Comments Off on UK Startup Swogo Launches The “Best Way To Find Products” Starting With Laptops0LikeLike 3,180
According to various consumer electronic trade publications the average consumer takes three weeks to make a decision on a laptop. A new UK startup called Swogo is looking to take that decision making time down to seconds.
Swogo says the main hurdle in making a purchasing decision is the way people search for items. Either they have an idea in their mind at what they want to purchase and then go to a consumer electronics retailer for comparison shopping.
Other consumers take to gigantic search engines like Google and Bing. The problem with traditional search engines is that they lead to information and not answers. Sifting through that information and then vetting it against paid ad campaigns can often lead consumers down the wrong path. In this case they either make the wrong purchasing decision or they prolong the decision making process further.
Swogo plans on becoming a recommendation connection engine for many types of products but they are starting with laptops. The site launched on Monday afternoon in the UK with laptops only and plans on expanding their product line and their global reach this year. By the end of 2013 they plan on adding tablets, smartphones, cameras and TVs.
Sure there are plenty of other electronic and gadget sites out there but Swogo says they have an algorithm that aides customers in making their important purchasing decisions,reducing the time down to seconds.
Comments Off on Founder Of Memphis Startup Mentor.Me Crowdfund’s In Person For Everywhereelse Booth0LikeLike 4,797
This weekend was a big weekend for Memphis entrepreneurs, specifically women founders and entrepreneurs. Upstart Memphis, the latest initiative by Launch Memphis, officially kicked off with the 48 Hour Launch, women’s edition. During the 48 hour period four women CEO’s from Memphis built 4 exciting new startups; Care2Manage, AfocusED Path, Pink Robin Avenue and Mentor.me.
Throughout the weekend the women were rushing to gain as much business knowledge as they could, test their idea out and validate it with customers, and work on their pitch deck. They were also competing for a free booth space at the upcoming “everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference” event being held in Memphis in February.
The three day event is bringing entrepreneurs, founders, and investors from across the country and around the world to Memphis for three days of startup knowledge. A smorgasboard of panels, discussions, fireside chats, networking opportunities and parties. There’s a huge list of nationally known speakers as well. (here’s more info on the event).
Mentor.me is solving a big problem for non profit groups that are linking mentors with mentees. Until now the systems used by most mentoring non profits has been flawed.
For instance Brittany Fitzpatrick said in her pitch that a few people she knows that connect mentors and mentees have to go through thousands of applications and then they link mentors with their mentees by looking at a simple sheet of paper. This paves the way for bad connections and relationships. We also learned that most mentor relationships dissolve in six months or less and that’s actually worse for the mentee than not having been mentored at all.
Check out Mentor.me’s Friday pitch:
And here’s Fitzpatrick’s Sunday pitch:
Fitzpatrick’s web based platform will allow both mentors and mentees the opportunity to build a much more robust profile with likes, interests, needs and goals. This way both the mentor and the mentee have a better chance at vetting each other out to see if they’re likely to be compatible.
When the judges convened after hearing all four pitches on Sunday evening it was a very close call between Mentor.me and the startup that won, Pink Robin Avenue.
Undeterred, once Fitzpatrick realized she wasn’t the winner she started approaching the folks in the audience with a simple proposal, help me get my startup into the conference.
Very quickly Fitzpatrick got sponsored to the beat of $265 and at that point I kicked in the last $30 to get her startup into the conference.
Hopefully both Fitzpatrick and the winner Danielle Inez, will wow the investors the way they wowed the judges this weekend and raise some venture capital.
Comments Off on We Talk With 500 Startups, Madrid Startup, Traity: Recruitment With Trust & Personality0LikeLike 4,898
We’ve reported on countless startups that are striving to re-invent the interview and recruitment process. It seems that recruitment may be one of the hottest startup spaces in 2012. How can you separate the good and the bad? Well one way is by knowing that Dave McClure’s 500 startups is backing this Madrid startup, Traity.
Traity is attacking the recruitment space with analytics, data, and endorsement. When you look up a book or something that may be a bit new to you on Amazon.com, you’re a lot more comfortable knowing that the book has 100+ positive reviews right? If you’re like me and willing to take a chance on a book, having 100 reviews either positive or negative is typically an indicator that it’s at least worth a look.
Well that’s where Traity starts. Their recruitment platform reports are made up of endorsements from several people.
The other place where Traity is making a difference is in personality. Traity positions themselves as a personality based engine, personality test or as it suggests on their website, personality game. Traity is measuring the personality strengths in people like perseverance or how proactive they will be. A candidate could look perfect on paper but they could be a bump on a log in real life. These are all factors you need to know when hiring a candidate, that you may not get to see until the interview.
Speaking of interviews, here’s an interview with Juan Cartagena, co-founder of 500 startups, startup Traity
Comments Off on Memphis Startup: Pink Robin Avenue Wins Free Booth At Everywhereelse.co0LikeLike 3,337
This weekend was Upstart Memphis’ 48 Hour Launch weekend. Upstart Memphis is the newest initiative for Launch Memphis the catalyst behind all things entrepreneurial and startup in Memphis Tennessee. Upstart Memphis is about helping women entrepreneurs and startup founders through fellowship, education and events. 48 Hour Launch, Memphis’ take on Startup Weekend, was the first big even for the organization.
Launch Memphis has held several 48 Hour Launch events. They function the same way most weekend startup hackathons function. This time was a little different though because all of the ideas pitched needed to be led by women.
Care2Manage, A focusED Path, Mentore.Me and Pink Robin Avenue were the four ideas picked to build throughout the course of the weekend. As you can see from both the Friday and Sunday videos for each startup, they got a lot of work done.
Danielle Inez and her Pink Robin Avenue was the prevailing winner though, even after an original judges tie.
Pink Robin Avenue is an easy way to plan and decorate for an event. For those who like it broken down in it’s simplest form, Pink Robin Avenue is an “event in a box”.
Inez and her team used the weekend to work on their business plan, website, social channels, customer discovery and preparing a great presentation. Inez brought out her bubbly personality and really shut the crowd down with her enthusiastic responses to every part of the Q&A, having a sensible answer for every question thrown her way.
While Inez will initially grow Pink Robin Avenue in Memphis she plans on expanding nationwide and helping people plan events, and get all the decorations they need from top to bottom in a box delivered to their door step, instructions and all.
After checking out her Sunday pitch video you’ll see why she ended up winning a free Startup Village booth at everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference. Inez will be very busy over the next two months making sure that her idea is ready for prime time and ready to go onstage in front of over 1500 people, 400 of them investors.
As a testament to the weekend startup hackathon building model check out her Friday pitch here:
Comments Off on Chicago Startup: Barandwaitstaff.com A Jobs Network For The Service Industry0LikeLike 2,646
While some consider waiting tables stepping stone jobs, there are plenty of career minded people in the field. Perhaps you want a job that doesn’t require a lot of thinking so that you can pay the bills and work on a side startup. Perhaps you actually make really good money waiting tables and so no reason for change. Possibly, you like working with people and feel most comfortable helping customers.
For whatever reason there are thousands of people who are perfectly fine, if not extremely happy, in the service industry. A new Chicago startup, barandwaitstaff.com is going to make it easier for professional service industry folks to find the best service industry jobs. In fact, even though there are thousands of restaurants in every state, the service industry has gone rather unnoticed in the recruitment space.
Barandwaitstaff.com promises to make it easy for anyone looking for work in the service industry to find it, and vice versa.
The startup is led by two brothers Len and Jim Kazmierczak. Both brothers hold history degrees. At one point they had bought a small live music bar in the area. However with the economic downturn it became harder and harder to keep the doors open and eventually closed it down. After closing the business down they decided they reflected on what they could have done differently in their business. Staffing was one of those things. With that Barandwaistaff.com was born.
We got a chance to talk to Len Kazmierczak. Check out the interview below.
Comments Off on Black Girls Code Coming Home To Memphis In January0LikeLike 3,675
Meka Egwuekwe (rear) and his daughters Elechi (L) and Sobenna (R) talk about Black Girls Code coming to Memphis photo: nibletz LLC
Kimberly Bryant is an award winning social entrepreneur, technology junkie, an engineer by trade and a native Memphian. She relocated to Silicon Valley and now she’s launched a program that’s rolling out across the country. That program, Black Girls Code, promotes teaching coding and development to young African American Girls.
Bryant describes the mission for Black Girls Code on her website as:
“to introduce programming and technology to a new generation of coders, coders who will become builders of technological innovation and of their own futures.”
Like many others, Bryant believes there’s a “dearth” of African American women in science, technology, engineering and math professions. While some may say it’s because there’s a lack of interest, Bryant knows that it’s more like a lack of access and exposure to STEM topics. The Black Girls Code program is about making STEM topics accessible to African American girls and exposing them at a young age. It’s also done in such a way that it’s fun and positive.
Bryant has held programs through Black Girls Code in cities all over the country and some around the world. Black Girls Code has had events in San Francisco, Chicago, Oakland, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and even in Johannesburg. Her most recent event was this past Saturday in Atlanta where they taught kids how to develop their own apps using Google’s App Inventor.
Two of the girls that participated; Elechi (11) and Sobenna (8) Egwuekwe, came to speak on Sunday night at Memphis’ 48 Hour Launch for women event. Their father, Meka Eqwuekwe, who works for local web developer Lokian, has taken an active interest in the Black Girls Code program, and is helping to bring it to Memphis.
The Memphis Black Girls Code chapter will hold an Open House January 15th at Emerge Memphis, the local technology and startup incubator. Then, on February 16th the Memphis chapter will hold it’s first event.
Albeit a little shy, or possibly tired from the 6 hour drive back from Atlanta, both Elechi and Sobenna were glowing with excitement as their father explained the concept and program behind Black Girls Code and the events coming up.
When asked if they had fun, Elechi quickly responded by saying yes and then described the experience. Elechi told the audience of about 50 that she and her sister got to create their own app using the App Inventor platform. She was quick to point out that App Inventor is a Google product and that meant their first app was for the Android platform.
The app that the girls created was a photo app that allowed a user to add sound effects to a picture taken on an Android phone. Launch Your City’s Chief Brand Officer and the woman in charge of Upstart Memphis, and the 48 Hour Launch For Women, Elizabeth Lemmonds, was quick to point out to both young ladies that there was no age limit for Upstart and that next year she expected to see the two sisters pitching a startup at the 48 Hour Launch for women.
Comments Off on Meet The 4 Women Led Memphis Startups Pitching At 48 Hour Launch0LikeLike 2,578
Memphis’ Launch Memphis, is holding a 48 Hour Launch made up entirely of startups founded by women. This is part of Launch Memphis’ new Upstart Memphis initiative focused on enriching women entrepreneurs and startups across the midsouth.
In addition to events like this, Upstart Memphis holds a regular women’s entrepreneur meetup and provides access to women founders and entrepreneurs to the organizations free workshops and seminars. Upstart Memphis welcomes entrepreneurs of all types from traditional small businesses to high growth potential startups.
This weekend’s 48 Hour Launch saw traditional high growth startups and a hybrid startup with huge upside potential locally and if it can build scale, nationally as well.
Care2Manage
Care2Manage is a web portal and referral service aimed at 30 and 40 somethings who’s parents may be ready for elder care. More and more of the elderly are turning to staying home rather than going into managed care centers, which can be frightening for their children, especially when 100s of miles separate child and parent.
That’s where Care2Manage comes in. This referral site and management platform allows the parent and the children to collaborate together and find the best care providers in the parents’ local area. With the service being based on the web, children from across the country and around the world can be involved in their parents care. Not only that, but Care2Manage will also staff up with 24 hour staff available to the parent or the child, and in some cases both.
Here’s the Friday raw pitch:
focusED Path
This startup plans to be a first in it’s space. Essentially focusED Path is a social network for students and parents to keep up with their scholastic activities. Using focusED path, parents and students can put all of their grades, achievements and assignments online. As the student reaches milestones they can be celebrated as well.
focusED Path takes it’s name from one of it’s key features. At the eighth grade level most students start thinking about careers and the work force. They start solidifying their first “what I want to be when I grow up” plans.
focusED Path takes those ideas and makes recommendations on courses to take and what grade averages are needed to sustain that goal. The system will also help when that student undoubtedly pivots to another career path. The student and the parent can see what changes will need to be made to keep them on the focusED path.
Finally, in their secure network students and parents can share milestones, and victories along with areas the student needs to work on with that student’s support network.
Here’s the Friday Pitch:
Pink Robin Avenue
Pink Robin Avenue is the ultimate event planning tool for the busy person. Professional career minded women, single dads, single parents and anyone who’s day to day makes them too busy to plan a party can easily use Pink Robin Avenue to design an event in a box and have the party they’ve dreamt about in just a few clicks.
The founder of Pink Robin Avenue, Danielle Inez, put together the idea when she found that with her social calendar and PR consulting firm she didn’t have enough time to think of things like cake toppers, decorations, and party favors.
Check out the Friday pitch:
Mentor.me
Brittney Fitzpatrick has noticed that there is a huge flaw in mentoring. One of her close colleagues is in charge of administering a very big mentor program in Memphis Tennessee and told Fitzpartrick that most of the mentor matching she does is strictly baed on what’s on a sheet of paper. For so many reasons this process is flawed.
Mentor.me plans on taking profiles for the mentor and the mentee and using algorithms to better match the two.
With Mentor.me a mentee will be able to better address and get more indepth about their needs in a mentor. The mentor will also be able to better see if they’re a match or not.
Mentor.me will help both mentors and mentees waist a lot less time and get right into mentoring, which is what they’re supposed to do.
Comments Off on Columbus Startup: AboutOurWork Disrupting The Chamber’s Networking Events0LikeLike 3,332
I’m going to go out on a limb here. I’ve been to several Chamber of Commerce events at cities across the country and for the most part their networking mixers suck. Not much real networking actually happens at business after hours events, business before hours events and holiday parties. Most Chamber of Commerce network events are a huge circle jerk and ego strokes for people that already know each other. In fact in most cases you’ll find more cliques at a Chamber of Commerce mixer than you will in the cafeteria of your favorite middle school.
With everyone being so deeply entrenched in the internet, we’ve been waiting for a startup to come along and offer what most Chamber’s of Commerce charge hundreds of dollars for, real networking, real introductions. Sure LinkedIn is great, but again most of LinkedIn is built on who you already know. Even when you might kind of know someone or you want to meet someone you heard about but “didn’t do business with”, LinkedIn discourages it.
Well a Columbus startup called AboutOurWork has created a new network connections platform that promises to link small businesses (and startups) with other small businesses (and startups).
Co-founders David Hungenaw and Brooke Paul are serial entrepreneurs, both with successful exits. Now they are setting out to solve a problem no one wants to talk about (but I just did), finding a way for small businesses (and startups) to actually network.
We got a chance to talk to Hungenaw about his startup that’s disrupting the Chamber of Commerce mixer.
Comments Off on Austin Startup Cinsay A Video Based e-tailing Platform INTERVIEW0LikeLike 2,815
An Austin startup called Cinsay has a new way for merchants big and small to sell their wares on the internet. At first glance you may find yourself saying, not another e-commerce platform, however the team behind Cinsay has done a great job of blending video with e-commerce.
It’s pretty straight forward. Companies of any size, either one man shops, or stores the size of Neiman Marcus can sign up for a Cinsay account. From there users can upload a video that features their products. Within the video photos are extracted to the top of the viewing pane and end users can click on those products to share, get more info or complete a purchase.
So after getting the preliminary interview back from Cinsay we weren’t yet sold on the idea of using video quite this way. What’s wrong with going somewhere like Bestbuy.com, Amazon.com or even ebay searching for what you want and buying it. Well NeimanMarcus’ Cinsay page is what sold us on the concept. And then we couldn’t stop looking at stores on Cinsay.
Now mind you guys that nibletz, the voice of startups everywhere else, is still just a budding startup. We’ve only raised an angel round to date so Neiman Marcus is really the last place we’d ever shop, top that off with the fact that the video was on women’s clothes, but the concept intrigued us.
It looks like part commercial, part product video but every outfit the models showed off would pop up into the top of the window and you could easily purchase by clicking the picture of the item and going to that items page. $695 was way too much for a plaid blazer I would never wear but nevertheless it was intrguing.
So I did what you would probably do and I clicked the technology category. I quickly realized that the 360 degree view you get from a video is much more enticing than a normal picture. Sold!
We got a chance to talk with the guys behind Cinsay, check out the interview below.
Comments Off on Nashville Startup: TalkApolis Brings Locally Produced High Quality Video To The Smartphone0LikeLike 2,889
As media consumption continues to move the direction of the smart, connected, handheld device, companies need to continue to adapt. Or of course just launch new companies. Such is the case with Nashville startup TalkApolis. The Nashville startup is headed by John Bransford
“You can watch locally focused, entertaining, high quality video shows on your smartphone or mobile device that were made to be watched on it. Download our app for your device and watch TalkApolis content with a touch of your screen” Bransford told us in an interview.
The microcasting company was originally selected for the 2012 Jumpstart Foundry cohort but dropped out before the program ended in August.
Even without the accelerator program Bransford’s background in media (real media like HBO) and development, including Drupal, helped bring TalkApolis to fruition.
Bransford has designed the TalkApolis platform to operate smooth and efficiently with the ability to produce relevant content extremely fast. ” Our production suite is so adept, we can test out a show from something we see trending on the internet and see if it sticks almost immediately. If it doesn’t get traction or the host get an audience, we move on to the next one. Licensees will benefit from this agility of the back-end system by being able to do the exact same things in their local markets. Our plan is to allow licensees to apply their unique local knowledge where it matters.” Bransford said.
Check out the rest of our interview with Bransford below.
Comments Off on Ohio Startup: 530Funds, Sorting Out The Crowdfunding Space For Everyone Else0LikeLike 3,788
Ever since the first non music related project went on the Kickstarter platform, crowdfunding has grown to new heights. After the JOBS act was passed last year, it became a blistering inferno of new startups, companies and websites. If you were looking for a good crowdfunding solution on Google you would come up with over 9 million results. Now there are new startups out there like StandOffer, and Athens Ohio startup 530Funds which are helping to make the crowdfunding space, easier to navigate.
530Funds opened up their beta on November 12th and are continually iterating to make the site exactly what the crowd needs, offering good information about available crowdfunding options. One of the main obstacles they have to overcome in building a platform like this is that every time they release another version, 10 more crowdfunding sites have popped up.
Also, at the present time, crowdfunding for equity is still not legal. Although the legislation is passed we are still waiting for the SEC to develop the regulations around crowdfunding for equity up to $1 million dollars. We interviewed a startup last Friday, from Richmond, called LendingClouds, that has sidestepped the SEC by offering royalties instead of equity.
We spoke with Richard Rodman, the founder of 530Funds. Check out the interview below.
Comments Off on Brooklyn Startup Kapture Turns You Into A Brand Ambassador0LikeLike 3,657
A startup in Brooklyn New York, called Kapture is turning people everywhere into brand ambassadors based on the photos they take with their smartphone cameras. Everyone loves sharing pictures over social media, now, when you’re snapping away, and you catch a brand, you could be rewarded. Kapture is allowing new ways for retail brands, consumer goods, and other businesses to capitalize on pictures being taken of their products, services and businesses already.
When a user shares a Kapture moment with a social network like Facebook, or Twitter they can be instantly rewarded with items that range from discounts to physical goods. Rewards can be redeemed immediately or stock piled for a later date.
Michael Szewcyk, the co-founder and President of Kapture is no stranger to startups. In fact, he was working for a Silicon Valley based startup, Qwiki when he had the idea for Kapture. He quickly moved back to New York and began the launch process.
Kapture started last December with 25 businesses on board in the greater New York area. Rewards including things like a free glass of champagne for users who took a picture at Gansevoort Park’s rooftop Bar. Legendary ping pong club spin, offered a free drink to people who posted pictures of their game.
Kapture also makes it easy for people to find opportunities to earn rewards, which the startup conveniently calls “Photo Ops”. Within the iPhone app, users can find photo ops and then partake in the ones they want to get the prizes for.
We got a chance to talk with the Kapture team. Check out the interview below.
Comments Off on Voice Of Memphis Grizzlies Confirms, Grizzlies & Memphis Are All In With Entrepreneurship And Startups0LikeLike 3,289
photo: nibletz.com
Yesterday we reported that Los Angeles startup myStorey had teamed up with super star Memphis Grizzlies forward, Rudy Gay, for their new platform that “shopifies” the clothing and accessories he and other celebrities wear and use everyday. It seems with the changing of the guard and the sale of the team earlier this fall, that the Grizzlies are all about entrepreneurship, startups and cultivating downtown Memphis.
Back in November, the Memphis Grizzlies were sold by Michael Heisley to a new group led by 34 year old telecommunications entrepreneur Robert J Pera. Pera had made the list of Forbes 10 youngest billionaires in the world after the company he founded in 2005, Ubiquiti networks, went public in October 2011.
In Pera’s biography that appears in the Memphis Grizzlies programs this season, it says that it was a life long goal for Pera to be involved in professional sports which ultimately led to him leading the group that finally closed on the purchase of the Memphis Grizzlies, with NBA approval just two months ago.
Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning’s wife Ashley and basketball star Penny Hardaway are all minority stake holders in Pera’s group.
The local Memphis part of the ownership group is more than just a group of local businessmen. Each one of the local team is an entrepreneur in their own right but they’ve also either embraced or are starting to embrace the local young entrepeneur and startup space as well.
J.R. “Pitt” Hyde, is the founder of Autozone. He has one of the most robust careers of any single person. Hyde grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and immediately got involved with the family business Malone and Hyde. After taking over Malone and Hyde he ended up being the youngest CEO of any publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. He was also the sitting CEO when Malone and Hyde was one of the first leveraged buyouts by notorious LBO firm KKR, prior to their infamous deal for RJR Nabisco chronicled in the movie and book Barbarians at the Gate.
Hyde continued to build companies, including national auto parts chain AutoZone which is headquartered in Memphis. He also sits on the board of Memphis Bioworks, the medical device incubator that is the collaboration partner with Seed Hatchery in the Zeroto510 program. Hyde is also part of the Society of Entrepreneurs, an organization that supports local entrepreneurship, and he recently spoke at a New Memphis luncheon, where he moderated a panel with local startups PayTopia, Nanopthalmics and Bionanovations, all three of whom accelerated through Launch Memphis affiliated programs.
Staley Cates is the President of Southeastern Asset Management. He was also instrumental in bringing the Memphis Grizzlies to Memphis from Vancouver. He sits on several boards that deal directly with youth including the board of the New Hope Christian Academy, Memphis Athletic Ministries, Soulsville and the Urban Youth Initiative. Also a member of the Society of Entrepreneurs Cates participates in mentoring young companies through the organizations “Core Conversations” program.
Ed Dobbs helps lead the family business Dobbs Management Service which oversees interests in the automotive industry; restaurants and airline catering, beverage distribution and holding company Three Rivers Holdings. Dobbs is leading the family’s efforts to start and acquire new businesses. Dobbs also sits on the board of Memphis Fast Forward, an organization that fosters development, attraction and retention of talent in Memphis Shelby County.
Duncan Williams, is the President of Duncan Williams a local investment bank. Duncan Williams is very active in the Memphis community. The company was also a signature sponsor for the Southeastern Medical Device Association Conference that was held in March in Atlanta. The organization highlights medical device entrepreneurship which is a growing funnel of new startup activity in the Memphis region and the southeast.
Billy Orgel, is a Memphis communications Mogul. As the head of Tower Ventures a company that owns over 700 communications towers across the country and has sold another 280 more. Through the Society of Entrepreneurs, he too is active in fostering and mentoring young companies in Memphis. Orgel was also the angel investor that backed City Torch a Memphis location discovery startup that operated out of Emerge Memphis.
But the Memphis Grizzlies ties to entrepreneurship don’t start or stop with their list of investors and even their player involvement in social startups. Many of the men listed here along with several others tied to the organization have noticed an emergence of more and more people coming to Memphis to go to school and staying post graduation to work for or start their own companies. They’ve also taken notice of companies and startups that have relocated to the Memphis area to grow their businesses.
The entrepreneurial activity is bubbling to the degree that Memphis Grizzlies PA Announcer Rick Trotter made it a point to take notice of students staying in Memphis and the entrepreneurial activity spurring in the downtown area in a recent interview with local Memphis publication choose901.com.
“One of my favorite things about being part of Memphis, right now is being a part of, a new culture, a new sense of optimism in this city…” He continues “I see a lot of hopeful folks, a lot of people with fresh ideas, and creativity coming to this city, people going to colleges and high schools in this city and staying here to invest…” Trotter goes on “I’ve got a lot of friends in this area who are entrepreneurs and business owners…” Check out the entire 3 minute interview below.
With the everywhereelse.co conference just over two months away, over 1500 people have already purchased tickets from across the country and around the world, to come to Memphis and see this wind of change with their own eyes. Hundreds of those attendees have identified themselves as accredited angel investors and VC’s and out of the companies we recognize there is over $10 billion dollars in venture capital that will be represented at the conference.
With that it’s only fitting that we’ll kick off the festivities of Sunday evening with a Grizzlies game as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday February 10th when they arrive for the conference. After the game all the attendees will pour onto Beale Street to take in some of the entertainment that Memphis is famous for during the Grasshopper, the Entrepreneurs’ Phone System Bar Hop.
With that, we’re so excited to welcome everyone coming to the everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference, to our house, the Fedex Forum to kick off the largest startup conference in the country, everywhereelse.co
Comments Off on St. Louis Startup LockerDome Surpasses 3 Million MUVs0LikeLike 2,959
Lately St. Louis startup LockerDome has been on fire. We recently reported that the sports social networking startup announced the first game/app built on their platform. Soon after we reported that 19 year venture capital veteran Mark Lewis, had joined the company as CFO. Thursday, they announced that they’ve surpassed 3 million monthly unique visitors (muv).
In addition to offering a sports social network for any stage athlete, from childrens intramural sports, up through college and pro, LockerDome also features over 1350 professional athletes, brands, media personalities, parody sites and other recognized sports properties that host their brands on LockerDome. By leveraging LockerDome, publishers are able to reach a more engaged, targeted sports audience and increase their overall social media footprint. Since launching in January, the interactive sports social media platform has delivered 47% average growth across Facebook and Twitter for its properties (average 4.3 month span, 109,018 to 144,746 followers).
Sports enthusiasts join LockerDome to become a part of interest-specific sports communities where they can consume content and interact with like-minded fans around their favorite professional athletes, teams and sports. The company has been growing at an average rate of14% per week since its launch 11 months back, surpassing one million uniques in June, two million in October and now three million in November. At its current growth rate, LockerDome is on pace to be a top-10 most visited sports site in the next 12 – 18 months.
Contributing to LockerDome’s tremendous growth are the contests that professional athletes, brands, and media personalities host on its platform, with its high-profile contests attracting more than 100,000 entries. Unique to LockerDome is the ability for its properties to easily cross-promote one another, as well as run their contests seamlessly across Facebook and Twitter, maximizing the audience that each property reaches. Contests on LockerDome boast an average landing page conversion of 19%, more than six times above the industry average of 2% – 3%. Current featured contests include MLB Hall of Famer, Wade Boggs, MLB’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, NFL Superstars, Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu, and the iconic baseball brand, Rawlings.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg for LockerDome. As explosive as LockerDome’s growth has been in 2012, we will undoubtedly be even more dominant in 2013,” commented Gabe Lozano, co-founder and CEO of LockerDome. “The overwhelming demand for LockerDome by professional athletes, media partners, brands and the targeted audiences these publishers reach, and the subsequent meteoric growth from that demand, is a clear indication that the LockerDome platform will only continue to strengthen.”
“Every professional athlete needs to be on LockerDome. By leveraging LockerDome as the social media hub for my personal brand, I’ve been able to better engage my fans and grow my entire social presence across Facebook, Twitter, and LockerDome,” said Larry Fitzgerald, All-Pro NFL wide receiver with the Arizona Cardinals. “From a content standpoint, I use LockerDome not only to host unique fan giveaways, but also as a daily source to post behind the scenes, interactive content.”
“As one of the world’s premier sports agencies, we’re always looking for unique technologies that give our clients an edge. LockerDome has become part of our secret sauce,” said Adam Rosenthal, Director of Athlete Marketing at Octagon Sports. “LockerDome not only enhances our clients’ brands, but also provides them with new monetization opportunities. LockerDome will become a standard across all professional athletes and notable sports figures.”
Mike Hoffmeyer
According to various consumer electronic trade publications the average consumer takes three weeks to make a decision on a laptop. A new UK startup called Swogo is looking to take that decision making time down to seconds.
Kyle
