LAUNCH Festival 2017: The best in sustainability

LAUNCH festival is widely known as one of the best startup events in the United States. It has some of the most famous venture capital firms and company heads speaking, everyone from Dave McClure of 500 Startups to Patrick Collison of Stripe. It’s key feature, though is its “Demo Pit,” where startups are organized based on the industry they are in, and try to pitch their ideas to any attendee who will listen. This year, there was no specific section for sustainability or green energy, but a lot of companies were making cool products in those areas. Here are our favorites:

1. Swiftmile

Swiftmile is a startup that wants to change how you spend the last mile of your commute to work. Their products are electric powered bikes and charging stations with solar panels that can charge them. When I saw them at LAUNCH, I was impressed that they managed to actually bring in a full solar charging station, and that the bikes could fully depend on the panels for any energy they need. Additionally, when I talked to one of the founders, he told me that the average commute that one of their bikes is doing per day is about 30 minutes, meaning that people are depending on these bikes for 2–3 miles of their commute. While their products are currently only being sold and used at corporate campuses, their effort in trying to solve transportation’s last mile problem will definitely lead to further elimination of cars at the workplace in the future.

2. Transcend Lighting

Hailing from New York City, Transcend Lighting is a startup that is making improved artificial lighting for indoor farming. Their lights may look like traditional LEDs, but they are actually tuned to work specifically for plants. The lights can be programmed to shine at a wider range of hues than a traditional light, but also use 45 % less energy and produce 45% less heat. Initially, their market was basil farmers, and there are still many basil farmers using their lights. Their main market, though, are marijuana cultivators, who need rows of such high power lights in order to produce the drug safely and efficiently indoors. With such technology, Transcend could be the startup that helps lead the charge towards more urban farming and a lower dependence on imports for exotic fruits and vegetables, all while being much more energy efficient.

3. Cinemood

Cinemood is a startup that is building small, app-powered projectors that can allow for video streaming on any surface. Currently, the content they offer is children’s programming and educational games, but I think that their impact can be much more. A projector this small could decrease the amount of energy and money needed to allow more than one person to access media. Instead of being only used to help children in the US have a way to access entertainment on the go, Cinemood could, for example, offer educational and informational programming that could help refugees learn and stay connected at a much lower price point. I see them making more products that would set the trend for products that offer a low cost and low energy way to offer content, just like CANDL did with immediate connectivity.

These startups, along with the rest at LAUNCH, really inspired me and the rest of the Spysea team. They are pushing the envelope, pioneering new trends and even fields.

If you’re interested in seeing these startups and the other companies at LAUNCH, check out their site or our vlog from the event that is coming soon!