I have a list of favorite startups here: <a href="https://www.are.na/morgan-sutherland/good-startups" rel="nofollow">https://www.are.na/morgan-sutherland/good-startups</a><p>Highlights:<p><a href="http://are.na" rel="nofollow">http://are.na</a> (private and collaborative research platform)<p><a href="http://un1verse.co" rel="nofollow">http://un1verse.co</a> (mobile card-based programming)<p><a href="https://www.notion.so" rel="nofollow">https://www.notion.so</a> (powerful collaborative documents)<p><a href="http://mine.nyc" rel="nofollow">http://mine.nyc</a> (z-axis for content on the web)<p><a href="http://ascribe.io" rel="nofollow">http://ascribe.io</a> (registering content ownership in the blockchain)<p><a href="http://urbit.org" rel="nofollow">http://urbit.org</a> (radically simple complete re-write of system and network software/infrastructure)<p><a href="https://artadvisor.io/" rel="nofollow">https://artadvisor.io/</a> (artworld intelligence)<p><a href="https://graphcommons.com/" rel="nofollow">https://graphcommons.com/</a> (collaborative graph databases)
I only just discovered this one, but it's one of the most interesting startups I've seen in a while.<p>Premonition - <a href="http://premonition.ai/" rel="nofollow">http://premonition.ai/</a><p>It helps you choose a lawyer by analyzing legal data - which lawyers usually win before which judges, whether or not they run up the bill, etc.<p>Seems like there could be some ethical issues, but the value proposition is potentially enormous.
I guess this is intended for learning of unknown startups, and it's a huge one, so I don't think this is what you're looking for, but...<p>Uber<p>I've been querying for HN/reddit submissions a lot. I'm fascinated by all its accomplishments and the issues it raises:<p>- Viability of work-as-you-want, surge-as-needed supply model<p>- Creating critical mass for carpooling and rides on demand to work (I don't think anyone believed it was possible to convince upper middle class people to carpool with strangers)<p>- Being one of the few major instances of coordinating a shift away from tipping<p>- The spotlight they've shone (yes that shine's past participle) on the taxi industry and the "unseen" improvements we were missing out on<p>- The issues related to the contractor/employee boundary<p>- The general logistics of on-demand infrastructure and things it enables at scale<p>Most of that applies to Lyft too of course, though they're in the news less.<p>(In case I sound like a propagandist, let me note that yes their ethical lapses do bother me and I know some people who would lose respect for me if I ever worked there, so yeah it's not all wine and roses.)
My favorite is Digital Ocean <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.digitalocean.com</a>. While Google and Microsoft are trying to take AWS head-on, DO is nibbling away on AWS at the edges. AWS has become complex and as long as DO stays on simpler side, they have good chance to build a decent business.
Plex at <a href="https://plex.tv" rel="nofollow">https://plex.tv</a> is an amazing startup that has created an ecosystem of media players on multiple devices<p>"Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox (Xbox 360 & Xbox One), Playstation (PS3 & PS4), and other Smart TV platforms (currently Samsung, VIZIO, & Opera TV)" [0]<p>The clients play media you host yourself on your home computer or server.<p>They're self-funded and remarkably successful in the cord-cutting community.<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plex_(software)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plex_(software)</a>
Grouplend: <a href="http://grouplend.ca" rel="nofollow">http://grouplend.ca</a><p>I like Grouplend for three reasons:<p>1. It uses cutting edge technology and Big Data.<p>2. It's bringing B2B lending to Canada; finally, you can get a loan without going through the big banks.<p>3. Markus Frind invested in the company when he got his $575-million payout after Match.com bought POF.<p>I just wish they paid more. On angel.co, they're offering $50-75K for junior-intermediate engineers and $65K for intermediate-senior engineers at the low end. I would have liked to see them offer at least $75-80K to new grads, at least the well-prepared ones.
<a href="https://prestodoctor.com/" rel="nofollow">https://prestodoctor.com/</a> - online CA mmj recommendations, clean design and solid customer service
I think Zirx - <a href="http://zirx.com/" rel="nofollow">http://zirx.com/</a> has a lot more to it than meets the eye.<p>At the moment it seems like it's just another part of the on-demand economy, a kind of reverse-uber for people who own cars in the city.<p>But if and when self driving cars appear, Zirx are the company that will know how to run the infrastructure and facilities for autonomous vehicles in and around cities, and other forms of transport.
I don't know my favorite startup , but here are some cool startups you can check:<p><a href="https://www.cloudflare.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.cloudflare.com</a><p><a href="https://coding.net" rel="nofollow">https://coding.net</a> (It's for Chinese developers but you can try <a href="https://ide.coding.net" rel="nofollow">https://ide.coding.net</a> also)<p><a href="https://www.quora.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com</a>
<a href="https://luciding.com" rel="nofollow">https://luciding.com</a> - very simple, but promising technology. The team seems to be smart.
SoundCloud - <a href="http://soundcloud.com" rel="nofollow">http://soundcloud.com</a><p>This is the YouTube of music, and has been exploding in popularity.
<a href="http://www.goguin.com/en" rel="nofollow">http://www.goguin.com/en</a> – relocation for free<p>Great for digital nomads and those who move often. These guys had the most awesome idea to match people in different cities who move, so if you are lucky can save tons of money on renting the apartment and buying/selling the stuff. Will definitely use when I decide to relocate next time.
Mixmax is tackling the next generation of email. Many startups claim they're reinventing email, but they're just creating better tools to triage email. Mixmax is actually rethinking the form of email and how communication can be richer with interactive, information dense content.
<a href="http://mobirise.com/" rel="nofollow">http://mobirise.com/</a>
This is a desktop application that helps anyone make a basic web page for you startup. It'
s Free. Made for Mac and Windows.
I'm absolutely enamored with <a href="http://imgur.com" rel="nofollow">http://imgur.com</a><p>- They continually refine the product<p>- They are careful of feature creep<p>- The community they've cultivated seems to feel incredible ownership of the product.
<a href="https://www.stomt.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.stomt.com</a> You can give feedback by just finishing a sentence. Like a mix of Twitter and reddit. Looks promising but seems to be still in Beta.
My favorite: Exelion<p><a href="https://exelion.net" rel="nofollow">https://exelion.net</a><p>We're doing bare metal without the high cost.<p>Disclaimer: I'm the founder.<p>Other disclaimer: Did anyone notice I'm in the top 100 for HN points now? \o/
I love what Taiga.io is doing. They're making an Agile/Scrum solution that's a pleasure to work with by focusing on UI first. They're even open-source.
<a href="https://airtame.com/" rel="nofollow">https://airtame.com/</a>
Really looking forward to this. Time to get rid of the cables
Emulate Inc, a biotech startup that designed organs-on-chips, a technology that could potentially stop animal testing.[1]<p>I also follow Beyond Meat. Google's Sergey Brin invested in them.[2] They are working on cruelty-free "cultured meat".<p>[1]<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/medical-technology-that-could-eliminate-need-for-animal-testing-wins-design-award-10337887.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/medical-technology...</a><p>[2]<a href="http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/06/silicon-valley-fake-meat-burger.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/06/silicon-valley-fake-meat-b...</a>