Want to stay up to date on the latest startup fundings, launches, and expansions in Austin? Startup Over Coffee’s weekly roundup of startups to watch in Austin will keep you in the loop on the latest Austin tech news. 

Everlywell 

Everlywell appoints Regina M. Benjamin to its Board of Directors, according to a press release. Prior to serving on Everlywell’s Board, Benjamin served as the 18th U.S. Surgeon General and Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health service appointed by Barack Obama. Benjamin secured her place in history as the first physician under 40 and the first African American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees.

Alongside Benjamin, Everlywell also welcomed Dr. Judith Rogan and Dr. Garheng Kong to its Board of Directors. For the executive leadership team, Dr. Jordan Laser joins the health tech startup as the Chief Laboratory Officer, Dr. Marisa Cruz joins as the Executive Vice President of Regulatory and Clinical Affairs, and Dana Underwood has been promoted as Everlywell’s Chief Product Officer. 

Everlywell is a leading digital health tech company that specializes in making health tests more accessible. Everylywell offers over 30 at home tests at competitive prices. The health tech company recently gained popularity with its at-home Covid test. However, a range of tests are available including food sensitivity tests, thyroid tests, various sexually transmitted illness tests, and more. 

Ojo Labs

Austin based Ojo Labs ranked number 1 on Inc. 5000’s Top 250 Fastest-Growing Companies in Texas. Ojo Labs operates in the real estate tech market, combining machine and human intelligence to match homebuyers with brokers. According to Inc., the company was founded in 2015 but really took off in 2020. Last year, Ojo Labs completed two acquisitions, raised $62.5 million and reported nearly $30 million in revenue. Ojo Labs had a three-year growth rate of 2,181%.

Overall, 68 Austin companies were featured on the list. 10 of the Austin companies were newly founded startups and 26 were return honorees. 1,191 jobs were added and a total revenue of $2 billion was achieved for Austin companies alone. Meanwhile, 17,919 jobs were added and a whopping $9.5 billion was achieved for all Texas companies.

EarBuds

While music has always been a catalyst for connecting people, EarBuds strives to take that connection one step further. The music tech startup allows consumers to tune in to what others are listening to in real time on platforms like AppleMusic and Spotify. EarBuds has raised a total of $3 million in funding from angel investors in the NFL, along with Live Nation, Facebook, and Austin’s Ecliptic Capital. Looking forward to a Series A round, EarBuds plans to expand it’s app to connect with two major streaming platforms. 

The CEO and founder of EarBuds is former NFL lineman Jason Fox. Recently, Fox hired Chris Gannett, former CMO of CKX Inc., as the company’s president. CKX Inc., is known for both owning and producing American Idol. According to Austin Inno, Garnett stated that EarBuds will be focusing on improving its product, expanding its reach, and setting up its ability to collect user data on listening preferences. 

Bold Commerce

For some, the global pandemic forced companies to evaluate their business models. For others, the pandemic was a driving factor of their success as it turned people away from stores and toward their screens. Bold Commerce fits into the latter and is among one of the many companies that benefited from increased consumer screentime. After it’s $27 million Series B funding in January, the company is looking to hire around 125 new team members within the next 90 days. Currently, Bold Commerce is based out of Winnipeg with 30 members in its Austin office, according to Built In Austin. 

Bold Commerce enables retailers and DTC brands to design a unique commerce experience that spans across multiple channels such as your phone screen, computer, TV, Peloton, refrigerator, and more. Bold Commerce currently serves over 90,000 brands. Among some of those brands are Vera Bradley, Harry Rosen and Pepsi’s Game Fuel. Bold Commerce will be hiring for both Austin and Winnipeg locations. Furthermore, they are planning to expand to Vancouver and NYC. 

About Savannah Burns: Savannah is a Business Development Associate for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.