Everlaunch Wins dot.LA's Startup Pitch Competition

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

Everlaunch Wins dot.LA's Startup Pitch Competition
Photo by Joshua Ruano

A startup that offers gamified how-to guides for aspiring entrepreneurs was declared the winner of the second annual dot.LA pitch competition on Thursday in Santa Monica.


"My mission is to 'Pinky and the Brain' all of the currently available resources," said Everlaunch CEO Michelle Heng, referring to a cartoon where the main character was obsessed with taking over the world. Heng's service sets out to build a community for entrepreneurs and bring together essential business resources in a single hub.

Heng was selected as the night's winner by the competition's three judges — Boba Guys founder and investor Andrew Chau, Worklife VC founder Brianne Kimmel, and Plug and Play Ventures investor Kiswana Browne.

Everlaunch debuted in May to offer a "roadmap" for the "business-building process." Current partners include GoDaddy, Squarespace and 99designs. "The days of endless googling are over," a tagline for the service reads.

"I'm just excited to do the work and be an ally in order to build the future, and to help people of color build generational wealth," said Heng, speaking before attendees of the dot.LA Summit.

"And don't forget to bet on black women," she added.

The pitch-off also featured Rent-a-Romper and Reeplayer. All three startups are Southern California-based, have raised less than $1 million to date in outside funding and were nominated for the competition by dot.LA readers.

Rent-a-Romper offers a monthly subscription to clothing for babies and toddlers. "We are changing children's fashion by providing parents a curated wardrobe that grows with their child," said CEO Lauren Gregor.

Reeplayer provides a $99-per-month subscription that aims to help coaches and young soccer players capture game footage. Reeplayer's software and 4K camera system, which goes on a tripod and records from the sideline, are both included in the monthly fee. "Down the line we want to bridge the gap between athletes and recruiters," said founder Orhan Ajredinovski.

Crewtify, a livestreaming platform for concerts, won last year's dot.LA pitch competition.

Watch the full 2021 event here:

dot.LA Summit: Startup Pitch Competitionwww.youtube.com

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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