Meet the GCT Startup-in-Residence 2020 cohort

We are thrilled to announce the sixth class of companies and first class of founders in this year’s Grand Central Tech (GCT) Residency Program!

Since our inception six years ago, GCT’s goal has always been to thoughtfully construct a community of premier early-stage companies in New York City. The basic insight powering how we execute our residency program is to provide great early-stage companies with the ideal combination of time, environment, and resources with which to thrive. It has been our experience that being surrounded by other great people on a day-in and day-out basis can have a dramatically positive influence on a company’s velocity (in terms of finding talent, investment, customers, feedback/advice, etc.) and ultimately their success. Helping each of our companies tap into the collective know-how assembled under our roof is therefore at the core of what we do.

This year, in addition to operating the Startup-in-Residence program, we are operating a Founder-in-Residence program as well, extending the opportunity to solo entrepreneurs exploring new ideas. In both cases, GCT provides all residency participants with a comprehensive platform from which to establish the foundation of their businesses and scale their ventures over time (still no rent, still no equity). This year’s class of 18 startups and 18 founders was chosen from over 1,000 applications and represents a broad spectrum of industry and business models. We could not be more proud to be working with each and all throughout the year ahead.

It is worth noting that, coinciding with the initiation of our 2020 Residency cohort, we completed Phase 01 of the reinvention of our base of operations as The Company Building. This year’s GCT participants walked into Company’s brand new lobby on their first day to find the Company bar, Bergamo’s, where they can enjoy drinks, and The Perch, our two-story library lookout where they can take meetings. Soon they will have access to our cafeteria with a block-long terrace overlooking Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building (among many other wonderful amenities we will be rolling out in the months ahead).

Many real estate operators have demonstrated that they can design nice offices and amenity spaces. It’s Company’s commitment to adding value to all tenants of the building by uniquely combining community, hospitality, technology, and design that makes the GCT x Company relationship so vital. Indeed, the vast majority of tenants who occupy the 250,000 square feet of our dedicated startup growth space within the Company building are graduates of the GCT program, a testament to the value of belonging to a curated, facilitated community of great startups building, launching, and scaling in good company.

Without further ado, here are 18 startups in the 2020 Grand Central Tech Residency cohort:

Centricity is a next-generation data platform for grocers and CPG retailers enabling customer-centric product and promotion decisions at the speed of today’s market.

Dieux is a new skincare brand focused on sustainable and scientifically-backed active ingredients. Dieux is making beauty radically transparent on every front: from first-to-market sustainable packaging to clean formulas and transparent prices.

Elektra Health is a new healthcare platform on a mission to tackle the menopause taboo for women. Elektra’s virtual clinic solves the care gap via personalized, evidence-based care and a curated community to help women live well beyond fertility.

Juno Care is a whole-family healthcare platform that provides modern open-access care for the entire family’s day-to-day needs including pediatrics, women’s health, adult primary care, and same-day services.

Kafene is a mission-driven fintech company empowering flexible ownership solutions for the underbanked. Kafene’s web & app-based lease-to-own platform powers purchases and underwrites, approves, and enables point of sale financing in under 5 minutes.

Lantern is a global, single-point solution for navigating end-of-life. Lantern is creating the first globally recognized brand in the industry providing security and empowerment during life’s darkest time.

Mathison is a diversity recruiting marketplace. Mathison connects employers with high-caliber candidates from underrepresented communities by leveraging hundreds of nonprofits’ talent networks, all while donating back in the process.

Muze is a messaging and social media platform that provides powerful tools to create, edit, and share visual content. Muze is building a more expressive and creative social ecosystem that gives users the freedom to share stories in new ways.

Occupier is a lease & transaction management platform used by companies and brokers to make better real estate decisions. Occupier centralizes how teams work and ensures that companies’ real estate portfolios align with their operational needs.

Onaroll is an employee management platform that boosts shift worker productivity and retention. Onaroll reduces employee turnover by celebrating and rewarding workers through a gamified approach.

OneThree Biotech is redesigning drug discovery through biology-driven AI. OneThree creates technology that works with biopharma companies, hospitals, and research institutes to better understand the mechanisms that drive disease and drug efficacy.

Oso is an enterprise cybersecurity company that automates core security controls like authentication, authorization, encryption, and auditing in a company’s infrastructure. Oso makes backend security simple for DevOps and invisible for developers.

Squad is a social app that helps people build relationships online and in real life. While social media helps you build loose connections, Squad brings intentionality and concentration to the connections people make.

Stealth Co. is an early-stage team building a platform that makes healthy eating the easy choice. By connecting dietitians and clients to create a customized eating program and the food they buy, clients are empowered to actually achieve their health and fitness goals.

Ten Little is a predictive commerce platform that enables parents to shop for & find the perfect fitting apparel for their growing child. Ten Little has teamed with doctors to design shoes that can be reordered instantly when it’s time to size-up.

Toolbox is a hiring platform for the 9M skilled construction workers earning $300B+ in wages. Through its worker-centric marketplace, laborers and subcontractors can secure jobs, complete projects on time, and access basic financial services.

Tropic is a concierge for guiding SaaS purchases and remedying unproductive sales calls. After sharing requirements with Tropic one time, clients receive a qualified list of SaaS products with pro/con insights tailored to their business needs.

Wingspan is a platform for freelancers to manage income, benefits, and taxes. Wingspan is building a frictionless, one-stop-shop for freelancers to get the support and benefits of full-timers.

Check back in the spring for an update on the 18 founders in residence!

Originally published at https://www.company.co.