33 startups to watch in 2017, according to VC investors

So we reached out to a handful of top VCs and asked them which young or growth-stage startups will boom in 2017.

We asked them to particularly focus on non-enterprise startups — companies that sell directly to consumers rather than businesses. (For the hottest companies in enterprise, check out our list here).

The VCs we spoke to gave us this list that includes everything from video chat apps, to delivery drones, to companies that help you track your spending or invest your money.

Below are the 33 companies that are poised to boom in 2017.

Hooked: bite-sized stories for your phone

Company name: Hooked

VC: Greylock's Josh Elman

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $3 million

What it does: Hooked turns stories into bite-sized, chat-style messages, or lets fans write their own.

Why it's hot:"

Robinhood: Free stock trading

Company name: Robinhood

VC: Greylock's Josh Elman

Relationship:

Funding: $66 million

What it does: Robinhood is a free stock-trading app that makes it easy to buy and sell stocks from your phone.

Why it's hot:"

Laurel & Wolf: interior designing online

Company name: Laurel & Wolf

VC: Charles River Ventures' Saar Gur

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $25 million

What it does: Laurel & Wolf easily connects people with interior designers online, making it easy and affordable to transform a space.

Why it's hot:"Laurel & Wolf w

Opendoor: A different kind of real estate

Company name: Opendoor

VC: Charles River Ventures' Saar Gur

Relationship: None. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $320 million

What it does: Opendoor is betting that homeowners would take a guaranteed sale over a higher price. It calculates a fair market value and pays homeowners before re-selling the home with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

Why it's hot:"

Gametime: mobile ticket buying for live events

Company name: Gametime

VC: Accel's Brian O'Malley

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $33.3 million

What it does: The app allows people to find last-minute tickets for live sports and entertainment and easily share them with friends.

Why it's hot:"Gametime is the fastest growing ticketing company ever to reach $50 million in gross sales. By focusing on the mobile audience, Gametime makes everything easier, whether you’re sharing tickets through sms or selling tickets by just taking a picture

TheSkimm: a must-read morning newsletter for millennials

Company name:theSkimm

VC: Accel's Brian O'Malley

Relationship: Not an investor. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $16.4 million

What it does: TheSkimm is a morning newsletter (now with an app) that condenses the news of the world into easy-to-read headlines and blurbs.

Why it's hot: "Founded by two former journalists, theSkimm has become the daily newsletter for over 4 million millennials. Blending news with a clever tone, theSkimm has branched out from the newsletter with an app and now a commerce experience," O'Malley says.

Zipline: Drones that will save lives

Company name: Zipline

VC: Sequoia's Matt Huang

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $85 million

What it does: Zipline builds drones that can transport life-saving medical supplies like vaccines, medicines, or blood.

Why it's hot:"Zipline is the world's first commercial drone delivery service. While many companies are still just experimenting with drones, Zipline is addressing a major need (delivering life-saving medical supplies) and has kicked off in Rwanda, where poor roads and healthcare infrastructure have often made it difficult to reach patients. With a brilliant technology team and data from real customers, look for them to extend their lead in 2017," Huang says.

Discord: all-in-one voice and text chat for gamers

Company name: Discord

VC: Sequoia's Matt Huang and Kleiner Perkins' Eric Feng

Relationship: No relations. VCs just think it's cool.

Funding: $29 million

What it does: Discord helps gamers ditch Skype and texting and instead provides an all-in-one platform for voice and text chat with friends.

Why it's hot:"

Hollar: the online dollar store

Company name: Hollar

VC: Kleiner Perkins' Eric Feng

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $47.5 million

What it does: Hollar is reinventing the dollar store for online and mobile shopping, proving you can still buy cheap, high-quality goods online.

Why it's hot:"Dollar stores are a growing $50 billion market with less than 5% of transactions happening online. Not surprisingly, dollar-store shoppers want the convenience of ecommerce and are loving Hollar, which is doing millions in sales and grown 50% month on month," Feng says.

Affirm: a new way to pay for purchases

Company name: Affirm

VC: Andreessen Horowitz's Alex Rampell

Relationship: VC is a cofounder and investor.

Funding: $520 million

What it does: Affirm provides loans from the point of sale so shoppers can pay for purchases across multiple months.

Why it's hot: "I'm of course biased, but truly excited about the success and potential of Affirm to re-invent finance for millions of Americans that either don't have access to, or are frustrated with, the traditionally opaque and unfriendly banking system. Max Levchin and team are rethinking the entire process, starting off by making it quick and easy for anyone to secure a transparent loan at the point of purchase, and have already seen tremendous results. Affirm has a unique customer acquisition model, as merchants promote Affirm to their customers," Rampell says.

SoFi: reinventing student loan refinancing

Company name: Social Finance (SoFi)

VC: Andreessen Horowitz's Alex Rampell

Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $1.58 billion

What it does: SoFi is changing the loan industry when it comes to refinancing student loans.

Why it's hot: "," Rampell says.

TheRealReal: online authenticated luxury consignment

Company name: TheRealReal

VC: Canaan's Maha Ibrahim

Relationship: VC is an investor

Funding:$123 million

What it does: The online consignment shop authenticates luxury goods and resells them at low prices.

Why it's hot: " says.

Minted: an online design marketplace

Company name:Minted

VC: Canaan's Maha Ibrahim

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $89 million

What it does: The online company makes buying custom cards easier and more affordable than ever. It crowdsources its designs for everything from wedding invitations to pillows and homegoods.

Why it's hot: " says.

Earny: money back when a price drops

Company name: Earny

VC: Science's Peter Pham

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $1.2 million

What it does: Earny tracks the prices on everything you buy and gets you your money back when the price drops.

Why it's hot:"Tracking retailers and claiming price adjustments is something no one thinks to do, but there are millions of unclaimed dollars out there. The team saw an opportunity to build a bot that automates those tasks, without having you lift a finger. It really struck a chord – just a few weeks after Earny launched, Amazon ended their price adjustment policy on everything except TVs," Pham says.

Houseparty: Group video chat

Company name: Houseparty

VC: Science's Peter Pham

Relationship: None. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $69.5 million

What it does: The group video chat app lets people join "parties" of up to 8 people, letting people drop in and out easily depending on who is online.

Why it's hot:"

Away: maker of tech-enabled luggage

Company name:Away

VC: Forerunner Ventures’ Eurie Kim

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding:$11 million

What it does: The cult luggage maker developed a huge following for its suitcases that can even charge your phone.

Why it's hot: "With a pre-empted series A round of financing in Q3 2016, Away is ready to put fuel on their fire in 2017 with new product introductions, expanded stores and pop-ups, and more surprises to come," Kim says.

Dia&Co: plus-sized clothing subscription box

Company name:Dia&Co.

VC: Forerunner Ventures’ Eurie Kim

Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it’s cool.

Funding: $25.01 million

What it does: Plus-sized clothing and accessories retailer delivering its service via a try-on-at-home model.

Why it's hot: "With $20 million in new capital from Sequoia this past Sept 2016, Dia&Co. should have a full pipeline of growth initiatives to expand their service to women nationwide," Kim says.

Amino: a new kind of app maker

Company name: Amino

VC: GV's M.G. Siegler

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $28 million

What it does:

Why it's hot:"

Marco Polo: a walkie-talkie app that's taken off with teens

Company name: Marco Polo

VC: GV's M.G. Siegler

Relationship:

Funding: $25 million

What it does: Part Snapchat, part walkie-talkie, Marco Polo is an app made by Joya Communications that's popular with teens.

Why it's hot:"

Plowz & Mowz: an on-demand plowing and mowing service

Company name:Plowz & Mowz

VC: Science’s Mike Jones

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding:$1.5 million

What it does: Its on-demand landscaping and driveway plowing services is available in eight regions and quickly expanding due to overwhelming demand.

Why it's hot: "The $50 billion exterior home care industry is highly fragmented; Science Inc. invested in Plowz & Mowz because it's the first truly disruptive leader for on-demand booking. The demand is growing — they are on track for an even bigger year in 2017. This past weekend, with the snowfall in the Midwest, they were doing a job every five seconds in Chicago, Minneapolis and Cleveland," Jones says.

Cheddar: a new live stream of business news

Company name: Cheddar

VC: Science's Mike Jones

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $13 million

What it does: Cheddar is a live and on-demand video news service, focusing on a millennial twist for business news.

Why it's hot: "With live video platforms not fully taking off over the last few years, Facebook Live came on the scene this year and rapidly changed and improved how we consume live streams. Cheddar saw this potential and seized the opportunity to make news easily digestible and enjoyable to watch. I admire how they conquered broadcast news through streaming, and foresee exceptional growth for them in 2017," Jones says.

Musical.ly: instant music videos

Company name: Musical.ly

VC: Greylock's Josh Elman

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $16 million

What it does: Musical.ly has taken off with teens for its ability to make instant, easy music videos. It's already churning out the next generation of musicians and stars.

Why it's hot:"musical.ly

Ever: stores photos in the cloud

Company name: Ever (formerly Everalbum)

VC: Greylock's Josh Elman

Relationship:

Funding: $13 million

What it does: Ever automatically backs up your photos on all devices, making it easy to access your memories wherever you are and save space on your phone.

Why it's hot:"

Ripple: a dairy-free alternative to milk

Company name: Ripple

VC: GV's Andy Wheeler

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $44 million

What it does: Ripple Foods is a food-tech startup that makes a dairy-free milk alternative.

Why it's hot:"

Shyp: makes shipping easier

Company name: Shyp

VC: GV's Andy Wheeler

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $62 million

What it does: Shyp picks up your packages and handles the packing and shipping for you.

Why it's hot:"

Light: a camera with 16 lenses

Company name: Light

VC: GV's Andy Wheeler

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $64.7 million

What it does: Light is replacing the DSLR with a compact camera with 16 different lenses.

Why it's hot:"

Shift: a new way to sell your used car

Company name: Shift

VC: GV's Andy Wheeler

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $74 million

What it does: Shift is a personal concierge service for selling your car, helping coordinate everything from test drives to the DMV paperwork.

Why it's hot:"Shift is bringing a great consumer experience to buying and selling used cars. This is particularly useful whether you’re sending someone to you to inspect your car if selling, or bringing the car to you to test drive it," Wheeler says.

Forge: an always-on game capture for e-sports

Company name:Forge

VC: Social Capital's Arjun Sethi

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $9 million

What it does: Forge captures a gamer's live stream for free, making it possible for anyone anywhere to stream their gameplay.

Why it's hot:"

Zola: an online wedding registry

Company name: Zola

VC: Social Capital's Arjun Sethi

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $40.85 million

What it does: Zola is changing wedding registries by making it easy to buy and ship wedding gifts from one site.

Why it's hot:"Z

Rappi: on-demand delivery for Latin America

Company name: Rappi

VC: Foundation Capital's Charles Moldow

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $240K

What it does: Rappi is taking the on-demand delivery model, like Postmates, and bringing it to Latin America.

Why it's hot:"

Reserve: an OpenTable challenger

Company name: Reserve

VC: Foundation Capital's Charles Moldow

Relationship: None. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $15 million

What it does: Reserve finds hard-to-get reservations and makes it easy to book from within the app.

Why it's hot:"

ForUsAll: better retirement plans

Company name: ForUsAll

VC: Foundation Capital's Steve Vassallo

Relationship: VC is an investor.

Funding: $13 million

What it does: ForUsAll is trying to radically simplify the 401(K) retirement plan and make it easy and affordable for small businesses to make sure their employees have a shot at a happy retirement.

Why it's hot:"

Digit: an app that saves money for you

Company name: Digit

VC: Foundation Capital's Steve Vassallo

Relationship: No relationship. VC just thinks it's cool.

Funding: $36 million

What it does: After you connect your bank account, Digit takes a look at your balance every couple of days and tucks away money for you, making saving money easy and hassle-free.

Why it's hot:"