Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Tag: VC (Page 2 of 10)

DEMO Spring 11: A Chat with LIfe Is Better On

March 6, 2011 / / 1 Comment

LifeIsBetterON-DEMOspring2011 Did you know 30% of voicemail messages remain unheard for three days or more? And here I thought it was just me. A company with the rather different name of "Life Is Better ON" provides that stat. It also cites a survey finding 38% of Americans don't like voicemail because they have to listen to long, rambling messages.

So, what does this outfit have to fix the situation? A Twitter-like voicemail system that limits you to speaking only 140 characters? LifeIsBetterON-logoWell, no — but maybe better: their "ON Voicefeed" service is a free iPhone app that enhances your exchanges with family, friends, and colleagues by creating customized groups and personalized voicemail messages. (The app is available now in the country App Stores in the UK and France, and it's coming in a matter of days to the US App Store.) 

This is visual voicemail on steroids, folks!  And it's all cloud-based. Listen to Giles Corbett, a Brit with a really smooth radio voice, tell you all about ON Voicefeed.  He's director and head of the "ON" service, which was developed by Orange Valle, a subsidiary, founded in 2008, of the Paris-based Orange Group, a part of France Telecom.  Here's the video of Giles' on-stage demo, and be sure to check out the props his sidekick was sporting.

• Download or listen to my interview of Giles Corbett, Director of the ON Service, Orange Valle/Orange Group, France Telecom … (MP3)

 

 

DEMO Spring 11: A Chat with flyRuby.com

March 6, 2011 / / 2 Comments

FlyRuby-DEMOspring2011 My next stop was the stand of flyRuby.com, which says it's the first and only Internet marketplace for private jet travelers to search, compare, and pay for jet charter service online. I wanted to chat with the young CEO and founder, Michael Leek, who told us on stage he's an Eagle Scout — and a former Marine.  So, really now, think about it: how hard could starting an Internet company be then? 

The guy gets out of the Marines only five years ago, then thinks about what he wants to do next.  He goes and identifies an unmet market need, then hustles two angel investors for $350k. FlyRuby-logoGet this: he found there are seven million monthly Google searches related specifically to air charter and, *not one single site* lets you book a charter online — that is, till flyRuby launched publicly on Monday.

Right on, Michael!  Storm the beaches, baby — Semper Fi.  I got a kick out of how he implied on stage (video here) that many in the audience weren't his market, and I could swear he was looking at the press section when he said that… :-)  But, hey, if I win the lottery, I know right where I'm going to book my next air travel — screw commercial!

• Download or listen to my interview of Michael Leek, founder of flyRuby.com … (MP3)

 

 

DEMO Spring 11: A Chat with Workface

March 3, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Workface-DEMOspring2011 I stopped by late on Day 2 to chat with my friends from Minneapolis, Workface Inc. I wanted to hear more about  their very successful DEMO experience. The company was founded in 2006 "to pioneer human-to-human selling on the Web."  On the morning of Day 1, in the Enterprise Technologies category, the Workface guys introduced to the Workface-logo-175wworld their "Customer-initiated Engagement Platform," which connects sales professionals with new prospects that are looking to make high-value, considered purchases on the Internet. They call it a "pre-CRM solution." It's cloud-based software accessible in any modern browser (no plug-ins required). The enterprise customer has no software installation expenses, and subscription costs are as little as $25 per month per sales person. Here's the DEMO Conference video of their pitch.

Workface_Profile-150w The Workface profile (at left) is media-rich and searchable, featuring video, text, images, links, files, and two-way chat tools that enable prospective customers to initiate meaningful conversations (anonymously or not) with the most appropriate sales person at the company whose web site they're visiting. A key point is that these profiles are highly portable, in that they can appear anywhere on the 'Net, including on Facebook. The Workface duo showed the latter in their on-stage demo.

 

• Download or listen to my interview with Lief Larson, CEO (left in the large photo above), and Tanner Thompson, Marketing Director, of Workface Inc…. (MP3)

 

 

DEMO Spring 11: A Chat with SocialEyes

March 2, 2011 / / 0 Comments

SocialEyes-RobGlaser

SocialEyes is a social video service to instantly connect you to friends and groups of people who share your interests. Think video chat, but you connect via Facebook, so it's your real identity, unlike previous services. It really looks good!

Rob Glaser, cofounder and chairman, was actually manning the laptop on the stage for this DEMO pitch!  First time I've seen a VC do that. (He's a partner at Accel.)  Cofounder Rob Williams gave a great pitch (video). SocialEyes-logoThis one will be huge. Hey, it better be with the amount of money behind it! (Read more about SocialEyes on this TechCrunch post.) And go sign up. Millions will, I'm sure!  Maybe already have.

• Download or listen to my interview with Rob Glaser, cofounder and chairman of SocialEyes… (MP3)

DEMO Spring 11: A Chat with PhotoRocket

March 1, 2011 / / 0 Comments

PhotoRocket-founders One of the DEMO presenters I had on my must-see list was PhotoRocket. It was one of the first companies I noticed last week tweeting they'd be here, so I immediately downloaded their iPhone app (alpha, now beta) and started using it. I loved it, and have shared several photos over the past few days. After they pitched on the first morning of DEMO (video), I stopped to chat with the cofounders, Scott Lipsky and Gary Roshak, at their Pavilion stand.  These guys have done a really excellent job with this launch. Everything is just, well…clicking! Here's the news release. PhotoRocket_logo And here's a brief description: PhotoRocket lets you share any number of photos to any number of people in an instant. Share with family and friends, post to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, or other favorite sites and archive your photos for safekeeping, all in one breathtakingly simple step. When you share with PhotoRocket, you give your family and friends instant gratification. PhotoRocket requires no registration and has no restrictions on downloading full resolution images. PhotoRocket is available now for Windows, iPhone, and Mac, with iPad and Android to come.

• Download or listen to my interview with Scott Lipsky (left) and Gary Roshak, cofounders of PhotoRocket… (MP3)

Photorocket-Graeme-Sharing

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