YC Winter 2011 (W11) companies

Acunote builds agile project management and Scrum software for software development and IT teams, from small groups to large enterprises. It tracks tasks, sprints, bugs, and requirements in a single system, replacing spreadsheets and disconnected tools with real execution data that reflects actual progress rather than estimates. Non-technical and technical users alike use it for daily work, giving managers analytics to set realistic deadlines and coordinate shared resources across departments.

AppHarbor builds a Platform-as-a-Service for .NET developers. Developers push code via Git or Mercurial, and AppHarbor automatically builds it, runs unit tests, and deploys passing builds to a scalable cloud environment. It replaces manual server provisioning, deployment configuration, and scaling work, letting developers ship without modifying their existing ASP.NET applications or installing custom tooling.

Apportable builds a cross-compilation toolchain that lets iOS developers ship their Objective-C and C++ apps on Android without rewriting code in Java or maintaining a separate codebase. Game studios behind titles such as Kingdom Rush and Osmos use it to reach Android stores directly from their existing iOS projects. It replaces the manual porting work that would otherwise require a parallel Android development effort.

Assembled builds TenXList, a professional network connecting top college engineers with employers in tech. It targets early-career recruiting, replacing ad-hoc campus outreach and generalist job boards with a curated talent pool focused specifically on high-performing student engineers.

Balanced builds payment infrastructure for online marketplaces, handling the complexity of moving money between buyers and sellers on third-party platforms. It replaces the need for marketplace operators to stitch together separate payment processing and payout systems. The product targets developers and companies running two-sided commerce platforms who need a single API to charge buyers and pay out merchants.

Beetailer builds software that lets online retailers publish and run their existing web stores directly inside Facebook. It handles the storefront import, promotion tools, and performance analytics, replacing the manual work of rebuilding a shop for a social platform. The target customer is any e-commerce merchant who wants to sell to their Facebook audience without a separate build.

Close builds a CRM for sales teams at startups and small-to-midsize businesses, combining calling, email, SMS, pipeline management, reporting, and an AI sales agent named Chloe in one platform. It replaces the patchwork of a standalone CRM plus separate communication tools and dialers. Chloe calls leads, qualifies prospects, and books meetings while logging activity automatically.

Comprehend builds cloud software for clinical operations, data management, and medical review teams running clinical trials. The platform pulls data from multiple disparate sources into a unified, real-time view, replacing manual oversight processes with automated monitoring and analysis. Customers use it to catch risks earlier, keep trial data clean, and move treatments through development faster.

Convore builds a web-based group messaging platform that lets people hold threaded, topic-based conversations in real time. Users can create or join public and private groups, replacing the friction of IRC and unstructured chat tools with an organized, hosted environment. The product targets anyone coordinating a community or team online.

Custora builds a predictive analytics and segmentation platform for online retailers. It analyzes customer behavior to let marketers treat shoppers as individuals rather than a mass audience, replacing broad, undifferentiated email and ad campaigns. The platform connects directly to email service providers, display networks, Facebook Custom Audiences, and Google Customer Match so retailers can act on its outputs without leaving their existing tools.

DrChrono builds an all-in-one, cloud-based platform for independent and multi-specialty medical practices, covering electronic health records, scheduling, practice management, medical billing, and telehealth. Physicians use it to handle the full care workflow, from patient intake and clinical documentation through revenue cycle management, replacing a patchwork of separate systems. An open API and app marketplace let practices extend the platform to fit their specific workflows.

Earbits builds a self-serve advertising platform for bands and record labels. Artists bid for streaming airtime, and their music reaches targeted listeners, replacing traditional radio promotion and blind ad buys with performance-based audio placement.

FitFu built a gamified fitness app for iPhone and iPod Touch that used the device's accelerometer to track body movement during workouts. It targeted everyday consumers looking to stay active without a gym or console, replacing passive self-tracking with a points-and-levels system tied to social progress. Friends could follow, cheer, and compare activity, making accountability a core part of the experience.

Fivestars builds a combined payments and customer loyalty platform for small local businesses, connecting merchants with shoppers through rewards and automated marketing. It replaces disconnected point-of-sale and manual retention efforts by tying each transaction to a personal customer relationship. The platform is now offered as SumUp Connect, folding loyalty programs, automated messaging, and a customer directory into a single tool for independent retailers, food and beverage shops, and service businesses.

Flotype builds real-time messaging infrastructure for enterprise software teams. Its core product, Bridge, is licensed middleware that handles real-time communication for customers in social web, financial services, and fleet management. For developers, Flotype also offers NowJS, an open-source framework that adds real-time interactivity to Node.js and JavaScript browser applications, with NowCluster providing scalability and reliability on top of it.

GOAT Group operates four resale and retail platforms, GOAT, Flight Club, Grailed, and alias, connecting buyers and sellers of authenticated sneakers, apparel, and accessories across the primary and secondary markets. It serves fashion-conscious consumers worldwide who want verified access to coveted or hard-to-find products, replacing the guesswork and fraud risk of unmediated peer-to-peer resale.

HelloSign builds eSignature and digital workflow software for small and mid-market businesses, with products that also serve enterprise teams. It replaces the manual work of printing, signing, scanning, and faxing documents by letting users send, sign, and manage agreements entirely online. Sales contracts, NDAs, offer letters, and similar documents move through a structured digital workflow with audit trails and integrations into tools teams already use.

Hotspots built a real-time analytics platform and a searchable directory of paid and free streaming content across services such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes, helping viewers find what to watch across fragmented catalogs. The company was acquired by Twitter in 2012.

Humble Bundle sells curated bundles of games, ebooks, and software to consumers at flexible prices, with a portion of each purchase directed to charity. Beyond bundles, it operates a direct storefront and a monthly subscription that delivers a rotating selection of games. It replaces the work of hunting across multiple storefronts for discounted digital content while folding charitable giving into the transaction.

Hyperink builds a self-publishing platform that lets individuals turn their knowledge and expertise into ebooks. The platform targets everyday people and subject-matter experts who want to publish a book but lack access to traditional publishing infrastructure. Hyperink handles the production and distribution work that would otherwise require a publisher.

Inporia builds mobile commerce apps for fashion shoppers. Its product, Kaleidoscope, is an inspiration-driven shopping app and widget that lets consumers discover and buy fashion items on iOS and Android. It replaces passive browsing with a curated, shoppable experience that connects discovery directly to purchase.

Insight Data Science runs a seven-week, full-time training fellowship that converts doctoral researchers and engineers into practicing data scientists and data engineers. The program operates across multiple US cities and a remote track, replacing the self-directed, trial-and-error path that technical candidates otherwise navigate when pivoting into industry roles.

Instapainting connects consumers with professional artists to turn personal photos into hand-painted oil paintings, watercolors, pencil drawings, and other hand-made works on canvas or paper. Customers upload any photo, choose a medium, and receive a finished original artwork shipped to their door, replacing the effort of commissioning an artist through traditional channels.

Lanyrd builds a social directory for professional conferences, aimed at attendees, speakers, and anyone tracking a field. It connects to a user's Twitter network to surface events their peers are attending, lets speakers log and display their talk history, and provides coverage of past and ongoing conferences for those who could not attend in person. It replaces scattered event searches, manual portfolio-building, and the black hole of missed conference content.

Mailgun builds an email API platform for developers and engineering teams at companies that send transactional and marketing email at scale. It handles sending, receiving, tracking, validation, and inbox testing, replacing custom-built email infrastructure and direct SMTP configuration. Teams at product companies use it to ship reliable email delivery without managing the underlying systems themselves.

Mino Games builds mobile games for consumer audiences. The studio reached the top 25 grossing rankings on mobile platforms, competing in a market where most studios struggle to break into charts. The company is based in Montreal and focuses on the gaming side of the consumer mobile market.

OrderAhead builds a mobile platform that lets consumers place and pay for pickup orders at local merchants before arriving. It connects shoppers with thousands of restaurants and retailers, replacing in-store waiting and cashier-staffed checkout lines.

Pebble builds consumer smartwatches that connect to a user's smartphone to surface notifications, run downloadable watch faces and apps, and support sports and fitness tracking. The watch replaces the need to pull out a phone for quick information and lightweight productivity tasks. Owners can customize their device by downloading new watch faces and apps directly to the watch.

Sendoid builds a peer-to-peer file transfer service that lets two people exchange files of any size by clicking a link, with no upload to a cloud server in between. It replaces the manual steps of uploading to storage services, compressing large files, or using FTP to move data from one person to another.

Siasto builds a project and task management tool for small and mid-sized business teams that run on Google Apps. It centralizes tasks, events, files, and projects by connecting directly to Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Box, and Dropbox. Teams use it to manage work from their inbox instead of juggling separate tools.

SimplyListed lets consumers sell personal belongings by photographing an item with their iPhone, then automatically generates and posts the listing on their behalf. The product targets everyday sellers who want to offload goods without manually writing descriptions or navigating multiple marketplace interfaces. It replaces the time and effort of composing and publishing secondhand listings by hand.

SingleStore builds a distributed, cloud-native relational database engineered to handle high-speed data ingestion, concurrent queries, and real-time analytics within a single system. It targets enterprises that previously split these workloads across separate operational and analytical databases, collapsing that architecture into one platform. Teams run it on any major public cloud or on-premises hardware.

Storyworth sends families weekly memoir-prompting questions by email or text, collects written or recorded responses, and compiles the answers into a printed hardcover book. It serves people who want to preserve a relative's life stories, replacing the harder work of interviewing, transcribing, and self-publishing. The product handles the full chain from prompting to final keepsake.

Talkable builds referral and loyalty marketing software for direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands. At checkout and across other touchpoints, the platform prompts existing customers to refer friends via personalized offers, rewarding both parties with rebates or other incentives. This replaces manually built refer-a-friend programs and fragmented loyalty tooling with a single automated system covering referrals, points and tiers, video testimonials, and mobile wallet passes.

TalkBin built a messaging platform letting consumers send text messages directly to local businesses. The tool replaced phone calls and in-person feedback as the channel between customers and business owners. Google acquired TalkBin and folded the technology natively into Google Maps.

TellFi builds cloud-based phone systems for small businesses, replacing traditional PBX hardware and costly telecom contracts. It provides extensions, call forwarding, and voicemail through an online setup that a business owner can configure without IT support.

Tremendous builds a payouts platform that lets businesses send money, gift cards, and prepaid cards to recipients anywhere in the world. It targets teams running research compensation, sales incentives, marketing rewards, and employee recognition programs, replacing manual, one-off payment workflows with a centralized, automated system. Recipients choose from over 2,500 payout options across more than 200 countries.

TrustEgg lets parents set up a trust fund for a child in minutes, then invite family and friends to contribute to it. The account is invested through Vanguard and grows until the child turns 18. It replaces the legal complexity and cost that traditionally kept trust funds out of reach for everyday families.

Tumult builds desktop design tools for web creators producing animated and interactive HTML5 content. Its three products, Hype, Whisk, and Reflect, cover animation and interactivity authoring, live-preview HTML and PHP editing, and on-device iOS testing, replacing manual code workflows and timeline-based tools from legacy suites.

Tutorspree operates an online marketplace connecting students with independent tutors across more than 300 subjects, from academic coursework to professional skills. Students browse a large network of vetted tutors, book one-on-one lessons directly, and receive instruction that replaces both traditional in-person tutoring and self-directed study. The platform handles matching, scheduling, and a satisfaction guarantee, removing the friction of finding qualified help on one's own.

Upverter builds a cloud-based, collaborative hardware design platform for electronics engineers, design teams, and contract designers. It replaces isolated, single-user CAD tools with a shared workspace where teams can discover and reuse existing design content instead of redrawing schematics, re-sourcing components, or duplicating work from scratch. The platform also connects hardware creators through a marketplace for sharing and building on each other's designs.

Userfox builds a drip email platform that helps SaaS companies retain users by automating welcome messages, inactivity nudges, and custom trigger-based emails. It replaces manually configured email sequences and one-off retention campaigns, giving product and marketing teams a dedicated tool for keeping users engaged after signup.

Venuetastic connects event planners with venues by letting them search across budget, location, and size constraints in one place. It replaces the manual, fragmented process of contacting venues individually to find a suitable space for an event.

You Got Listings builds rental listing and leasing software for agents, brokerages, landlords, and property managers. The platform connects listing syndication, lead capture, showing scheduling, online applications, credit and background screening, and lease e-signing into a single workflow, replacing the patchwork of separate tools rental professionals otherwise stitch together to move a unit from vacancy to signed lease.