Can Tech Startups Solve Serious Urban Problems? These Companies Think So

In the startup world, incubators have become a common part of the landscape, helping entrepreneurs get new ideas off the ground.

A new incubator, Tumml, focuses on an area that has not been as much of a focus for startups: urban problems. Tumml, founded in 2012 by former MIT Sloan MBA graduates Clara Brenner and Julie Lein, is designed to take innovative ideas from the tech world and apply them to complex urban challenges. The group gets donations from companies and foundations and invests in for-profit startups like a traditional incubator. But as a nonprofit, any profit Tumml makes on its investments gets cycled back into new startups. The incubator wants to help build for-profit companies that have a social impact but also become thriving businesses, Brenner says.

"Social impact comes first," Brenner says. "We want companies to make a significant impact in communities. At the same time the impact comes with scale. We don't want companies to be active in one community. We want to have an impact in communities across the country."

The San Francisco incubator just launched its first batch of startups. The companies do balance addressing both real urban problems while also using technology to provide real potential solutions. Here are the five companies.

Corral: Corral is a new ridesharing company that has a twist: Instead of drivers just picking up individual people looking for a ride, drivers on Corral can pick up multiple people to fill up a car on the way to a destination. The app, which is currently pilot testing in San Francisco, tells drivers if there are people looking for a ride on their route and the drivers then pick them up. It's different from Lyft or Sidecar in that drivers do not choose to accept a ride. Instead they just get directed to the next person on their route, similar to a turn-by-turn navigation system. The company was formerly known as Corral Rides, which was an aggregator of other ride-sharing and public transportation options, but it has switched to offering its own ride service.

The founders, Snir Kodesh and Noam Szpiro, say they have set up the system so that there is minimal delay.  Because cars are picking up multiple people, cities should have less traffic and air pollution, they say. Initially drivers would use their own cars as with Lyft or Sidecar or UberX. But eventually they could try to move to larger vehicles. For consumers, the Corral service would be priced lower than other ride services, since drivers are accepting more riders.

The founders say they've built the system so that it could also be used for larger public transit vehicles like buses, so the company hopes to eventually do partnerships with public transit agencies to help them more efficiently use spaces on buses.

Handup: This startup enables crowdfunding for homeless people with assurances to donors that their money is going to the right place. The service gives a  SMS  shortcode to homeless people so that people can send a donation through a text message. The donations are managed by non-profit groups so that donors know that the donations are going to good uses. Using an administrative website, non-profits can see how much each member has and what it was spent on.

Handup uses Twilio to route the text messages and Stripe for credit card processing. The company launched a pilot with 50 people in San Francisco and Project Homeless Connect. The members get a business card with the shortcode that they can give to people that explains how it works. Eventually Handup wants to work with  Safeway  or Walgreens so that members can buy products directly. One example of a current use was a member who needed $1,000 for dentures. Using Handup, the non-profit can release the funds directly to the dentist to pay for the service. Founders Rose Broome and Zac Witte haven't decided how the company will generate revenue. It could take a percentage of donations or it could ask for a voluntary donation like services such as Donors Choose, or take interest that accrues on members accounts. The company also wants to expand beyond homelessness to charitable giving more generally.

KidAdmit: Tejal Shah and Parth Shah created KidAdmit to help parents find and apply to pre-school. Is this a function of some hypercompetitive parents who are trying to get their kids into top schools? No, Tejal Shah says the service is designed simplify what is a fragmented market of public and private schools. It is also trying to get all preschools to use a standard application form, as many colleges do, to make it easier for parents to apply.

Launched in San Francisco in July, the company has signed up 15% of San Francisco preschools. Eventually they want to build out a platform that standardizes the admissions process, while also integrating other tools such as learning technologies.

UrbnEarth:  Serial entrepreneur Phil Weiner started UrbnEarth to try to get city dwellers to be involved in growing food. He has developed a packet of tools that makes it easy for people to learn urban gardening. Since many busy city people have little time, the packet is designed to be super quick to set up and use. The packet includes plant "seed balls" and a mat that you put on the ground that has holes in it for growing certain plants in proximity to others that are complementary. The mat also connects to a water hose that you can turn on once a day to water the plants in the right amount.

Workhands: This " LinkedIn for blue collar workers" provides workers with online tools to showcase their skills. This can include work licenses they've earned, or photos to show examples of the work they've done. The idea is that employers can also use the site to find electricians, automotive workers, plumbers or construction workers, and workers can also use it to share ideas with other workers. Founders James Dunbar and Patrick Cushing started the company partly based on the experiences of family members who work in the trades. To make money the company plans to sell job listings, which are currently free. Workhands also could charge for communications tools, such as a large union or contractor that wants to reach a large group of workers. This population isn't well served by current online tools, says Dunbar. "It's treating workers like people with the same needs and desires as anyone. You're the owner of your own domain."