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Chattanooga, America’s First Gig City, Welcomes 500 Startups For Will This Float At GEW

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.

In fact it was at the VentureAtlanta event where Grizzle caught the eye of 500 Startups Co-Founder & Sith Apprentice Paul Singh.

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.

Linkage:

Get your ticket for “Will This Float” here

Source: Times Free Press

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We’ll see you in February

Miami Startup: RentJiffy Simplifies Life For Landlords INTERVIEW

Continuing with the series of features about each of the impressive Startups Incubate Miami 2012 has been able put together this year Startropica sat down with Jonathan Addison, Founder and CEO, ofRentJiffy, a real estate management platform that makes life easier for landlords and property managers. This is our interview with him:

How the thought of creating RentJiffy came about in the first place?

It came out of my own Real Estate practice. I am from Washington DC, one of the busiest, and one of the most legally complicated real estate cities in the country, the most obvious example of this is the license property owners need to have in order to be able to rent that specific property, that’s for every single property they own, with all the different regulations for each type of building of course. So RentJiffy was conceived in 2010 originally to make life easier for DC Landlords offering to facilitate this type of licensing. Basically they go to RentJiffy and hire us to process the license for them, but we are about to launch a host of additional features as well on a national level, that’s why we came here to Miami.

So Rentjiffy started by offseting a huge need in the DC Real Estate market, I am guessing it grew fast.

Thankfully yes it has been a success. Since January of 2010, we have doubled our revenue every year, that’s 3 years in a row. In 2011 we did $175.000 and to date we are approaching $300k in sales for 2012, enough to keep the team going and to help us put in place the next step which is to make RentJiffy a national platform

Continue reading at Startropica.com

University Of Virginia Students Launch Seed-Ville Startup Online/Offline Hybrid

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.

Linkage:

Check out Seedville here

Carpe Donut is here

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Funeral Director & Mayor Of Bowling Green VA On His Comfort Food Startup TLC Kitchen

David Storke has been a funeral director in Bowling Green Virginia for over 25 years. He’s also the Mayor of Bowling Green and has been since 2006.

It was in his position as funeral director where Storke came up with an idea for a comfort food startup. Being in the funeral business he was well aware that friends and loved ones like to console those with a loss in the family with food and meals. Outside of flowers and donations, preparing food for those who’ve suffered a loss, is something that’s easy to do and typically needed during trying times.

So in 2007 Storke created Sympathy Food. Sympathy Food takes the hassle out of preparing a meal for someone going through a hardship and grief. The company creates delicious, chef prepared meals to feed 4-6 or 8-12. The meals are prepared in a USDA approved kitchen and then shipped anywhere in the continental United States.

After introducing the Sympathy Food concept the company grew in popularity and Storke came up with other occasions where prepared meals would be appropriate. In April of 2012 he added Get Well Meals for illness and The Meal Stork to congratulate parents of a newborn. While both themes are perfect gift giving occasions they are also times when people could use a hand with cooking and preparing meals.

Now for the cost of a flower arrangement anyone can send the gift of food. Meal gifts arrive within 1-3 days of ordering. The meals are flash frozen and put into styrofoam coolers with dry ice to preserve freshness. The only day they don’t deliver is Sunday. TLC Kitchen uses FedEx for delivery,

With Storkes background as a funeral director, Mayor and now startup founder, we couldn’t wait for the chance to interview him. Check out our interview below.

Calgary Startup: TypeWhale Connects Journalists To Expert Sources

Over the last decade the 24 hour news cycle has quickly sped up to less than 15 minutes. Heck in the age of blogging, and specifically tech blogging, 15 minutes can be a luxury. That makes it extremely hard, or time consuming, to go out and vet expert sources. Most journalists, myself included, have a stable of 10-20 sources we can call on, on a regular basis, to vet out stories, but when a topic goes beyond our inner circle of sources journalists need experts.

This is a major problem in the online news and blogsphere. It’s the problem that Calgary startup TypeWhale aims to fix.

TypeWhale is a community where academic experts from top universities and journalists can collaborate on media queries. In the beta phase, TypeWhale is focusing on the education sector, as a “natural pool” of credible expert sources. Universities are identifying their expert sources and connecting them directly to the media via TypeWhale.

“TypeWhale is not about who has paid a PR rep to pitch their story, it’s about who is the most qualified to answer the media queries,” explains co-founder, Kylie Lakevold. “TypeWhale came from a passion for getting expert voices heard. This is what encouraged us to build a community where journalists and experts can collaborate live on the web.”

TypeWhale aims to take the media manipulators out of the equation. Lakevold came up with the idea when she came across a service that many journalists use where they can put a question out there and any “expert” can comment for a piece. The problem is that popular system has no way of vetting the “expert source”. You could get a response from someone who has no idea what they’re talking about. Or even worse, a PR hack on a mission to drive just one client.

We got a chance to interview the TypeWhale expert, Lakevold, directly. Check out the interview below.

Raleigh Startup’s Media Coverage Earns A Visit From A Zoning Inspector

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.

Linkage:

Source: News & Observer

Deja Mi online

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Memphis Prepares For Transformation To Risk City For Global Entrepreneurship Week

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.

Linkage:

Launch Memphis

No one covers high growth technology in the South East, like we do

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With Election Over California Startup VIRURL Stages Banner Ads Protest At ad:tech

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.”

Linkage:

Check out VIRURL here

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New York Startup Skedj Makes Your Schedule Social, And Really A Lot of Fun

If you’re a long time reader of nibletz.com The Voice Of Startups Everywhere Else, you know that we’re a little under enthused about “event discovery” and “social calendar” startups. Our good friend Danny Nathan at iwannanom a New York startup we profiled earlier this year, knows how we feel about “event discovery” and “social calendar” but still brought us Jason Horowitz and Skedj. We’re glad he did.

Horowitz is no stranger to startups and no stranger to the fact that we need another event discovery startup like Governor Chris Christie needs another extra large pizza. To that end Horowitz told us:

“I know event discovery, event sharing and social calendaring don’t sound like new territories to conquer. We believe Skedj takes a unique approach to these challenges and, consistent with the way we plan our lives, strikes a balance between personal and social. The result is one personalized stream of your plans and possibilities, making discovering things you want to do, and keeping track of the things you need to do, easier than ever before.”

After checking out Skedj ourselves we agree. One of the things about Skedj that resonates with me from the start is that Skedj is learning my schedule not suggesting I go see every country music show just because I happen to like one song by Sugar Land. Of course many of you know the story about one “social/event discovery” app that suggested a bunch of great dog parks because at one time in my life I had liked Mark Zuckerberg’s dog.

Whether it’s the intent or not, Skedj takes into consideration the primary user FIRST and the social discovery/sharing part second. That’s why nearly 300 words later we’re still talking about it. In fact, we interviewed Horowitz. Check out the interview below.

Know The Score Before You Dine With Baltimore Startup HDScores

Baltimore and Maryland as a whole have a thriving tech scene. We recently reported on the Startup Maryland “Pitch Across Maryland” bus tour which yielded 168 startups pitching on video, check that story out here. We’re kind of partial to Baltimore as well since it’s my hometown and all but people love Baltimore.

One of the things people love about Baltimore is the food. Naturally if you’re into shellfish and crabs, Maryland crabs are second to none. There are a lot of other great food eateries in Baltimore as well. Heck there are great restaurants everywhere.

When all you can smell in a city like New Orleans, Baltimore, Boston, and even Chicago, is great food, you may not think about how clean a restaurant really is. Over the summer I had made a trip home to Baltimore and was struck with some hellacious food poisoning from a restaurant I used to frequent as a kid. After spending three days at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center near Glen Burnie, I found out that the restaurants latest health department score was a low B.

That’s where the fine folks at Baltimore startup HDScores come in. Chef turned entrepreneur Matthew Eierman along with William Sanford, cofounded the startup that makes it super easy to access a restaurants health department scores on the go. If a restaurant smells delicious and looks a little shady, HDScores can quickly tell you if it’s somewhere worth visiting.

HDScores blends big open data with social integration and even the ability to have video reviews, accessible to the end user on an easy to understand user interface.

We got a chance to talk with Eierman. Check out the interview below.

Incubate Miami Startup: iCare Intelligence Optimizing Patient Information

iCare Intelligence, a highly promising innovative software company coming from Incubate Miami’s 2012 Class, is on the path to become one of the most important Health Care related startups emerging from South Florida in recent years. This is due to the magnitude of the problems it solves and the caliber of the team at its helm.

iCare intelligence is a data analytics and workflow collaboration cloud-based platform. The software increases the accuracy of the patient information while it changes hands between the government, insurance companies, and the doctors. The system optimizes profits and minimizes inefficiencies for every party involved in the health care value chain. iCare Intelligence data analytics work in coordination with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, feeding key data to health care practitioners. The brainchild of iCare Intelligence is industry veteran John Suarez, with 11 years of domain expertise in the health care sector across the functional areas of information systems and operations.

John Suarez explains from his Incubate Miami workstation: “There is an estimated 10-20% loss of revenue for both insurance companies and doctors due to inaccurate patient information. The current structure depends on human intervention and many important pieces of information are being lost along the way. Our platform brings real time data into this complex and fragmented exchange of information, to provide insurance companies with proactive solutions to costly compliance errors. This thereby maximizes insurance company payouts and reduces their level of risk. As the entire fee for the service is paid for by the insurance companies and management service organizations, doctors will receive the benefits of the platform free of charge”.

Continue reading at Startropica.com

Linkage:

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500 Startups Company From Buenos Aires, Wideo, Is The Easiest DIY Video Animation Platform

When it comes time for pitch day there’s something that everybody wants, and that’s a good video. Sure most startups will work for weeks on end on the pitch deck, but going to the slide in the deck that has cute little fuzzy things hacking away at computers, the sunshining and little puppies dancing because your go to market strategy is so great, puts you above the rest.

While most startups, businesses and just your every day people, wish they had great animated videos, most aren’t that creative. That’s why animated video houses make the big bucks,and animated videos don’t fit in the lean startup budget.

Have no fear 500 startups startup, Wideo is here.

Wideo is a do-it-yourself animated video platform. You choose the characters, fonts, backgrounds,lighting, color, sound and more. You put it all together on a very easy to use creation tool, share your computer three times and voila, instant animation. You’ll be producing hit Saturday morning cartoons in no time.

All jokes aside though, Wideo is one bad ass startup and anything that can make my life as a startup founder easier, and at very little cost, is something that I like.

Dave McClure must have liked it to because those guys are creating millions of quick animation videos in the top secret 500 startups lair.

Check out our interview with Agu De Marco one of Wideo’s co-founders, below.

Baltimore Startup bytelion Introducing Crowdfunding Platform For 6 Minority, Veteran Or Women Led Startups At A Time

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.”

Linkage:

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Interview With Atlanta Startup StockClout A Communications & Social Media Platform For Public Companies And Investors

Investors have a lot of tools out there to do research on companies both public and private. There are tools like Bloomberg, Hoover and other mega research sites for companies. One of the problems with these sites though, is that they all stopped at different points in the current digital evolution. They also don’t factor in tools that business professionals in 2012 use, like social media.

That’s why Tony Golden, a seasoned Wall Street stock professional, came up with StockClout. Golden is no Wall Street wannabe, he spent 15 years with firms like Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and Smith Barney, back before the big investment banks went belly up. Golden has spent the last 17 years as the CEO and Founder of a successful investor relations firm in Atlanta. It’s this experience dealing with investors and helping them find information that led to the creation of StockClout.

Through StockClout you can create your own free profile and then add your portfolio companies to it. StockClout will do the rest bringing you the most up to date information on the public companies you have your money in. You’ll get updates from traditional sources and social media as well.

StockClout is free for anyone to use and sign up for. Golden says that StockClout actually gives their users the most precious commodity back, and that of course is “time”. StockClout cuts out hours of research and provides everything to you in easy to read updates, and it’s all free.

We got a chance to talk to Golden about StockClout. Check out the interview below.