IN THE NEWS: THE NEXT BILLION DOLLAR STARTUP

Via Forbes:

Startups are the spark that lights the engine of the U.S. economy. The most successful of them, companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Snapchat, change the way we live, travel and communicate. For Forbes’ second annual list of next billion-dollar startups, we’ve found 25 companies that are transforming their industries and showing tangible results. They’ve already attracted tens and in some cases hundreds of millions in investment capital while in the midst of explosive growth.

Owlet Baby Care

Founders: Kurt Workman, Jordan Monroe, Zack Bomsta, Jacob Colvin; Equity raised: $15 million; Estimated 2016 revenue: $20 million; Key investors: Azimuth Ventures, Eclipse, ff Venture Capital, Eniac Ventures

What it does: Makes baby health monitors. When Kurt Workman was a college student at Brigham Young University, he was starting to plan a family and worried about his unborn baby’s safety. So Workman, now 27, and his cofounders developed Owlet, a baby monitor that relies on pulse oximetry, a measure used in hospitals, to alert parents if their baby stops breathing or suffers a spike or drop in heart rate. The Owlet technology fits into a snuggly baby sock and sells to consumers for $250. “Owlet is not only the next car seat,” Workman says, “We believe it is the next thermometer and the next algorithm for infant care.”

Check out the full article here.