launch rewards programs in a flash and relish the real-time performance tracking.
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Strategic Leadership at epiFi - Led the Debit Cards Product, achieving a transaction milestone of ₹100 Cr while spearheading the setup of a VKYC center in record time and managing relationships with CXOs from banks, fintechs, and regulatory bodies.
Global Expansion at Signzy - Orchestrated Mastercard-Signzy partnerships, driving global market penetration across SEA and securing key international deals, including a $150,000 Mastercard-sponsored project.
Entrepreneurial Growth with Pepwash and Axaro - Merged Axaro into Pepwash, growing operations to serve 30,000+ customers and raising $75,000 in funding; developed software systems to digitize and automate processes, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Innovative Product Development at Infosys - Contributed to enterprise-grade solutions such as AssistEdge and iTransform by developing features like interactive algorithms and configurable workflows, enhancing digital marketing and healthcare platforms.
Tech-Driven Market Solutions - Delivered MVPs and software roadmaps that enabled market insights, streamlined logistics, and digitized customer experiences for startups and enterprises, showcasing a blend of technical and business acumen.
Startup : Hoobahoo
Founder : Shakti Mani Tripathi
Location : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Company Description : Product launching soon...
Founder DNA : Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG
Prior Experience :
Co-Founder & CTO: Developed an AI agent to automate repetitive business workflows, empowering non-technical users to create AI-powered solutions with simple text-based interactions.
Founder: Built and launched Hoobahoo AI, an innovative social media platform where users interacted with AI characters, gaining traction and insights into startup viability.
Software Development Engineer at Amazon: Designed and implemented Amazon Pay Later's technical architecture, driving $200,000 in revenue in six months through innovative BNPL solutions.
Senior Software Engineer at Rippling: Owned and developed tier-based billing infrastructure and solutions to manage billing failures, enhancing client subscription management and revenue flow.
Software Engineer at Dunzo: Improved backend systems, reduced app latency by 90%, and rebuilt the Checkout page to streamline pricing, payment, and cart functionalities.
Startup : Moveup AI
Founder : Emil Palikot
Location : Stanford, California, United States
Company Description : MoveUp is the AI-powered talent management assistanttailored for your organization's workforce. Recommendations grounded in your companys career data to help you develop and retain your A-players. Secure, scalable AI for your enterprise. Quick setup, ready to enhance workforce planningright out of the box.
Founder DNA : Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Co-Founder, MoveUp AI: Pioneering innovative AI solutions to address challenges in workforce development and education technology.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford University: Conducting cutting-edge research at the intersection of economics, machine learning, and statistics, with a focus on EdTech, the future of work, and online platforms, while managing industry-partnered projects.
Ph.D. in Economics, Toulouse School of Economics: Specialized in industrial organization, applied microeconomics, and econometrics, contributing to competition policy and economic research.
Associate, PwC Polska: Delivered analytical insights and solutions in economic consulting and financial advisory services.
Visiting Researcher, Questrom School of Business, Boston University: Contributed to advanced research projects in applied economics and organizational studies.
Startup : Birdie Houses
Founder : Tom Evans
Location : Los Angeles, California, United States
Company Description : There is a significant void in the market for a premium brand tailored to golf tourism. Birdie Houses is the epicenter of golf travel, blending simplicity with luxury. Our bespoke properties are meticulously designed for golf groups and we deliver exceptional experiences through partnerships, digital content, merchandise, and events.
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Founder & Managing Partner, White Panda: Spearheaded a successful venture focused on innovative content and growth strategies, sustaining over a decade of impact.
Founder & President, Birdie Houses: Built a hybrid business model addressing modern challenges in the real estate or related sectors with creative solutions.
Head of Growth, Tellie & Stir: Led strategic growth initiatives for digital platforms, driving user acquisition and scaling brand presence.
Summer Fellow, Lightspeed Venture Partners: Contributed to venture capital decision-making and market analysis, supporting innovative startups.
Deputy African-American Finance Director, Obama for America: Played a key role in fundraising and campaign finance strategies for a historic presidential campaign.
Startup : Small Hours
Founder : Samir Khoja
Location : Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States
Company Description : At Small Hours, we leverage AI to enhance software observability. Our platform automatically identifies issues, performs root cause analysis, triages to the right person or team, and generates detailed reports. This enables your team to quickly resolve problems, ensuring your software operates smoothly and reliably.
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Former FAANG
Prior Experience :
Founder & Managing Partner, White Panda: Spearheaded a successful venture focused on innovative content and growth strategies, sustaining over a decade of impact.
Founder & President, Birdie Houses: Built a hybrid business model addressing modern challenges in the real estate or related sectors with creative solutions.
Head of Growth, Tellie & Stir: Led strategic growth initiatives for digital platforms, driving user acquisition and scaling brand presence.
Summer Fellow, Lightspeed Venture Partners: Contributed to venture capital decision-making and market analysis, supporting innovative startups.
Deputy African-American Finance Director, Obama for America: Played a key role in fundraising and campaign finance strategies for a historic presidential campaign.
Startup : Pluma
Founder : Artash N.
Location : Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Company Description : We are building the future of Personalized Care in Assisted Living Communities through AI automations, companionship, and integrations.
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Founder, MonitorMyOcean.com - Developed a globally recognized platform endorsed by IOC-UNESCO for measuring underwater noise pollution using hydrophone data to monitor oceanic ecosystems.
Co-Founder, HotPopRobot - Led outreach initiatives combining AI and space exploration, engaging thousands of youths through workshops and collaborations with leading institutions like the Ontario Science Centre and Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Member, Task Team on Low-Cost Hydrophones, International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) - Contributed to global efforts in creating affordable hydrophone solutions for research, education, and citizen science to support ocean observation systems.
Founder, Monitor My Lockdown - Built a data analytics tool using seismic data to assess human movement during COVID-19 lockdowns, aiding policymakers in implementing efficient and targeted public health measures.
Student Researcher, Natural Resources Canada - Analyzed big data on wind and seismic activity to identify water and ice conditions, enhancing maritime safety in the Saint Lawrence River shipping corridor.
Startup : camfer
Founder : Keaton Elvins
Location : San Francisco, California, United States
Company Description :your next-gen AI mechanical engineer
Founder DNA : Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Founder, Camfer - Built a cutting-edge platform focused on innovative solutions in the tech space, leveraging extensive industry experience.
Software Engineer, Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Contributed to pretraining and chat infrastructure development for Amazon Q, driving advancements in large-scale machine learning systems.
Researcher, UC Berkeley EECS (BLISS Lab) - Conducted research on large language model interpretability using attribution methods, advancing understanding of neural network behavior.
Teaching Assistant, UC Berkeley - Designed and taught coursework on deep neural networks, focusing on visualization and conceptual understanding.
Mentor, Edlyft - Guided students in mastering linear algebra and probability theory, fostering academic excellence in STEM disciplines.
Founder : Wael Abid
Founder DNA : Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Location: Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Former FAANG, Top 10 University
Prior Experience :
Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Predibase - Built robust AI infrastructure for training and deploying large language models (LLMs), driving advancements in AI scalability and performance.
Machine Learning Engineer, Apple - Enhanced multilingual capabilities for Siri, improving the virtual assistant's language processing and global user experience.
ML Research Engineer, InstaDeep - Conducted groundbreaking NLP research on low-resource languages and machine translation, published in the Proceedings of COLING 2020.
Research Assistant, Stanford AI Lab & Electrical Engineering - Advanced neural machine translation, named entity recognition, and energy prediction models under the mentorship of leading researchers.
Venture Capital Analyst, AfricInvest Group - Supported investment decisions for the pan-African Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, focusing on transformative tech startups.
Time in Stealth : 4 Months
Founder : Rango Ramesh
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Doctorate Degree, Masters Degree
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Prior Experience :
Founder, heySimulate - Built and scaled an innovative platform, achieving recognition as part of Techstars London '23.
Management Consultant, Oliver Wyman - Delivered strategic solutions and operational improvements for global clients across diverse industries.
Co-founder and CEO, Schema - Developed a knowledge management and cloud storage solution, raised $300K in pre-seed funding, and grew a user base exceeding 5K students.
Entrepreneur First LD19 Cohort Member - Collaborated with top entrepreneurs to ideate and launch impactful technology-driven ventures.
Co-Founder, Stealth Startup - Currently driving innovation in a high-potential technology space within the London ecosystem.
Time in Stealth : 0 Months
Founder : Effendi Leonard
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top 10 University
Location: Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States
Prior Experience :
Co-founder, CEO - 2nd Nature, Inc. - Spearheading the development of transformative solutions in the sustainability and innovation space.
Principal - Flash Innovation - Driving strategic innovation initiatives and providing advisory expertise across diverse industries.
Co-founder, CTO - Ayana Bio - Led the creation and scaling of biotechnology platforms for sustainable and health-focused applications.
Founding Director, VP - Provivi, Inc. - Played a pivotal role in building a leading biotech company, focusing on sustainable agricultural solutions.
Director and Founding Scientist - Ginkgo Bioworks & Calysta - Contributed to groundbreaking research and development in synthetic biology, enabling impactful advancements in industrial biotech.
Time in Stealth : 13 Months
Founder : Meagan Fouty
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Location: Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States
Prior Experience :
Chief Executive Officer - Stealth Mode Startup - Leading an AI-enabled startup focused on innovative product development and organizational growth.
Lecturer & Curriculum Developer - UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music - Developed and taught courses on the cultural influences in American music, integrating data mining and public speaking techniques.
CEO & Co-Founder - The O&O - Founded and grew a company specializing in strategic partnerships, corporate fundraising, and nonprofit development.
Associate Director, Global Corporate Partnerships - International Rescue Committee - Led corporate fundraising efforts, managed cross-functional teams, and developed strategic partnerships to drive social impact.
Integrated Brand Director - Hearst - Managed brand development and media strategies, driving campaigns across traditional and emerging platforms.
Time in Stealth : 17 Months
Founder : Ankur Srivastava
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Former FAANG, Prior Exit
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Prior Experience :
Chief Executive Officer & Founder - Stealth Startup - Leading the vision and strategy of a new AI-driven company focused on revolutionizing industry standards.
Head of Field and Customer Business Development - AWS Marketplace - Managed AWS Marketplace's customer advisor team, scaling business 20x and optimizing the procurement process for ISVs.
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder - Swarmsales, Inc. - Created a marketplace for on-demand sales professionals, raising $2M in capital and signing 100+ companies.
Sales Executive - IBM - Drove enterprise sales and established strong relationships with key clients, contributing to business growth.
Technology Sales Manager - Oracle - Led account management and business development efforts, focusing on high-value technology sales and client retention.
Time in Stealth : 0 Months
Founder : Gal Lellouche
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Prior Exit
Location: Tel Aviv District, Israel
Prior Experience :
Co-Founder & CTO at Chamelio - Leading a VC-backed legal tech startup focused on transforming the way in-house legal teams operate.
Senior Director of AI/ML at Sage - Spearheaded AI/ML services in accounting, driving the development of AI solutions for Cash Management, AR, and AP. Scaled a team of 45 engineers and PMs.
Co-Founder, CTO at Task Sheriff (Acquired by Sage) - Led an AI fintech startup, developing machine learning solutions in NLP and image processing. Played a key role in the company's acquisition by Sage to enhance its finance automation.
Co-Founder & CEO at NexC - Built a virtual expert seller platform leveraging conversational AI to provide personalized customer journeys for retailers. Supported by top industry players like Google for Startups.
Freelance Machine Learning Consultant - Managed software development projects, specializing in machine learning solutions, particularly for NLP, while leading offshore teams for startups.
Time in Stealth : 4 Months
Founder : Madhav Goenka
Founder DNA : Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters Degree, Top 10 University
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Prior Experience :
Founder of Stealth AI Startup - Led the automation of workflows for hardware companies, driving innovative solutions in AI integration.
Consultant at VALUENEX - Managed $10M+ client deals in manufacturing and AI, providing strategic insights and driving product development initiatives.
Mechanical Design Engineer at Tesla - Designed and launched interior automotive systems, collaborating with suppliers and cross-functional teams to meet key development milestones.
Product Management Intern at Degy Booking International - Spearheaded UI/UX improvements, secured $250K+ in client deals, and scaled marketing operations for entertainment experiences.
Mechanical Design Engineer at Electric Hydrogen - Designed and validated critical components for power converters, while managing product supply chains and conducting structural and thermal simulations.
Time in Stealth : 6 Months
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