3 Aussie startups: Rammp, Cape and Theodore, land slots at TechCrunch’s ‘Startup Battlefield’

Three Australian startups have been chosen from more than 3000 applications globally to take part in the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield event at Disrupt in San Francisco this week.

AI-based marketing B2B Rammp, fashion tech venture Theodore, and fintech Cape will follow in the footsteps of unicorn alumni such as DropBox, Cloudflare and FitBit in taking part in the annual gathering. 

The trio are off to the Disrupt startup conference where they get to take part in a range of masterclasses and other events. They’re among 200 startups chosen, with 20 making it to the battlefield finals on Thursday (Friday morn, Aus) to pitch and live-demo the virtual on-stage for 6 minutes before things are narrowed down to a second round of 4-6 startups vying for US$100,000 and the Disrupt Cup. 

Rammp founder and CEO Dr Anna Harrison said the selection process for TechCrunch Disrupt is said to be harder than getting into Harvard. 

Her startup was selected for the super-hot-right-now AI category. 

RAMMP is a marketing tool for B2B SaaS companies that draws on the science of how human relationships are formed. The technology identifies marketing funnel leaks and increases conversion rates, using AI to deconstruct and  objectively measure the weaknesses in the relationship between a brand and a potential buyer.  

She believes an increased interest in AI technology against skyrocketing digital marketing costs has put a global spotlight on the company’s work.  

“It’s no secret that the hay days of ‘cheap click’ digital marketing are behind us, and businesses  are looking to more traditional methods in securing users and building loyalty,” Dr Harrison said.  

“It may surprise many that, fundamentally, relationship building in humans is a formulaic process.”

Dr Harrison’s idea for Rammp evolved from an initial belief that “falling in love was a chance encounter” that subsequently led her “down a rabbit hole of research and development that ultimately curated a process that can emulate and simulate the course of falling in love within a business context” where she’s now added artificial intelligence as a differentiator.

“The RAMMP technology has been piloted across a range of business entities and the success  rate is phenomenal – in some cases increasing user conversion by as much as 40%,” she said. 

B2B startup investor Aaron Birkby from Tribe Global Ventures, said being chosen for Startup Battlefield at Disrupt is a significant moment for any company  

“For Australian tech ventures, international markets such as the US offer an opportunity to grow  at scale,” he said.

“The TechCrunch media platform and annual Disrupt event brings together not just the  Silicon Valley and US ecosystem, but attracts investors and founders globally. It is great to see more Aussie tech businesses on the world stage.” 

Dr Harrison is hoping to seize the moment to drive customer growth. The business already counts 

“The opportunity Rammp represents could not be more relevant in a marketplace that is paying  more and achieving less in the digital landscape,” she said.

“The TechCrunch opportunity could not have come at a better time for Rammp, as the company enters a new phase of growth.”