Author: Jennifer Currier

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Last week, we took a step back to check in with previously featured Arlington startups that have experienced growth over the last year, including OnYou, GoGlove and Cards Against Urbanity, the game brainchild of the founders of fellow startup GreaterPlaces.

But these companies aren’t the only ones in Arlington that are thriving and deserve a head nod in a year-end check-in, starting in the world of mobile technology.

A little more than a year ago, EdgeTechLabs founder Shaun Masavage resigned from his job at the Office of Naval Research to work full-time on DrinkMate. Though the smartphone breathalyzer originally only worked for Android phones, the iPhone compatible version of the product will be available this month.

Masavage said much of 2015 was “quite the year of development” and is planning to roll out other new products in 2016. In the near future, the company is also planning to move into the Crystal City WeWork space from its existing office near Clarendon.

Another mobile application-based startup was still in development when it was first featured, but Notify AnyWhere recently launched its application for Android and web platforms.

“The primary focus of Notify AnyWhere was to be able to provide a single platform to reach millions of people irrespective of their access to Internet or other networks,” founder and CEO Ajay Maheshwari said in an e-mail update.

He added this purpose hasn’t changed, and the app consolidates all means of communication — social media, e-mail, text messaging, and automated voice calls — to notify users via a single platform to reach these masses of people. It’s still free to download, and paid packages are available for users who plan to share messages via the app.

In addition to the United States, Notify AnyWhere now has subscribers in Canada, South America, the United Kingdom, China, India, and other parts of Europe and Asia. Some of these include paying subscribers who have utilized the app for everything from election campaigns to weather and other emergency alerts.

The Notify AnyWhere team has grown significantly, and Maheshwari said so have opportunities for the app, including interest from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Justice.

“With the exponential growth we have seen in 2015, we are more focused and determined to achieve our goals,” he said. “Giving back to the community in whatever way we can is our mantra and that keeps us motivated and energized.”

Technology-based job search company Snagajob also has exponential growth to report for 2015, more specifically in the last six months.

The employment website and application has attracted more than 65 million job seekers, 15,000 employers and features more than one million job opportunities, according to company spokeswoman Lauren Dyke. Snagajob has also made in-house improvements, hiring 100 of its own job-seekers — also known as “snaggers”  — and launching two new updates to its mobile app for Android and Apple.

“I am proud and humbled by how much we have grown in such a short amount of time,” CEO Peter Harrison said. “I am confident this incredible momentum will only continue into 2016 as we accelerate our development of innovative products, expand our workforce, and increase our strategic alliances.”

With such growth, the company has quickly filled its Arlington office and has spread its 300 total employees between Arlington and Richmond as it celebrates 16 years since first launching.

Some things, however, you can’t totally rely on technology for. Moving is one of those things, and Rosslyn-based startup ValueCrates wanted to make that process as painless as possible when it first launched in the summer of 2014.

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Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Success in business isn’t always easily defined as it varies from company to company, industry to industry, market to market. This is especially true for startups, as success often relies on using trends and feedback to grow and explore new opportunities, even if they’re different than the ones that inspired the company in the first place.

ARLnow has profiled several startups who have done this. After first being profiled a year ago, some of them experienced positive growth in 2015 and have plans to continue to grow in 2016.

One of these is OnYou, a company that created a magnetic armband phone case specifically designed for runners, bicyclists and other fitness buffs. While the magnets in the armband are strong enough to keep smartphones safe and in place during such activities, the phone can easily be detached from the armband and used, for example, to change the music or answer a text message.

This summer, OnYou co-counder Scott Bauer — who started the company while he was still in grad school at George Mason University — reported that after running a successful Kickstarter campaign. the company won a business competition in April 2015. By July, OnYou was selling products from its own website and shipping products directly to customers.

According to their Facebook page, OnYou has upgraded its armband design and will be unveiling new products after the new year.

In another sector of the wearable cellular technology world, GoGlove has also moved from the pre-sales of a successful Kickstarter and is selling the product from its own website and on Amazon. The Bluetooth gloves allow wearers to answer their cell phones, change music or control apps without taking a phone out of their pocket.

“Feedback from initial sales have been great,” GoGlove co-founder Michael Conti said. “A lot of buyers have e-mailed us saying that it was a huge hit as a Christmas gift.”

Since the company was first featured about a year ago, they’ve developed other Bluetooth products. Bluz — a Bluetooth development kit that operates via the cloud — now has its own Kickstarter and is available for pre-sale. Conti added they’ve also been contacted by other companies interested in integrating the wireless technology into their own products.

Another startup that’s realized new opportunities in their segment this year is Cards Against Urbanity, a parody card game that has now proved as the most effective means of connecting planning firms and the people with the most concerns — the residents.

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