Denver Startup Week returns on September 25 as the largest free entrepreneurial event of its kind in North America. In its sixth year, the event is bringing together 13,000 people with 350 programs for a week-long event. To kick it off, StartUp Week launched its Pitch Competition on September 12 featuring over 20 companies to compete to win $100,000 in cash, services and product. From the healthcare world, to culinary, construction and even fireless cremation to how to solve the homeless crisis,  these companies made the cut for the semi-finalist round. Online voting ends on Friday, September 20 but you can also attend an in-person pitch competition on September 27 before the finalist competition on September 28. For more info about the event or to vote go here.

Getting Home by AlHealth

 

What do they do: For patients across Colorado, the most difficult aspect of their journey isn’t the illness or injury itself — rather the moments following their hospital visit. Getting Home by AlHealth is addressing the complications involved with post-hospital care by creating a FedEx meets Match.com platform for medical patients. Their program offers one location for the many players in the going-home process to communicate and consolidate needs. By connecting the patient to the many players involved in their post stay care, Getting Home aims to make it simpler and more efficient to get what you need when you need it.

Boogaloo Beds

What do they do: Sleep is a basic human need. Boogaloo has made it their mission to address sleep complications for people with Autism and other sensory disorders. Their beds act like a cocoon, blocking and controlling sensory input for a soothing sleeping environment.

CampChamp

What do they do: Finding and booking camps for the kids can be a frustrating process. Between seeking recommendations, searching the Web, research and applications, the camp process is a full-time job for parents. CampChamp takes over this role. As an online marketplace connecting camps with families, CampChamp provides a platform to make connecting kids with camps simple.

Clingless

What do they do: It’s the little things in life that can make or break your day. Clingless aims to address an every-day annoyance by keeping shower curtains on the tub and off your body. Their curtain keepers secure the curtain for a no-stick bathing experience, are harmless to all bathroom surfaces and come in an array of designs to accompany any bathroom style.

Contract Simply

What do they do: In an ever-changing labor and supply environment it can be difficult and complicated for those seeking contractors to manage the many moving parts involved in the building process. Contract Simply is a team of engineers, contractors and developers with the goal of simplifying this experience. Its site documents every aspect of contracting from finance balances to invoices and order changes — erasing confusion and providing consistency to its users.

Evoke Medical

What do they do: Most have experienced the devastating effect that back pain can have on a life or the life of a loved one. From medical costs to recurring pain and loss of bone structure, Evoke Medical is addressing the negative results of spinal fusion to increase quality of life and improve patient outcomes. They’re leveraging the body’s biofeedback system to design smart implants that heal bone naturally for a better back long-term.

Fireless Cremation

What do they do: Using water as an alternative to fire in the cremation process has become popular in recent years. The Fireless Cremation team is using this after-life method to keep pollutants from entering the atmosphere by using a water-jet spa and plant nutrient to break down the body. Their method returns 100 percent of the bones to family members, rather than using fire which returns a mere 65 percent, and reduces mercury emissions for a cleaner Colorado.

Grownetics

What do they do: As the global population reaches historic highs, agriculture efficiency has become a popular pursuit for growers across the board. Grownetics was founded to solve increasing agricultural inefficiency with the world’s first fully integrated hardware CEA optimization platform for indoor grow houses. From high-resolution crop sensing to crop alerts – they are offering growers a smarter way to control every aspect of their cultivation facility. Currently focused on marijuana, the company wants to expand to more indoor agriculture to help businesses reduce waste and cost by more closely monitoring the needs of plants with high-resolution crop sensing, full facility automation and automated alerts.

InMotion Albums

What do they do: Preserving memories is a beloved tradition across the board, however between collecting printed photos, managing digital galleries and paying for space on photo websites — keeping memories can be overwhelming. InMotion Albums is consolidating these various mediums to provide users with a one-stop photo and video management shop. Formatted as a physical photo album, the high-tech books sync video with printed pictures — offering a multi-dimensional experience for your memories.

Lacuna Diagnostics

What do they do: For many Coloradan’s pets are as close to our hearts as friends and family. Like family when a pet becomes ill we want to ensure the best possible care for them — this is where Lacuna Diagnostics steps in. Lacuna is disrupting the current veterinary diagnostics system with digital technology, allowing vets to upload diagnostic images in a matter of seconds. Pet lovers will now have timely answers when it comes to the medical condition of their furry friend making it easier to treat symptoms rapidly.

Leaf

What do they do: When a refugee flees their home for safety, they often leave behind a lifetime of savings and belongings. Because of this refugees have become a financially excluded group, making it difficult for them to rebuild lives, find jobs and survive in a new environment. Leaf is addressing this monetary gap by creating financial services beyond the bank branch. Their application offers a secure virtual currency that can be traded within camps, invested and leveraged to create credit history.

Nikola Power

What do they do: Aspirations toward a world powered by renewable energy have been a hot topic and popular pursuit for over a decade. The efforts, however, have consistently reached a roadblock when it comes to energy storage. Nikola Power is on a mission to make these renewable energy efforts a reality by developing a new method of storage. Between hundreds of megawatt’s of clean power projects to state-of-the-art battery storage, Nikola believes they can provide the storage needed to properly renewable energy to the next level.

N[STALL]

What do they do: Denver’s homeless population has increased by 600 percent over the past 25 years. The number of shelters however has not in-turn increased. In an effort to balance this discrepancy N[STALL] has created a design solution that harnesses Denver’s existing infrastructure to provide integrated and accessible places for the homeless to sleep. By utilizing existing parking garages they have found a way to offer nightly refuge for those in need of a shelter.

Paranoms

What do they do: There are a multitude of applications that help food truck fanatics to find their favorite restaurant on wheels. However when it comes to helping our favorite trucks find and secure business, the market is slim. This is where Paranom steps in — their application allows food truck owners to search, schedule and secure business on one streamlined location.

Phoncert

What do they do: For music enthusiasts, connecting to favorite artists can be as integral as the songs themselves. Phoncert is connecting artists to fans by creating a platform to connect with live and archived content, studio sessions, podcast by artists and other exclusive material. Phoncert is a superfine paradise for those whose music passion goes beyond just listening.

Phoodio

What do they do: Essentially Phoodio is dedicated to finding and following food trucks. For those who spend time at Denver’s breweries, music festivals, farmer’s markets or any other of our many gather places, Phoodio can connect you with a food truck nearby for a quick bite.

Recoup Fitness

What do they do: Recreational athletes everywhere have the need for post workout recovery products. Unfortunately, these tools have a tendency to be out of the average consumers price range. Recoup fitness is changing the game by creating a cutting edge cold massage roller and bringing comfort and muscle recovery to gym rats across the board.

SaltiSweet Ice Cream Factory

What do they do: Founded in Littleton, SaltiSweet aims to eliminate the inedible aspect of our favorite frozen treats by replacing the classic wooden ice-cream sticks with a salty pretzel. Their desserts combine creamy sweetness with a salty crunch to create a 100 percent edible ice cream option.

Scraps

What do they do: In recent years, Denver has seen a massive population increase and in turn, a massive increase in trash. Unfortunately, our cities ability to handle that trash hasn’t increased with the demand. Scraps aims to address this problem with two wheels and two pedals. By using locals manufactured bicycles to collect and transport food scraps, they are not only cutting down on pollution emission but also cutting down on Denver’s trash. Scraps provide everything that the customer needs to keep their food scraps out of land fills – from compostable baggies to compostable bins and regularly scheduled bike pick-ups.

Scrubber

What do they do: We are almost constantly being recorded. From Instagram, to Twitter, Facebook and a multitude of other social sites — it is nearly impossible to avoid our records and information being collected and kept by the internet. Scrubber services is addressing this modern predicament by using top of the line technology to search for, track down and erase any and all unwanted information that could be floating around in cyber space. Scrubber services brings you the peace of mind to know that your personal information isn’t available to outside eyes.

Stackup

What do they do: How do you Stackup ? This is a question that many professionals and pre-professionals ask themselves as they enter and develop in the business world. Stackup services compiles everything you’ve read and learned online, plus resume and academic grades to show how you stack up to competitors in your market. Their report gives employers and schools a clear evaluation of your interests, intellectual curiosity and performances. With countries nation-wide accepting stack up reports daily, their services are a concise and effective way to be noticed in an ever-growing professional world.

To Market

What do they do: One problem has plagued chefs from across Colorado — how to maintain and retain consistency when it comes to their food orders. To Market, created by long-time chef ‘Moose,’ is a platform to manage and communicate culinary orders from chef to farmer. This application acts as a middleman between the restaurant and the source, making it simpler for chef’s across Colorado to get the products they need and in turn, easier for diners to get the meal they’ve ordered.

 

Wallet Gyde

What do they do: Making and sticking to financial goals begins with developing better spending habits. Based on how you spend your cash, Wallet Gyde helps users complete their financial goals with personalized step-by step updates, money tracking, financial advice and guided debt elimination plan.