An established supplier of automotive parts has launched a startup to help those on the go with car repairs.
Bosch Auto Parts, a unit of Germany-based Robert Bosch GmbH with its U.S. headquarters in Irvine, launched the Sweetworxx mobile app, which selects a repair shop, books an appointment, and picks up and drops off the customer’s car. All of its services are covered by a 24-month/24,000-mile limited warranty.
The Sweetworxx leadership team includes Bosch employees and a team hired for the new business. Its general manager is automotive repair industry veteran Daniel Angelo.
When a customer downloads the app, instructions on booking a service appear. Sweetworxx selects a repair shop based on mechanic expertise and availability. It provides a driver to pick up the vehicle for repairs and then drop it off when it’s ready. Additional features include requests for tows and car rentals.
The app is currently available in Irvine, Fountain Valley, Laguna Woods, Orange and Laguna Hills. Bosch has 70 primary locations in the U.S.
Customized Healthcare
Irvine-based healthcare company Langga Care recently launched to provide services for the elderly via technology that assists and monitors caregivers.
Family members of the person receiving care can use the app to track a caregiver’s whereabouts and a timeline of care each day.
Chief Executive Anthony Macas started the company after emigrating from the Philippines and working as a caregiver here. Langga is what his mother called him when he was young, he said. It means love and care.
Langga provides an entire team, including a care adviser, care coordinator, registered nurse and caregiver, plus a customized plan for each patient. It’s currently promoting its Surge Care Program, a four-hour service that can be provided in the morning to help elderly people get up and ready for the day; at lunch to prepare an afternoon meal, ensure medications are taken, and freshen up the house; for driving seniors to appointments, grocery shopping or social outings; or in the evening to ensure that meals are eaten and medications taken, for tidying the kitchen and getting the client ready for bed.
The company is seeking seed funding, Macas said.
Website Revamped
High-end apparel reseller SugarsGone founder Jennifer Bell has been busy recently. She launched a new website, held a pop-up event on the Newport Beach boardwalk, and hired a new creative director, Larkie Dam.
The website has more editorial, educational and “fun” content, along with features to make it a more “robust marketplace for buyers and sellers,” Bell said. The Sept. 15 pop-up celebrated the relaunch of the website as the company adjusts from a consignment space to more of a luxury e-commerce site with new and “gently used” items.
The startup began as a way for Bell to resell the high-end clothing and accessories she had from a previous relationship. The website is www.sugarsgone.com.
Entrepreneurs Offer Mentoring
Irvine-based VCNetwork.co, a database of independent venture capitalists around the world, recently launched a mentorship program with the goal of helping startups get funding and scale through one-on-one time with founders Jenny Ta and Shinta Dhanuwardoyo.
The two will mentor a few startups at no cost every month to start. The selection process will be at random from startups’ submissions to VCNetwork.co’s platform. Companies also can secure a mentoring session for $199 for 30 minutes. The founders, in looking at business plans submitted to its network for funding, saw that more than 60% of startups “desperately needed guidance in creating ‘fund-worthy pitch decks and ideas,’” Ta said.
Wine Venture
ILTG Media, the parent company of a digital platform that brings wine culture to millennials by pairing wine with fashion, film, food and music, is seeking to raise $2 million.
It would use the money to expand its platform through editorial content, video and podcasts, and on sales and marketing, technology and staff. ILTG Media also intends to create events called SommX that are hosted by sommeliers and based on a particular theme, according to founder and Chief Creative Naushad Huda.
“The goal for the SommX events is to touch all five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) and go well beyond a simple food and wine dinner,” Huda said. “SommX are total 360 experiences for a group of around 20 that [are] led from beginning to end by a sommelier and/or winemaker who will choose the theme for the evenings. Participants will be required to dress in the evening’s theme and, depending on the pairing with fashion, film, food or music, a guest from one of those social milieus will be present.”
It recently signed a deal with Santa Monica-based TV4 Entertainment to distribute its video content across Hulu LLC, Amazon, YouTube and other distribution channels with a 70-30 revenue split in its favor.
