TEC Ventures

TriLite Technologies specializes in manufacturing ultra-small RGB laser beam scanners. Its products are designed for use in augmented reality/mixed reality/virtual reality head-mounted devices, head-up displays, pico projectors, and smart home applications.

TriLite Technologies specializes in manufacturing ultra-small RGB laser beam scanners. Its products are designed for use in augmented reality/mixed reality/virtual reality head-mounted devices, head-up displays, pico projectors, and smart home applications.

Silicon Valley Open Doors 2016 Pitch Competition - Second Runner-up Witlee is a commerce platform for influencers, who've built an audience and inspire purchases through their engaging content. By implementing e-commerce best practices, we help this underserved market grow both their audience and revenue significantly. The problem we are solving-->> Online retailers excel at the bottom of the purchase funnel: search and decision, but fail in inspiration and browse. Consumers visit retail sites with a product in mind, and never browse the inventory retailers try to promote and expose. Online influencers have really figured out inspiration. They have a dedicated audience that comes for inspiration and ends up purchasing based on what they read and see. But the whole shopping experience for these influencers is based on simple text links, lacking all the standard best practices we're used to in e-commerce experiences (similar items, hotness signals, recommendations, search or browse paths). Our solution-->> Witlee bridges that gap by providing the best e-commerce solution for influencers today. We provide influencers with a retail standard, e-commerce storefront that's fully based on their images, and implement all the current e-commerce best practices across desktop and mobile. Our Witlee store is a fully automated solution that creates an intuitive shopping experience for their audience. Their great content, and our store, enhances conversion and engagement tremendously.

PastureMap, Inc. is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in developing software for grazing and ranching, founded in 2014. The company's platform assists ranchers and farmers in enhancing their operations by promoting healthy grassland management. Through its innovative software, PastureMap provides tools that integrate mobile records with aerial imaging, soil maps, and rainfall data, facilitating improved grazing practices and land optimization. This technology enables users to effectively map and subdivide pastures, track herd information, manage animal weights, and plan water and infrastructure needs. By focusing on regenerative agriculture, PastureMap aims to restore soil health, sequester carbon, and contribute to sustainable food production while supporting local communities.

Espresa is a culture benefits platform that provides an integrated suite of tools to support HR and people teams in driving employee experience and engagement. Its offerings include rewards and recognition, wellbeing and fitness, lifestyle spending accounts, community and employee resource groups, reimbursements and allowances, challenges and achievements, and event scheduling to streamline administration and enhance well-being. The platform aims to deliver a global, flexible benefits experience that reduces administrative burden while increasing productivity and engagement. Espresa is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and was founded in 2015.

GOODdler is a company that facilitates the donation of goods to charities through its innovative platform. It aims to streamline the donation process by digitizing the supply chain of local retailers and farmers. This allows local non-governmental organizations to create wishlists based on their inventory needs. By doing so, GOODdler provides an accessible means for individuals and communities to contribute to humanitarian efforts by purchasing the requested items directly from local retailers. The company focuses on fostering effective collaboration to maximize the impact of humanitarian action, ultimately driving systemic change in the way donations are managed and delivered.

Mozio, Inc. is an online airport transportation search and booking engine based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2012. The company's platform enables travelers to easily search and book a variety of transportation options, including shared ride shuttles, private vans, taxis, limousines, and SUVs, across multiple regions, including the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Designed to simplify the travel experience, Mozio aggregates local transportation services, helping users navigate their options and secure the best deals for their airport transfers. Additionally, Mozio offers API and affiliate programs, allowing travel websites and agents to sell various transportation services, thereby enhancing customer loyalty and monetization opportunities for travel brands.

SupportPay is a payment platform designed to assist single, divorced, separated, and blended families in managing their financial relationships. The platform enables users to share, manage, and track expenses, payments, and schedules related to child support. Through its application, parents can easily track expenses, store receipts, dispute items, and facilitate payments directly between one another. SupportPay is accessible to consumers and can also be offered as an employee benefit, providing a comprehensive solution for families navigating the complexities of financial arrangements. The company is owned by Smart Family Tech, Inc., which acquired its assets following the liquidation of its predecessor, Ittavi, Inc.

Silo Networks, Inc. is a professional networking platform that facilitates the creation of communities where professionals can connect, share unpublished opportunities, and provide advice and introductions. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Silo enables users to meet peers, explore insider opportunities, and benefit from trusted networks. The platform focuses on enhancing professional relationships, allowing users to strengthen existing connections and build new ones, as well as leveraging their networks for hiring and recommendations. Through Silo, professionals can engage in meaningful exchanges that contribute to their career development and support others in their professional journeys.

zyBooks is an educational company founded in 2012 by Smita Bakshi and Frank Vahid, aimed at enhancing learning for college students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. Recognizing that over half of STEM students do not complete their degrees, zyBooks addresses the shortcomings of traditional textbooks, which often do not engage students effectively. The company creates web-native learning materials that emphasize interactivity, using minimal text and incorporating question sets, animations, and embedded homework. This approach allows students to learn through active participation rather than passive reading. zyBooks is developed collaboratively by a team of professors, content developers, and software engineers, ensuring high-quality educational resources. Initially adopted by a few universities, zyBooks has expanded its reach to over 200 colleges and universities, as well as several high schools, providing an accessible and engaging alternative to conventional educational materials.

Their story started with a group of young professionals who struggled with how hard it was to find art for their home. They were tired of the generic, cookie-cutter posters, and desired something more meaningful. But, they didn’t know how where to start - galleries were intimidating, online sites overwhelming, and the pricing of it all was a confusing black box. Why did it have to be so hard to Be Original? At the same time, they thought of their friends and family who were artists - making beautiful art, but they had to abandon their creative talents so they could pay the bills. Something just didn’t make sense. After continuing to ask questions, they realized they were not alone, so they started to build, test, and tinker until…they launched ARTtwo50 in July 2013. Nine months later, May 1, 2014, ARTtwo50 was reborn as Vango along with the launch of a smaller version of their iPad app on the iPhone. The reason they changed from 'ARTtwo50' was that they wanted a name that was catchy and did not box us in on price. Given that they are a marketplace, they mashed up things that take two people (Tango) and key components of their app (Visualization). ‘Vango’ just came out and they loved the sound and energy.

BuildersCloud makes sharing, accessing and working with construction documents incredibly easy. Top construction industry leaders have endorsed BuildersCloud for: •document and communication exchange between offices/field •patent-pending technology to process data in cloud (creates zero-latency in exchange of information) •instant SMS, Web, and Email sharing of critical updates (mobile, PC, tablets) •PDF, image and photo collaboration tools •remote productivity controls •customer-friendly and intuitive design

OwnerListens is a technology company specializing in real-time, location-based private messaging between businesses and their customers via SMS or IM. It offers tools for businesses to efficiently manage and respond to customer texts, even when the best responder is an on-site employee. The platform also provides analytics and reporting to help businesses improve performance and customer engagement. Businesses benefit from using OwnerListens as it enables cheaper communication compared to phone calls, reaches customers at the point of contact, delights customers by offering convenient messaging options, and holds employees accountable through time-, date-, and location-stamped reports.

SupportPay is a payment platform designed to assist single, divorced, separated, and blended families in managing their financial relationships. The platform enables users to share, manage, and track expenses, payments, and schedules related to child support. Through its application, parents can easily track expenses, store receipts, dispute items, and facilitate payments directly between one another. SupportPay is accessible to consumers and can also be offered as an employee benefit, providing a comprehensive solution for families navigating the complexities of financial arrangements. The company is owned by Smart Family Tech, Inc., which acquired its assets following the liquidation of its predecessor, Ittavi, Inc.

Minbox Inc. is a cloud storage application developer based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2012. The company specializes in a cloud file management platform that unifies various cloud storage services, allowing users to connect accounts from platforms such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Minbox enables users to synchronize specific files or folders across these services, facilitating easy sharing and collaboration with colleagues and clients. The application features real-time interactions, including comments and annotations on files, and includes functionalities for quick note-taking and team engagement. By aggregating content from multiple cloud services, Minbox enhances users' ability to search for and manage their files efficiently.

TranscribeMe Inc. specializes in mobile audio transcription solutions, offering a platform that converts audio and video into searchable and shareable text. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company utilizes proprietary micro-tasking technology to deliver accurate transcriptions, even from complex audio with multiple speakers and overlapping conversations. Its services cater to a diverse clientele, including medical professionals, corporations, conference organizers, writers, podcasters, and academics, enabling them to analyze and monetize their audio content effectively. The platform provides features such as speech-to-text conversion, speaker identification, time coding, and keyword analysis, making it a valuable tool across industries like healthcare, market research, and education.

GetGoing is a San Francisco-based startup focused on transforming leisure travel by providing a platform that helps customers discover affordable getaway options while saving significantly on costs. Catering primarily to price-sensitive travelers, the company collaborates with major airlines and hotels to tackle excess inventory, enabling the sale of unsold flight seats at discounts of up to 40%. Customers engage with a unique booking model that requires them to select two destinations and agree to a non-refundable purchase, with one of the destinations revealed post-booking. This approach targets discretionary travelers and intentionally excludes business travelers and those with fixed itineraries. GetGoing's proprietary pricing method not only aids in filling unsold seats but also contributes to an enhanced travel experience. The company has secured eight U.S. and international patents, demonstrating its commitment to innovation in pricing, search, and customer segmentation strategies, and continues to expand its intellectual property portfolio.