Las Vegas Startup imagoo Is Changing The Way Businesses Collect Feedback

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Interviews, Las Vegas, Startups
0 Comments 0 Like 2,651

imagoo, Las Vegas startup, startup interview

We’ve all seen the movie The Social Network. We all know about Hot or Not. Polling is quite popular in the startup space. Whether you’re comparing two people you would like to date or two of your favorite songs, everyone has an opinion.

Well, a new startup in Las Vegas called Imagoo is looking to take that polling concept and make it extremely relevant to businesses, brands, and products.  While consumers have fun with these polling apps and love voicing their opinion on it, savvy marketers know this as a/b testing. Comparing product A to product B and seeing which one resonates with a user or a consumer is one of the most important tools a business owner, startup, or product manufacturer can use.

imagoo is bringing this same insight to any business. Available as a free iPhone app and on the Web, imagoo lets users upload photos to issue comparisons in the form of real-time polls, which are pushed to the imagoo community for anyone to vote on. It’s crowdsourced feedback in real time. And while users are having fun with the app – using it to ask other users which outfit they should buy while they’re still in the store, for example – businesses are getting on board, too.

Ranging from a casino to a clothing brand, businesses are already using the app to test their ideas in front of a random pool of customers before investing a ton of money and time into that idea. The implications are endless. A flower shop, for example, can now get reactions to two different bouquet arrangements before assembling them by the dozen in the store for customers.

We got a chance to interview the team behind imagoo. Check out the interview below.

 

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What does your startup do?

imagoo is a real-time social polling app and Web platform that lets consumers, brands, and businesses issue challenges and comparisons and vote on content. Users can get advice on purchasing decisions, debate politics and challenge rival sports fans. Using imagoo’s challenge feature, users can go head-to-head with friends or other users to see whose car is cooler or what ring is prettier.

Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds

Mickey Hernandez is founder and CEO of imagoo. With a background in economics from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Hernandez’s analytical skills and passion for problem-solving fueled his desire to launch a startup. Raised in Las Vegas, Hernandez watched the city slowly transform into a tech hub and is excited to be a part of the growing entrepreneurial community.

What problem do you solve?

imagoo takes social polling to a whole new level. Moving beyond standard comparison features, imagoo enables users to go head-to-head against their friends or other users on the network by issuing ‘challenges.’ The result is a real-time poll pushed to the imagoo community in which anyone can vote to determine the winner, whether the debate is about sports teams, politics, food, fashion, or dozens of other categories. Beyond this peer-to-peer social function, brands and businesses can use both the challenge and polling features to gather instant feedback data from their target audiences. With people passionate about what they like and what they own, the challenge aspect of imagoo gives users a platform to engage in friendly competition and ask questions of the greater imagoo community.

Why does it matter?

Countless decisions are made each and every day by individuals and businesses alike, yet there are very few resources that make this decision making process both as simple and as informed as they ought to be. With a platform like imagoo, people are given the opportunity to ask for suggestions, assert their opinions and give companies feedback in a manner that is as fun as it is informative.

What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?

In just about a month since our launch, imagoo has already accumulated around 17,000 downloads and seen more than 100,000 interactions on the app. We’re pretty excited about those milestones.

What are your next milestones?

We have a lot of exciting updates and new features in the pipeline. In the very near future, we will be incorporating power rankings. Stay tuned!

Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?

@imagoochallenge or on Facebook

How to avoid hiring the wrong person for your startup

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Meet Your Neighbors And Have A Conversation–A Neighborsation

by Kyle in DC, Everywhere Else, Interviews, Startups, Videos, Woman Owned Startup
0 Comments 0 Like 3,598

Neighborsations, DC startup, 1776 DC, Woman owned startup, Allison Sheren

Neighborhoods are everywhere; they come in all kinds of shapes, and sizes. It could be a neighborhood in a metropolis like New York City or a neighborhood in Anytown, USA, or around the world. Chances are you live in a neighborhood and can count on one hand the close friends you have in that neighborhood.

Even in the suburbs, neighborly conversations have become rare, never mind neighborly friendships.

Well DC-based entrepreneur Allison Sheren  is hoping to spark conversations between neighbors with her startup Neighborsations.

Through their online community Sheren hopes to take online conversations off line, learn from one another, teach someone something, get to know your neighbors, and build stronger communities.

The website is divided into four categories that any neighbor can relate to; Town Hall (the bulletin board, safety updates, vendor recommendations), Neighbor Favors (need a cup of sugar or to borrow a lawn mower), Neighborhood News, and Block Party.

Currently Neighborsations is only open to neighborhoods in DC, but Sheren sees the value in Neighborsations anywhere and everywhere in the world.

Check out our video interview with Sheren below:

Now read: DC Mayor Vincent Gray celebrates Speek, DC Tech and 1776.

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Sprint Becomes Latest Corporate Sponsor For Up Global

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Seattle, Startup News, Startup Weekend, StartupAmerica
0 Comments 0 Like 4,934

Sprint, Up Global, Startup Weekend, Startup America

Sprint, the third largest wireless carrier in the United States, has signed on as the newest sponsor of Up Global, the organization formed when Startup America and Startup Weekend joined forces last month.

When Startup America was originally formed, it was decided by chairman Steve Case and the other entities involved that they were going to see what kind of disruption and innovation they could shake up across the country in three years. As the organization began to approach that third year, they wanted to continue to impact the Startup America regions and push further.

That’s why on May 22nd it was announced that the two organizations would merge. Startup Weekend is the organization that promotes and ignites innovation, startups, and entrepreneurship through 54 hour hackathon-style events. To date Startup Weekend has done over 600 events in over 300 cities and over 100 countries.

Startup Weekend has now branched out a bit. They are the organization behind the weekly Startup Digest, a curated list of startup events in cities across the country typically curated by the local startup community leaders. Over the last two years they’ve also started doing vertical oriented Startup Weekend events like Startup Weekend EDU and a maker’s edition of Startup Weekend. With all of the various touchpoints for Startup Weekend, they were a natural partner for Startup America and had already collaborated with Startup America for Startup Weekend Next.

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Startup Weekend, Startup America, and now Up Global have been attracting some of America’s largest corporations as sponsors for their entrepreneurial efforts. Current Up Global partners include Coca Cola, Google, Microsoft, Dell, The Case Foundation, and The Kauffman Foundation.

On Monday it was announced that Sprint, the Overland Park, KS-based wireless carrier, was signing on as Up Global’s latest sponsor. Sprint is no stranger to innovation.  They were the first wireless carrier to host a developer conference, they’ve supported local startup initiatives in the Midwest, and keep open channels for developers and startups looking to utilize their network and devices for their software and companies.

“The move to team with Sprint is a result of a shared vision for the necessity of entrepreneurship and stronger communities built around innovation. Like us, Sprint understands that the future of our economy rests largely on the shoulders of entrepreneurs and new businesses. We’re excited to create more meaningful impact with the support of such a forward-thinking company,” Marc Nager, UP Global CEO, said in a statement.

“Sprint recognizes that corporate involvement is important to the success of any entrepreneurial or startup ecosystem,” said Kevin McGinnis, Vice President of Product Platforms at Sprint. “Our UP Global relationship enables Sprint to bring new resources to Kansas City and also extend support on a national scale. In addition, it allows Sprint visibility to high-growth technology startups across the country that we may not be able to identify through our more traditional VC and business development efforts.”

You can find out more and join Up Global here at up.co

 

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Droppin’ Knowledge, 10 Great Startup Tips Worth Reading

by Kyle in Startup Tips
1 Comment 0 Like 3,733

Startup Tips

Whether you’re new to startups and entrepreneurship or you need a refresher course, the startup tips here at Nibletz are definitely worth checking out. Here are 10 to start with.

 

How to find the right venture capitalist for your startup.

10 must read startup tips for young brands.

Traction trumps team when going for the million dollar round.

Startups is your public relations strategy outdated?

5 rules for naming your startup.

Recruiting for success, tapping into your local university.

My favorite startup wisdom came from critics.

How startups can identify their core values.

Top 5 reasons startup founders blow through money.

5 Steps for calculating your startup costs.

 

This startup conference will be chalk full of tips for startups everywhere else.

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Image: Incrowdnow

Ernst & Young Partners With Cincinnati’s Cintrifuse

by Kyle in Accelerator, Cincinnati, Everywhere Else, Startup News
0 Comments 0 Like 2,856

Ernst & Young, Cintrifuse, Cincinnati Startups, startupCintrifuse is a huge regional initiative in Cincinnati, Ohio, designed to support high potential startups in the region. It’s backed by the Cincinnati Business Committee, with it’s initial venture capital investors including Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Duke Energy, University of Cincinnati, and Western Southern Financial Group.

In addition to a venture capital fund, Cintrifuse links entrepreneurs and startups with business partners, research institutions, mentors, and investors. They have partnerships with every startup-facing organization in Cincinnati including CincyTech and The Brandery, organizations we’ve written about here quite a bit.

On Friday the Cintrifuse and professional services giant Ernst & Young announced a partnership that will include capital, professional services, and annual operating support.  The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that the parthership is slated to run for five years.

“Cintrifuse is just kind of a startup itself – it’s really just been starting its activities this last year,” Julia Poston, Managing Partner for Ernst & Young in Cincinnati told the Business Courier. “Tax considerations, organizational considerations, human capital, that’s what we are offering as part of our contribution to Cintrifuse.”

Ernst & Young’s Erica Patterson is on loan to Cintrifuse. She previously worked in Ernst & Young’s growth market in Chicago.

Find out more about Cintrifuse here.

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Ann Arbor Venture Firm Raises First $11 Million Dollar Fund

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Funding, Michigan, Startup News, Venture Capital
0 Comments 0 Like 3,557

Huron River Ventures, Ann Arbor VC,Michigan startups, startup,venture fundingHuron River Ventures, an Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan-based venture capital firm, announced late last week that they have raised their first venture capital fund.

“We started working on this fund in 2010 and we had our first close at $7.5 million in March 2011,” managing director Tim Streit told AnnArbor.com.

Huron River Ventures is a ten year fund and to date they’ve deployed about 30% across seven different companies. They plan to invest in another 7 or 8 companies within the next two to three years and round out the fund at 15.

The fund was started by Streit and college friend Ryan Waddington, who met at the University of Michigan. The goal of the fund was to invest in Michigan companies and with that mission they were able to raise an initial $6 million dollars from the State of Michigan as part of their Accelerator Fund Program.

“We’re here, we want Michigan deals, and that’s what we focus on… we invest in Michigan-based companies or companies that have a strong presence in the state. Almost all of our capital is from the state or investors who are from Michigan or still live here.” Streit said.

Announcing a fund’s closing is basically a formality; however it sends a signal to Michigan entrepreneurs that Huron River is funded and ready to invest.

Find out more about Huron River Ventures here.

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Check out this new startup accelerator in Michigan, Coolhouse Labs.

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NW Indiana Startup Just Food Brings Real Food To Feeding Tubes

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Indiana, Startups
1 Comment 0 Like 3,048

Just Food, Indiana startup,startupsIt’s hard enough for someone that has to be fed via feeding tube. Typically they get corn syrup based mixtures packed with artificial ingredients mixed with vitamins and nutrients they need to survive. While the food used in feeding tubes is doing the job it’s not necessarily “good” for the patient.

Now, a North West Indiana startup called Just Food is hoping to bring better food to the feeding tube. They resorted to indiegogo for a crowdfunding campaign for $10,000 to help get the project off the ground. With 22 days to go as of the writing of this story, Just Food has already past their goal.

While some people already blend foods for their feeding tubes it can be a long process and if the foods aren’t blended right they don’t have the same effects. Just Food blends the food mixtures for the patients at a cost of roughly $4 per meal. Several researchers and doctors have praised using real food over formula for feeding tubes.

“The patients I see with feeding tubes who follow a blended diet tend to be healthier than those who are fed 100% formula” -Dr. Beth Madonna, a pediatric surgeon and advisor to Just Food said.

The Just Food mixtures contain whole grains, lean protein, fruit, vegetables, healthy fats, spice and liquid.  Each Just Food meal is a complete meal of just 7 ingredients.

Just Food isn’t looking to replace people’s personally blended foods, but their packages are better than resorting to formula when the patient and their caretakers get too busy to blend up some food. Just Food is ready to go when it’s shipped and is ready to use. “Many in the medical community believe that a blended diet is (1) too hard on the families, (2) puts the patient at risk for contamination, (3) formula is just fine, (4) will clog the tube. Just Food addresses (and negates!) all these beliefs. ” Just Food said on their indiegogo page.

So how did Just Food come about?

“I started Just Food when my son, AJ, couldn’t tolerate any of the commercially available tube-feeding formulas, despite the fact that he had no allergies,” said Julie Bombacino, Founder, Just Food said in a statement. “When I started blending AJ’s meals from 100-percent real food, he started to thrive; he stopped vomiting daily, began to gain weight and the color came back to his skin – he was just a happier and healthier kid. My ultimate goal with Just Food is that people with feeding tubes know that real food is not only possible, but easier to obtain than ever before.”

You can check out Just Food on Indeigogo here and on their website here.

This startup could be world changing, but what about all the other “world changing” startups.

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These 100 Mentors Did 1500 Hours At Techstars NY; Now Follow Them On Twitter

by Kyle in Accelerator, Everywhere Else, Featured, New York, Startups
3 Comments 0 Like 4,938

Techstars, Techstars New York, Mentors, Follow on Twitter, startup acceleratorTechstars released some data on their current NY session on their blog Friday.  The Techstars New York class graduates this Friday, June 28th, and they’ve been burning the midnight oil.

Nicole Glaros, the co-manager of this Techstars New York session reported they’ve had 39,000 working hours (60 hours x30 weeks x50 people), 5 pivots, 1500 mentor hours, 1 wedding, 72lbs of La Colombe Coffee, 14 missing iPhone charges and one of those 5 pivots, pivoted back.

One of the keys to success for Techstars–or any good accelerator program for that matter–is their mentor network. Techstars has one of the best mentor networks in the world. Here are 100 mentors that have taken part in this current session in New York. Now you can pick up on their nuggest of wisdom by following them on Twitter.

 

Arkansas Catches Teenpreneur Bug With Sparkible Startup Summer Camps

by Kyle in Arkansas, Everywhere Else, Startup Communities, Startup News
0 Comments 0 Like 2,731

Arkansas,Startup,Accelerator, Sparkible, Teen entrepreneurs, teen startups

Last week we sat in on a pretty intense startup community meeting in Tennessee. During the meeting some of the community stakeholders reminded us that successful startup communities are drilling down even further with education.

Entrepreneurs are getting younger and younger. Stories about 22 year old entrepreneurs are regular occurrences. The new wave of entrepreneurs are teenagers, and we’re not talking the 18-19 year old variety. Earlier this month we reported that a team led by a 14-year-old won Tampa Bay’s most recent Startup Weekend.

Startup communities across the country are starting to recognize this trend of innovation and entrepreneurism hitting a younger demographic. Also in the beginning of the month, the Kauffman Foundation and Kansas City entrepreneur William Robinson announced Teen Idea Labs, a conference style event for teenagers.

Now Arkansas has announced an initiative aimed at teenagers and innovation. Sparkible is a 4 day mini-accelerator summer camp for teenagers, complete with a demo day for potential investors, educators, stakeholders, and of course parents.

Sparkible is the brain child of Arkansas serial entrepreneur Mike Steely with help from Northwest Arkansas serial entrepreneur and Ark Challenge mentor David Moody, Innovate Arkansas reports.

Steely posted on his LinkedIn:

I am pleased to announce the creation of Sparkible, a non-profit education company focused on sparking innovation and startup learning. Sparkible is kicking off a series of summer camps in Arkansas structured to immerse teenagers in idea creation, innovation and building a business. This series is also our initial fundraising effort, proceeds from the camps will be used to build out our technologies and curriculum for this fall.
If you would like to learn more, know of a potential camper who would be interested in attending, would be interested in sponsoring a camp or camp participant, please contact me and also go check out our startup website at www.sparkible.org.
– See more at: http://innovation.arkansasbusiness.com/blog/2013/06/18/sparkible-launches-offers-startup-education-for-teenagers/#sthash.IO8Sxbmp.dpuf

Sparkible will allow participants between the ages of 14-18 to:

  • Learn ways to spot innovative ideas
  • Experience the lean startup process for turning an idea to a plan in less than a day
  • Understand what it takes to build a startup company and define your role.
  • Learn how to build a team, plan, and develop your idea.
  • Understand how Social Media interacts with your company.
  • Understand how mobile technologies, including Apps, will impact businesses of the future.
  • How to craft your message via an elevator pitch for funding and growth.
  • Where to find startup capital to grow your idea into a business.

Find out more here at Innovate Arkansas.

Check out with these two kidpreneurs did with cardboard.

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New Hampshire Startup Aims To Block Snoops, But Can’t Block NSA

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, New Hampshire, Startups
0 Comments 0 Like 2,379

SnoopWall,New Hampshire Startup, Cyber Snooping, Prism, NSA

Ever since former Edward Snowden blew the whistle on Prism, anyone and everyone has been thinking about their privacy and snooping. A Nashua startup called SnoopWall aims to protect people from snooping on their smartphones and tablets. Unfortunately cyber-security expert and founder of SnoopWall, Gary Miliefsky, says it can’t protect you from the NSA.

But say you have a jealous lover, or ex-lover, or maybe your company or coworkers are spying on your phone and tablet. Then you’re in luck. SnoopWall protects phones and tablets by blocking prying eyes from different hardware ports.

Miliefsky explains “They [NSA] own access to the towers, the routers, to backdoors. We’re not going to stop the good guys; we’re going to stop the bad guys.”

Normal snoopers, without the backing and technology of the NSA, often use a tactic called “port scanning”. This digital eavesdropping tactic scans open ports for things like webcams, microphones, and GPS systems. When these ports are left open, potential snoops can get in and do a variety of things like watch what your camera sees, or listen to your conversations through the phone or tablet’s microphone. They can also keep track of your whereabouts by tapping into your GPS.

SnoopWall has three levels of security to protect users from would-be eavesdroppers. At one level all ports are blocked or shut down. The second mode is a phone-only mode, and the third is a kid mode which allows kids to play local games and use local apps but shuts down data.

The Nashua Telegraph reports that SnoopWall is bootstrapping and working to raise a very small seed round of $10,000 via Kickstarter. Miliefsky is looking to use the Kickstarter network to drive interest and get people talking about it, which is far more valuable then the $10,000.

“Kickstarter, with six million viewers a day, could not only fund the continuation of the development to a finished release, but create a viral community of friends,” Miliefsky told the Nashua Telegraph. “These people, when they give 5 dollars, they’re not going to give up on you – they tweet and blog to their friends about it.”

Miliefsky is no stranger to startups. He is part of the “Angel Breakfast Club,” a group of angel investors that get together for breakfast in the New Hampshire town. It was there that he got involved with a startup called Pony Express and realized that there was a hole in port security. Milefsky’s background is in cyber security.

 

Check out SnoopWall on Kickstarter here.

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Ohio Startup Crowdentials Launches Crowdfunding Compliance Platform

by Kyle in crowdfunding, Everywhere Else, Ohio, Startups
2 Comments 0 Like 3,582

Crowdentials, Ohio Startup,startup,crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is the hottest space for startups right now. And now, with changing regulations, it could get even hotter.

The Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act was passed over a year ago, paving the way for crowdfunding startups to offer equity. After the bill passed in both the Senate and the House it was then referred over to the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC) to come up with the regulations for crowdfunding.

The JOBS Act has a lot of regulations to follow, including the fact no individual making less than $100,000 can invest more than $2000 or 5% of their net worth. Crowdfunding is going to spawn a whole new type of investor and there are currently no regulatory software programs out there. That’s the guts behind Crowdentials.

Richard Rodman, the cofounder of Crowdentials, spoke about crowdfunding in February at the Everywhereelse.co Startup Conference in Memphis. He founded the company with Chief Operating Officer Rohan Kusre and Chief Technology Officer Max Heckel. The three came up with the idea for Crowdentials in April and were recently accepted into the Cleveland-based FlashStarts’ startup accelerator program.

While the SEC is still finalizing its regulations, the Crowdentials technology is ready to go. “Our compliance solution is all variable-driven and will adapt to any regulations put forth,” Rodman said in a statement. Once the regulations are officially complete, the entrepreneur plans to launch “within minutes.”

In the meantime, Crowdentials is preparing a collection of multi-media resources and guides for both crowdfunding rookies and experts. In addition to teaching the basics, the comprehensive suite will cover the nuances, regulations, risks, and opportunities associated with equity crowdfunding.

Crowdentials’ technology ensures that investors, businesses, and platforms are following the SEC’s rules.  According to Rodman, “Crowdentials is the vital link between the SEC regulations and all crowdfunding parties”.

Individuals who gain compliancy through Crowdentials can trust that they are abiding by the regulations, and startups can feel confident that they are raising money through compliant individuals. Rodman believes the SEC’s regulations are meant to protect the new crowdfunding population from fraud and financial distress. “That’s why compliance is so important,” the entrepreneur said. “When everyone is aware of their level of compliance, we can make more educated investment decisions.”

Crowdfunding has spawned hundreds of crowdfunding sites that will help connect would-be investors to startups and other small businesses’ needing funds. Now startp founders are finding ways to support the crowdfunding economy. Cowdfunding vetting companies, insurance companies, and even discovery companies have all popped up over the past year with more expected when the rules change to allow equity investments.

In the meantime feel free to check out Crowdentials at crowdentials.com

7 key elements of a successful crowdfunding campaign.

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Startup Weekend Hosting “Makers” Event Next Week In Seattle

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Seattle, Startup News, Startup Weekend, Startups
0 Comments 0 Like 4,202

SWMaker
Startup Weekend, the non profit in Seattle that recently joined forces with Startup America, is hosting a new kind of 54 hour hackathon startup weekend event in their hometown next weekend. This time, instead of assembling entrepreneurs, designers, and developers to create businesses, they’ll be working on making things.

Startup Weekends are typically about creating software and other tech startups. This time around at the MakerHaus, the hackers will have the resources to “bring innovation to a whole new level.” The teams at the Seattle event will be able to design and prototype actual physical products using micro-controllers, laser cutting, 3D printing, metal working, and wood working.

People with ideas for products will get to pitch those ideas on Friday evening. From there the group will vote on the products that they want to build and several will be built out over the following 52 hours.

Normally there are three kinds of tickets sold to a startup weekend event; developer, designer, and non-technical. These teams have produced countless startups that are still going today. Some have even gone on to get funding like Zaarly, or win bigger startup contests like Aspiredu.

For this Maker’s edition, Startup Weekend is throwing in one more ticket, a “unicorn” ticket. These are people who agree to be taught how to run the machinery at MakerHaus.

There will be some great coaches on hand for the weekend:

  • Alex Diener, Creative Director Pensar Development
  • Marc Barros, co-founder and former CEO of Contour
  • Ayemerik Renard, Vice President Accelerator, PCH International
  • H.B. Siegel, CTO IMDb.com
  • Jim Young, President and Creative Director, Nice Inc
  • Adam Benzion, Portfolio Manager, 10AK Technologies
  • Beth Kolko, co-founder and CEO Shift Labs
  • Terence Tam, Principal Engineer, OpenBeam USA

To register or for more info click here.

Check out this great event for startups everywhere else.

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Nashville Opens New 22,000 Square Foot Entrepreneur Center

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, Nashville, SouthernB, Startup News, Tennessee
0 Comments 0 Like 4,037

Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Entrepreneur Center, Michael Burcham
Michael Burcham is a Nashville serial entrepreneur, angel investor, Startup Tennessee director, and Director of the Entrepreneur Center. On Thursday Burcham opened their new 22,000 square foot facility in the converted trolley barn at Rolling Mill Hill. The mayor, the governor, and Startup America founding CEO and Priceline founding CTO, Scott Case, were on hand for the opening of the new facility.

The new entrepreneur center has more space for education, collaboration, and acceleration within the walls of the 22,000 square foot building. It’s been outfitted with the technology needed to help achieve all of those goals.

The former Entrepreneur Center was always a temporary location after opening in May 2010. The center, led by  Burcham, immediately began a search for a permanent home and found it in Nashville’s creatively rich SoBro neighborhood in Trolley Barn #1 at Rolling Mill.

In addition to the new facility, the epicenter of Nashville’s startup ecosystem got a new name, sort of. They are now “The Nashville Entrepreneur Center”, thanks to a pending lawsuit from Entrepreneur Magazine which has a reputation for bullying entrepreneurial organizations that use their trademarked word in their name.

The new location is in the same park as one of Nashville’s most successful startups, Emma.

“It scales us in every direction,Burcham told the Nashville Business Journal. “It brings legitimacy to Nashville as the best place to start a business.”

The old trolley barns also serve as home to several other young companies. There are plans to build out a restaurant and possibly a bowling alley on the property that overlooks both the football stadium and the river.  Since it’s inception, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center has served as a hub for the thriving community which allows entrepreneurs to collaborate and learn from each other.

“Being with other people who are ahead of you in that process and in some ways behind you in that process, it’s sort of the crucible through which much, much better businesses go through,” Case said. “If you are not in place with a strong community … and Nashville is one of the fastest-emerging strong startup communities in the country, you tend to not have the quality of companies come out of it.”

You can find out more about the Nashville Entrepreneur Center here.

 

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Image: Facebook.com

 

 

 

Microsoft Manager Heading To Baghdad For Their First Ever Startup Weekend

by Kyle in Everywhere Else, International Start Ups, Iraq, Startup News, Startup Weekend
0 Comments 0 Like 4,048

Othmane Rahmouni, Startup Weekend, Startup Weekend Baghdad. MicrosoftLast month when Startup Weekend and Startup America joined forces to launch UpGlobal, one of the big factors was expanding the Startup America vision across the globe. Startup Weekend holds 54 hour hackathon style events worldwide every weekend.  To date they’ve held over 600 events in 113 countries and 325 cities.   Now they are looking forward to the first Startup Weekend Baghdad.

Baghdad has been rebuilding for years and is still one of the most violent regions in the world. GeekWire reminds us that in May alone over 1000 civilians and security officials were killed. But that won’t stop entrepreneurs, designers and developers from coming together to startup.

The Baghdad event will start this Thursday June 27th (Friday in Baghdad) and continue for 54 hours.

Startup Weekend is no stranger to violence and they don’t let it interrupt their events. In countries facing war, violence, and even poverty, entrepreneurs escape by coming together, collaborating and working on companies. Even missile attacks last November in Israel couldn’t stop one of the largest Startup Weekend groups from pushing through.

During that Startup Weekend in Israel it wasn’t until the third missile alarm and a missile striking a building just 12 yards away that organizers finally caved in and postponed the event:

After the first missile alarm we didn’t change our minds and it was amazing to see everyone starting to carry tables and chairs into the safe zones (Shelters) inside the building just so they can keep on working on their projects. Sometimes, the entrepreneurial spirit can overcome fear. It was so inspiring to see how everyone are focused on what seems to be the most important thing at the moment – how to take their idea and make it into a successful venture.

But sometimes reality just hits you in the face. At about 8:30PM, after the third missile alarm and one rocket hitting a few dozen yards away from the building where we were hosted, we had to submit the safety order by the Israeli Army and the city’s representatives who told us to shut down and cancel the rest of the event.

The current in violence in Iraq is not stopping Othmane Rahmouni a senior product manager with Microsoft Advertising, from heading to the middle east to help advise and mentor the 200 participants.

Geekwire reports that Rahmouni is a volunteer with Mercy Corps an agency that has partnered with Startup Weekend to organize events in the developing world.

Find out more about Startup Weekend Baghdad here.

Team led by 14 year old ins Startup Wekend Tampa.

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