Meet the first class of startups from the open-source Y Combinator, nReduce

When you start your business by taking a big swing at a widely venerated institution like Y Combinator, people are bound to take notice. Then, they’ll keep watching to see if you can follow through.

Today, a new class of startups is launching from nReduce, which got its start a few months ago as a self-proclaimed neo-Y Combinator. Now, eight of the best startups from its first batch are giving online demonstrations.

At first glance, it’s the usual demo day mix of “it’s like this for that” apps, boring-on-the-outside money-makers, and social networking tools.

So what makes nReduce special?

The nReduce team wanted to open up the YC process and take in more (and more diverse) teams than Y Combinator could handle. By June 4, 2012, nReduce had already registered 624 teams — roughly seven times the size of today’s Y Combinator classes.

“The demand for Y Combinator has far outstripped supply,” nReduce cofounder and Ruby on Rails guru Jacques Crocker said in a recent VentureBeat interview.

“There’s plenty of amazing teams that are either being rejected from YC or don’t fit in the narrow guidelines of a YC company. But they could use some of the energy that comes from a group of startups coming together and working together over a short period. We think there’s an opportunity for startups to band together to build something that rivals YC in scope and one that produces startups of the equal or better quality.”

One early nReduce participant, Forward founder Eric Ingram, had been accepted into Y Combinator in the past as well. “We participated for a while, but activity dropped off quick, and we continued outside nReduce,” he told VentureBeat in a Twitter exchange.

“In general it was night/day compared to YC (did that too), which spends more time directly with founders. Teams dropped off the radar and started giving less and less feedback. The opposite happens in YC.”

Another participant, SeatLife founder Jeff Hurlock, said, “As a solo founder its helped keep me on track every week. Teams have dropped out along the way, but that was expected. The engagement between companies and the mentors is very low. This can be improved, and I’m sure will be a focus for nReduce.”

Of course, some of this drop-off was anticipated by the nReduce founding team. “Any true test of an incubator shouldn’t be about getting in,” Crocker told VentureBeat.

“The test is actually executing. Our startups are required to make progress every week. … Startups who miss checking in or are obviously not progressing will be dropped from the program. The end group of startups who survive and get to demo day will consist purely of the teams who can ship and build traction.”

Today’s string of demos was held online. The format itself was a breath of fresh air, with an interesting mix of live video demos and crowdsourced questions for the founders. In theory, the idea is much, much more lively and interesting than a traditional demo day, which can drag on for hours as an endless string of startups, some of which you’re not remotely interested in, parades across a stage in increasingly flashy and irrelevant demonstrations.

In practice, there were a few technical hiccups at the beginning, but overall, the one-on-one feeling of the live video Q&As with founders felt intimate, relevant, and right. Plus, without the pressure of time-constrained onstage demo, you got to actually spend time looking at the products you liked and questioning the teams you found interesting. For press and investors, I can’t imagine a more rewarding and efficient demo experience.

From what we could see, nReduce has turned out some excellent products and teams. Here’s a look at the eight companies that were demonstrated today:

nreduce-1 The founding team for Recollect gives their live video demo and Q&A to a small but engaged online audience. The founding team for Recollect gives their live video demo and Q&A to a small but engaged online audience.
nreduce-2 Recollect allows you to archive and explore your online life. More than just another timeline, the service protects and indexes your files and your memories in a searchable, downloadable format. Free for the first 30 days. Recollect allows you to archive and explore your online life. More than just another timeline, the service protects and indexes your files and your memories in a searchable, downloadable format. Free for the first 30 days.
nreduce-3 Apptiv Games wants to deliver on the promise of augmented reality, geolocation, and fitness-tracking hardware with a new kind of social gaming that happens in the real world. Launching in October, Apptiv's gaming world will combine fitness-tracking stats with mobile-social gaming features to make exercise both fun and meaningful. Apptiv Games wants to deliver on the promise of augmented reality, geolocation, and fitness-tracking hardware with a new kind of social gaming that happens in the real world. Launching in October, Apptiv's gaming world will combine fitness-tracking stats with mobile-social gaming features to make exercise both fun and meaningful.
nreduce-4 Meldium is team management software designed with the cloud-based workplace in mind. Even in physically connected teams, the wide variety of cloud apps being used in the workplace can be overwhelming and difficult to manage. Meldium brings those apps together to give managers and team members a better view of who's got access to what. Meldium is team management software designed with the cloud-based workplace in mind. Even in physically connected teams, the wide variety of cloud apps being used in the workplace can be overwhelming and difficult to manage. Meldium brings those apps together to give managers and team members a better view of who's got access to what.
nreduce-5 Suavely knows you're sketched out by online dating. That's why its founders want to help set you up -- through your existing network of friends, who you hand-pick to act as your "wingmen." For now, it's only available in Seattle. Suavely knows you're sketched out by online dating. That's why its founders want to help set you up -- through your existing network of friends, who you hand-pick to act as your "wingmen." For now, it's only available in Seattle.
nreduce-6 Edocr does lead generation through the magic of online documents. Here's how it works: You upload your white papers, case studies, and other interesting documents. Endocr gets the docs published, shared, and seen by human beings with contact information. Those humans trade their contact information for access to your document, and just like that, you have a lead. Edocr does lead generation through the magic of online documents. Here's how it works: You upload your white papers, case studies, and other interesting documents. Endocr gets the docs published, shared, and seen by human beings with contact information. Those humans trade their contact information for access to your document, and just like that, you have a lead.
nreduce-7 Rentini won't just find you a vacation rental à la Airbnb. It'll find you a rental for you, your girlfriend, and your girlfriend's Maltese in a perfect destination for skiing. The combination of rentals and activities is perfect for web-savvy vacationers who don't want to eat up too many hours doing research. Rentini won't just find you a vacation rental à la Airbnb. It'll find you a rental for you, your girlfriend, and your girlfriend's Maltese in a perfect destination for skiing. The combination of rentals and activities is perfect for web-savvy vacationers who don't want to eat up too many hours doing research.
nreduce-8 Cloudable solves the problem of social static -- those "friends" online who aren't really friends, those updates you couldn't care less about. Cloudable's filters are designed to reduce the static, turning real-time sharing into right-time recommendations. Cloudable solves the problem of social static -- those "friends" online who aren't really friends, those updates you couldn't care less about. Cloudable's filters are designed to reduce the static, turning real-time sharing into right-time recommendations.
nreduce-9 If there's anything we learned from the PadMapper/Craigslist debacle, it's that apartment-hunting is still a legitimate problem. Dwellee wants to solve the problem with the power of crowdsourcing. If there's anything we learned from the PadMapper/Craigslist debacle, it's that apartment-hunting is still a legitimate problem. Dwellee wants to solve the problem with the power of crowdsourcing.