TechCrunch City Spotlight: Boston Pitch off

Foreign Spotlight Boston pitch up competition I'm your desertly host hiya and I'm here With a couple of Legends of the Boston Investing scene as judges wave a virtual Hello to payal from point uh Forest Adventures and Dan from clean energy Avengers We have three very fun companies Pitching we have fiction Health useful And Penny violence Finance all based all In or around Boston all vying for our Top prize our two judges are going to be Evaluating the companies using the same Criteria that we use for our startup Battlefield competition this companies Needs to have both the potential for Social impact financial success or you Know ideally both the company that wins Our pitch up today walks away with a Pretty awesome price They get fast track past a battlefield 200 application process straight into The final 200 companies that means that They get tickets to TechCrunch disrupt In September here in San Francisco and They have a chance to be among the Finalists that get to pitch in the Startup Battlefield act disrupt massive Audience massive prizes lots of fun Um each company has five minutes to Pitch to pitch their company and five Minutes to do a q a from myself and my Uh the good friends over here the judges

If that sounds good let's do this first Up is Susan pitching for fiction Health Take it away Susan Thank you so much for having me Um hi my name is Susan Conover I'm Co-founder and CEO of fiction health and I was first diagnosed with melanoma when I was 22. I tried to go see my Dermatologist but was told it would take At least three months to get in and so I Went to my PCP biopsied my mole and Ended up being a stage two melanoma That means if I had waited I don't know If I would still be around today and so Of course this was a challenging Experience and I decided to focus my Master's thesis at MIT on this topic in Order to you know to change the game for People like me so a picture in health We're building the largest Dermatology Practice in the world Supported by AI next slide So I'm not the only one who's had skin Issues uh turns out they're very common And it's really hard to access people Who really know have expertise in it 2.3 Billion people around the world have Skin issues every year that they Actually seek help from a doctor for a Lot of those cases are managed in Primary care but these doctors Misdiagnose about half of cases and Really prefer to refer because they have So many things they're responsible for

Unfortunately it's never been harder Than it is today to see a dermatologist With wait times of one to six months or More and that's perpetuated by the rise Of Cosmetics procedures like botoxin Fillers Next slide So what we've made what we've built is a Virtual Dermatology practice that's AI Enabled to address this we provide high Quality Dermatology care within 48 hours Which is 17 times faster than the Standard provide high quality care That's on par with in-person care our Systems and our AI are trained to make This scalable and we provide the End-to-end full solution for patients What's known as virtual First Care Next slide please So what makes us special and different Well fiction health is the only Dermatology practice that's really Designed and built for scale what we Care about is providing high quality Accessible care to everyone who needs it At an affordable price and so fiction Health is uh distinguished and it's Accessible for patients wherever they Are however they need care and also Scalable which I will get into a little Bit now but basically we've built the Largest database in the world of skin Disease photos next slide please So we built the largest and most

Actionable database in the world because We realized that there wasn't a previous Like pre-existing database of skin Disease photos and if you know about AI You know the data that you train on is Critical so in the pandemic we built a Database of over a million images from More than 200 dermatologists in more Than 20 different countries and we also Have a partnership with a major academic Medical Center on the East Coast To Build It Best in Class Ai and we Partnered with dermatologists in India South Africa Tunisia Spain Bolivia in Order to create a database that's Representative across all skin tones Which also doesn't exist in medical Information and data today to build an AI that works across all different skin Tones Next slide please So how it works is really simple a Patient can go on their phone go to our Website take a few photos of their skin Issue answer some simple questions and Then once they submit their case a Dermatologist reviews it within two days And gets back to them with their Diagnosis personalized care plan and if They need in-person care we have Partners in the states that we're open In together quickly because they've Already been assessed by an expert so This enables like our workflow and

Technology design combined with our AI Enables a dermatologist to see a case in Less than a minute which is more than 15 Times faster than the current standard So we're making Dermatology care really Scalable which is hard to do in Healthcare services Providing people fast care providing People that high quality care and Allowing them to access it without Leaving home next slide please We have an amazing team I'm trained as a Mechanical engineer and work to Management consulting before getting my Product Masters at MIT I met my Co-founder pranav in Boston uh in an Improv class but he has over 10 years of Cutting Edge software r d and we have Amazing machine learning experts Dermatology experts and go to market Healthcare experts to help us grow and Scale if you could advance to the next Slide please Um and we've also raised a total of About 4 million to date including Argonne BC flare Capital Tech Stars and A few other funds and amusing angels and That's you out of time great John Q a Awesome Did you have a final thought to leave us With yes we have opened in New Hampshire Uh in Connecticut and today we're Opening in Massachusetts so you can go To fictionhealth.com on your phone and

Get high quality access to Great Dermatology care Amazing thank you great pitch uh Daniel Do you have some questions for us Sure thanks Susan uh great to hear your Pitch and one of the things that I look For as a healthcare investor is is lived Experience and an understanding of the Space so it's uh it's really great that You have that because I think it's just A really unique special quality how do You uh plan to monetize what's the Business model is it sort of direct to Consumer or is it going to be Health Plan monetized and where are you on that Journey yeah so it's the same way any Dermatology practice makes money through Health insurance reimbursement and Co-pays and then while we're getting That coverage we're taking self-pay for Now our plan is to convert that once we Have the data on improved outcomes and Reduce costs to get value-based care Contracts yeah I think that will be Critical I've got a portfolio company That's in the e-consult space including Dermatology e-consults including other Specialties and you know getting sort of Something Beyond fee for service is Critical to making the business model And the margins uh work so thanks for Your response to that question Absolutely Um are there um thanks for your

Presentation it's amazing Um are there competitors in this market How do you look at the landscape Currently because I I've definitely seen AI being applied to things like Dermatology so I'm wondering it would Seem a pretty natural place given it's Very image focused I'd imagine I'm not a Doctor but Um how do you see the competitive Landscape Yeah so Um what we've seen in Virtual Dermatology care is there a few Different practices that deliver that Just directly connecting a dermatologist Or the patient but we haven't seen them Actually use AI for enabling that Workflow and that care which to us is What sort of makes it scalable which is Important I think also our help taking Health insurance coverage there are Quite a few like d2c companies that will Address your condition if you already Know you have like acne or you know you Have melasma but what about patients who Aren't sure and so we help address some Of that medical uncertainty and and take Insurance right so we're just like any Other provider Foreign One of the the challenges with Um virtual care and Ai and the Intersection of those I guess in

Healthcare is is trust you know having Patients feel like they can trust you Relative to go into MGH and seeing the Derm even though there is a wait list Perhaps so how do you you know strike That balance is it going to be first Having the Physicians you know review to Build the panel and the trust inside bar Question or your clinicians going to be W2 or 1099 which matters uh and then how Do you expect to sort of build the Patient panel get the referrals and uh And build trust overtime yeah lots of Questions in there Um how we build trust is important Incredibly important that's one of the Reasons that a dermatologist reviews and Approves every case no matter what even If it takes them like 15 30 seconds Rather than five minutes where we still Have them in the loop in every case so That I think is important for building Trust Um in terms of how we acquire patients Um so we're working and partnering with Pcps in different states working with ZocDoc and getting health insurance Coverage because a lot of uh our Patients in our age segment that we're Particularly focused on go to their Health insurance portal first to see Who's covered before going to a Next Step Um and then you asked about if they're

1099 or W2 so we've been working with uh Folks that are 10.99 but that they're Very focused on sort of value-based care And as we you know raise more funding we Can you know shift that to be more Part-time or full-time direct employees So we can have more control over that End-to-end patient experience Okay Any impact from the regulatory Environment especially the changes in in Telehealth you know I think one of the Things that You know CMS is thinking through is Where where is virtual care really Needed and actually delivers a medical Roi and decreased costs and improve Outcomes and where will it become sort Of high utilization but high costs and So any impact to your business there Yeah so we're lucky in the sense that Our value already aligns decently with CPT codes that so we don't have to have Custom contracts every time with a payer Um uh but then we're also like we're Doing synchronous audio video visits With an NP to both build trust with the Patient and then also be able to align Better with e m codes that are currently Paid for in in-person care about Remotely and that's partially how we Determined our starting states of New Hampshire Connecticut and Massachusetts Wonderful thank you so much Susan thank

You to our judges Um awesome work all of all of you Um we are going to move on to Allison Who's going to whip us into an excited Frenzy about useful An excited frenzy all right you know set The high bar well thank you Susan for Kicking it off and nice to meet you all I'm Allison Cove I'm founder and CEO of Useful So oh I just tried to advance the slide But I realized I don't have control next Slide please I'll start by addressing the problem and It's that we're creating a lot of waste Specifically from our takeout packaging So to go cups salad containers clam Shells you name it it's ending up in our Land bills or in New England Incinerators the oceans or our sidewalk And the current solutions to address This plastic epidemic really aren't Working recycling is nothing more than Wish cycling unfortunately and the Composting packaging that we all thought Was a silver bullet unfortunately has Some some serious issues next slide Please Compounding this there's a real urgency For zero waste I'd say it's reaching a Fever fever pitch Reusable Solutions are being mandated by Governments and universities alike next Slide please

And Campus Dining managers are being Told to essentially figure it out so Covid introduced a world where takeout Food was the norm and they've opened Panda Pandora's Box they can't put it Back in takeout is here to stay Simultaneously they need to meet these Zero waste goals and so they're Scratching their heads thinking how on Earth do we do that well next slide Please I'll introduce you to useful we Have developed the technology container Inventory and business model to properly Address the pain points of our campus Partners we have really developed the Most comprehensive and cost-effective Solution on the market today I'll start by describing our inventory On the next slide So we have design and contract Manufactured our stainless steel Returnable takeout solution this Delivers a superior user experience food Safety durability You Name It We are Entirely plastic free because we firmly Believe that you can't solve a plastic Problem with more plastic we've sourced Recycled stainless steel for our Containers we use double wall vacuum Insulated technology so it really helps To keep your food or drink hot or cold For five plus hours it's really Yeti Like quality next slide please Pair that with our technology so on the

Left you'll see a screenshot of our app This is what we use to enable the Checkouts and returns which I'll Describe on the next slide and on the Right on this slide actually go back Yeah thank you on the right on this side You'll see uh impact dashboard this is What is often projected in a student Union or dining hall and this in real Time updates with the number of units Checked out and what that equates to in Waste mitigated and other impacts that Same data is available on the individual Level but I'd say it's really powerful At the full campus level Next slide please So we have developed a library-like Solution that really streamlines Streamlines rentals and returns for an Enjoyable and environmentally friendly Takeout solution so our solution is Entirely free to users so long as they Return their inventory and we have a Very simple process of checking out Enjoying it from anywhere from 2 to 14 Days for that free rental period and Then returning it anywhere on campus Next slide please So our solution requires no capital for The college saves them money and is easy And TurnKey to implement we rent our Inventory to our campuses and that helps Them save at least 25 against single-use Comparisons

Um while maintaining a healthy profit Margin for us we're 80 we have a profit Margin of roughly 86 percent and in our Three-year contracts we are cash flow Positive within three to six months so Our campus Partners don't have to go out And buy inventory instead and tap into That capital budget and said they can Really just leverage their operations Budget and save money by partnering with Us Next slide please So this is repeatable scalable and Wildly profitable we're starting with Campuses and we estimate that campus Tangible Market to be about 1.7 billion dollars and I realize I just Messed up Tam I said tangible Market Anyway uh We've also looked at the Adjacent Market this includes corporate Campuses hospitals and the like and Estimate that to be about 20.6 billion Next slide please So by 2026 we anticipate partnering with A total of 160 campuses with roughly 47 Million in Revenue next slide And today we've successfully implemented Two college campuses to really prove and Refine our technology containers Workflow and end user experience As we speak today we are launching a Third College Saint Olaf in Minnesota And then we are working to launch many More campuses for fall semester of this

Year Next slide please We are currently launching a seed Fundraising round to build out our sales And marketing Teams so that we can continue to scale Our business now that we've really Proven the model the technology and the Inventory Um so thank you very much for listening My name again is Allison and uh great to Meet you all thank you Absolutely perfect timing time for some Q a Yeah this is uh really interesting we've Focused a lot on how to reduce Plastics In my Venture Capital fund Um I guess my question is like so do you Have to set up a processing plant you Know to to clean or do you Leverage The Universities you know kitchen facilities To basically manage your inventory Exactly it's the latter so just a quick Anecdote when I first started in Boston And and Dan you might even remember this Way back when I was also working at cic On the eight on the 17th floor and my First pilot was at render downstairs Um and we were just doing a cup Exchange Program to see if people were Comfortable with the idea and at that Point I was doing centralized Dishwashing and what I realized is that Centralized dishwashing is probably the

Fastest way to go broke it's not It's not an efficient business model and So this business business model really Leverages existing infrastructure with Our partners it's just so much more Efficient for both Us and Them Um and and so yes we are leveraging the Infrastructure that they have on campus Thanks for the pitch The pigeon on the composting uh bags at Some point since I'm a recently started Composting so I would love to learn more But yes on um on your go to market why Campuses at the initial target market Especially given the Tam which seems big But in the grand scheme is sort of you Know Venture Capital sort of small ish You'd like to see a multi-billion dollar Tan as opposed to corporates or going to A sweet green or brand of the sorts and Sort of trying to do something like that Sure so campuses frankly uh They are driven to have students on Campus right now their revenue is Entirely tied to having those students On campus whereas Corporate Offices have Really been struggling these past few Years figuring out how to get people Back to the office are they even going To open their reopen their Cafe so while We've had we had to have some letters of Intent from corporate offices we haven't Been focusing there because their Revenue is not tied to having bodies on

Campus at a college campus they need to Solve this today they need to have those Students there they need to be offering A really Superior takeout experience for Those students while meeting their their Impact goals their their zero waste Goals Um we I think our long-term goal is to Partner with um Fast casual and the like that just back To the history of this business when I First launched it we were going Cafe to Cafe in Boston Um unfortunately we are not there yet as A society here in the U.S Um We do have some communities that have Banned single use so for example we have A partnership out in Marin County California with some grocery stores and Cafes Etc Um and that we're live out there because They have a ban on Singles takeout Um so folks are charged 25 cents if they Choose single use over our free reusable So we're getting there is that Okay Just very quickly like Um who do you think might buy a company Like this I hate to ask the traditional Venture Capital question but like I Other strategic players who might you Know Food Service that would be Interested in some other do you see like

Kind of build build a revenue model Build a profitable business and it's More of like a private Equity exit Absolutely so we actually saw one of our Competitors get acquired by GrubHub Um and so I think our sweet spot is we Also integrate with campus card Solutions so Those campus card providers Seaboard Blackboard transact touchnet as well as The r Mark Sodexo Compass groups of the World Um those are some of the the players That I see ultimately acquiring this That's good thank you any sort of um FDA Considerations or anything like that Around we are our inventory is FDA Approved as well as uh California Proposition 65. Great Thank you Awesome I was wondering if you were Aware of any other regulatory things That are coming down to pop you Mentioned Marin or other other Conversations happening in local or more Bigger communities yes so I was actually Um at the aquarium the New England Aquarium last week or the week before Unveiling some draft legislation to Enable the circular economy in Massachusetts Um so that is up at Beacon Hill right Now I also know that the city of Boston

Is looking into extending the plastic Bag ban to include other packaging types So It we are on the precipice of this Change and it's really exciting to see It all happening and I think we are Really well positioned Um to be able to to LEAP when that Legislation does pass Well done Alison and thank you again to The judges and last but not least we Have Chrissy who's pitching Penny Finance um are you with us Chrissy I'm Here all right let's do it All right hi everyone I'm Chrissy Cole I'm the founder and CEO of Penny Finance Do you know a woman in your life who is Uncomfortable managing their money for Investing I bet somebody pops into your mind Immediately We as women are told get that degree get That job and Financial Freedom will Follow but for my grandmother for my Mother and for me that did not work not Only did my grandmother work till she Was 75 years old she did that while Caring for me and my brother after School well my mom worked 70 hour weeks Now as the circle of life continues my Mom is at retirement age of 65 still Working not planning to retire ever While she takes care of my 10 month old Baby on Fridays nights and weekends

While I run this startup next slide Please Women are retiring with one third the Wealth of men because of an investing Gap not an education Gap not a pay gap An investment Gap next slide please This is because 80 percent of women are Not investing their money And the real reason is because women Hold a disproportionate amount of debt In this country from being more educated Since the 80s two-thirds to be exact Two-thirds of student loan debt in this Country is held by women women have the Same credit scores as men we're saving At the same rates but we're stuck Servicing our loans so we get into the Investment game too late if ever Over my decade in wealth management at Goldman Sachs it was not the investing Know-how or the access to these male Oriented whisper networks or the really Great 401K matching program that got me Out of my student debt and into Investing it was my mom a role model a Mentor a teacher she showed me how Actually how to chip away at the loans How to use my credit cards to make money How just a hundred dollars in your 401k At 22 could make a difference the list Goes on next slide There are 250 000 financial advisors in America But if you don't have a hundred thousand

Dollars in net worth an advisor will not Talk to you Seventy percent of women have less than A hundred thousand in net worth so for Those 70 of women who do not have access To a financial advisor Penny Finance is Their online Financial Mentor next slide Penny is a 10 a month subscription to a Virtual advisor so similar to fiction Who is a you know virtual Dermatology Center we are a virtual financial Advisor our online tool basically takes Your money goals and your current Financial situation and we create a Custom calculated plan without the need To talk to an advisor all using back-end Technology How it works is members answer 13 Questions about their finances and they Instantly get access to a suite of 50 Bite-sized educational modules that are Ranked in order of where to start first Based on their numbers and their goals Then they self-power through these Continue to enter their numbers and get Instant insights about their money think Pay 54 on your loans they then receive Automated email nudges and personal Insights and money to Do's that tell you How actually how to increase your cash Flow today And retire with wealth tomorrow and then On top of that as a member of Penny you Become part of a female only financial

Peer group because we know that as women In particular we avoid finances because Of anxiety fear shame Envy Unlike all the financial apps out there That focus on one step in the journey we Cover the full Financial Journey so the Way I like to explain it is where mint Stops at budgeting and lvest starts at Investing we help you navigate all the Life events in between home buying Credit cards getting the extra degree Having kids 529 accounts Etc et cetera Next slide please we want every woman of Course who doesn't have a financial Advisor to have Penny but you can't be Everything for everyone today we serve Working women In salary jobs ages 25 to 50 who have Debt in less than 100K and wealth that's 15 million women next slide please We were able to accomplish this without Any outside funding for two years Although we did raise our precede last Month and a very passionate Scrappy Flexible majority freelance team of Engineers and marketers of which we have Eight women who have experienced the Problem at varying levels Next slide please Seven thousand women are using Penny as Their virtual advisor today and we're Seeing them grow their wealth at a Factor of 10x and also cutting their Time till debt free by an average of six

Years that has allowed us to achieve ten Thousand in mrr this past month and grow Almost a thousand percent last year with 1500 paying members who are paying ten Dollars a month Next slide We today are so excited to announce Results of our first three Pilots with Fortune 500 employers where we are Working with them to offer Penny as a Financial benefit to women who are part Of their women employee resource groups Unlike um standard Financial benefits Like a 401k or an HSA penny has a 45 Adoption rate which is four and a half Times the national average And we also were able to drive 30 more Participation in company sponsored Retirement accounts which is a big goal For companies right now And they're coming up on time okay Um the big question we think about at Penny and we get from invest investors All the time if you can go to the next Slide is can you offer this truly Affordable Consumer Finance at ten Dollars a month and the answer is yes Our CAC is Blended cack is 10 or LTV Today is a hundred dollars our LTV Tomorrow should be 280. next slide last Slide We are incredibly excited to offer a Digital First Financial well-being and Education platform to every female

Employee in America and we cannot wait To partner with more companies to close The pay equity in wealth Gap because who Wants to work to the lower 80. I Certainly do not and that is what I'm on Track to be doing Um so thank you so much for having me Here today and I'm excited to take Questions Amazing thank you so much can I jump in With a question first of course I'm Super excited um to hear to hear you go Through the numbers Um you mentioned that you had a certain Number of paying customers but the Number of actual people on the platform Which was much bigger what's the Discrepancy there Um so we we're a freemium model Um anyone can take our free money quiz Which is 13 questions and tells you two Things about your money your future net Worth and your time till debt free also Getting access to some educational Content but then to get access to the 50 Custom Financial plans which is the meat Of the product where it impersonates Sitting down with a financial advisor And you get your recommendations that You need to pay for that's ten dollars a Month so we have 7 000 members in our Community of which 1500 are paying Whether their company is paying for it Or they're paying for it amazing thank

You uh Thanks Chrissy great uh great Presentation uh and also great to see That you come from the wealth management Experience I'm sure that's very useful Maybe related to that Um like you said you can't be everything For everyone but is there something in The app or some Alpha that makes it Particularly useful for women would a Male you know man go on the app and find It similarly useful so is it sort of a Customer acquisition reason or is there Something about the content and Something you provide that makes it Particularly useful for a woman Yeah it's a really good question so Generally the financial advice is gender Neutral it's for a low risk investor who Does not have a ton of money and you Know someone who's not going to be Investing in private Equity or hedge Funds right traditional portfolio However the things that are unique for Women in the product are modules around Family and kids Um because generally 80 percent of women Manage the day-to-day finances at home So thinking about 529 accounts and Fertility planning things like that Again we have some men in our platform And men can certainly use it the target Of women is more of the market marketing Strategy and the brand and building a

Place where women feel welcome When I think about Penny long term like 10 years from now I can see the back end Infrastructure and rules-based financial Advising tools being used for everyone Everywhere for financial education Because most of the content is just General advice Right Thank you Thanks um for that presentation and um I've actually looked at some other Um like Affinity related Um platforms similar to this but sort of Wondering because we we talked about This before Um what kind of uh regulatory uh Requirements do you have to meet I mean Is there are you a registered financial Advisor or you're able to Um be under the radar screen yeah no It's a good question you only need to Become a registered investment advisor If you're recommending individual Securities that someone buys so for Example go buy vo we don't do that we Are strictly Financial education and all Of our recommendations are calculator Based and based on my brain as a Licensed Financial professional and then Public data sources like the IRS or Modern portfolio Theory so and if we or To one offer Financial products like a Robo advisor or credit card we would

Need to get license or if we recommended You know make these changes to your 401k And buy these XYZ funds then we would Have to be a registered investment Advisor And um so just to follow up um that That's good to hear and like have you Thought about other than corporates Which makes a lot of sense to me have You thought about like going to Retailers where there's similar often Like credit card debt or Um you know and and using that as a Channel partner No that is a fantastic idea some of the On the credit card side of the house Some of the things that we've thought About is partnering with people like Amex and MasterCard who really really Really care about Financial Health Because the stronger the borrower the Better and so we we've thought about you Know joining their marketplaces and Offering Penny as an educational tool or Um Um partnering with companies that have a Population of women who use their Products like it doesn't have to be a Financial company so but that's a Wonderful idea Chrissy how would you uh increase that LTV and maybe it's a it's just nascent Data but sort of that 10 month LTV yeah How do you get people there's a couple

Things Um one we're launching multiple Subscription options this year where you Can we offer Um a product where you get more for Thirty dollars a month Um another thing that we are doing is we Are going to build a market of trusted Partners uh because we're not going to Offer Financial products and one of the Things our members ask us for all the Time is what high yield savings account Should I open where should I open my IRA And so it's a natural Legion tool where We can you know build the affiliate Revenue side of the business Amazing that's us on time thank you so Much Um that's all we have uh for you for now So uh we will Um say a huge thank you to Susan Allison And Chrissy for pitching your companies In our pitch competition and a huge Thanks to our judges Pavel and Dan who Are now going to be contemplating who is The winner of this pitch competition Um Thank you all so much this is super fun To watch and here's Matt Woods again With a few closing words from Boston Foreign