This week starts our 12th South By Southwest, the last four have been spent as a tech journalist and before that I attended the music portion during my radio career. SXSW can be intimidating for a first timer, especially a first time startup, that’s why we’re featuring some great SXSW Virgins, seek them out, find
Impulcity, a Kentucky startup that relocated to Cincinnati for The Brandery last summer, has just launched to the public. We’ve been tracking Impulcity since last June when co-founders, Hunter Hammonds and Austin Cameron were still working out the details of the concept. Over the course of The Brandery accelerator, and since their graduation last October,
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
The Inc 500/5000 conference just wrapped up in Phoenix Arizona. The three day conference highlights the private sector companies, both big and small, that are the fabric of our American corporate culture. The Inc 500 is a list published every year by the premiere business magazine, that lists the 500 fastest growing companies in the
Business owners are constantly looking for the best way to get customer feedback with the best possible return. According to many surveys, comment cards, even ones that offer incentives, see around 1% return or engagement. Surveys that print out on receipts and direct patrons to websites aren’t very effective either. That’s why many companies have
We are one week away from seeing the 2012 class at The Brandery accelerator in Cincinnati. The Brandery is a top 10 accelerator and focuses on branding and marketing. They’ve attracted hundreds of applications from across the globe for each of their last three sessions. While The Brandery follows a co-hort accelerator model, as well
Just over a decade ago Bostonian Ray Walters and his family moved west. They landed in the barbecue capital of the world, Kansas City. While Walters mannerisms and sports influences are definitely still intertwined with the north-east, for instance he still says Wicked Pisah and is a die-hard Red Sox fan, his culinary artistry is
Four business partners with roots in Minnesota, came together earlier this summer and announced the formation of a new venture firm called AMP Partners. Minnesota has seen a recent boost in startups and entrepreneurism spearheaded by JumpStart Inc and then quickly taken over by Minnesotans. Darren Marhula, Brad England, Mark Donahoe and Chris Palm pooled
Big Data is a big deal this year. We were the national media sponsor for the recent StampedeCon Big Data conference in St.Louis and both coasts have been bustling with events, conferences, and conventions dedicated to big data. We also saw some great big data usage cases in Chattanooga operating on 1gb ethernet. The Big
Online privacy is not just a problem for Facebook users. The problem is shared across all social networks, especially ones that allow public searchable results. We’re not talking about those safety and security privacy concerns, we’re talking about those beer pong pics, jello shots and beer bongs that you don’t want that fortune 500 recruiter
There are a lot of discovery apps out there. This year at SXSW discovery was the biggest space represented by new app startups at SXSWi. So now with hundreds of discovery startups popping up all over the place, the features, UI, UX and user benefit are the biggest parts to insuring the success of a
Earlier we reported on Louisville Kentucky startup Impulcity and the fact that they would be headed up to Cincinnati for this years class at the Brandery. The Brandery is a marketing focused Cincinnati incubator. All of the companies selected to participate in the 2012 session receive $20,000 in seed capital and will participate in a
In most of the stories that we report on involving angel funds, venture capital, incubation, investment, or competition, the student is the recipient. We cover student startup challenges all the time. In Kansas, they’re doing things a little different. At the University of Missouri in Columbia, fifteen students are running a $600,000 venture fund appropriately
Zynga and Facebook have more in common than just social online gaming. A Chicago Startup called Chippewa Five has helped both Zynga and Facebook get back into physical gaming, at least in their offices. Chippewa Five or C5 for short, makes professional grade, furniture style beer pong tables. Wait, beer pong? Yes beer pong. Their
Kyle