After being in stealth mode for two years, SocialWhirled is coming out of its cocoon to introduce its social media promotional platform to a wider consumer base.

SocialWhirled is looking to streamline online social campaigns for companies’ products. This could include having SocialWhirled maintain a company’s social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more, but the customer could manage those pages himself, CEO Andy Lombard said. The key is easy installation.

“Think about one click and you’re launching a brand new campaign across all these platforms,” Lombard said, adding that it includes web and mobile platforms.

SocialWhirled can cater to companies of all sizes, he said, with prices ranging from $3,000 per month to more than $10,000 depending on the size of the company and campaign.

A company can launch an unlimited number of campaigns while they’re paying for SocialWhirled’s services. As an example, Lombard said an automobile company might launch 20 or 30 different campaigns, targeting different demographics across different platforms.

While some of the information used to target SocialWhirled campaigns will be gathered from sites like Facebook, where people openly share information, much of it will be collected by the company itself from questions asked in marketing campaigns and other methods, Lombard said.

SocialWhirled will also target people who are influential on social media, he said. This will increase the potential reach of a campaign if those people choose to participate.

“We use those people and reward those people to go out and grab more interested customers in our product,” Lombard said.

During the company’s two years of stealth mode, Lombard said SocialWhirled spent “millions of dollars” conducting research across the country and talking to “leading brand managers,” asking them what they would like to see. The long preparation may already be showing signs of success.

SocialWhirled recently unveiled international language support and Lombard said the company is targeting multinational companies. The company is currently “working very deeply” with IBM, though Lombard declined to elaborate on what that meant at this juncture.

While the company is looking to grow itself quickly on the national and international stage, Lombard said he has no intention of leaving Arizona.

“We love Arizona,” he said.

Lombard elaborated by email.

“Arizona was just ranked in the top 10 states for starting a business by Entrepreneur.com,” he wrote. “And, for the technology sector, Arizona is growing a wonderful community… We’re starting to see more progress in creating a really urban community that revolves around technology—the Roosevelt Corridor is a good example.”

When Lombard started his first company, he was convinced to moved to Dallas, but quickly regretted the decision. SocialWhirled is now housed in a 1920s building near Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street, he said.

“I think it’s one of the greatest areas in Phoenix,” he said.

SocialWhirled

On Friday, May 17, 2013, SocialWhirled donated their services to the SeedSpot Demo Day and a few lucky startups will benefit from their expertise – read who won those prizes here.

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Later today, Gangplank Tucson will host its grand re-opening in downtown Tucson. Gangplank is a non-profit, collaborative workspace that provides resources, education, economic and community development without “physical or financial barriers.” They use their open workspaces to unite diverse minds from different backgrounds into one space so that they can collaborate and create stronger businesses.

Aaron Eden, Director of Gangplank Tucson, says that there is a vibrant energy around downtown Tucson which has contributed to their choice in location. With their goal “to create something greater than the individual and drive entrepreneurship and civic engagement,” Gangplank plans to make an impact in the Tucson community. “Gangplank is a vehicle for us to create long-lasting, positive change in Tucson. We know that diversity breeds innovation, and the intersection of artists, engineers, teachers, programmers, and other local creatives at Gangplank are a perfect catalyst.” Eden said.

During the grand re-opening they will have pitches by local startups, site tours, a skills and passion exercise and much more.

In order to help downtown Tucson become “a new economic engine in southern Arizona,” Gangplank will host many community events in the near future. To begin, they are conducting a hands-on Lean Startup workshop for six non-profits, and partnering with Lead Local and Intuit to connect an Intuit employee with a University of Arizona student to form a small business. They are also building a podcast studio, hosting their first iPhone development course, working with the Pima County Library to plan the new Tucson Youth Media Lab, and offering two different “hack” inspired projects (a “Hack-night” where software developers can collaborate together and a collaborative “Hack-a-thon” with Open Tucson and the City of Tucson IT Department).

Join Gangplank and the Tucson community at the opening tonight in the historic Pioneer Building. Register to attend here!

Gangplank Tucson will be located in the historic Pioneer Building

100 N. Stone Ave, Suite 100, Tucson, AZ

Photos courtesy of Groundwork Promotions

The post Gangplank Re-Opens Tonight in Downtown Tucson appeared first on AZ Tech Beat.

SUCCESS Magazine has just announced that Traklight, a local company designed to protect Intellectual Property (IP), is the winner of their Start Big Win Big Challenge. CEO Mary Juetten broke the news on Traklight’s blog and shared it first with AZTB, commenting about how a bad-day-turned-wonderful and the incredible success of the company. The contest entails an eight-week process with weekly assignments to “help small business owners recognize and understand what makes their business work and grown, and how they can succeed.”

In her reflection of the last two months, Mary explained how her vision for her company changed and the massive difference that a year can make. In their transition, Traklight learned a lot of lessons about customer relations, the value of ideas, and the power of social media and marketing. “I learned that progress is made with a second or third attempt,” Mary said in her blog. “The notion that building a business is not a sprint but a marathon, and maybe even a triathlon, was wrapped up in my 2013 [Start Small Win Big Challenge] learning.”

As the winner of the competition, Traklight will receive business coaching sessions with JJ Ramberg of MSNBC’s Your Business and SUCCESS Magazine’s Darren Hardy, a business profile in SUCCESS Magazine, a year-long subscription to SUCCESS, and two of Darren Hardy’s goal-setting themed books.

Traklight will continue its ventures in IP protection and identification with this huge success. “We’re really excited because [SUCCESS] is a great way of getting Arizona on the map, not just Traklight,” Mary told us. “We think it’s going to be great in terms of attracting people to our site and giving us an opportunity to explain what we do. We really want to increase awareness around IP and educate people on how cool it can be.” Mary sent out her thanks to Traklight supporters, adding “It’s your belief in us that keeps us going to the next victory as we continue our journey to empower entrepreneurs, small business owners & inventors about intellectual property worldwide.”

For more information on Traklight, visit https://www.traklight.com/

Read Traklight’s SUCCESS Magazine submission here.

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On Friday, May 17, 2013, sixteen ventures delivered their pitch deck to over 600 people, including angel investors and entrepreneurs, at the SeedSpot Demo Day to attract everything from CEOs to developers to, of course, funding.

As part of the event, an audience-vote determined which venture received a piece of the $7,600 purse. Other sponsored prizes included free office space, professional services, and trips to startup conferences.

Who pitched and who won? Read on…

In the community ventures category:

Bokashi Evolution – an organic micro-organism soil amendment and compost accelerator. @BokashiEvo

Ranch Mine – catering to individuals that need home care or those that can’t afford a home, their product is a 540 square-foot, eco-conscious, pre-designed unit that includes a living quarter, bathroom, kitchenette and sleeping area and can function as a detached structure. @TheRanchMine

Support My Club – a site to help high school clubs raise money and goods, and acquire mentors to keep the club alive. AUDIENCE VOTED – WINNER $1,000 prize. @supportmyclub

One True Love – feeding the hungry and creating a resource for locally-grown food. They are opening a holistic café this year at a health care facility in Mesa where people can volunteer their time to cover the cost of a meal. info@onetruelove.org

In the for profit ventures category:

Splicity – a mobile based app that allows users to create, capture, and share bite sized moments of their life through video. Each storyline is composed of a series of clips, up to 5 seconds long, then the app automates the clips together into a short 30 second video where users are able to customize their video with a filter, captions and music soundtrack. WINNER-Trip to a conference of their choice and intellectual property help from Traklight. @SplicityApp

EMoneyPool – helps small businesses and startups generate cash and credit to fuel their company. WINNER-Tickets to the Demo Conference in Silicon Valley, intellectual property help from Traklight and professional services from Social Whirled. @fcocervera01

TheraSpecs – developed therapeutic glasses to help those with light-sensitivities and other ailments. WINNER-Six months of free office space at SeedSpot.  @Theraspecs

Stuttering King Bakery – delicious homemade baked goods from Matt Cottle, a highly functioning autistic man who wants to encourage more people with autism to start a business. He wants to eventually open his own café. WINNER-A full-day of WebPT resources dedicated to helping build his business.  matt@stutteringkingbakery.com

GardenFly – a social media outlet for gardeners to grow together, connect locally and obtain real-time feedback and resources as they plant and harvest. @gardenfly

Reneu – a company that will make furniture from your own stuff. They also use synthetic materials that can be reused continuously, and does not contribute to the destruction of our nation’s forests. @SITGREEN

BooGud Bikes – handmade bamboo bike company. Also creates attachable bamboo hand cycles for those who are mobility challenged. @boogudbikes

11^th Monk3y- a collaborative space providing access for artists and designers to use machinery, equipment, screen presses, and other tools while also accessing educational classes and mentorship to manufacture their physical goods, and sell it at their retail store. @11thmonk3y

Paper Clouds Apparel – a company that raises money for special needs kids by selling their artwork on t-shirts. WINNER – Professional services from Social Whirled.  @PaperCloudsPCA

Poppy Pocket – an innovative and discrete infusion pump transport and holding system. @PoppyPocket

Invictus Nourishment –a nutritional bite-size snack that is naturally fortified with nourishing food, individually packaged, and specifically designed for children and nursing mothers in the development world. www.invictusnourishment.com

Brett Approved – the first travel review site dedicated to those with mobility challenges.  AUDIENCE VOTED-WINNER- $6,600 prize, tickets to Demo Conference, and services from Social Whirled. @brettapproved  www.brettapproved.com

More to come in the next few weeks as we learn more about these entrepreneurs. Congrats to all of the ventures!

Photo courtesy of SeedSpot

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Earlier today, IMS Health, a healthcare company with the goal of improving patient care through the information and technology services, announced their acquisition of 360 Vantage, a Chandler-based developer of cloud-based mobile sales and marketing systems. IMS clarified their new goal in their press release “to further extend its commercial Software-as-a-Service capabilities for life sciences and healthcare organizations around the globe.” 360 Vantage offers a system that allows easier data access from any platform or mobile device. The merging of IMS Health and 360 Vantage will allow for effective “engagement with their customers while reducing overall spending.”

IMS Health’s client base and huge impact on healthcare technology and innovation combined with 360 Vantage’s revolutionary customer relationship management (CRM) applications will “accelerate the delivery of mission critical, connected insights across sales and marketing organizations.” 360 Vantage’s “capabilities include a mobile-ready, life sciences-optimized CRM platform with social media tools, customer analytics and reporting, and configurable training and testing.”

360 Vantage will become a part of IMS One, a platform of the company that combines multiple sources of data for sales, marketing and performance management. With the technology of 360 Vantage, IMs One will enable lower costs, faster implementation and increased speed to insight for clients.

360 Vantage prides itself on approaching business differently and developing new technology to move forward. They are constantly advancing their services to give clients a distinct competitive advantage. With this vision in mind, CEO Mario Martinez II has helped his company blossom since its launch in 2005. Along with the news of the merger this week, 360 Vantage announced that Martinez has also been named a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Mountain Desert Region.

“Leading life sciences and healthcare organizations place a high value on the ability to get a 360-degree view of every aspect of their business,” said Martinez. “They can make informed decisions based on real-time information and analysis. Together, we will deliver innovative, next-generation solutions to address the challenges and opportunities of the global marketplace in this increasingly digital world.”

“For life sciences and healthcare companies today, the issue isn’t a lack of information. The challenge is in connecting and managing it – and generating real, actionable insights for the business.” Said Chris Nickum, the president of Commercial Effectiveness Services for IMS Health. “With this acquisition, we are building capabilities to give organizations greater insight about customer interactions across multiple channels and touch points, and to help them streamline their commercial processes for improved ROI. Through a seamlessly integrated view, they can better analyze data, visualize opportunities and drive measurable gains in performance.”

The acquisition of 360 Vantage accompanies two other recent acquisitions of IMS Health of Appature and Semantelli. IMS Health’s philosophy of Software-as-a-Service includes organization plans, execution and assessment of customer engagement activities across digital and traditional channels.

For more information on IMS Health, visit www.imshealth.com

For more information on 360 Vantage visit www.360vantage.com

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This week on Gadget for the Guru, we found eyewear equipped with an HD camera, not quite Google Glass, but still cool. Also, toys for the kids and items for those on-the-go.

This speaker system from Audible Rush, Inc. is designed for bicycles and is compatible with iPods, iPhones, Android phones, Windows phones and other devices with a standard 12mm headphone output jack. The Jam-Pac is designed with a quick-release mount to fit recreational and performance type handlebars and features a 12-volt amplifier. In addition, the speakers feature a weather resistant storage bag, support for the phone’s GPS navigation features and the ability to charge your smartphone on-the-go. Price is based on model and additional accessories. $159.95 – $209.95 audiblerush.com

This stylish smart watch uses voice command control to access users’ mobile phones. The user can listen and respond to text messages, set calendar notification and reminders, control music and search the web without touching their smartphone. Martian watches also display text messages, Facebook and Twitter notifications and calendar events on its face in a small OLED screen. In addition, it has a noise–cancellation microphone, Bluetooth 4.0 chip, directional personal speaker and men and women styles. The watches are available for pre-order now and will be in retail in June. $249 – $299 martianwatches.com

These gaming cubes allows kids and adults to play classic games like chess, dominoes and jigsaw puzzles, as well as word games, adventure games, math puzzles, brain teasers, design challenges and more, through interactive game technology. Simply move, shake, flip, rotate and connect the cubes to play the games. The cubes connect to your computer via USB cable and users can download new games through the Sifteo Base. One can purchase three to six cube packages that comes with pre-installed games then add-on additional individual cubes, or sets, to expand the fun. $29 – $199 module-r.com

Pivothead Wearable Imaging’s new eyewear is equipped with a 1080p HD video camera with an internal memory capacity of 8GB. The camera features four focus settings, burst capture and time-lapse modes, a high-quality microphone and more. Users also have the ability to control the camera’s settings and view videos and photos on their iOS or Android device through the Pivothead app. Prescription and polarized lens are available. $299 pivothead.com

The post Gadgets for the Guru appeared first on AZ Tech Beat.

Axxess Apps, LLC announced the first Android ignition interlock mobile app, the Axxess Interlock Reporting (Axxess AIR™). The software is placed into the interlock device and syncs information to an iPad and iPhone. Features include a breath alcohol calculator (BAC), logs all activity by user that is sent directly to the courts, has a sales and service locator, Connect to Cab and Refer-a-Friend.

Retired Arizona city court judge, Michael Roth, developed and patented AIR which sends over 48,000 data logs to courts, probation offices, and state agencies every year. This mobile app differs from other interlock devices because it conforms to the federal rules of evidence, it has password and encryption protection so that there is no risk of tampering or modification, and it allows people to promote their businesses such as the Refer-a-Friend marketing solution.

Chairman and CEO, Michael Wroth, states, “We are excited to continue to improve on our education to help people learn to not drive if impaired. The application is another channel of communication for Axxess RISE systems.”

Arizona has some of the strictest drinking and driving standards and punishments because of the numerous drunk driving incidents and fatalities. Currently, there are over 15,000 people in Arizona who have an interlock in their car. Since Arizona adopted the use of interlocks, the state has seen a 45 percent decrease in alcohol-related deaths. Axxess’ new AIR device helps prevent some of the devastating consequences of drinking and driving. Only an interlock device or application can prevent someone from driving under the influence because it disables the vehicle.

COO and Vice Chairman of Axxess, Scott Hansbury, states, “For this app, we translated complex technology requirements into a consumer-focused experience that delivers meaningful interactions while being easy to use.” This technology begins to take steps in preventing drinking and driving and hopefully the statistics will continue to drop on drunk driving incidents and deaths.

Remember to be safe and don’t drink and drive

The post Axxess’ Interlock App Helps to Prevent Drinking and Driving appeared first on AZ Tech Beat.

“Social media, small business and simplicity,” were the three words that Vincent Serpico, Founder and CEO of Spotlight, used to describe his Spotlight software–a social network-based people and project management (PPM) tool designed for today’s entrepreneurs looking to build software, web and mobile applications.

Spotlight’s cloud-based Agile project management software uses the most effective principles of social networking and management techniques to provide a real-time, highly collaborative, effective and engaging system to connect development teams around the world through their computer, tablet or mobile device.

“We wanted to give entrepreneurs the ability to know what any of their developers are doing at any given time.” Daniel Schulz, Co-Founder, President and COO of Spotlight, said.

The interface uses a similar Facebook and Twitter format with a profile, status update, likes, messaging and replies, task tracking, chat, and project boards.

“Virtual teams will have the ability to easily work together… it also builds trust within the team and maintains group accountability.” Schulz said.

As each employee provides a status updates, their profile is sent to the top of the project site, providing an opportunity for employees to share their productivity and increase visibility with the boss, Schulz explains.

“I find that my developers are providing more status updates, so that their profile is at the top of the post. I request five status updates per day from each developer-I end up getting twelve,” Serpico said.

Serpico explains that this software has also been found to decrease some micromanaging tendencies as Founders can review the productivity of all of their projects away from their desk and instantly respond to their employees.

Instead of creating another enterprise PPM, Spotlight caters to small businesses and startups-and the price point shows it.

“We wanted to create something that has a low barrier to entry and allow companies and startups to have this technology and manage their development projects.” Schulz explains.

Pricing packages range from $49-95 per month depending on product features. Also available, a one-time Start-Up Advantage package ($795) which includes a 30-day program with training and set up.

In the end, the Founders of Spotlight want to help startups create their product and pursue their dream.

“In my years of software development, I have seen an unfortunate recurring trend [where] entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas for software businesses waste time, money and more often than not fail to deliver their dream,” Serpico states.

Learn more about Spotlight software.

Daniel Schulz & Vincent Serpico

The post Development Teams Go Social With Spotlight Software appeared first on AZ Tech Beat.

AZGroups kicks off the largest developer-focused event in the Valley, Thursday, May 16, at 7:30 a.m. at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts with speaker Scott Guthrie of Microsoft.

Guthrie is the corporate vice president in the Microsoft Server and Tools Business, and runs development teams that work on Windows Azure, cloud computing platform, Windows AppFabric Server, BizTalk Server, IIS, ASP.NET, WCF, WF and the Web, Web Service and Workflow features of Visual Studio.

This year, in addition to Guthrie, guest speakers also include Damian Edwards, and Joshua Twist from Microsoft. The talks will focus on Azure General, ASP.net, SignalR, and Mobile Services. To begin the morning sessions, Guthrie has the open mic, and will be followed by Joshua Twist from Windows to speak about how Windows Azure Mobile Services can take the iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8 app to the next level with authentication, structured storage and push notifications; then Damian will speak about SignalR. These sessions will be packed with live coding, real demos and a lot of risk. Guests will see how they can add a backend to their apps.

This event is sold out, but there is a waiting list at https://azgroups.eventday.com/

Look to AZGROUPS.ORG for more events that appeal to your interests.

Photo of Scott Guthrie provided by Microsoft

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“We want to know why it doesn’t work, tell us the risks.” Todd Belfer

I sat down with Patrick Armstrong, Vice President and Co-Founder of JDA Investments (US), Inc. and Todd Belfer, Managing Partner of Canal Partners to learn more about how to pitch to an Arizona Angel, identify the red flags in ones’ pitch deck and share mistakes they’ve made as entrepreneurs along the way.

Canal Partners started about five years ago with Todd Belfer and Jim Armstrong. Together with Patrick, they provide professional capital and experience to entrepreneurs and startup companies in Arizona. The capital ranges, on a per company basis, from $500,000-5M, with a sweet spot being $1-2M. They are specifically looking for companies that disrupt an old-line industry and enhance the way that sector does business. Most of their investments have a current revenue stream averaging $1M, give or take, and they want to be the first professional money in that startup. Most importantly, the product or service has to be scalable.

If a startup was to get a meeting through a referral from an existing portfolio company or contact, they will be on the look out for these red flags within the pitch deck:

*The Founders are playing in an unfamiliar space

*The product/service hasn’t been tested or customer validated

*The team doesn’t have someone as an expert in the field

*An unrealistic Cap Table

*Unrealistic expectations

*A hockey stick projection

*Hiding the risks

For any startup, Founders need to know going into it that the odds of getting funded are slim as 1:400 venture pitches receives funding, Armstrong and Belfer explain. Find more advice on the pitch deck during our interview.

Team genetics was another key factor Canal Partners considers when investing in a startup. They also elaborated on why it’s important to get your “A list player” on board and not to skimp on your team.

What mistakes have they made as an entrepreneur? “Not being well capitalized,” Belfer said,  “…we always ran out of money.” So for startups, “…ask for more money than you need and know it will take long to produce the revenue you want to produce…and it’s all about people.”

Make sure to stay past the credits as I challenged these guys to an ‘80s video game-see if I took their money or not.

Watch the video on our AZ Tech Beat TV Channel or below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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