Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has many historical associations. While these have put it on the map, the Midwest city is more than a tourist spot. Philly is growing into an ideal city for tech startups and companies. Find out more with these 12 Philadelphia top startups.
Most people know Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site where the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. The city was the capital of the US for a short period. You can also find the statue of William Penn, the state's founder, and the Liberty Bell. It is not surprising that Philly is the first World Heritage City in the US.
Listen to the Podcast Episode Featuring the Top Philadelphia Startups
However, city and state officials are just as interested in moving forward as they are in looking back. They have launched several initiatives to promote diversity, technology, and innovation in the city. These include infrastructure and financial investments to encourage entrepreneurs to set up shops in Philly. Here are 12 Philadelphia companies that did just that.
Top Philadelphia Startups to Watch in 2022
Healthcare is complex, with many points of potential confusion for patients, clinicians, and caregivers.Tendo helps simplify the entire patient care journey, benefitting all three groups and resulting in better health outcomes for patients and improved trust and loyalty with their providers and health systems.
Tendo delivers a clear and simple digital application that provides access for patients to all the resources they need to navigate their care journey. Guidance and reminders are provided for every step, from seeking and scheduling care appointments to the actual encounter and post-encounter care planning. The result is a dramatic improvement in customer retention and clinical outcomes.
Tendo is led by Dan Goldsmith, CEO, and Jennifer Goldsmith, President. Tendo has acquired $69 million in three funding rounds from three investors since 2020. The latest funding was a Series B round raised on June 30, 2021.
Dan Goldsmith
CEO, Tendo
Startup Hustle spoke with Dan Goldsmith about "Building Software to Improve the Healthcare Journey." Listen to the episode here and read the highlights in this post.
Most people use one or more social media platforms regularly, creating a great way to connect and engage with potential customers. It is no wonder there are hundreds of active social media networks today. Putting up one more might seem like an exercise in futility, but that is not the case with FuzeMee.
FuzeMee is a social media platform for college students, helping them overcome challenges and maximize the college experience. It not only allows students to meet new friends, but also find roommates, participate in events, and buy and sell items.
The founders, Jon Krouse, David Graham, and Christopher Tsetsekos, are from different universities but have been friends since middle school. They understood how hard it is for first-year students to adjust to college life, so they came up with a solution. Currently available in more than 15 universities, the leadership of FuzeMee is working hard to help as many students as possible.
The social media platform has acquired $800,000 in two funding rounds since its founding in 2021.
David Graham
CEO & Co-founder, FuzeMee
Startup Hustle spoke with David Graham about "Dissecting the Chicken or Egg Dilemma." Listen to the episode here and read the highlights in this article.
The e-commerce economy is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. According to Shopify, direct-to-consumer (DTC) retail is rising, and so is the competition. Mainfactor helps e-commerce businesses thrive in this challenging environment.
Mainfactor purchases, builds, operates, and grows DTC businesses using innovative collaborations and marketing strategies. It helps founders looking to sell their DTC company make the exit process simple and lucrative. The company specializes in entertainment, artists, creator, and brand e-commerce businesses.
The e-commerce enabler offers full-service digital marketing and merchandise operations. Mainfactor also provides consulting services for operations, marketing, and development. For e-commerce stores manufacturing their products, Mainfactor also helps with design and development.
Mainfactor operates under the leadership of co-founders and President Meredith Franzese and CEO Mike Fiebach. It has raised $72.6 million in two funding rounds from three investors since 2020.
Meredith Franzese
President, Mainfactor
Startup Hustle spoke with Meredith Franzese about "The Creator Economy." The episode will air on April 4, 2023.
The value of networking is well-known among business leaders but often stops short of sharing data among partners. Crossbeam allows Philadelphia companies to work efficiently and transparently with partners to increase revenue.
Crossbeam is a B2B data platform that allows companies to collaborate and build profitable partnerships. It also enables members to identify overlapping prospects and customers without compromising their data security. Some notable companies that use Crossbeam include Zendesk, Looker, Uberflip, and Intercom.
The company operates under co-founders CEO Bob More and CTO Buck Ryan. Under their leadership, Crossbeam has raised $116.9 million in five funding rounds from 13 investors since 2018. Their latest funding was a Series C round on October 26, 2021.
Most people have benefited from logistics software at some point. It could be to schedule delivery of their new washing machine or book an Uber to take them home. Yet very few think about the decision processes behind the development and testing of these applications. Nextmv is the developer tool that helps make these apps work as well as they do.
Nextmv is a developer-friendly platform that automates and optimizes various aspects of the logistics operations industry. It simplifies optimizing decision models for vehicle routing, workforce scheduling, and more and testing them in simulation.
The tools offered by Nextmv integrate with machine learning and artificial intelligence software architecture. As a result, developers for Philadelphia companies can encode, manage, and test decision models using real-world data in the cloud. Simulating tests of decision-making algorithms helps them avoid the high costs of beta testing.
The company operates under CEO Carolyn Mooney and CTO and founder Ryan O'Neil. It has been so successful that Nextmv has secured $11 million in three funding rounds from 12 investors since 2019. Their latest funding was a Series A round raised on February 9, 2021.
Behavioral health facilities are crucial to many people's mental health and well-being. These facilities accommodate those who struggle with substance abuse and mental, emotional, and/or behavioral issues.
The health services may include outpatient treatment, inpatient or residential management, and counseling. As you can probably imagine, the electronic medical records (EMR) managed by these facilities can be incredibly complex. Ritten facilitates the use of EMR data to benefit all stakeholders.
Ritten is the first EMR platform that helps behavioral health facility administrators and clinicians manage all data in one place. It also makes it easier for providers to measure outcomes, streamline billing, and drive referrals.
The simple software helps providers with EMR management across the continuum of care, from outpatient to residential treatment. Healthcare providers can customize and manage documentation using an intuitive form builder that complies with CARF and Joint Commission standards. Ritten also allows them to manage medications, schedule unique groups and services, and track client progress.
CEO Noah Whitehead and CTO and Co-founder Gabriel Szczepanek have worked ceaselessly to improve the platform since its founding in 2020. As a result, the company raised $6 million on January 7, 2022.
Autonomous systems and smart machines are improving efficiencies across all industries. However, the specter of security breaches dampens enthusiasm for enterprises that use dangerous devices.
Imagine if a malicious agent acquires control over a warehouse forklift and starts wreaking havoc. Aside from property damage, a rogue smart machine could lead to serious physical harm to employees. FORT Robotics ensures that it does not happen.
FORT Robotics offers machine builders and operators safety and security solutions for their autonomous machines. It keeps hackers at bay with wired and wireless systems, ensuring data security to and from smart equipment.
The platform reduces the risk of using dangerous machines, accelerating the development and adoption of autonomy in the industry by increasing trust. Formerly a trademark of HRI Networks, FORT Robotics deploy remote controls for switches on mobile vehicles, robots, and industrial facilities.
FORT Robotics clients also benefit from years of experience in safety technology, led by CEO Samuel Reeves and CTO Nathan Bivans. Under their leadership, the company has acquired $38 million in funding in three funding rounds and 11 investors since 2018. The latest funding was from a Series B round on July 12, 2022.
Sales are critical to any company; some have teams to handle it. However, managing a sales team and computing commissions can be complex. QuotaPath offers a way to simplify those tasks.
QuotaPath offers a digital quota dashboard. The platform tracks sales commissions, calculates compensations, and forecasts earnings. It also has a digital organization chart that tracks team and role changes, measuring KPIs and establishing benchmarks.
With QuotaPath, clients can choose the compensation plan. The platform then automates commissions so they can pay their team accurately. This workflow can motivate sales team members by avoiding costly errors, building trust, and promoting transparency.
The platform also allows clients to design custom compensation plans and get real-time insights to forecast revenue. Sales managers can stay ASC 606 compliant while creating flexible payout schedules.
QuotaPath operates under the leadership of co-founders and CEO AJ Bruno and CTO Eric Heydenberk. The company has raised $70.8 million in five funding rounds from six investors since 2018. Its latest funding was a Series B round on April 26, 2022.
Climate change is a continuing cause for concern with many agriculture and land management organizations. However, the sheer size of the endeavor has made it challenging to gather data. Treeswift addresses one of these challenges.
Forests are rugged environments, making it difficult for stakeholders to gather tree data. Together with COO Elizabeth Hunter, co-founders CEO Stephen Chen and CTO Michael Shomin founded Treeswift in 2020. It is a spinoff of the GRASP Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania.
The company developed forest monitoring systems using drone technology. It also provides parks, landowners, and organizations with data on forests and carbon emissions without disturbing the natural environment.
Treeswift deploys drones to map forests and collect tree volume and density data. Drone sensors capture, process, and analyze tree precision data as it moves through and around tree lines. As a result, stakeholders can use the data and insights to estimate carbon emissions, deforestation, timber value, and advanced growth.
The company raised $4.8 million in a Seed round from 13 investors on March 28, 2022.
Game developers are working increasingly in the metaverse, but they need help plotting it to make the virtual as realistic as possible. Cesium makes it easy for them to build a metaverse and visualize geospatial data.
Cesium is a spinout of Cesium and Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI). It provides developers with an open-source, end-to-end platform for tiling, visualizing, and analyzing 3D geospatial data. It ensures insights derived from 3D geospatial data for use across industries are open and interoperable.
However, the platform's primary goal is to make it easier for game developers to build 3D data for apps and providers to share massive datasets. It analyzes real-world 3D data captured from drones, sensors, cameras, and smart machines. Developers can use the content to create a realistic 3D environment for players.
CEO and founder Patrick Cozzi, COO Yonathan Anatolii Ast, and their team continue unleashing the power of data. Under their leadership, Cesium raised $5 million in a Series A round on July 9, 2019.
Remote work has become more acceptable since the pandemic forced the transition. Most (87%) employees jump on the opportunity for flexible work arrangements. However, team member isolation and lack of engagement are problems plaguing remote and hybrid work employers. Seshie provides a solution to some of these challenges.
Seshie is a resource for organizations and companies to connect with team members and employees. It is a marketplace for virtual team-building opportunities. You can book live workshops led by experts based on real-time feedback from team member surveys. The aim is to help employers bring teams together for enjoyable and fun activities.
Investing in team-building events can help organizations improve team member engagement, increasing their chances of doubling revenue. Team building also decreases churn by enhancing communication and developing better employee relationships.
Additionally, the tools and resources available on the Seshie marketplace help companies develop leadership skills in team members and employees. The company operates under the leadership of co-founders William Lee and CEO Kofi Frimpong. Seshie raised $120,000 in a Pre-Seed round on September 8, 2020.
What would life be like without convenience stores? Many of them went under during the pandemic because there was no easy way for them to deliver products to customers. Fortunately, Lula addressed the logistics gap for convenience stores.
Lula is a technology company transforming convenience stores into last-mile, micro-fulfillment centers. It is the first all-in-one delivery platform for convenience, pet, and liquor stores. Store owners acquire the technology and data they need to serve their customers online.
The platform empowers Philadelphia companies and stores to modernize, thrive, and serve their customers. The idea originated from Drexel University college buddies Adit Gupta and Tom Falzani. They tried to rescue Gupta's family's convenience store from closure by getting it online. The attempt failed because of the difficulties of uploading over 4,000 products.
Lula onboards your inventory and connects your store with DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats, and other delivery companies. It also aggregates the data and syndicates it across delivery platforms. When a customer orders on any of these delivery platforms, the order goes to the store through one synchronous tool.
Many companies currently use the proprietary platform to deliver items directly to customers' doorsteps. The Lula stores' network also helps independent companies and chains to compete with the big retailers.
Lula has raised $6.6 million in six funding rounds from 17 investors since 2020. Its latest funding was a Seed round raised on March 23, 2022.
Philadelphia Companies Ring the Startup Bell
Philadelphia has a long, proud history, but that hasn't stopped the city from marching on into the future. These 12 Philadelphia companies are making big impacts on Philly's growing startup ecosystem.
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