In the first part of our BDW coverage, we focused on the history and the programmatic goals of this 50-week, accelerated graduate program that integrates design, technology, and entrepreneurial endeavors. As mentioned, the second half of each cohort’s time at BDW is primarily focused on building a startup from scratch.

We’ll focus the second part of this story on the teams and their company creations. Tonight, they will be holding a Demo Day (more information here) for industry professionals to listen to their pitches. The hope for many of the teams is that seed funding will bolster their projects post-BDW.

Seekr

Team Members: Nick Clement, CEO; Danny Tran, Co-Founder; Jeremy Tinianow - Visual Design; Alia Munger - UI/UX; Catie Czajkowski - Product manager

Seekr is is attempting to bring mobile-side business to the off-the-beaten-path experience. Led by Nick Clement and Danny Tran, Seekr’s co-founders, their aim is to “connect adventurous travelers to independent guides and locals,” says Clement.

He and Tran asked me to attend a user testing or mock experience at the First Presbyterian Church in Aurora for 10 travelers in Kenya.

Kenyan natives, led by Esther Magondu, prepared a cornucopia of traditional dishes for Clement’s friends and family in the kitchen basement of the church. Pilau, a rice pilaf-like dish, sukuma, a mix of kale and spinach, chapati, a flat bread staple, plantains, and samaki, a fried fish, were some of the many dishes to choose from.

The idea behind this was to a) share a wonderful meal, and b), to monitor behaviors and test the searching, booking, and payment processes from the various individuals attending.

Seek.r’s platform is still in a very beta model, but holds a lot of promise. The Reverend of the church, Dr. Jemimah Ngatia, who also happens to be the first female African-born, ordained pastor of the Presbyterian USA church, may have said it best after leading the group in prayer:

“We have so many talents in Kenya, we don’t necessarily know how to present them.”

Clement and Tran hope their platform will be the arbiter of this problem. While many kinks will need to be sorted out—payment, spreading the Seek.r gospel, and platform bugs—they present a compelling case in the same vein as Airbnb. Why can’t people share the talents and assets they hold in communities all over the world?

Fireside TV

Team Members: Steven Raetz - CEO; Ashlee Perry - Product Designer; Alexa Ault - Brand Strategist; Amanda Phillips - Content Strategist

Fireside TV is for the indecisive and overwhelmed Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Streaming (is there anything else?) viewers around the world–there’s quite a few. Have you ever scrolled the cavernous options for each platform and that in of itself became the activity for your night?

The main point, explains Perry, was simple: “It takes too long.”

Fireside intends to eliminate your hesitancy by using a Mad Libs-like algorithm to generate viewing options based on how you’re feeling.

Do you want to watch a drama/comedy that makes you laugh and cry? Well Forrest Gump might come up as a 90% match. It’s Complicated might receive an 85% match. You get the gist. This app is a way to skirt contention among family members feeling a wide range of emotions on a Saturday night, a third date where “you’re going to watch a movie,” and the nearing 30 couple who can’t believe they haven’t been out on Friday night in weeks.

“Our business model is to help the Nexflix and Hulus of the world. There’s a lot that can be discovered on these platforms that aren’t on the surface,” says Perry.

Artaire

Team Members: Mackenzie Hawkins - CEO; Erin Rhodes - Visual Design; Alexandra Eikenbary - UX Design; Court Earp - Development

Artaire is a platform that seems like it should already exist. The concept is to connect artists to potential collectors, real estate developers, interior designers, and municipalities who want to access fine art for their homes, development projects, or public art spaces.

“How can we help get artists get connected with more opportunities?” Hawkins said was the question her team tried to answer through the project’s timeline.

The industry standard commission fee for art hovers around 50%, where Artaire will only take a 25% commission. Like many third parties in the online marketplace world, the platform cuts out the traditional third-party middleman.

Access for emerging artists is always the rub, but similarly, as Hawkins says,

“People want art, but they don’t know how to source it or find artists, so they go to consultants and spend all this money.”

Major props to this group who would be streamlining a very dated process and providing more financial avenues for creators around the world.

“It’s about time this happened,” says Hawkins.

Kilo

Team Members: Dillon Propp - CEO UX Strategy & Design, and Business Strategy; Brad Ambrose - Branding and Visual Design; Diva Firoozi - Head of Product; Joe Toscano - Head of Tech and UI

RFID event wristbands, watch your plastic jewelry, because Kilo is an event management company that is attempting to strip the need of that accessory and house everything you need for a festival, conference, and event through your mobile phone.

Founder Dillon Propp says, “Kilo enhances the experience for attendees by enabling them to be immersed in that experience without feeling lost.”

In practical terms, which he went on to explain, that means the user will be able to navigate the conference through a dedicated map, plan out events they want to attend, receive important notifications, use a digital wallet app, and if a friend is in attendance, they can locate them by way of the map.  

“Simultaneously, the platform cuts the costs for event organizers and creates opportunities for them to engage and understand their customer better than they ever had before. We collect the data from the phone, providing them statistics on hot locations and purchase data.”

“Our differentiation factor is taking the wristband out of the experience, and we think the market is ready for that,” says Propp.

The market seems ready for Kilo. At this juncture they’ve been asked by three different organizations to pilot their operation.

Looking out for these fledgling companies. This talented cohort is graduating today in Boulder, and ready to cement these ideas in the real world. Our next installment will detail the results of Demo Day, happening tonight in Boulder.