Comments Off on Chattanooga, America’s First Gig City, Welcomes 500 Startups For Will This Float At GEW0LikeLike 2,345
One of the biggest misconceptions in the startup and tech space is that Kansas City and Google were the first to offer 1GB Ethernet to businesses and residents. While we love Kansas City startups it’s actually Chattanooga Tennessee that was first with citywide 1gb Ethernet to homes and residences.
Chattanooga has been doing some very big things for entrepreneurs and startups lately. Back in August we brought you exclusive coverage of the GigTank Demo Day. Chattanooga has also been aggressively recruiting entrepreneurs and startups to the region with economic incentives.
Community leaders Sheldon Grizzle and Enoch Elwell haven’t slowed down either. Among other things, including running the Colab space, Grizzle and Elwell have recently been in Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta evangelizing about one of the most truly beautiful places in the world to launch a startup.
500 Startups is the extremely active and diverse vc firm and accelerator in Mountain View. Although the secret 500 startup lair is physically located in Silicon Valley it’s anything but a valley accelerator. Here on nibletz alone we’ve profiled over a dozen 500 startups, none of them have been from the valley.
This week, as the world gears up for global entrepreneurship week so does Chattanooga. Their signature event pits 15 startups against each other this year, in the “will this float” startup competition. The competition, abbreviated WTF, has grown in both the number of participating startups and prize money/investment. The Times Free Press reports that last year’s winner, SupplyHog, is already making money.
This year the contestants include a new startup aiming to help convert streaming music listeners into active music purchasers. Another innovative idea vying for an investment of up to $250,000.
Another startup competing for the gold is looking to turn Farmville into somewhat of a reality. Entrepreneur Troy Cain plans on building an urban farm that is ultimately controlled by mobile devices. Farmers would be able to buy warehouse space where they would be able to plant their own urban farms. Plant watering, and other needs would be monitored and executed via mobile phone commands.
“People want to have a garden and grow their own food, but they don’t have the space or time to maintain it,” Cain said to the Times Free Press. “We’re looking at making it less than the average people spend on food per month,”…”We think it’ll float.”
Entrepreneurs, other startups and the community can come and see the 15 teams pitch live on Thursday at 6pm on the fourth floor of the public library at 1001 Broad Street. They’ll be showing off a new space that’s dedicated to tech work and will even feature things like lights that dance on the walls in response to tweets.
Comments Off on University Of Virginia Students Launch Seed-Ville Startup Online/Offline Hybrid0LikeLike 2,819
Crowdfunding is by far the hottest startup space of 2012. With the passing of the JOBSAct more and more startup founders are launching some kind of crowdfunding startup. We’ll soon see how successful they are after the SEC brings back the crowdfunding regulations and the crowdfunding sites really take off to fund startups in exchange for crowd-funded micro-equity.
One thing we started to see popping up this past summer with Brandery company SocStock, is hybrid crowdfunding companies. That is, crowdfunding startups that are part online and part offline. Where local community members can fund local businesses online via a website.
A new hybrid crowdfunding startup has emerged out of the University of Virginia called Seedville. The Charlottesville startup allows local residents to crowdfund local businesses. In it’s current form, instead of equity, the backers get perks.
Seedville’s inaugural project is for Matt Rohdie and his organic donut company called Carpe Donut. Rohdie is looking to raise $15,000 in 40 days to start a Carpe Donut food truck. He’s hoping to raise the money to outfit and decorate the mobile donut production facility and sales vehicle.
Jessica Lee, one of the co-founders of Seedville is also a big fan of Rohdie’s delicious treats. She and her three student co-founders are using their reward based crowdfunding model to help back Rohdie’s project. Backers will get free donuts and at some levels even a free daily rental of the truck.
While sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter are national sites with bigger audiences, and in most cases bigger raises ,Seedville and hybrid sites like it, are smaller and focus on local projects.
“Kickstarter is very broad and focused on creativity, film and artists that want funding,” Lee said to cvilletomorrow.org . “We want to focus on small businesses. We want to mentor small businesses through this crowd-funding process.”
UVa law school professor, entrepreneurship teacher and one of Lee’s advisors, Richard D.Crawford thinks that the Seedville project is a great thing.
“I think it’s going to be a major method for small businesses, particularly the type that will never be the Microsofts of the future,” Crawford said. “It will be the way they get funded increasingly.”
Crawford also feels that the passing of the JOBSAct is a good thing for Lee and her other student co-founders. “This law will allow use of online solicitation for small businesses on a much bigger scale than what is allowed under today’s securities laws,” Crawford said. “Anyone will soon be able to invest in a small start-up around Charlottesville, but today there are some serious restrictions to use of the Internet to communicate with sources of funds.”
The campaign for Carpe Donut was launched on Friday and has made $150 towards it’s $15,000 goal. Rohdie is looking to purchase a Grumman P30 step van and a Belshaw Mark II “donut robot”.
Lee is hopeful that Rohdie’s project will get fully funded which will be a testament to both Carpe Donut and Seedville.
Comments Off on Raleigh Startup’s Media Coverage Earns A Visit From A Zoning Inspector0LikeLike 1,735
When 31 year old Justin Miller was interviewed by Raleigh North Carolina’s local newspaper, the News & Observer on Monday he proudly talked about his startup Deja Mi. The city of Raleigh has been very proactive about entrepreneurship and startups over the past few years. Deja Mi, an app development startup, employs 13 people, which under normal circumstances would be welcomed by the city.
After Miller’s story appeared in the paper and on the paper’s website Monday it prompted a visit from a zoning inspector the very next day. As Miller explained to the News & Observer, the company has 30 days to move their office out of the basement of Miller’s home.
According to Miller the company has been working out of the basement for over a year in an effort to preserve some of the $800,000 they’ve received in angel investments to date.
The News & Observer calls the incident awkward for city officials because they’ve been pushing startups so hard as ways to create more jobs. Obviously Miller has achieved that goal.
Justin Miller and the Deja Mi staff (photo: News & Observer)
Miller and his 13 employees have developed to photo sharing apps for the iPhone. Their newest creation, WedPics, allows wedding guests and attendees the opportunity to upload and share wedding day photos collectively. Their other app is similar in nature but focuses on event photos.
While Miller and his employees dress “startup casual” they haven’t had any incidents in the last year at the residence.
“We’re trying to build a business,” Miller said to the News & Observer. “We’ve brought in people from other cities and states to move to Raleigh to become paying citizens of the city to contribute to the economic growth …, and this is what happens.”
“Here we are trying to create an image of being business friendly, especially to technology companies – in my mind that is unacceptable,” said Raleigh City Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin.
Comments Off on Memphis Prepares For Transformation To Risk City For Global Entrepreneurship Week0LikeLike 2,173
Next week thousands and thousands of entrepreneurs, startup founders, developers, eco-system partners and stake holders will participate in events across the globe as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. In fact, GEW officially kicks off later tonight as over 100 different cities get fired up over Startup Weekend.
Tennessee has a variety of activities going on across the state. One of Tennessee’s major metropolitan areas is transforming their city.
Memphis will turn itself into Risk City beginning Monday. Memphis has always been a city that turns adversity into opportunity and embraces risk as a path to progress. Just take a look at companies like FedEx, Holiday Inn and AutoZone. All three pioneers in their industry and when you look at them in the time and place they were founded, potential investors thought the entrepreneurs behind these Memphis based companies were nuts.
The same thing can be said about the blues and it’s off shoot, rock and roll music, which is often credited with starting in Memphis Tennessee.
In talking with a crazy conservative intern of sorts in Memphis it was mutually agreed upon that risk and aversion to risk were what separated the “startup founder entrepreneurs” and the “lets open a dry cleaner, entrepreneurs”. It’s that risk that is this years global entrepreneurship week theme in Memphis.
Don’t get me wrong, Memphis has had it’s share of of big risks, not pan out in the end. That’s why there’s a gigantic pyramid in the middle of the city, and an entire island that’s all but a ghost town these days. However new risk takers, entrepreneurs and startup founders are going to be the ones to reclaim the city.
To that end, the folks at LaunchMemphis has put together some great programming for all of Memphis to see what the startup and entrepreneurial culture is like downtown. Below are some of the activities going on in Memphis. The highlight of the week is “field day”, the Amazing Risk and a huge party all happening Friday night at Minglewood Hall in Memphis.
Also, with Risk City and Global Entrepreneurship Week kicking off, the applications for the 2013 class of Seed Hatchery are now open as well.
Pitch Perfect
Monday, November 12 from 2:00-5:00pm in the Launchpad
For those actively moving forward with their startups – like those involved with Office Hours, BOOSTcamp, 48 Hour Launch or the Launchpad – we will provide a panel of diverse experts to provide feedback on your latest pitch. Accompanying visuals like PowerPoint are encouraged.
Memphis Startup Meetup
Monday, November 12 at 6:00pm in the Launchpad
The Memphis Startup Meetup group offers a special GEW edition of their monthly meetup for anyone interested in and involved with a startup company- entrepreneurs, developers, geeks, tech enthusiasts, professionals.
Mentor Mixer
Tuesday, November 13 from 5:30-7:00pm at Alchemy
It takes a village to grow a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. We invite you to a casual cocktail event to learn more about the benefits of sharing your time, insights, experience and leadership with our founders and their startups.
High Octane Office Hours
Thursday, November 15 from 9:00am-3:00pm in the Launchpad
Memphis area business leaders join us in the Launchpad for an exclusive, high-powered set of one-to-one Office Hours for high growth potential startup companies. Like Pitch Perfect, these sessions are for those actively moving forward through our platform and process.
SpeedPitch
Friday, November 16 from 11:00am-1:00pm at Minglewood Hall
Similar to speed dating, LaunchMemphis introduces an event for those with fresh, bold ideas ready for some creative customer discovery. You get two minutes to pitch, then three minutes for feedback from business and community leaders. When the bell rings, you’re off to the next table!
Field Day
Friday, November 16 from 9:00am-4:00pm at Minglewood Hall
RSVP http://riskcityfieldday.eventbrite.com
Co-working facilitates conversation, collaboration and impromptu synergies- we hope your startup or organization will bring a team to our inaugural GEW Field Day. Wifi will be available, and food trucks will be around for lunch!
Field Day Mixer and Amazing Risk Finals
Friday, November 16 from 4:00pm-6:00pm
Risk City Soiree
Friday, November 16 at 8:00pm at Minglewood Hall
$5 cover, cash at door or http://riskcity.eventbrite.com
Join us at Minglewood Hall to conclude Memphis’ biggest Global Entrepreneurship Week to date, with our biggest party to date! As if a full week of activities fueling entrepreneurship and growing our innovation ecosystem wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, entertainment includes:
Finally as part of Risk City and Global Entrepreneurship week in Memphis. Anyone who attends any of the events above and brings a friend can get a FREE ticket to “everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference” just find an official Launch Memphis employee or volunteer and tell them you want your free ticket to “everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference” and introduce them to your friend and you’ve got it.
Comments Off on With Election Over California Startup VIRURL Stages Banner Ads Protest At ad:tech0LikeLike 2,808
The votes have been counted and we have a new President, so what are the protestors going to do now. Well a Santa Monica startup in the ad space, called VIRURL used them to protest annoying banner ads on Thursday at ad:tech. ad:tech is one of the biggest digital advertising conferences in the world and is held annually at the Javits Center in New York City.
VIRURL is promoting a new “viral” ready content based ad unit called the SlideOut. The “Slideout” widget for web publishers is a tool designed to serve and monetize relevant partner content to site visitors unobtrusively. That partner content, in the form of a “recommended content” link is served to the user when they navigate to the bottom of the page, intuitively offering extra sponsored content that may be of interest. The feature has recently gone live on HollywoodAssistants.Tumblr.com, one of the most popular Tumblr blogs on the web.
VIRURL used the protest as an almost flash mob like way to garner attention for their new product. It looks like it worked.
“We’ve built a company on an entirely different premise. It’s a business model that empowers advertisers in a way that the broken banner model never could. The energy we ignited today is just the beginning of our revolution. Virurl’s tools and technology are delivering 20x engagement (in terms of click through) and those numbers speak for themselves.” VIRURL CEO and Co-Founder Francisco Diaz-Mitoma told Nibletz.com exclusively.
“This is the next step in killing off the banner ad, which is going on 20 years as the most popular way to ineffectively monetize the web. The web has evolved by leaps and bounds in those two decades and so should its advertising,” said Diaz-Mitoma. “Web consumers hate banner ads and publishers and advertisers don’t make money from them. The new VIRURL Slideout solves this problem by positioning paid content in such a way that it gets a visitor’s attention without diminishing their online experience.”
“VIRURL already offers a 20x increase in CTR engagement over traditional banner advertising, and a new option like the Slideout can only serve to increase that engagement. Every time a user clicks on that VIRURL ‘Slideout’ on a blog or Tumblr like ‘Hollywood Assistant,’ the publisher makes 60% of the revenue from that transaction,” added Diaz-Mitoma. “This is all done with just a snippet of code, not only maximizing profitability for publishers, but doing so with complete ease-of-use. VIRURL offers unprecedented transparency and customization to both advertisers and publishers, as well as those they are trying to reach.”
Comments Off on Groupon Misses Their Mark Q30LikeLike 2,014
Groupon’s stock has fallen nearly 16 percent in after hours trading after they released their third quarter earnings earlier today when the market closed.
Groupon took a small loss when higher revenue failed to compensate for stock compensation and other expenses. Groupon’s revenue grew by a third but still failed to meet Wall Street’s expectations.
The net loss for the quarter ending in September 2012 was $3 million dollars, basically a breakeven per share. That’s sharply down from the $54.2 million dollar loss or 18 cents per share the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings of 3 cents per share matched Wall Street’s expectations.
Total revenue was up at $569 million but fell short of Wall Street’s $591 million expectation. Groupon is forecasting revenue between $625 million and $675 million in the fourth quarter. If they come in at the median point of $650 million they will beat analyst’s expectations of $634.9 million.
Analysts and investors are concerned over the long term viability of Groupon’s business model. Many are concerned about “daily deals” as a whole.
There have been wide spread reports across many websites and technology journals, about mom and pop businesses who’ve taken major losses in trying to use Groupon to gain more customers. The general consensus is that small businesses take a loss on their initial Groupon deal and then the customers never come back.
Other entrepreneurs, startup founders, and investors are looking to the loyalty and rewards space, over the daily deals space to increase revenue and keep customers coming back.
Comments Off on Baltimore Startup bytelion Introducing Crowdfunding Platform For 6 Minority, Veteran Or Women Led Startups At A Time0LikeLike 5,652
A software company in Maryland called bytelion is planning on unveiling a new crowdfunding platform by the end of this month. The new platform, called Select 6, is different from every other crowdfunding platform in a couple of key ways.
First off Select 6 is specifically targeting startups and ideas from minorities, women and veterans. These startups are sometimes overlooked by other traditional capital or skipped over on other crowdfunding sites with thousands of projects at a time.
Select 6 will feature 6 startups or ideas at a time. Rather than going to a site like Kickstarter or Indiegogo with thousands and thousands of projects, Select 6 will select six different startups to get funded and after those specific ideas and startups have either reached a time limit or raised their allotted funds, the next six will start the funding process.
Those 6 startups or idea, founders, which Select 6 calls pilots, will also participate in the S6 Startup Accelerator
Crowdfunding is one of the most exciting social innovations to empower creative and socially-minded entrepreneurs in recent years, Select 6 will be the first to channel this medium to provide more resources, exposure to professional mentors, and access to institutionalized funding that many minority, women, and veterans have a hard time finding when they start a business.
Even though minority and women-led ventures statistically perform the same or better year over year when compared to all startups that are angel-funded, a staggeringly low number of angel investors and startup accelerator programs nation-wide have MWV’s in mind or in their programs.
The mission of Select 6 is to help MWV-led startups create success stories in the marketplace and community; To share the education, experience and entertainment that is entrepreneurship & innovation with the public; To create sound investments in promising startups that can scale and expand.
Howard Cheng, founder and Chief Entrepreneur of Select 6, is emphatic about one thing: “We want to help MWV entrepreneurs and innovators find their wings and take flight with the help of diverse communities because we believe in their potential and tenacity. Entrepreneurship and innovation are key engines of economic and community growth, and Select 6 is our solution to addressing a national concern of creating value and jobs in the marketplace.”
Bytelion’s CEO, Terrance McGregor shares: “We are excited to work with Select 6 to develop such a meaningful platform for MWVs. We will continue to serve as a resource for Select 6 and S6 Pilots to get lean in their web development and startup approach. Staying lean and agile is the only way to go for SMEs because we can’t anticipate and predict everything, but we help clients get from idea to product faster with daily incremental improvements and updates that they can track and control. Time after time, we see that going lean speeds up the development process and keeps costs under control.”
Comments Off on Startup Maryland Announces 8 “Pitch Across Maryland” Finalists0LikeLike 5,382
We’ve been covering the Startup Maryland “Pitch Across Maryland” bus trip since it started in September. Why, because we’re originally from Maryland,( not because Mike Binko has thanked, us mentioned us or even retweeted us) regardless though it’s one of the best entrepreneur and startup activities we’ve seen. The “Pitch Across Maryland” bus tour was created by Mike Binko along with Julie Lenzer Kirk. The bus made stops all across Maryland from as far east as Ocean City/Salisbury and as far west as the mountains.
Along the way, they scooped up over 160 startup pitches. In an earlier article we reported that Binko was expecting around 50 pitches. What ended up happening is nothing short of spectacular. Not only did over 160 startups pitch, other startups came out to the bus stops to party and participate in the festivities and even Governor Martin O’Malley came out. When O’Malley came out though, he was also required to pitch.
Now Startup Maryland has announced the 8 finalists. These 8 finalists were chosen by a panel of entrepreneur and investor experts and they will now pitch at the 2012 Entrepreneur Expo on Tuesday,
Here they are:
Imagine IPD (Innovative Product Designs)
Founder and Executive Design Manager Raymond Cooper, has come up with a new wind turbine that he says is going to “solve so many more problems and issues with energy, it’s far beyond what many people initially thought it would be”. Cooper has patented his turbine.
Cooper says the turbine is bird friendly, and can produce 2 to 3x the amount of energy current turbines can produce. According to Cooper the turbine can be scaled from large side to micro size.
Unbound Concepts
Unbound Concepts is the creator of “Book Leveler” an iOS app that allows the user to capture the ISBN number from a book. The app will then return the reading level of the book to the user. Now you don’t have to worry if the books you’re getting for your kid are too easy or too hard. With Book Leveler, if you’re on the fence about your kid reading a certain book you can quickly get the information you need to know, without reading the book.
Founder Katie Palencsar says that her startup is critical with the new “Common Core State Standards” which in a nutshell says that classroom material for all students needs to be matched according to reading level.
WooFound
WooFound is a personalization tool that knows what you like and helps you find those things. We’ve actually covered WooFound here at nibletz before. WooFound is like hot or not for things. In his pitch video, founder Dan Sines says you can take things as wide ranging as beer and anthropology and say whether they are “me” or not “me”
Same Grain CEO Eric Eller is no stranger to pitching. Their company that counts executives from Apple, AOL, ad.com and Millennial Median in it’s pedigree, has already won pitch contests from the Washington Post and the Start Right Business Plan Competition.
Same Grain is a social discovery tool available on the web, mobile or as a Facebook app which according to Eller lets you find and connect with people privately, that are just like you.
Same Grain is like match.com for friends.
Koolspan
Koolspan is a digital security company. They manufacture a chip called the “Trust Chip” that is deployed in cell phones, smart phones, tablets, and computers. The chip has a suite of security and encryption apps on it that make securing data, voice and text easy and incredibly safe.
According to Greg Smith the company has already sold to Telefonica, Vodaphoen, T-Mobile Europe and they have their trust chip private labeled for AT&T. The company employs 25 people in their Bethesda Maryland headquarters.
Autonomy Engine (Debra Cancro)
This Carroll County startup is the creator of a mobile app called Hone Your Tone. It’s one of the most interesting pitches we’ve seen from the batch of Startup Maryland pitches. Hone Your Tone works in conjunction with a headset or lapel microphone and instantly gives feedback on the way you’re coming across.
This would be excellent when you’re in meetings or conference calls where you want to project a certain mood or tone in the call or meeting. You could also use it to practice speaking so that you don’t come off too arrogant or perhaps inexperienced.
For some Hone Your Tone could be the key to more sales, more closed deals, and better relationships.
SynAm Vaccine
This startup, founded by Carolyn Chen, is working on finding a vaccine for pneumonia. According to Chen, pneumonia as we know it has 91 different strains. The current vaccines on the market only address a fraction of those strains. Chen’s new vaccine will cover all of them.
Pneumonia is the largest killer of children in the world with over 2 million. There are over 1 million senior hospitalizations a year in the US and over half of people with HIV/AIDS succumb to pneumonia.
SynAm believes they’ve created the first universal vaccine for pneumonia.
CoFounders Lab
CoFounders Lab may be a little late to the party. Shahab Kaviani’s startup is exactly what FounderSync in Cleveland is doing and to a degree what Founder Dating in the valley does. It’s the match.com for founders. It’s the LinkedIn for entrepreneurs. If you’re looking for a CoFounder, CoFounders Lab may be the place for you.
Their success is going to come in product design, and how quickly they can scale.
Congratulations to these 8 startups. They’ll be pitching on Tuesday at the Entrepreneur Expo.
What do you think, tell us in the comments below via Facebook.
Here are my picks.
I am intrigued by Raymond Cooper’s pitch but for me to go all the way with that startup I would have to see the turbine and understand how it’s patentable and so scalable. If it’s even a fraction of as good as Cooper says it is he may do very very well.
I like Dan Sines from WooFound they’ve already raised money, have great advisors and are set to go.
What I’m most excited about though is the Hone Your Tone app. Communication is key and essential. I would love to use the app and practice speaking so the next time I am 1:1 with someone I can have the upper hand or when I’m speaking to a group of people.
Comments Off on Boulder Startup Mobiplug Gets $2.7M Series A Putting Home Control In Your iPhone0LikeLike 3,343
When a startup lands itself in the Boulder flagship Techstars program and then catches the eye of startup evangelist and venture capitalist Brad Feld it’s typically a recipe for greatness. Just check out how well Orbotix, the creators of the “Sphero Ball” have done since their time at Techstars.
Another recent Techstars Boulder graduate is following in the robotic balls footsteps by landing an impressive Series A round and a top level executive. Mobiplug, a company that brings home monitoring, control and automation to the palm of your hand via an iOS app, just landed the capital it needs to accelerate development. They also landed the leader they need to take the startup to the next level.
Feld’s Foundry Group led the $2.7 million dollar round. TechCrunch reports that Bullet Time Ventures, SK Ventures, Social Leverage, and Clarion Direct Investment, among others, participated in the round as well.
Mobiplug also announced that serial entrepreneur Tim Enwall, most recently CEO of Tendril, is now at the helm at Mobiplug.
Mobiplug consists of a small black box, that serves as a control hub, and an iOS app. Through the combination of the hub and the app, the user/home owner, can control everything from the lights, to the thermostat, electrical outlets, sprinklers and more. This can be done in the home or remotely, providing an extra element of security to the user’s home.
New CEO Enwall said in a statement:
“Getting wirelessly-enabled household items like locks, thermostats, lights, outlets and shades made by different manufacturers and based on different protocols to talk to each other is an enormous problem to solve, which is keeping this market from exploding. We’re fixing that.”
The Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre is joining Mobiplug’s board of directors. He also served as Mobiplug’s mentor during the Techstars program.
“I was really impressed by the co-founders and their ability to solve the thorny technical and interoperability problems that are currently holding back the home monitoring and control and Internet of Things (IoT) industry from mass adoption,” McIntyre said in a statement. “And when Tim Enwall decided to join Mobiplug, we felt confident that the addition of his experience and leadership to this already talented core team could really disrupt the market and lead this growing space.”
Comments Off on Election Day: Uber Will Get You To Or From The Polls Free!0LikeLike 2,533
Today is election day and no matter who you’re voting for you need to stand up and vote to be heard. As we’ve said numerous times, if you can stand in line all night for an iPhone, the latest iPad or the new Wii U, you can certainly stand in line to vote for the next President of the United States.
Our favorite Silicon Valley startup (and one of the only SV startups we report on) Uber, wants to make it easier on people trying to get to or from their polling place.
Uber has teamed up with Rock The Vote to offer all voters in America who’ve never tried Uber, a “Free(dom) Ride” to or from their polling place. As long as you’re in an Uber market simply download the Uber app from the iTunes app store or the Google Play store and if you’re a first time Uber user, use the code “VOTEUBER”, request a ride and as long as it’s under $20.12 it’s free. Otherwise the first $20.12 is free.
Here are the requirements:
One FREE(DOM) RIDEto OR from the polls is available for any first time Uber client up to $20.12 off – any amount exceeding $20.12 will be charged to your card on file.
The Uber trip must begin or end at a national polling location and is valid during voting hours on Tuesday, November 6th.
The FREE RIDE requires an Uber account and use of Uber’s iPhone/Android app orm.uber.com mobile web to request.
Uber didn’t forget about their loyal customers either this election day, here are some other promotions going on:
Comments Off on Knoxville Startup: FairMechanics Launches To Help You Find Fair Mechanics0LikeLike 2,278
Knoxville, a town in the great state of Tennessee with just under 200,000 people has an entrepreneurial revolution occurring right now. A community group called “Entrepreneurs of Knoxville” or EOK for short, has seen over 40 small businesses and startups launch.
EOK was founded in April 2008 by Leonard “Leo” R. Knight Jr and today it’s amassed over 950 members. They offer a variety of programming from entrepreneurial “support groups” to mentorship efforts and everything in between. They also hold work shops, lectures and a variety of other great events.
Knoxville is just one of nine entrepreneurial pockets across the state of Tennessee. In fact, with nine different high growth areas that means Tennessee residents are never more than an hour and a half away from an entrepreneurial hub. Also, all nine regions within Tennessee are participating in the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship week.
EOK Founder Leo Knight and EOK member Augustine Gattuso launched EOK’s latest startup “FairMechanics” on Thursday.
As you might imagine the goal behind FairMechanics is to help consumers find the most fair mechanic for their next repair needs. FairMechanics offers their platform for bidding out auto problems on the web, and mobile devices with an iOS and Android app.
Rather than just offering a directory of local mechanics, FairMechanics’, platform allows users to bid out the work they need done on their cars. FairMechanics is looking for mechanics to join their service. They’re offering a “first 10 bids” free program for early adopters on the mechanic side.
Their website doesn’t say the vetting process for the mechanics but we’d imagine that there is some kind of process set in order to be able to call the service “FairMechanics” in the first place.
Users will create a profile for their vehicle and post a job out for bid. Mechanics will get the bids delivered to them via email and then the user/shopper will decide on the best mechanic for the job, from the bids they received. A ratings system will be in place when the work is done so that feedback can be given to the mechanics so they can bid on future jobs.
The shopper in this scenario is just as integral to the business model as the mechanic. FairMechanics is helping the user/shopper get their repair work done at the best cost, with the best customer service and the quickest possible. On the mechanic side FairMechanics is giving out job leads for mechanics, and what mechanic would turn down a good quality lead.
Comments Off on 200 Startups Participate In Startup Maryland’s Pitch Across Maryland Bus Tour0LikeLike 4,393
Late this past summer Startup Maryland co-founders Mike Binko and Julie Lenzer Kirk announced that they would be holding a one of a kind bus tour across the state of Maryland in September. Binko and Lenzer Kirk were able to procure a giant tour bus, get it wrapped and outfitted with a video studio, work space and a place for startups to sit and talk as it caravaned across the state.
The trip began September 11th and ended on September 28th. The bus adventure started on Maryland’s eastern shore and continued all the way to the communities in Western Maryland.
“The Pitch Across Maryland tour, which ran from September 11 – 28, 2012, held celebration and promotional rallies at 25 stops throughout the state of Maryland,” Lenzer Kirk, Startup Maryland Co-Chair said in a statement. “Culminating in the Last Stop, First Step party and celebration event at Merriweather Post Pavilion on September 28th this Tour has rightly placed the spotlight on the vitality in Maryland’s innovation economy.”
Both Lenzer Kirk and Binko are passionate about the startup community in the state of Maryland as is Howard County Executive and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Ken Ulman, who provided some financial backing for the trip. When the bus tour was announced Binko was optimistic that 40-50 startups would use the onboard video studio to do pitch as part of a state wide contest. When all was said and done 168 startups actually did pitches. Maryland’s sitting Governor, Martin O’Malley also pitched on the bus. Binko told a group of Startup America regional champions in October that O’Malley had contacted the bus team and asked to come and take a tour. Admission to that tour was a pitch video.
“These videos are a testament to the strength, dedication and diversity of Maryland’s entrepreneurial community,” said Binko in a news release. “When we launched the Pitch Across Maryland tour we thought we might have 40-50 entrepreneurs join us on the Tour Bus and pitch, so 168 is phenomenal. Including all the rallies and events we held more than 200 startups actually participated in the tour.”
In addition to the 168 startups that pitched another 30 or so startups came out to the 25 stops that were on the bus trip. Some even volunteered to help.
All 168 pitches (not including the governors) are posted to YouTube where anyone can vote for their favorite pitch. A prize will be awarded to the entrepreneur with the most “view” votes after the voting closes on December 31st. Startup Maryland will announce 7 finalists next week on November 7th. Those finalists will have a chance to pitch during the entrepreneurial expo November 13th.
Members of the judging panel include serial entrepreneur peers as well as representatives from TEDCO, DBED, universities, incubators/accelerators and economic development agencies (EDAs).
Comments Off on Berlin Startup: Versus IO, The Comparison Platform, Adds 240 Cities To Compare0LikeLike 3,187
The internet is great for comparison shopping. Every major online retailer like Amazon, Best Buy, Carphone Warehouse and everyone in between, offers some kind of side by side comparison of products. Just about every time I go to make a major electronics purchase, I comparison shop something online.
Well Berlin startup Versus IO is a comparison platform for just about anything in the world. Sure you may want to compare the iPhone 5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S 3, or the Galaxy Nexus vs the iPad Mini. But what if you wanted to compare other things? What if you wanted to take a European vacation and wanted to weigh France vs Italy. Well Versus IO allows you to do that comparison too.
Versus IO added 240 cities to compare using their platform. Just go to their website here and enter each of the two cities you want to compare (as seen below) and voila, instant comparison.
While the site is still in Beta the folks behind Versus IO plan on continuing expansion in to a wide range of verticals. Versus IO has been set up in such a way you should be able to compare just about anything.
Adding comparisons for things like hotels, cars, airlines, department stores and other things people use everyday will definitely make Versus IO a goto site for information. Review sites like Yelp are great but with Versus IO you can get the comparison info and do your own research based on the things you’re looking for.
With their new city comparison Versus IO used over 100 factors in their criteria for comparison. Including:
Education – universities
Crime rates – murder
Climate
Infrastructure – airports, stations
Safety – smoking ban
Economy and business – GDP
Culture – museums, art galleries
People – population, salaries, ethnic groups
And many more…
The results screen is graphically rich but once you drill down you can see where each city met in terms of those criteria factors. For the comparison that we tried, Baltimore vs Caracas, we saw that Baltimore was “Pro” for 17 reasons and Caracas was “Pro” for 12.
The comparison actually took milliseconds but the information returned was plentiful. The top reason to choose Baltimore over Caracas was the higher proportion of women. Baltimore is 53.4% women where Caracas is only 50.5%. Versus IO also found that there are 72.37% more Facebook users in Baltimore than Caracas. Surprisingly, we found out that Caracas has more murders than Baltimore.
Versus IO isn’t just a cute expansion on the hot or not concept, it does exactly what the founders say it does.
Now that they’ve implemented cities and made a step away from traditional electronics comparisons they have plans to increase their comparison engine to 640 verticals. In the coming year Versus IO plans to add real estate, food, credit cards, TVs, banks, plastic surgeons and motorcycles.
Comments Off on Startup Super Group Initiative Launched: Startup America, Startup Weekend, TechStars, Udacity, Steve Blank0LikeLike 2,699
What do you get when you put together Startup America, Startup Weekend, TechStars, and Udacity, and then let Steve Blank run the whole thing? Startup Weekend Next, that’s what!
Startup Weekend announced the largest Startup initiative to date today. The startup “super group” (as our good friend Michael del Castillo calls it), consists of Startup America, Startup Weekend, TechStars, and Udacity. It’s all being led by Blank who wrote the book on startups “The Startup Owners Manual”.
The four organizations, and Blank are teaming up to help launch 10,000 startups. Startup Weekend Next will be a rolling four week program with hands on training, education and inspiration.
The backbone behind Startup Weekend Next will be The Lean Launchpad Class that Blank came up with, adapting the ideas and lessons from the Startup Owners Manual and applying them to real life companies and scenarios. The class is currently taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, Caltech,Princeton, the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech.
Blank also recently put the class online at Udacity where over 50,000 people have already started taking the course.
Certainly with the Udacity online course tens of thousands more entrepreneurs are able to take the course without being enrolled in some of the top colleges in the United States. As Blank points out in his blog though, the online version
“… doesn’t require you to form a team, and there’s no immediate instructor feedback. More importantly, it makes no demands of you to stand and deliver your weekly customer development progress in front of your peers. In sum, it lacks the rigorous and collaborative hands-on experience that entrepreneurs get in our university classes”
After pondering and then collaborating to find ways to make the Lean Launch Pad accessible to entrepreneurs in a classroom environment the Startup Weekend Next initiative was born.
Startup America will leverage their 30 startup regions, and their Startup America Regional Champions throughout the country to assist, promote and engage entrepreneurs in the classes. Techstars will leverage it’s world class mentor network to help coach the teams.
There is a small fee between $140 and $299 assessed to basically just cover the costs of hosting the classes.
Blank described on his blog how Startup Weekend Next will work:
You form a startup team (if you don’t have one, taking the 54-hour Startup Weekend class is a great a way to find one) and come into class with an initial idea
Your team arrives with an initial Business Model Canvas. (Your pre-class reading is to watch the Lean LaunchPad initial lectures on Udacity)
You present your hypotheses and what you learned in front of your peers and coaches
You’ll take the suggestions from the meeting, get out of the building and talk to ten plus customers per week.
You’ll refine your business model by iterating or pivoting your product, your target customers, pricing, channels, partners, etc.
Repeat for four weeks– all while working with volunteer mentor partners from Startup Weekend, Startup America and TechStars – serial entrepreneurs and seasoned startup investors – to see whether your business idea was truly a vision or simply a hallucination.
Blank is calling this endeavor a “pre-accelerator”. The possibilities of where a startup can go after Startup Weekend Next are endless.
Kyle
One of the biggest misconceptions in the startup and tech space is that Kansas City and Google were the first to offer 1GB Ethernet to businesses and residents. While we love Kansas City startups it’s actually Chattanooga Tennessee that was first with citywide 1gb Ethernet to homes and residences.
Startropica
