Most people think of the tech industry in relation to startups. While a majority of companies are tech-related, smart entrepreneurs know that simple solutions to common problems are also fertile ground for startups. The following are some of the top startups right now to give budding entrepreneurs some ideas.
- Founded by Marco Zappacosta, Jonathan Swanson and Sander Daniels, Thumbtack connects individuals to more than 150,000 service professionals in over 700 categories. The company handles over 5 million projects each year generating approximately $2 billion.
- Founders Danny Zhang and Peter Szulczewski created the mobile shopping platform Wish for selling cheap products and have more than 100 million registered shoppers. The platform is utilized by Alibaba, Amazon Third Party Program and eBay sellers.
Mobile Shopping - Redfin was founded by David Eraker. It’s an online real estate marketplace that’s closed over $20 million in home sales.
- Sminq, founded by Shachin Bharadwaj, Santhosh Nagarajan and Sheldon Dsouza, is committed to creating a world free of long queues ranging from doctor offices to restaurants. Sminq solves the simple problem of mind-numbing waiting times.
- Altifarm raised its startup capital via crowdfunding and was launched by Arun Raj. The company makes modular, compact mini “farms,” allowing people to grow their own fresh produce year-round. It addresses the problems of urban farming that includes time, space and lifestyle and the units have the same environmental footprint as a chair.
- Founded by Matt Ayers, Mikey Yang, Kirk Yokomizo, Lyle Fong and John Joh, Lithium is a social media customer management service. The company has worked with notable brands ranging from AT&T and Best Buy to Sony. It has over 300 employees, will exceed $100 million in revenue, and builds company-customer relationships via social media.
- A cybersecurity platform, Tanium is in charge of anti-hacking efforts of companies around the globe including Amazon, Best Buy, NASDAQ and the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Founded by David and Orion Hindawi, the company took in $74 million in 2014 and has doubled every year since.
- Zenefits signed up more than 10,000 companies across 47 states in its first 18 months. Founders Parker Conrad and Laks Srini sell health insurance and provide HR software to small businesses.
- Viptela is in line to earn $100 million. Founded by Amir Khan and Khalid Raza, the network architecture platform for securing and managing networks has been adopted by three of the top 10 global telecom companies.
- Skyhigh, founded by Rajiv Gupta, Sekhar Sarukkai and Kaushik Narayan, generated about $25 million in 2014 and continues to increase. The company plans to add 150 more employees for its cloud security system used by clients including Cisco Systems, DirecTV and Hewlett-Packard.
The digital age requires unique answers to a variety of online problems. However, consumers are always looking for products, services and methods that make their lives easier, more convenient, and solve problems and concerns that affect their everyday life.
