Red Rocket's Best Startups of 2016

Red Rocket gets introduced to hundreds of startups each year, in the normal course of doing business, or via our involvement with FireStarter Fund, TechStars, Techweek, Founder Institute or other startup groups or events.  We wanted to honor the best of these startups that we met in 2016, in Red Rocket's 5th Annual "Best Startups of the Year".  This list is not intended to be an all-encompassing best startups list, as there are many additional great startups that we are not personally exposed to each year.  And, this list is not intended to be only for businesses that launched in 2016, it is open to startups of any age, that they or their advisors had some personal interaction with us in the last 12 months.  The business simply needed to have a good idea, good team or good traction, that caught our attention.  Congrats to you all!!

THE BEST STARTUPS OF 2016 (in alphabetical order):

AirMule (CEO Sean Yang) - B2C P2P express shipping via travelers

Bright (CEO Jeff Judge) - B2B revenue analytics platform for SaaS companies

Brightwork (CEO Josh Carter) - B2B backend development as a service

Bucketfeet (CEO Raaja Nemani) - B2C custom canvas shoes

CarLease.com (CEO Tim Sperling) - B2C online car leasing service

ClassicCars.com (CEO Roger Falcione) - B2C classic car buying marketplace

Cloud Craze (CEO Chris Dalton) - B2B cloud-based ecommerce platform

Collbox (CEO Chad Shuford) - B2B bad debts collection platform for SMBs

CompleteSet (CEO Gary Darna) - B2C marketplace for collectibles

Crowdfind (CEO Jay Sebben) - B2B lost and found platform for venues

Dough/Tasty Trade (CEO Kristi Ross) - B2C investing platform for do-it-yourselfers

Dorm It Up (CEO Shanil Wazirali) - B2C ecommerce for college students

Drivin (CEO Kayne Grau) - B2B used car marketplace for auto dealers

EatPakd (CEO Rebecca Sholiton) - B2C healthy meal delivery for kids school lunches

FitReserve (CEO Megan Smyth) - B2C central boutique fitness reservations

Gesture (CEO Jim Alvarez) - B2B mobile bidding app for fund raisers

Jiobit (CEO John Renaldi)- B2C location tracking wearable for your kids

Keeper (CEO Darren Guccione) - B2B and B2C secure password manager for mobile

OppLoans (CEO Jared Kaplan) - B2C sub-prime consumer lending

Opternative (CEO Aaron Dallek) - B2C online vision testing

ParqEx (CEO Vivek Mehra) - B2C P2P parking spot reservations

PenPal Schools (CEO Joe Troyen) - B2C online global education across borders

PeopleGrove (CEO Adam Saven) - B2B corporate mentoring social network

PhysIQ (CEO Gary Conkright) - B2B human body analytics

PrintWithMe (CEO Jon Treble) - B2C printing stations in public places

Q-BBQ (CEO Michael LaPidus) - B2C fast casual BBQ restaurant chain

Reverb (CEO David Kalt) - B2C online marketplace for musicians

Rewards 21 (CEO Cary Chessick) - B2B employee and customer rewards platform

Rithmio (CEO Adam Tilton) - B2B motion recognition technology for consumer products

Routific (CEO Marc Kuo) - B2B route delivery optimization platform

Savo (CEO Jason Liu) - B2B sales enablement platform

SkyMedicus (CEO Amy Holcomb) - B2C medical tourism booking

Socedo (CEO Aseem Badshah) - B2B business demand generation from social media

Spacer (CEO Michael Rosenbaum) - B2C rent storage space or parking space from locals

Tempus (CEO Eric Lefkofsky) - B2B data-driven cancer treatment

TenantBase (CEO Bennett Washabaugh) - B2B small office space online brokerage

TurboAppeal (CEO Badal Shah) - B2B and B2C online tax appeal platform

Uchange (CEO Avi Kugel) - B2C P2P currency exchange between travelers

Urban Leash (CEO Lina Pakrosnyte) - B2C dog walking reservation platform

Virsera (CEO John Diefendorf) - B2B gamifying business objectives

Xensr (CEO David Troup) - B2C 3D analytics for sports

ZooKKs (CEO Kishore Kotapati) - B2C ride sharing platform for commuters

And, don't forget to check out the 2012 winners, 2013 winners, 2014 winners and 2015 winners, many of whom continue to be doing great things.

Congratulations to you all!!  Keep up the good work.  

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