Oxstones Investment Club™SAILDRONE: THE MOST EXCITING DRONES DON’T FLY, THEY SAIL
Saildrone’s fleet of unmanned sailboats — outfitted with dozens of sensors, measurement tools and cameras — can capture data on fish and wildlife populations, ocean temperatures, and weather, all at a fraction of the cost of manned missions. By next year, founder Richard Jenkins hopes there will be more Saildrone boats in the oceans than satellites in the sky.
HYPERLOOP ONE: TRYING TO MAKE A RADICAL VISION OF HIGH-SPEED RAIL A REALITY
If all goes as planned, 2017 could be the real game-changing year: Hyperloop One has said it plans to do a full-size test run of its pods that are designed to travel 700 mph in a magnetic, low-pressure tube. More than 2,500 cities around the world have submitted proposals to be among the first locations with a working Hyperloop.
DOPPLER LABS: THIS STARTUP WANTS TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU HEAR THE WORLD
Doppler Labs’ sound-processing earbuds are designed to let you selectively listen to your surroundings. Want to turn up the bass at a concert, or lower the sound of a baby crying? Press a button on Doppler’s mobile app and you’ve got a volume control for the world.
CAPELLA SPACE: LAUNCHING TINY SATELLITES THAT ARE VASTLY SUPERIOR
Capella’s satellites are roughly the size of a backpack and a fraction of the weight of competitors’ satellites. That makes them cheaper to build and able to take photos much more frequently. And unlike most other satellites, they can capture images in any light or weather condition.
BEYOND MEAT: THIS VEGAN BURGER TASTES MORE LIKE MEAT EVERY YEAR
To founder Ethan Brown, a plant-based “meat” is the key to feeding the world’s population and dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock — and he’s employing 25 food scientists, and more than 75 other staffers, to figure it all out. Beyond Meat’s investors include Bill Gates, General Mills VC arm and Tyson Foods.
THINX: THE UNDERWEAR COMPANY BUSTING TABOOS AROUND WOMEN’S HEALTH
In 2015, the maker of so-called “period-proof” panties — a patented, soak-through technology for underwear that can absorb the same volume as up to two tampons — famously went up against the New York City transit authority to get its ads on the local subway system. Since then, Thinx has grown to tens of millions of dollars in sales. The company came under fire and founder Miki Agrawal departed, however, after an employee filed a sexual harassment complaint.
KASITA: A TINY HOME AIMED AT MODERN CITY DWELLERS FOR JUST $139,000
Each 350-square-foot home comes complete with clever storage nooks, a Sonos sound system, and washer and dryer. The Kasitas can function as granny flats in a backyard, but the founders’ bigger vision is to stack them on top of each other in “racks” on small and oddly shaped city lots, as a potential solution in cities with a serious affordable housing crunch.
AEROFARMS: THE FUTURE OF FARMING MAY NOT INVOLVE DIRT OR SUN
AeroFarms builds data-focused indoor farming facilities that it says produce 130 times more crop per square foot than the average field farm. Plants’ roots are embedded in a patented reusable cloth material and sprayed with nutrient-rich mist, letting AeroFarms use 95 percent less water than is used on traditional farms.
BLUE RIVER TECHNOLOGY: THESE SMART DEVICES LET FARMERS CUT DOWN ON CHEMICAL USE
Blue River’s machines let farmers target individual plants with herbicides, rather than spraying whole fields all at once, reducing the spend on chemicals and helping to maximize seed yield. The company says that its devices are capable of eliminating up to 90 percent of the chemicals farmers use.
PIRCH: IN THIS SHOWROOM, YOU CAN TEST-DRIVE EVERYTHING — EVEN SHOWERS
Premium appliance retailer Pirch is fighting back against e-commerce with brick-and-mortar stores that overwhelm the senses. You can test-drive an oven by baking cookies or a grill by preparing a steak — a professional chef is on-hand to help. Afterward, cool off by wandering beneath the store’s 40 showerheads. (Bathing suit required.)
GINKGO BIOWORKS: WHAT IF GENETIC CODE WERE AS EASY TO CUSTOMIZE AS COMPUTER CODE?
SOFI: TACKLING ONLINE, TECH-SAVVY CONSUMER FINANCE FOR MILLENNIALS
The 6-year-old alternative lender got its start hosting parties for recent graduates (hence “Social”) — and offering to help them repay their student loans at lower rates (“Finance”). That remains a big business for the company, but SoFi also has expanded gradually into other types of financial products as well.
OPENDOOR: EASING THE PAIN OF BUYING AND SELLING HOMES, NO REALTOR REQUIRED
Opendoor wants to change the way people buy and sell their homes by removing the painful parts, like the hassle of home-showing and paperwork. When customers decide to sell with Opendoor, the company makes an offer, lets the homeowner choose a move-out date (up to 60 days after the offer is accepted), and buys the property.
CLASSDOJO: THE APP BRINGING PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
Think of it as a virtual classroom: A cartoon avatar represents each student and parents who log in can see their child’s classroom conduct score, feedback on assignments and projects, and direct messages from teachers. According to the company, more than two-thirds of all U.S. schools have at least one teacher using ClassDojo.
AIRMAP: MAPPING OUT WHERE YOU CAN — AND CAN’T — FLY A DRONE
As more drones fill the skies, founders Ben Marcus and Gregory McNeal want AirMap to be the data platform that makes them safer. It provides real-time, low-altitude airspace information and services (like weather conditions and local airspace rules), essentially letting you know if there are any flight restrictions where you want to fly your drone.
VIONX ENERGY: STORING WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY IN LONG-LASTING GRID-SCALE BATTERIES
Vionx Energy is trying to solve one of the biggest issues with renewable energy: storing power from solar panels and wind turbines. Vionx’s durable storage units can hold and use that energy for up to 20 years, providing much-needed stability and capacity to power grids.
RESTLESS BANDIT: POWERFUL SOFTWARE TO FIND THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR A JOB
The Restless Bandit team has invested more than 50,000 hours into analyzing resumes and hiring patterns to better inform the company’s machine-learning algorithms. Now, those highly trained algorithms help companies surface worthy candidates from among the thousands of job applications they already have.
RUBICON GLOBAL: BRINGING FRESH IDEAS TO THE TRASH BUSINESS
“Trash is a kitchen table issue that reaches Middle America — not just the coasts,” says founder Nate Morris. His technology company, Rubicon Global, connects independent waste removal companies to corporate clients. The benefit to clients? Morris claims Rubicon can save them up to 30 percent.
ASPIRATION: LETTING CUSTOMERS NAME THEIR OWN PRICE FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Three years ago, Aspiration co-founder Andrei Cherny had a novel idea: Customers should be able to decide how much to pay companies to manage their money. The company today counts around 85,000 users, primarily generating revenue through its elective fees — and says its revenue is on track to hit $1 million in 2017.
CORSICA INNOVATIONS: THE DEVICE THAT LETS YOU GROW (LEGAL) WEED WITH YOUR PHONE
Could growing legal marijuana be as easy as opening an app? Corsica Innovations has developed Leaf — an advanced smartphone-controlled cultivation system made specifically for cannabis. Customers buy the 4-foot-tall, $3,000 “plug-and-grow” device, then drop in a seed and follow directions through the app.
DESCARTES LABS: USING SATELLITE IMAGES TO MAKE STARTLINGLY ACCURATE PREDICTIONS
Descartes Labs analyzes satellite photos of the globe and compares them, pixel by pixel, to make predictions about anything from crop outputs to the effects of climate change. In 2016, Descartes projected U.S. corn yields — which number in the billions of bushels — to within 1 percent accuracy, beating the USDA’s estimate, according to the company.
DEFY VENTURES: TURNING EX-CONVICTS INTO SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS
Guided by the belief that entrepreneurial potential can be found anywhere, Defy Ventures teaches former drug ring organizers, gang leaders, and other ex-convicts that they too have the skills needed to launch a successful business. To date, Defy has incubated 166 businesses, which have created more than 350 jobs.
LEMONADE: THE FOUNDERS WANT TO BUILD AN INSURANCE COMPANY THAT CUSTOMERS LOVE
Lemonade uses behavioral science and artificial intelligence to change the way home insurance works: The company tells customers up front that it will take 20 percent of their premiums. Of the remaining money, whatever isn’t paid out in claims is donated to the customer’s charity of choice in an effort to encourage honest behavior — from both the company and customers.
TWIST BIOSCIENCE: READING AND WRITING DNA FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE
Twist Bioscience has radically reduced the cost of working with DNA by retooling the technology used to synthesize it. This innovation could help lead to huge advances across a number of different applications, from vaccine development to improving agricultural crop yield to using DNA as a data-storage medium.
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Tags: AeroFarms, AirMap, Aspiration, Beyond Meat, Blue River technology, Capella Space, Classdojo, Corsica Innovations, Descartes Labs, Diamond Foundry, disruptive companies, Doppler Labs, future of farming, Gingko Bioworks, high-speed rail, Hyperloop One, Kasita, Lemonade, listen to your surroundings, Opendoor, Pirch, Restless Bandit, Rubicon Global, Saildrone, SoFi, Thinx, tiny satellites, Twist Bioscience, unmanned sailboats, vegan burger, Vionx Energy