How TechStars Gave an iPhone Relocation App a Boost An app that eases the packing-up process gets some help from the New York City incubator of startup accelerator TechStars.
By Michelle Juergen •
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The startup: Moveline, founded in late 2011 by Frederick Cook and Kelly Eidson, is a free iPhone app that helps people with the process of relocating. The company graduated last June from the New York City incubator of startup accelerator TechStars. Each year TechStars selects about 60 companies from thousands of applicants in New York, Seattle, Boston, San Antonio and Boulder, Colo., investing $118,000 in each.
What it is: Moveline began as a B2B service, helping moving companies exchange shipments. But Cook, who serves as CEO, and Eidson, head of product and marketing, saw an opportunity to target consumers. "The internet and technology has changed so much of our lives, but moving was an area where that hadn't come about," Eidson says. "There weren't really any brands that consumers trusted or that were really iconic, and there weren't really any products that people were using that made the process any easier than it was 50 years ago."
With Moveline, users send in a video walkthrough of their home; the app creates an inventory of their possessions and estimates how many boxes will be needed to pack everything. Users can then submit the inventory for quotes from Moveline's network of providers and book their move--all through the app. The service is currently available for moves originating in New York City.
