This is part of our weekly series of posts summarizing startup news from Brazil in English.
–MoreCerto, a startup that assists with real estate search, won the Sebrae Startup Day event in Blumenau. The site, which has been up and running for a month, already has 15,000 listings in the Florianopolis area and has had 7000 click throughs on the listings. The site distinquishes itself from typical classifieds sites by offering recommendations based on the seeker’s requirements for proximity to transport, amenities, and other preferences. Real estate agents can list for free, but paid premium accounts offer featured display of ads. Full post in Portuguese includes a slideshow from the pitch presentation.
-Startup Bedoo has launched nationally. It offers an innovative “fast shopping” recommendations engine which uses brief questions to target the shopper with matching choices from various online retailers. Bedoo say the founders, is a sort of virtual sales clerk, designed to help the shopper have an easier and more productive online shopping experience. Full story.
–Microsoft’s BizSpark program celebrated three years in Brazil, where it has been offering support for entrepreneurs via more than twenty Innovation Centers and numerous programs and events. Director Silvia Valadares gave a talk in São Paulo to commemorate the anniversary. Video of Valadares’ TEDx talk at FIAP can be seen on the full post (in Portuguese) and her commentary and analysis of the successes of the past three years can be found in this article (Portuguese).
–AgenteImóvel recently opened a Brazilian site that aids in reserving and paying for vacation rentals, as well as regular rentals and property purchases. The business was founded by Swede Johan Jonsson after his own difficulties in finding vacation rentals. The site is available in English as well as Portuguese. Full story.
–ContaAzul has updated its platform that offers support for the administrative and financial needs of entrepreneurs. The relaunch comes after ContaAzul spent several months earlier this year being incubated by 500Startups. The goal is to provide support to decrease the number of startups that close in their first five years due to lack of good operational planning. A slideshow and the full story here.
-Engarte is addressing the needs of the construction boom in Brazil with a platform that aims to assist in project development, management and access to necessary services. Projects that might otherwise not be taken on or left incomplete due to lack of specialists, for example, can benefit by finding the right specialists more easily via the database of service providers, such as AutoCAD specialists, chemical engineers and environmental engineers. Contracting and job tracking can all take place within Engarte.com. Full story.
-Socialle is offering a new approach to making personal projects come to life via crowdfunding. Events like birthdays, weddings, classes, travel and health needs – the sorts of things you’d ask your friends to support – can be posted on Socialle, and friends can join in there in a show of support, including making donations via Moip, the online payment tool. The idea comes from Maria Carolina de Araújo Cintra (formerly of Kingo Labs), whose team is based in São Paulo. Using the Facebook app friends can see each others “dreams” and post their own, and the format is designed to inspire a fun, playful approach and sharing via social networks. Full story.
-MIT is looking to extend it’s Technology Review prize for inspiring entrepreneurs under the age of 35 to Brazil. Nominations are now open. There is a brief video (in English) in the full post. More info at MIT’s TR35Brasil website.
-Brazilian entrepreneur Gustavo Caetano, founder of Sambatech, will be participating in the F.ounders Summit event in NYC. He’ll be participating in a panel discussion as part of the proceedings. He also plans to announce news regarding Sambatech, which currently has a joint venture with Adstream. Several spinoff businesses are in the works but he would not offer details before the official announcement. Full story.
-400 entrepreneurs will gather July 4th in Curitiba for the Startup Club startups competition. There will be panel discussions as well as the pitch competition. Those wishing to attend or participate can sign up here. Full story.
-CapsDoc, a startup that came out of the Start-Up Chile incubator program and was a finalist in several competitions has done a relaunch under a new name, with an infusion of investment from Bremack Ventures. Bremack Ventures co-founder Eduardo Breannand Campos is also the new CEO and a doctor has been added as a partner, to provide medical advice. The site, now called Dr. Busca, lists more than 1000 medical professionals and currently operates in São Paulo and Recife. They are planning to expand to more cities soon. The site allows consumers to find doctors and make appointments. Full story.
