Voting opens for Venture Madness top 64 startups

Time to break out the brackets for Venture Madness 2016! This event, brought to the Valley by Invest Southwest and Arizona Commerce Authority, is where the top 64 startups go head-to-head in a pitch competition and vie for a portion of the $100,000 prize and the chance to be crowned champion. The first elimination round begins tomorrow … Read more

Have to miss your kid's game? Live stream it with Urepp

Co-written with Chloe Nordquist For those parents that aren’t able to make their child’s sport game, there’s a new app to help bring the game to them. Urepp gives parents the option to watch customized live highlights of their child’s game or live stream the complete game via smartphone.   “Instead of live streaming an … Read more

Top 25 semifinalists for Fall 2015 ACA Innovation Challenge announced

Over 131 applicants were considered before the judges narrowed it down to the top 25 semifinalists in the Fall 2015 Arizona Innovation Challenge. Led by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the Challenge is a bi-annual business plan competition for promising early-stage companies in high-growth industries where early-stage startups vie for a slice of the $1.5 … Read more

Medtech startup NeoLight to help babies with jaundice – interview with co-founders

Video Contribution by Xavier Smith Medtech startup Neolight, a device that helps treat jaundice in newborn babies, is continuing to gain speed and will soon be finalizing their product and sending it off for FDA approval. “Neolight is a phototherapy medical device that treats jaundice in newborns [versus] the technology used today [which is] LEDs or … Read more

The Startup Journal: Persevering through tough times

Have you ever thought about giving up? Many founders will face this question when tough times and challenges seem to confront them time and time again and wonder if it will ever get better. However, it’s how a founder reacts to these challenges that makes them push through to build their company.   [youtube]https://youtu.be/YYLL8PnTt1A[/youtube]   SalesFitRx … Read more

ReplyBuy, instant mobile ticket with a text, raises $2M to enhance fan engagement

Need an extra ticket for the UA game? No problem, send a text, get a mobile ticket. ReplyBuy, a mobile commerce platform that allows customers to purchase items through a text message, announced today a $2 million raise with participation from Enspire Capital, Sand Hill Angels, MRTNZ Ventures, Kosinski Ventures, SEAG Ventures, Arizona Tech Investors, Desert … Read more

Picmonic closes $2.3M round to expand student reach– interview with co-founders Adeel Yang & Ron Robertson

Instead of using Rote memorization methods to pound medical terms such as macrolides and bacteriostatic into ones’ head for finals, students are turning to Picmonic, a visual learning platform, where definitions, diseases and diagnoses are transformed into colorful, goofy and unforgettable pictures to create a personalized learning experience. Since they launched in 2011, the company has … Read more

Companies prepare for battle at 1st annual SaaS Ping Pong tournament Oct. 1- video

Bats, blades and backspins will take center stage on October 1. Players from around the Arizona SaaS community will descend upon the Allbound office in the hopes of taking home the win and bragging rights for their company as champion of the 1st annual Arizona SaaS Ping Pong tournament. Companies have sent their top players packed with … Read more

Refinance your home over a mocha with Loanatik – TechCrunch Disrupt

Video editing by Xavier Smith Getting a home refinanced could mean thousands of dollars of savings for a family, but the process of filling out mounds of paperwork, managing credit reports and dealing with layers of banking representatives is a huge time suck and brain drain. [youtube]https://youtu.be/qeSnQQyGFM4[/youtube] Demo of Loanatik at TechCrunch Disrupt Loanatik is … Read more

Female founders dominate Seed Spot fall 2015 venture class

You go guuurl! Was the common comment I had for the latest batch of ventures entering Seed Spot Fall 2015 class. Out of eleven ventures entering the program, eight of them are women-owned. At the monOrchid, Phoenix Councilman Daniel Valenzuela and co-founder Seed Spot Courtney Klein welcomed their startups to a crowd of Seed Spot alumni, … Read more