Detroit

A clever collection of patented, multi-tasking, non-toxic hair care that helps busy women rock fabulous hair in a fraction of the usual time by combining 12 processes for boss-babe-worthy hair into just 3 simple steps.

Healthy eating and wellness information at your fingertips, Foodstand helps individuals and organizations joyfully turn wellness goals into lifelong habits through team challenges and behavior change. The company was acquired by DietID during the Cohort 1 Backstage Accelerator.

High-quality, on-demand jewelry design and manufacturing that takes your ideas through concept, CAD, 3D printing and casting, and assembly, redefining the relationship between brands and manufacturers.

Bippy is a modern personal care line exclusively for the butt that’s on a mission to preserve forests from the bottom up. Toilet problems don’t get talked about, so they don’t get fixed. Most toilet paper is made using hardwood trees and as a result, the industry is devastating our forest, poisoning our plumbing, and it’s not even that great on your butt! Bippy is soft, absorbent, lint-free and most importantly: sustainable. Made with bamboo fibers (think your bamboo bed sheets), it’s super soft. And, because bamboo creates more oxygen, uses more carbon, and doesn’t have to be replanted, it’s a triple threat of environmental sustainability.

Alerje sits at the intersection of traditional MedTech and Consumer products, using proactive patient design to reduce the cost of healthcare and improve patient outcomes through its food allergy management platform.

Healthy Roots is a toy company combating societal beauty standards on girls of color during the early stages of identity development. Healthy Roots dolls, the first line of natural hair dolls to enter the toy industry, have different facial features, skin tones, and hair textures that can be styled in countless ways.

Healthy Roots creates dolls and storybooks that teach natural hair care and celebrate all skin tones, bringing diversity to the toy aisle while promoting self love and empowerment for girls of color. The team at Healthy Roots aims to create products that reflect the changing world and the beauty inherent in every one of us.

Healthy Roots Founder + Creative Director, Yelitsa Jean-Charles, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA in Illustration and concentration in Gender, Race & Sexuality, a Venture for America Fellow, and a TEDxProvidence speaker. Healthy Roots grew from an art project into a startup raising $50k on Kickstarter, and continued to grow through participation in the Brown Social Innovation Fellowship, RISD EShip and Brown Breakthrough Lab, and was selected as a 2015 MassChallenge Finalist.

No one should feel “less than” because of the kink of their curl or the color of their skin. Healthy Roots is helping girls love their roots one doll at a time.