Three years ago Chris Redlitz didn’t know much about the incarceration system, what he did know was technology. After a tutoring project at the historic San Quentin State Prison in San Francisco he realized the true potential in the inmates and would come to form The Last Mile.

The Last Mile is a program co-founded by Redlitz designed much like a technology accelerator to provide training and technology skills for prison inmates.

Redlitz recognized that inmates today would be coming out in a world that has changed immensely by the influence of technology and digital media. His role as a founding partner of Transmedia Capital, an investment and advisory group focused on early stage, capital efficient companies that provide technology and services, moved him to start a program that not only helped inmates learn to utilize technology, but how to create a business opportunity out of it.

“The Last Mile is set up much like a technology accelerator,” Redlitz says. “They go through a business plan development, find a passion and build a tech component. It concludes with a demo day where they present to an audience including Venture Capitalists.”

At demo day each inmate has five minutes to pitch his product that was required to have a technology element. The fact that several men have successfully participated is an incredible task having had to build technology without ever using it or knowing exactly what it  is and means today.

In addition to business and product development, the Last Mile is also directly connecting inmates with social media. Although, the inmates are not allowed access to the Internet, they engage longhand while interns post to Twitter, Facebook, Quora and other social mediums. It isn’t as quick of a process, but they are able to express themselves and understand the idea of social media.

Being part of The Last Mile isn’t something every inmate can be part of. Those who are interested have to complete an application process, complete the TRUST or MOMAS program, enroll in the Prison University Project, and be recommended by an administrator at the San Quentin prison.

The program typically looks for those who don’t have much time left to their sentence, but it’s not necessarily what will make or break the decision.

“We want guys that we are preparing in the near future to be released from prison,” Redlitz says.  We look for inmates that have a year left, although some do have more time. We are trying to create an eco-system within the prison.”

It may come as surprise, but there is a definite interest within the prison to be part of this program. The Last Mile has received over 100 applicants. Redlitz says there is a real desire from the inmates to learn and create new opportunities upon their release.

“They are smart, eager, and absorb information very quickly,” Redlitz says. “These are all components you want in entrepreneurs. We get people who actually care, will work and day night and are dedicated to the program.”

Although the Last Mile is very new, they are growing rapidly.

“We’ve had a positive outcome thus far,” Redlitz says. “Outside businesses are willing to participate and the prison system has been very receptive. We actually have more demand than we can physically fulfill.”

The Last Mile is in talks with different prisons with hopes to scale to different prisons across the country to  give those who will later enter back into society the chance to succeed and with the skillset to do it.

To learn more about The Last Mile Program visit TheLastMileSq.com.

Let’s face it – Americans love to eat out! The average consumer spends approximately $2,500 a year dining out at restaurants according to the United States Department of Labor. NewME Accelerator Spring 2012 graduate, founder Chris Lyons wants to make that dining out experience a great one withPictureMenu.

PictureMenu is an iPhone and iPad app that allows users to view restaurant menus. It is the simplest way a restaurant can have their menu viewable on a smartphone or tablet.

There are other food apps out there like OpenTable, Yelp, and Foodspotting, but PictureMenu is approaching the food space a little differently. The app focuses on menus through photography with a goal to create valuable technology that restaurants can incorporate into their daily workflow.

“We allow any restaurant the opportunity to easily provide their restaurant’s menu on an iPhone without having to hire a developer,” Lyons says. “It’s only the first version and we are currently learning important wants and needs from the restaurants and users based off of the success we are already seeing.”

Read the rest of this article on NewME Blog 

NewME Accelerator Spring 2012 graduate James Norman recently launched his online video start-up Ubi Video!

Ubi-Video is an online data-driven video platform that provides users with all of their favorite video content in one place.

“I started Ubi Video because myself and a couple other friends were tired of the high price combined poor customer services from our cable providers,” Norman says. “Online video was more convenient and cost effective. We wanted access to content anywhere and we only wanted to pay for what we wanted.”

Ubi Video eliminates having to search across the Web to find the content you love.

“We set off to solve this problem with a device agnostic video service that can be personalized,” Norman says. “During our product development and research progress we truly discovered the video eco-system was broken.”

Through this realization of what Norman says is a broken eco-system; he decided it was time for his company to pivot. Instead of going against the cable companies, Ubi Video took a different approach and worked to be the solution to keep cable customers happy.

Read more on the NewME Blog 

In 2011, Washington D.C. native Arsha Jones co-founded Capital City Apps; hence the name “Capital City”, with her husband as a platform to venture into technology related business ventures. Jones has always had an interest in Apple products including its apps, but noticed there were not many that targeted the African-American community.

“One day I searched iTunes for apps from different countries around the world and there were thousands available from Asian countries to Middle Eastern, so I thought maybe I could do the same for people of color,” Jones says. “I wanted to create mobile applications for African-Americans who want to see images of their culture and ideas represented in the App store.”

Jones then went on to create Capital City’s flagship product, the Big Chop App. The Big Chop App is an instant hair makeover app designed specifically for African-American women wanting to try out natural hairstyles.

“Being natural myself, I thought creating The Big Chop App would be a great entry into the market especially since natural hair is such a booming business at the moment,” Jones says. “I have often struggled with my hair while trying to find a new style and then realizing half-way through the process I didn’t like it, this app eliminates that.”

Users will be able to upload their own photo or use one from Facebook and then choose one of  the 250+ natural hairstyles that come from various publications and some Jones has created herself. Styles are categorized by styles like TWA’s (Teeny Weeny Afros), Medium, Long, Braids/Dreadlocks or Accessories. After a style is selected the user can share it via Facebook, Twitter and E-mail.

Overall the app is a great tool for someone considering doing the “big chop” in cutting their hair or someone who just wants to try different,natural hairstyles without having the hassle of doing it with their own hair first.

The app will be available in the Apple App Store for iPhone late November.

Jason Young, an African-American founder and CEO of Mindblown Labs, an Oakland, CA based education technology start-up, knows first-hand how financial literacy or lack thereof can impact the African-American community.

Through his own personal experiences he learned very quickly that financial literacy is essential for everyone so he created a mobile app called Mindblown Life.

Mindblown Life is a mobile, social game that combines life-simulation elements and edgy humor to help young adults develop money management and financial literacy skills.

The game uses Facebook integration and push notifications to create a rich, in-game life filled with meaningful social experiences: in Mindblown Life, you can attend your friends’ concerts, take them on a dinner date, play mini-games with them, or crash on their couches, if you’re having a particularly rough month. Random events make sure that your Mindblown Life reflects the spontaneity of your real one.

With comparisons to the popular game The Sims, Mindblown Life puts players at the heart of the game. They create a customizable avatar, choose their career, and perform reflex-based mini-games at work to earn “Money,” “Skill,” and “Reputation” points.

“Although Mindblown Life incorporates experiential learning and popular game mechanics, similar to those found in The Sims and games by PopCap, it stands out because Mindblown Life gives young adults a platform to master the basic financial concepts that impact all of our lives,” Young says.

The desire to impact countless lives made Young explore digital initiatives to reach young adults.

“Millions of students are leaving high school and college without gaining a basic level of financial literacy,” Young says. “These same young adults are hyper-connected, constantly interacting with friends, and using the Internet and smart-phones to discover new things. Mindblown Life enables us to reach people where they are.”

In efforts to officially launch Mindblown Life the company launched a Kickstarter campaign at the beginning of the month with hopes of reaching $60,000. With a week left Mindblown Labs has come extremely close to their goal having raised $54,661 to date.

Mindblown Life is currently in private beta and will launch on iOS in the beginning of 2013.

The Kickstarter campaign ends Nov 1., to contribute and find out more information about this project visit www.mindblownlabs.com/ks.

The Inaugural Women Interactive Digital Vanguard Awards and Creative Technology Festival in conjunction with Spelman College Digital Image Salon successfully took place in Atlanta Oct 12 and 13^th.

The festival opened to a crowd of hundreds of women seeking to gain knowledge and insight in the world of creative technology. It provided an interactive, in depth conversation with award recipients and digital influencers on content creation, technology and the role of women in the digital space.

College students, academic faculty, technology and media professionals enjoyed the opportunity to interact with innovative technology in our Interactive Atrium, view cutting edge media content in our Screening Rooms, experience technological exhibitions in the Inspiration Hall and participate in media and technology workshops in our Education Suites.

In addition, the Women Interactive Creative Technology Digital Vanguard Awards took place at the Microsoft Store at Lenox Mall.

The 2012 Women Interactive Digital Vanguard Award recipients include:

• Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Ayoka Chenzira – Interactive Filmmaker, Educator, Founding Director of Spelman College Digital Moving Image Salon.
• Social Change Agent: Kimberly Bryant – Founder, Black Girls Code.
• Digital Renegade: Angela Benton, Founder, New Me Accelerator/Black Web 2.0
• Trail Blazer: Issa Rae, Creator, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.
• Neo Tech: Corvida Raven- Founder of shegeeks.net, Co-Founder of Everything Twitter, The Social Geeks Roundtable Podcast, In A Third Place.

NewME Accelerator, a residential technology program that launches minority and women-led start-ups, announced recent updates and data tracking the startups in its program since it’s launch last June.

NewME has shown to be successful in helping its start-ups create a robust network of investors and experts and improve product development.

New data shows 59 percent of NewME founders secured funding after completing the program and to date have raised $3.4 million in outside funding; most recent including Spring 2012 start-ups AgLocal raising $1 million in funding from Andreesseen Horowitz and others and Kairos raising $500,000.

Access to funding has allowed founders to expand their businesses and hire more employees contributing to job creation in local communities. NewME Alumni have created 60 jobs to date.

Having strong relationships with companies like Google, Andreesseen Horowitz, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, Tagged, and others; NewME has created a strong network that is attractive to technology entrepreneurs around the country and has positioned itself as a leading accelerator.

Read the rest of this article on the NewME Blog 

While our Summer/Fall 2012 founders are quickly approaching Demo Day, it’s time for us to prepare for the next cycle. Yup, it’s that time again and we are happy to announce that applications are now open for Spring 2013 Cycle!

Spring 2013 will take place from February 18 to May 6, 2013 and we want to give you the best experience during these weeks. Just a little taste of what you get if accepted into the program: residential stay, co-working during the program, one-on-one mentorship, and an awesome Demo Day filled with top media and investors.

But in order to get this, you have to APPLY!

So I guess you want to know when the deadline is. Mark your calendars: December 14, 2012 is the date!

We want to thank everyone who has made NewME Accelerator a success over the past cycles and we are looking forward to more growth, experience and opportunities for minority entrepreneurs to build innovative technology companies.

Read the rest of this article on the NewMe Blog 

Here’s an investment out of left field, but not really. Andreessen Horowitz is dropping $15 million into startup Rap Genius. It’s not just about rap, though. Think of it as “crowdsourced explanations of lyrics and historical texts.”

Here’s what the firm had to say by way of Rap Genius’ blog:

I’m delighted to announce that Andreessen Horowitz is investing $15 million in Rap Genius.

Given that Rap Genius is a web site where people explain rap lyrics, and given that my partner Ben is a noted rap fanatic, your first reaction might be, “That Horowitz guy has completely lost his mind.” I, on the other hand, find rap every bit as comprehensible as ancient Mesopotamian. That’s why I’m writing this blog post – not him. Let me explain why we’ve invested in Rap Genius…

We knew that Ben Horowitz was a rap fan, but to the tune of $15 million? We had no idea. Rap Genius is a community of people super into the musical genre and says it is one of the “fastest growing web sites in Y Combinator’s history.”

After making a few quips about Horowitz’ rap fascination, Andreessen reveals that the real reason the top VC is investing in Rap Genius is because the founder’s grand vision goes beyond rap music to all text annotation.

Read the rest of this article at TechCrunch