As the University of Arizona and Arizona State University prepare for this weekend’s territorial match, startups across the southwest are gearing up for their own battle with $50,000 on the line. [youtube]http://youtu.be/XjdVM26O_PQ[/youtube] Presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, Venture Madness is a competition that pits 64 startups in a head-to-head bracket … Read more
In a single second, 1,500 plastic water bottles are consumed in the United States. And of the 50 billion bottles of water that are bought each year, 80 percent end up in landfills. That’s just too big a number for the Scottsdale-based Aqwastream. The three-person startup is determined to improve these stats through the use … Read more
Pivot Freight, a freight shipping rate comparison tool, has been chosen as the first Arizona startup to be a part of Techstars in Austin, a rigorous and competitive, three-month long accelerator program. More than 1,500 companies applied for 11 spots for a chance to grow their businesses with the help of heavy mentorship, networking connections … Read more
Contatta, the world’s first collaborative email, has completed a $1.5 million convertible round led by Kickstart Seed Fund II and Grayhawk Capital. In addition, all of Contatta’s current board members, including CEO and co-founder Pat Sullivan, and outside investors Desert Angels and Arizona Technology Investors Forum (ATIF) participated in this latest round of investment. “Desert … Read more
This week USA Today tech correspondent, host and producer of USA TODAY’s Talking Tech video series and author Jefferson Graham, spent time with AZ Tech Beat checking out local incubators such as SeedSpot and interviewing many thriving startups who showed off their gadgets for extreme sports, mobile technology, edu tech and more. As Graham discovered, there are pros and … Read more
Mashable’s worldwide celebration Social Media Day is making its way to back to Phoenix (#SMDayPhx) Saturday, June 28, for an evening that will leave you knee deep in tweets, selfies and LinkedIn requests stuffing your inbox. You’ll get the chance to sip cocktails and cool off with frozen treats alongside social media experts, enthusiasts and … Read more
The Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights released the 2013 Halo Report, a national survey of angel group investment activity, and ranked Tucson-based Desert Angels (DA) in the top 10 for most active angel groups in the United States-a first for DA. Curtis Gunn, chairman of Desert Angels tells AZTB, “Desert Angels … Read more
eMoneyPool (EMP), a digital microfinance provider that helps the underserved access capital through their social networks, recently raised an undisclosed amount of capital from Accion’s Venture Lab, a $10 million initiative dedicated to providing seed capital and management to disruptive and established early-stage startups with demonstrated revenue traction. The Accion U.S. Network is the largest … Read more
Two-a-day practices and loads of homework are just a few of the responsibilities of a student-athlete’s life that they have to balance in order to be successful. Up until now, there has not been a program or methodology that brings together accountability from all corners of a sports team. RosterRecharge, a new management software, offers … Read more
For many budding musicians and artists, finding their way around the music industry can be frustrating when you’re trying to make it and not get screwed over. One startup aims to help take a few burdens off of this journey and protect their fellow artist. TourKidd is an online platform for members of the independent … Read more