Irvine-based Ergo Accel has invested in a company that’s developed a mobile platform to personalize food, drink and lifestyle choices.
The accelerator invested $15,000 in Chuz, as it does in all of the startups it accepts. In addition, Chuz is in the midst of trying to raise $750,000 in seed funding, founder and Chief Executive Eirini Schlosser said. Its team of 10 is working primarily at the accelerator for the next year.
The company uses artificial intelligence to track users’ food, drink and lifestyle preferences and make recommendations based on their locations. Food, drink and other lifestyle venues pay $50 a month to subscribe to Chuz’ data and marketing service.
Users give products or services they buy thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the app. They may get 10% of their bill for doing so, Schlosser said. They can also provide feedback on the atmosphere and service. The venue gets instant feedback and can make adjustments without the stigma of a negative public review, Schlosser said.
The app features 2,500 locales to choose from.
She’s positioning Chuz to compete in a market based on thousands of patrons posting public reviews on sites such as Yelp and Foursquare. She said the sites frequently contain “inconsistency in taste” and “inauthentic content.”
“No one is doing this from an algorithmic, tailored perspective,” she said.
Chuz launched in December.
Schlosser said she primarily funded the company with her own money to start, along with a few early angel investors.
Ergo Accel is housed in the Eureka co-working building launched by Irvine-based Ergo Capital. Peter Polydor, created the Eureka Building and is the chief executive of Ergo Capital.
Calling All Angels
A Dana Point cause-based marketing company is seeking $1.2 million in angel investment funds for a regional rollout in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties, and the Inland Empire.
Giveplicity is designed to increase merchant loyalty, Vice President of Sales and Partner Wade Miller said. It targets customers who want to contribute to charitable organizations they’re passionate about, and community organizations that need to find funding sources.
Cause-based marketing has grown from $120 million in 1990 to over $2 billion last year, Miller said. Research shows that eight out of every 10 consumers will switch brands if they know a brand gives back to a good cause, and the data supports an even larger percentage when the cause is one they’re most passionate about, he added.
“Understanding this emerging market, Giveplicity is ideally positioned and exists to capitalize on these macro-economic trends,” he said in an email.
Giveplicity users create accounts through the app or website, register their most frequently used credit or debit cards, designate up to two charities that they wish to support, and use the mobile app to identify participating merchants.
Merchants interested in attracting “conscientious consumers” also register with Giveplicity and designate the percentage of each purchase they’ll contribute to the charity(ies) designated by the user, Miller said.
Percentages vary based on the merchant’s price points and margins and are up to the merchant. The average give-back is about 10%, Miller said. Giveplicity applies a 30% fee to each transaction occurring within its network.
Hundreds of merchants and more than 40 nonprofit organizations are participating in the first six months of operations, he said.
Giveplicity operates similarly to Fullerton-based Aidtree, which enables consumers to seek out businesses that donate to causes the purchaser is passionate about.
Branching Out
A company that imports and distributes cosmeceuticals from a manufacturer in Korea is targeting plastic surgeons, dermatologists, medical spas and others in Orange County. Cosmeceuticals are combinations of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Laguna Niguel-based Caprice Clinical also has exclusive rights to sell the Thelavicos line to the entire U.S. and its territories, founder and Chief Executive Caprice Arkell said.
Arkell had been selling clinical skincare to that market for almost a decade and decided to branch out with her own company. She touts the benefits of Korean products, including ingredients that come from traditional Chinese medicinal plants and herbs and don’t contain parabens, soy or gluten.
One product, Thelavicos Nutrition Cream, is promoted as helping reduce the appearance of wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. It contains natural ingredients, including red ginseng and probiotics, and sells for $89.
Arkell obtained an esthetics license in 2000. She’s a nonpracticing esthetician but said she maintains her license.
