[Excelerate Labs Co-founder Sam Yagan. Image from http://bcove.me/cevko4q8]

Excelerate Labs [ @exceleratelabs ], an accelerator in Chicago, showed off its second summer class at Demo Day on Aug. 31. Led by Sam Yagan and Troy Henikoff, Excelerate invests $25K in each company in exchange for 6% ownership.

LAUNCH profiled all 10 companies in the summer '11 class. In alphabetical order:

BabbaCo www.babbaco.com @babbaco
WHAT: A monthly box, curated around a certain theme, with physical materials and other content to help parents engage with their 3-to-6-year-old kids. The box contains four types of items: projects kids do with their hands, activities, books and stories, and approved apps/downloads.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/for-busy-parents-babbaco-delivers-monthly-box-of-projects-st.html
AngelList: http://angel.co/babbaco

Buzz Referrals www.buzzreferrals.com @buzzreferrals
WHAT: Companies get a branded referral program that integrates with their website, Facebook and Twitter. Customers can earn prizes like Amazon gift cards, product gift certificates or other cash awards by referring friends to the company or brand; the friend gets a discount on the service or product. To receive prizes, users must first be signed up on the company's or brand's website.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/buzz-referrals-old-school-referral-marketing-revamped-for-so.html

Cook It For Us cookitfor.us @cookitforus
WHAT: CookItFor.Us connects people who are too busy to cook with licensed chefs and caterers in their area who need customers. To get a chef/caterer to make a recipe, people can like ("crave") one that's already on the site or upload one they find online. Those who own a recipe can post it by joining the recipe affiliate site. The more craves a recipe receives, the more likely a chef/caterer will make it. Chefs/caterers then bid on price to make the dish. Depending on the chef/caterer making the dish, people can have the food delivered to their home, pick it up, or eat it at a restaurant.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/cookitforus-brings-airbnb-model-to-prepared-food.html

Exchangery http://theexchangery.com/ @Exchangery
WHAT: E*Trade-like platform that can be used to create new commodities markets in anything from virtual currency to locally grown food in about a month, instead of the six to 12 months it could normally take. In the process of getting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) certification for the platform. Those seeking to set up a commodities market can get advice from Exchangery on whether a new market is viable, how to operate that market, as well as the relationships needed with banks and clearinghouses to cover counterparty risks.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/exchangery-to-make-creating-new-commodities-markets-as-easy.html

Food Genius https://getfoodgenius.com/ @getfoodgenius
WHAT: E*Trade-like platform that can be used to create new commodities markets in anything from virtual currency to locally grown food in about a month, instead of the six to 12 months it could normally take. In the process of getting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) certification for the platform. Those seeking to set up a commodities market can get advice from Exchangery on whether a new market is viable, how to operate that market, as well as the relationships needed with banks and clearinghouses to cover counterparty risks.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/food-genius-tells-you-which-restaurant-dishes-to-eat-not-jus.html

Goshi http://www.goshi.me @getgoshi
WHAT: Etsy-meets-foursquare app. Find and buy paintings, jewelry, furniture and other "unique" items in your area like unusual toys. View items by location or by what people in the community think is cool. Actual "marketplace" composed of independent coffee shops (50 in Chicago so far) that either display the work for sale or serve as a meeting point for buyers and sellers. Artists/sellers (for now) are reachable through comments portion of their item listings. Most popular items so far are vintage antiques and furniture.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/goshi-window-shopping-from-your-phone-for-cool-local-stuff.html

IntroFly www.introfly.com @introfly
WHAT: Helps job-seekers maximize the connections they already have on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for advice and real-life connections that could lead to a great job.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/another-linkedin-challenger-introfly-is-smarter-networking-w.html
AngelList: http://angel.co/introfly

Joystickers http://www.joystickers.com/ @Joystickers
WHAT: Designs game-related hardware for interacting with touchscreen devices and licenses those designs to manufacturers. Joystickers continues to make three of its own devices including arcade-style buttons that suction-cup to your device and a paintbrush for tablets.LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/love-playing-games-on-your-tablet-and-phone-joystickers-desi.html

Power2Switch https://power2switch.com/ @power2switch
WHAT: Lets consumers and businesses compare rates from electricity suppliers and switch to one that's cheaper or greener. Most who use the service save between 7% and 19% on their electric bills.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/compare-rates-and-change-electricity-supplier-with-power2swi.html
AngelList: http://angel.co/power2switch/
[Power2Switch Ops Expert Phil Nevels]Shortlist http://getshortlist.com @shortlistme
WHAT: Allows conference organizers to create an online and mobile app that recommends sessions to attendees and people to meet. Meant to be used before and during an event.
LAUNCH profile: http://www.launch.is/blog/shortlists-pitch-to-event-organizers-use-our-app-for-smarter.html
AngelList: http://angel.co/shortlist

-=-=-=-=-
AWESOME STARTUP JOBS
Challenge Post - Solving problems for everyone.
Datastax - Big Data. Big Smarts. Big Fun.
Thumbtack - America's marketplace for local services.
RecoEngine - Tech Buying. Made Simple.
Rapportive - Let's make email a better place

LAUNCH Blog