The IntelliTech convention in Palo Alto, Calif., was alive with wonder. Startups from Silicon Valley, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and beyond had congregated for days to network, trade ideas and pitch their groundbreaking innovations.
Stars of the show included MediScan, which can detect cancer growth through a smartphone-based imaging application, and Devia, a motion-tracking app which alerts caretakers of mentally ill individuals to adverse behaviors like pacing or wandering away. San Antonio-based robotics firm Dragonfly Microsystems, which uses insect-sized drones to sample wheat crops for yield while simultaneously testing for blight, received a standing ovation.
Critics of the convention pointed to the AppeaseMe app, which left innovators wondering what on earth the startup actually did to solve anyone’s problems.
“AppeaseMe was founded when we saw this problem,” said Ankit Bhuj, co-founder of AppeaseMe. “We saw many parents who have to deal with incessantly screaming kids, all the time…”
“It’s simple, really,” Travis Quick, co-founder of AppeaseMe, said. “You have a problem. Let’s say… your child is throwing a temper tantrum in Bed Bath & Beyond because he wants a scented candle that smells like cinnamon rolls. You scan the barcode, and AppeaseMe suggests a low-priced alternative to fix your son’s hankering.”
“It’s so easy to found a startup these days, people have begun to found them for no reason,” said Martin Beckham, liaison of the IntelliTech Convention. “Some of these innovations are fantastic and will change the world. Others are inexcusably, abhorrently stupid.”
AppeaseMe experienced scathing criticism during their presentation. Some audience members asked whether the new app would prompt pandemics of irresponsible parenting. Others asked whether the founders of the app would be proud to raise a household with it.
“This is the next leap in effective parenting,” Bhuj said. “It saves money, makes kids happy on a consistent basis and improves family health across the board.” The startup is slated for inclusion in GetMeThere, a Cupertino startup accelerator, next month. “We are looking for a significant investment of venture capital towards our servers, staff and software.”
“It’s an app for people who suck at parenting, and shouldn’t reproduce,” Ryan Darek of Dragonfly Microsystems said in disgust. “We came here to solve the world’s problems. They’re just screwing around and making a profit.”
