Google for Entrepreneurs Backs Manos Accelerator For Latino Founders

It’s no secret that Silicon Valley is full of preppy, white guys. Organizations across the country are trying to improve the startup odds for women, blacks, and–now–Latinos.

On July 1, Manos Accelerator and Google for Entrepreneurs announced a partnership to increase the number of Latinos in the startup ecosystem.

The first program will start in August and run for three months. After the application phase, which ends in July, the accelerator will invite 6-8 teams to join them in San Jose for intensive mentoring and co-working. They are looking for high-tech companies with at least 1 Latino founder.

“For decades, Silicon Valley has been known as the model for entrepreneurship. But there has been an ongoing gap for Latinos to be active participants of this startup ecosystem,” said Dr. Jerry Porras, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, in a press release. “Manos Accelerator has designed a robust program where they identify and mentor aspiring Latino entrepreneurs who are creating innovative solutions to real-world problems.”

Manos, which gets its name from the Spanish word for “hands,” is interested in not only finding the next great tech company, but also in increasing Latino entrepreneurship in the Valley and everywhere else. The slogan is “Dream Big, Believe More, Act Now.” That’s something ever entrepreneur can get behind.

They are accepting applications from across the country, but of course selected teams have to move to San Jose for the duration of the program.

“It made perfect sense to establish Manos Accelerator in the Capital of Silicon Valley. We want to create a vibrant community of Latino entrepreneurs that attracts the brightest and most talented. We want all aspiring Latino entrepreneurs in the US and Latin American countries to know that they now have a place to go for turning their innovative ideas into reality.” said Edward Avila, Co-founder and CEO of Manos Accelerator, in the same press release.

Google for Entrepreneurs, which is also sponsoring the NewMe PopUp Accelerator, is growing a name for itself in the under-represented parts of the tech community. Mary Grove, Director of Global Entrepreneurship Outreach at Google said: “We are excited to be partnering with such a great organization to provide resources to increase the number of Latino entrepreneurs in the global tech community. Our mission with Google for Entrepreneurs is to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship around the world and we believe in supporting the current and future entrepreneurial leaders in our communities.”

Are you a Latino founder with a great idea? You can apply to Manos Accelerator by July 31.

NewME PopUp Finds Some Great Entrepreneurs In Memphis

In February the NewME Accelerator announced a nationwide tour, a series of PopUp Accelerators. The program–which will visit 13 cities by the end of 2013–is sponsored by Google for Entrepreneurs.

Last weekend the PopUp Accelerator camped out in Memphis, TN. They ate a little BBQ, saw a little Beale Street, and met a lot of entrepreneurs.

And Memphis showed its best at the Sunday Demo Day. Whether they are testing for bacterial infections or selling wedding supplies, the founders were passionate and excited. Many of them already had traction and customers.

“There were so many great founders in Memphis that is was such a hard decision picking the winner . . . Additionally, the amount of talented entrepreneurs was exciting to witness, from non-profits to social enterprises to for-profit ventures we were impressed with the talent there and are looking forward to staying in close contact with them,” Angela Benton, CEO of NewME, said in an email.

So, who were those winners, and what did they win?

3rd place, with $22,000 in products and services, went to Brit Fitzpatrick of MentorMe.

2nd place, and $36,000 in products and services, went to Richard Billings of Screwpulp.

And 1st place went to Charleson S. Bell of BioNanovations. 1st prize was $46,000 in products and services and a spot in the August cohort of the full NewME Accelerator in California.

NewME focuses on accelerating businesses founded by minorities and women. Acceptance to the program doesn’t include seed funding, but participants have access to the vast network Benton and her team have cultivated. Besides Google, that network includes Ben Horowitz and several top-ranking Twitter employees. Utilizing this network, almost all of the companies in the last 4 cohorts have raised significant funding.

The PopUp Accelerator in Memphis was sponsored by Start Co and the FedEx Institute of Technology. Start Co also runs the local accelerator the Seed Hatchery, which most recently accelerated both MentorMe and Screwpulp.

“We were happy to partner with NewMe to bring their POPUP Accelerator in Memphis, TN. I was really impressed with all the entrepreneurs that pitched and we hope to work with them going forward at Start Co,” said Eric Mathews, founder and co-president of Start Co.

There’s always something unique about hosting people from out of town. When we look at our world through the eyes of a visitor, we begin to see things differently.

That’s exactly what happened with NewME in Memphis. Seeing the excitement of the NewME team re-energized Memphis founders and pulled the ecosystem a little closer together. New founders mingled with veterans, and everyone walked away with new ideas and new energy.

I also discovered some awesome startups. Look for coverage of those exciting companies in the coming weeks.

This huge conference for startups “everywhere else” is also in Memphis.

Arc Mobile Makes Paying for Dinner So Much Easier

In our line of work, dinners, drinks, and happy hours are where we do business. It’s common knowledge that deals really happen after hours, and the Nibletz team likes to be where the deals are.

But have you ever noticed that when it’s time get the check, the server is never around? Or maybe you get one of those servers that bring the check way too early, making sure everyone knows he or she is waiting to flip the table.

It’s even more annoying when the restaurant “can’t” split the check multiple ways. Calculator apps are great and all, but who wants to do math at dinner?

Arc Mobile is a new Chicago company with some interesting solutions. Their mobile app sends the check right to your phone. You can split the check (if needed) and pay, right from your phone. The payment goes through the restaurant’s POS system, no extra pens needed.

Check out Kyle’s interview with Arc Mobile.

See more of our Startup City coverage from Chicago Techweek here at nibletz.com

FreeOsk Automates Free Samples

You see some crazy new things at tech conferences. One of our favorites at Chicago TechWeek was the large booth full of Pringles. Kendall was happy to explain.

FreeOsk will be placed in retail outlets across the country and stocked with whatever free samples the retailer wants to give out. Beauty supplies, food, travel products. Anything that will fit through the vending slot.

When the customer comes in, they can just swipe their loyalty card and a free sample comes out. In outlets like drugstores or WalMart, the free sample offerings could change every week, giving customers yet another reason to come back.

Check out our quick interview with Kendall from FreeOsk.

Check out more of our Chicago TechWeek startup coverage here.

Former Groupon Employee’s Startup Scalpr Is The Uber of Ticket Sales

Get this: Sometimes startups actually LEAVE Silicon Valley and move to “everywhere else.”

That’s what Scalpr did. They quickly found that the market for last minute ticket sales wasn’t hot in San Francisco. So, rather than finding an idea that fit the city, they up and moved to where they knew they’re idea was viable.

So, what does the Chicago-based company do? Basically, they make it easy to buy last minute tickets from other fans. For example, let’s say I had tickets to a Memphis Grizzlies game, but then my boss tells me I have to work late (jerk). Rather than letting the tickets go to waste, I can throw them up on Scalpr and let someone else enjoy the game instead.

Check out Kyle’s interview to see how it works.

We’ve got even more great startup coverage from Chicago TechWeek here.

Conferences.io Keeps Improving The Conference Experience

We ran into the guys from Conferences.io at last year’s Chicago TechWeek, and this year they’re even better.

Conferences.io is an app that improves audience participation during a conference. Say it’s time for a panel or fireside chat. Participants can go onto the platform and type in questions they might have for the speakers. Then, they can vote on their favorite questions, with the most popular ones rising to the top to be asked.

Conference staff can also create polls to gauge audience needs during the conference. For example, running late into lunch? A quick poll can let you know whether the audience would like a shorter lunch or a later afternoon.

Check out our interview with conferences.io, and stay tuned for more from Chicago TechWeek.

We’ve got more Chicago TechWeek coverage here.

Jason Fried of 37signals Talks Product Design at Chicago TechWeek

It’s Chicago’s big week, and they have some awesome speakers and panels lined up.

First up, Jason Fried with Designing Products with Purpose. You probably know that 37signals builds collaboration apps for small businesses. Which means you probably know that they know what they’re talking about when it comes to product design. They’ve been in business for more than 10 years, so they’ve been through every change out there.

In the video below, Fried talks defines product design. In his view, product design doesn’t end when the product ships. Instead, designers need to think about the product and its usability years down the road.

He cautions entrepreneurs to focus and not try to do too much.

I’m always a fan of taking a vision that you have and cut it down to a manageable size so that you can actually do something.

Check out the rest of Fried’s video, and stay tuned for more TechWeek coverage.

Picslinger Combines Photo Sharing And Gaming

Remember those scavenger hunt games you played as a kid? In college, my sorority pledge class played them with Polaroid cameras. (Remember those?!) We’d race around campus, taking ridiculously embarrassing pictures and the team that embarrassed themselves the most usually won.

Now, with the ubiquitous smartphone camera, these games can be even more fun. At Chicago TechWeek, Kyle caught up with Picslinger, an app that combines photo sharing with scavenger hunt games. You can even earn real life flair with your pictures.

Check out Kyle’s interview, and stay tuned for more great startups from Chicago TechWeek.

Memphis Startup Xtrant Could Be The Tumblr of Project Management

At SXSW David Karp talked about his motivation for building Tumblr.

I tried all of the great tools that were around at the time—WordPress, Blogger—and obviously all the specialized tools—Flickr for photos and YouTube for videos—and I kept falling down. I was perfectly happy with all these tools but at the same time, constantly frustrated by the limitations imposed by all of them.

So, with that love/hate thing going on, Karp set out to iterate on the “tumblelog,” and turned it into a business worth $1.1 billion dollars (at least to Yahoo).

The guys behind project management company Xtrant feel the same way. Email, Dropbox, and chat all have their good parts, but they also all have frustrating limitations. (Missing email thread, anyone?)

Back in February, before I joined the Nibletz team, I helped a friend get ready to show her startup in everywhereelse.co’s Startup Village. In the months leading up to the conference, we used the soft launch version of Xtrant to keep our team organized and on task.

That version worked really well for us. My friend was able to upload diagrams of the booth, logos she had designed, and schedules of our milestones. We kept a running conversation on the project page, as well as a calendar for all our meetings. It was far better than 50 emails for each task.

Over the last few months, though, Xtrant has rolled out several new features that make the experience even better.

Person status–Now users can see someone’s contact info and when they last visited the project page.
Pending/Send Reminder & Invite Permissions–You can see if someone hasn’t accepted the invite to a project yet and send them an email reminder. You can also allow other users to invite their team members.
Email Notifications–This is probably the biggest change to date, and one that is a huge win for UX. Previously the emails simply noted that the project had been changed. So, you had to click over, sign in, and find out if the change involved you or not. Now the emails are well-designed, with a brief rundown of the actions taken. Of course, you still click over to the page if you need to be involved, but if the changes don’t concern you, you can keep moving.
Coming soon: iOS and Android apps

Like Tumblr, Xtrant is iterating on many other project management systems. By making themselves both a “social media for work” and a “project/task management” platform, they are also streamlining the work experience, getting rid of a lot of the clunky-ness we deal with every day. With these new features, they could be poised to live up to their promise.

Sign your team up for Xtrant and keep an eye out for mobile apps this summer.

Truckily Connects Food Trucks & Fans, Closes Seed Round

Food trucks are becoming popular in cities across the nation. Hot food–often gourmet–out of a truck? What’s not to love?

Well, for one thing, you can never find them. Seriously, never. No matter how closely you watch Twitter or Facebook, you always seem to just miss the truck you’re craving.

That’s what happened to Truckily cofounders Derek Kean and Matthew Berkland on a trip to San Francisco. Their frustration with downloading several apps, watching trucks drive by, and STILL not being in the right place at the right time led them to dream up a one-app stop for food trucks and their fans.

Enter Truckily. For $30 a month, trucks can use the service to update their location just once. Then, the new location appears on the Truckily map, Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare. The app is free for users, and when they open it up, they see a map of where all the food trucks are parked.

We talked with Truckily back in September. They were fresh from their time with the ARK Challenge and credited that experience with the ability to focus on the business and make important connections. At that point, their next step was to raise funding to continue building their product.

Now, according to Silicon Prairie News, they’ve done it. This month Truckily closed a seed round of $120,000. The round includes Gravity Ventures and Kea Ventures. The money is technically invested in RTF Logic, but the founders will use it to build out the Truckily platform.

Cofounder Derek Kean gave Silicon Prairie News a hint about what they’ll do with their new funding.

Once our team is comfortable with our progress, we will begin expanding the platform into other areas that are currently identified, while keeping our ears open for markets that are open for growth. We are ramping up our efforts once we iron out any remaining ‘face-palm’ errors.

When Truckily launched its public beta for iOS in April, they focused on the Midwest. According to their blog, they are also seeking to expand into the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. They hope to be available for Android by the end of the summer.

You can check Truckily on their website.

Are We Really “World-Changing?”

Apparently startup culture is mainstream. Which is cool. Fewer of my friends look at me like I’m crazy when I talk about the startup ecosystem and the most recent tech news.

The more time I spend reading, talking, and writing about the startup culture, though, the more I have to ask, “What are we doing with our lives?”

Don’t get me wrong. I really like the Internet. Productivity apps save my life, and Twitter basically kept me sane in my years of child-raising exile. I even like mobile games like Angry Birds. (Okay, I don’t so much, but my kids do, so same thing.)

But, so help me, if I have to talk to one more person who thinks his/her photo-sharing, social network, music downloading app is going to change the world, I may scream. Will your awesome new startup break out and make you tons of money? It’s not likely, but maybe. Will it change the world? Almost certainly not. And, as we’re learning from the NSA debacle, sometimes we have to think hard about how exactly we’re changing the world anyway. Nine years ago, we didn’t expect to find out that Facebook was giving away our secrets.

You know who’s actually changing the world for good? Guys like Andy Keiffer. After tiring of the Valley, he and his family moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, to build a startup ecosystem basically from scratch. He started an accelerator, employed locals, and is now watching the rise of the Mexican tech scene. (Follow that link to a story about Keiffer’s new photo-sharing app. Yes, I get the irony.)

The interesting thing about what’s happening in Mexico is that they have a whole different set of problems to solve. Maybe we’re wondering when our luxury car will arrive or who to send a disappearing picture, but they are thinking about narco-terrorism and hunger.

Of course, developing countries like Mexico aren’t the only ones solving real problems. Hundreds of new social entrepreneurship ventures are started in this country every day, many of them founded by people under 30. They are creating systems to consolidate health data in South Africa, building schools in Nepal, and distributing clean energy.

Plenty of for-profit companies are getting involved in social entrepreneurship, too. It’s totally possible to make a ton of money AND contribute good things to the world. Look at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Without laser-focus on Microsoft for all those years, Bill Gates would probably never have the money to give to all the great causes he endorses now.

In a fireside chat at the recent D11, Elon Musk said, “I recommend that people consider arenas outside the Internet because there’s a lot of industries that could use that entrepreneurial talent and the skills that people have learned in creating those companies.”

We could probably have a discussion about whether or not colonizing Mars or creating a “hyperloop” are goals for the human good, but at least Musk is really dreaming up new things. And, if he succeeds, he will definitely change the world.

We are in an entrepreneurial boom, and it’s a fun time to build companies. Those of us in this exhilarating tech/startup scene just have to be honest with ourselves. Maybe we’re creating cool toys, but until we’re actually helping our fellow human beings, we aren’t really changing the world. At least not for the better.

SocialRadar is 8 Weeks Old, Raises $12.75 Million

The 10-person team over at SocialRadar is asking, “What Series A crunch?”

Eight weeks after formally founding the Washington D.C.-based company, they are now announcing a $12.75 million round, led by New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, and SWaN & Legend Ventures. Notable angel investors such as Dave Morin, Steve Case, Kevin Colleran, Ted Leonsis, and others are also joining in.

So, what is SocialRadar? The company’s website describes it like this:

Today over 1.1 billion people have smartphone devices that can broadcast their locations. Over 2.8 billion people have social profiles online. In the future, the power of your smartphone’s location will inevitably be combined with your social network – allowing you to walk into a room and already be aware of the people around you and how you are connected to them.

SocialRadar believes they are building this technology now.

At the 2013 CTIA expo, CEO Michael Chasen explained that they first developed technology that monitored all the top social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. Then, when a SocialRadar user walks into a room, the GPS on their smartphone will locate all the people they might know and explain how they know them. No more standing around awkwardly in a bar, only to realize your best friend from college is sitting just a few seats over. When you enter the bar, your phone will let you know who’s there.

What differentiates them from other “people finder” apps is privacy. With SocialRadar users control who–if anyone–can locate them.

The company is preparing for their beta launch, coming soon to iPhone and Android. They’re also building a version for Google Glass, which seems to be a perfect fit.

Chasen was formerly a co-founder and CEO of Blackboard, the online learning platform that sold in 2011 for $1.7 billion.

You can sign up for the public beta on SocialRadar’s website.

5 Reasons You Wish You Could Go to the NewME PopUp Accelerator

If you’ve been around the startup space for a minute, you know about accelerators. You probably know the best ones, the pros and cons of joining one, and that many people think they’re in a bubble.

Here at Nibletz, we love accelerators. Besides the wealth of information and time they give founders to grow their business, accelerators are good for the local ecosystems. With that in mind, we were super excited to find out about the NewME PopUp Accelerator. NewME is combining its world class accelerator program with another urban trend, the popup shop, and taking it around the country.

So, why should you take a weekend off to be a part of this new type of accelerator? It’s certainly not the intensive, boot camp experience that a traditional accelerator is. But, then again, we’re entrepreneurs. “Traditional” isn’t really in our vocabulary, now is it?

Here are our top 5 reasons to apply for the NewME PopUp Accelerator:

Startup Coach–Each startup that is accepted will have 50 minutes 1-on-1 with a NewME coach. That’s 50 straight minutes of advice and feedback focused solely on your startup. These coaches are coming from Silicon Valley to everywhere else and letting startups in on what it takes to succeed.
Master Classes–Each PopUp accelerator includes 2 Master Classes in the Art of the Pitch. From your company’s value proposition to compelling presentation skills, the experts teach it all. You will leave the weekend with a completed pitch deck and the skills you need to start pitching it.
Demo Day–Yup, no accelerator is complete without a Demo Day, and NewME PopUp Accelerator has one of those, too. Local investors are on hand from each city, but there also a few special guests from the Valley. Demo Day participants could land a spot in the full 2013 NewME Accelerator in Silicon Valley. And, just in case you don’t think much can come from such a small event: DC winner Zoobean closed their first round in May.
Networking–It’s true that the actual NewME PopUp program is awesome. But we all know deals don’t happen in a classroom. For 2 1/2 days, Silicon Valley experts will be in your backyard, and you can ask them ANYTHING. As great as local ecosystems are, it’s always good to get some fresh blood
Cost–For less than $100, you can have access to Valley experts and decision makers, right in your hometown. In case math isn’t your thing, that’s less than the cost of a flight to California.

I know, you wish you could be one of the lucky startups selected, right? Well, the tour is just getting underway, and stops in Kansas City, Austin, and NYC are in the plans.

But, if you’re in the Southeast, Memphis is hosting a PopUp Accelerator on June 28-30, and there’s still time to register.

Use discount code MEMPHISEDU for huge discount

List.ly is the Slideshare for Lists

Have you ever read a “Top 10…” list and thought, “Hmm, they missed something”?

Now, with Listly, brands and content companies can make lists interactive and embeddable. Communities love it because they can share a whole list or just part of one. They can even contribute to a list by interacting with it right in blog posts. No more scrolling through comments to find out if people agree with your list.

Listly is also great for brands. As we all know, these days, content is king, and the more content a brand can produce, the more opportunities they have to reach their audience. Lists are easily the most popular content on the web, and Listly makes it easy for brands to create and use those lists.

What is your startup, what does it do?

List.ly.

We take the most effective form of content marketing, the numbered list post, and we make it collaborative, interactive, and embedable. Human beings simply love to consume information in the form of numbered lists. This explains who 30% of posts are in the familiar form of “10 ways to..” “17 tips to…” “27 things you must not …”. We simply bring life these blog posts by letting people vote and contribute directly on the list. We make it easier to share and embed these interactive lists. You can share the whole list or just an item. You can embed the whole list or just an item. We track where and when your lists are seen and we also track who and how people interact with each list.

Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?

Shyam Subramanyan & Nick Kellet

We’ve both got a background in startups and building brands. We make a great team. We complement each other.

Where are you based?

We’re based out of California in the Bay Area. I live in Canada.

What is the startup culture like where you are based?

San Fran is about a tech as it gets. I live in Kelowna in BC, which has an aspiring tech culture. Exits like Club Penguin, Vineyard Networks, and Workfire put Kelowna on the map. Plus there’s an event called Metabridge that is really working to connect Kelowna to Silicon Valley.

What problem does your startup solve?

We help brands get found and we help them foster engagement with the community.

What is the greatest challenge that you’ve overcome in the startup process?

The list hasn’t evolved since the invention of HTML. That is the opportunity we are creating. We are to lists what slideshare is to slides. You put your lists on Listly and embed them back on your blog. The model has been proven for static content like slides, videos and audio. Were just taking that model one step further as lists evolve over time and can be contributed to by many. People are always skeptical when a new type of data is created. The challenge we have overcome building the credibility needed for people to place their lists with Listly.

To this point with have lists embedded on 5000+ blogs. We have thousands of publishers who’ve signed up and used the platform.

What are some of the milestones your startup has achieved?

Lots of iterations along the way, but three major:

V1 – Simple social embeddable lists

V2 – Scaling / cachable lists and synchronizing the experience between listly and blogs

V3 – Responsive Listly – A simpler, consistent experience across smart phones, tablets and desktops.

All these build on Listly as a publishing platform and a serious piece of internet infrastructure.

What are your next milestones?

We’re focused on small incremental steps right now and in driving our adoption metrics and our monthly active user count. Our core focus is to get more embeds. We’re also building out our API so people can build the use of Listly lists into their applications and workflows.

What’s next for your startup?

More of the same. Were focused on removing friction, driving up the number of embeds, and on building brand awareness so people are happy to jump in and vote or contribute to a list. We’ll also be putting more focus on our premium product to cater to the needs of bigger brands and publishers.

Where can people find out more, and what is your Twitter username?

@listly, @nickkellet @shyamster