Posts Tagged ‘Information Technology’

New ATI Landing Pad Company Amatra Looks to Expand Its Business

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), a not-for-profit unit of The University of Texas at Austin, has selected Amatra, a global provider of multi-channel smart communication solutions for public and campus safety, and business and government commerce and outreach, for its Landing Pad Program.

ATI’s Landing Pad Program supports early stage technology companies by leveraging ATI’s network and community insight to accelerate a company’s acculturation into Austin’s ecosystem. Amatra, who opened their first office in Anderson, Indiana just a few years ago, set up an office at ATI headquarters at the start of this year. Austin’s leading tech environment and rich entrepreneurial community first led Amatra to the flourishing Central Texas area.

Amatra CEO Kishan Siram said, “ATI’s strong track record of helping take start-ups to the next level and connecting them with potential funding sources through its business expertise, industry knowledge, networking opportunities and ties to UT led Amatra to form a valuable relationship with ATI. We are honored to be a part of ATI’s Landing Pad Program.”

Amatra SmartSource™ is a smart communications platform built on open architecture for planning, sending, tracking and analyzing communications to tens of thousands of users using multiple channels, such as voice notification, text SMS messaging, email and social media. The communications are accessible anytime; anywhere, and notifications and responses are tracked and reported in real-time and stored on an integrated dashboard for in-depth analysis. GIS/map-based notifications can also be sent to people in a specific geographical region.

Amatra is a successfully bootstrapped company that is looking to expand its operations to meet the demands of its growing customer base. In the next few months, Amatra plans to build onto their team, form a board of advisors, establish additional strategic partnerships, and move from a consulting and software sales-based company to a more product-based company.

ATI IT/Wireless Director Bart Bohn said, “ATI is excited to welcome Amatra to the Austin entrepreneurship family. Kishan and his team have done an excellent job building a compelling IT company and ATI is looking forward to supporting Amatra’s growth here in Austin.”

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ATI-Alum GameSalad Raises $6.1 million from Investors in Second Round Funding

Monday, April 4th, 2011

 

In a March 31 article in the Austin American-Statesman, tech writer Lori Hawkins reported that Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) alum GameSalad, raised $6.1 million in its second round of funding from Steamboat Ventures (Disney’s investment arm); Greycroft Partners; DFJ Mercury; DFJ Frontier and ff Asset Management.

GameSalad uses the social web to allow members to design, publish and distribute original games without programming knowledge, and play with others across multiple platforms, such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac and any other Internet-connected device.

GameSalad, the largest third-party game development tool for Apple’s mobile platforms, offers its basic services for free and charges for a professional version. To date, GameSalad users have created over 4,500 games, including 30 games that have made it into the top 100 ranks of Apple’s U.S. App Store, which is quite impressive.

“We are focused on growing GameSalad into a world-class gaming company,” said CEO Steve Felter and Disney alum. “By making game creation accessible to anyone with a passion for games, we’ve empowered a new breed of game designers.”

GameSalad, who was founded in 2007 and joined ATI in 2009, raised $1.2 million from investors, including Steamboat Ventures, in its first round of funding last year.

For the full Statesman article read here.

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So You Want To Be A Millionaire?!

Friday, March 4th, 2011

The Austin Technology Incubator’s (ATI) Lunch & Learn (Executive Training Series) was on the topic of preparing for a merger & acquisition on February 23.  It was a follow up to the paper that was distributed in August 2010 called Central Texas Liquidity Pager v 1.5, where ATI interns performed qualitative and quantitative analysis on the M&A markets in Central Texas. The panel of industry executives who led the discussion included Charles D. Griffin, CEO of BioStable Science & Engineering, Scott Lynch, Corporate Development, 3M Company, Craig Molloy, CEO of LifeSize Communications, Rob Neville, CEO of Savara Pharmaceuticals, and Sandeep Varma, Executive Director, Corporate Development, Dell Inc. The McLean Group, an investment bank and Tolarus Capital Advisors, LLC sponsored the forum.

ATI Clean Energy Incubator Intern Terese Wier said “The panel was a well-balanced blend of entrepreneurs who grew and sold their mid-market companies, corporate representatives who had done due diligence and acquired such companies, and mid-market investment bankers.  All were very approachable and spoke frankly about their experiences.”

Below were Wier’s Takeaways:

1. Build a company you are passionate about and tend to it as you would your child (you can be successful more than once and in vastly different industries).

2. Mixed feedback from the entrepreneurs - have an exit strategy/don’t have an exit strategy (but don’t expect someone to want to buy your company just because you have an exit strategy).

3. Companies are bought, not sold. If another company approaches you about M&A, first ask why – see if they really know your business.  Other options are to say no, ask them to pay for a closer inspection, and if an offer is made too good to pass up; say yes (as long as the provisions are right). 

4. Acquiring companies are interested for one of the following reasons:  they want your market share, they don’t want you to dilute their market share, your company fits strategically with theirs, a business unit has expressed interest in your company, an executive has expressed interest in your company – and in all cases, the market potential merits exploration (but don’t be surprised when they devalue your market assessment significantly because they will).

5. An investment banker/advisor can help on both sides of the process. They are paid very well for their work (typically a percentage of the final deal but can be hired hourly), so be sure they are registered, have beneficial connections and can offer guidance to the management team on the negotiation process.

6. A good M&A attorney is a MUST to strategize/decipher/counsel on all aspects of the final deal/documents.

7. Negotiate on behalf of the employees going to the acquiring company.

8. Have a post-acquisition executive transition plan.  As one of the entrepreneurs said (from experience), ”It’s hard to manage a millionaire.”

Wier also said “The Lunch & Learn was the most exhilarating and inspiring forum I have ever attended. ATI Operations Director Aruni Gunasegaram’s thoughtful, articulate moderation and the general framework made the forum flow in a logical progression that was consistent with the M&A process.”

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ATI-Alum Lombardi Software’s CEO Rod Favaron Named New CEO of ATI-Alum Spredfast

Friday, February 18th, 2011

In a Feb. 16 Austin American-Statesman article, staff writer Lori Hawkins reported that Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) alum Spredfast, a developer of enterprise software for social media platforms, named ATI-alum Lombardi Software’s former CEO and technology industry veteran Rod Favaron as the new company CEO.

“Spredfast’s software lets clients manage, monitor and measure online campaigns across multiple social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging platforms…Read here for the full article.”

Favaron plans to triple Spredfast’s workforce and raise more venture capital in 2011. The new company has already raised an impressive $1.6 million from Austin Ventures in its first year.

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ATI-Grad Calxeda Plans to Sprout in 2011 with New Seed Money

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Community Impact Newspaper writer Amy Deis featured ATI graduate Calxeda in Friday’s edition. Co-founder and CEO Barry Evans started Calxeda with the idea to use chip technology that run cell phones and tablets for data centers that utilize servers to gather and store information.

ATI helped Calxeda raise $48 million in investment capital with their 20 plus years of industry knowledge and contacts. ATI has helped over 200 companies raise almost three-quarters of a billion dollars to date.

In 2011, Calxeda plans to continue to grow their capital and start chip production. No doubt ATI will continue to play a leading role in technology entrepreneurship, especially with its clean energy and bioscience divisions, and help spur further economic development for Austin at such a crucial time.

For the full article and to find out how the Austin Technology Incubator works visit:

http://impactnews.com/northwest-austin/239-local-news/11312-austin-incubator-aims-to-grow-influence-new-technology?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d46e0c21f82d517,0

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ABC News features ATI and member company, Spredfast, at center of Austin’s press to become “Silicon Valley 2.0″

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

ABC News tabbed the Austin Technology Incubator and its member company, Spredfast, Inc., as faces of Austin’s thriving technology-startup scene. Both ATI director Isaac Barchas and Spredfast co-founder Kenneth Cho contributed to the article.

Austin may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of technology meccas. For years it was the home of the University of Texas Longhorns, the Live Music Capital of the World and “that place where Dell started.” But Austin has quietly grown into a city that attracts — and produces — some of the most…read the rest of the article here.

UT students Travis Measley and Caitlin Mangum, both members of Austin’s ABC News On Campus bureau, cowrote the article.

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Qcue secures four new clients from NBA, NHL

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

qcuelogofinalThe Austin-American Statesman covered ATI-graduate company Qcue‘s recent success locking in four new professional sports teams as clients for their dynamic pricing system.

Four pro sports teams join Qcue’s client list

Austin-based Qcue Inc. has landed three NBA teams and a NHL team as customers for its software, which allows teams to adjust ticket prices based on demand and other factors.

The Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and…read the rest of the article here

Qcue is reinventing the primary ticket marketplace with the world’s only dynamic pricing engine for live entertainment events. Sports teams, concert promoters and venues use Qcue’s patent-pending technology to set the right price at the right time and provide the best value for fans, from the date of on-sale to the date of the event. Customers and partners include the San Francisco Giants, Major League Baseball and Tickets.com Founded in 2007, Qcue is based in Austin, Texas. Qcue grew out of economics research at the University of Texas and has received funding from the State’s Emerging Technology Fund.

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Austin Technology Incubator’s second class of SEAL’s hit full stride in basic training

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

seal logo9

Five new cadet companies are well into basic conditioning in the Austin Technology Incubator’s second annual Student Entrepreneurship Acceleration and Launch (SEAL) program. This year’s five SEAL teams, all founded and run by University of Texas students, got their feet wet Wednesday, June 9, day one of their formal training.

  • Wibole, Inc., boasts a technology to enable “multi-hopping,” or relaying radio waves across several mobile phones to establish a stronger signal with the nearest tower.
  • AstraSight is developing a pair of glasses equipped with ultrasound to sense obstacles the blind or vision impaired would miss with a standard cane.
  • SpectraPhase, an Idea2Product 2010 winner, looks to replace finger-pricking blood-glucose tests with a real-time glucose monitor that would connect to intravenous catheters, a critical issue in intensive care units where 40 percent of deaths are attributable to stress diabetes.
  • Ordoro provides a web-based order management platform for retailers to more efficiently process orders, organize inventory and manage purchasing.
  • RBK Instruments is developing a device to use optical detection to measure the thickness of body fat layers and give an overall body-fat-percentage reading.

On day one, each team took twenty minutes before their SEAL mentors to give an elevator pitch of their technology and present what they saw as their startup’s three most threatening potential deal killers. The presentation and introduction to their mentors is the start of their summer-long training. At the end of the summer each of the five SEAL’s will make a formal decision whether to continue building their company or officially withdraw from the race.

“The SEAL program is the mechanism to force entrepreneurs through a real-world go/no-go decision that would justify them doing this full-time,” SEAL director and ATI-IT and –Wireless director Bart Bohn said. “For some, this is the last time they can hear no without the opportunity cost being too high. I don’t expect them all to go forward.”

The mentors encouraged and objected throughout each presentation, stopping the student entrepreneurs to help them identify patterns and pinpoint what they saw as the primary threats to their success. Concerns ranged from intellectual-property attainability to whether or not the group’s market aim is on target to a simple need for a working prototype to test with end users.

The members that participated in the kick-off session are seasoned in counseling entrepreneurs and bring varied industry experience. The group included Santé Ventures senior associate Omar Khalil, UT associate professor and Wireless Networking and Communications Group director Jeff Andrews, former ATI-Bioscience director Jessica Hanover, senior bioscience executive Steve Andrade, Rapid Attainment founder Jeremy Friedlander, ATI director Isaac Barchas, ATI-operations director Aruni Gunasegaram, ATI-IT and -Wireless director Bart Bohn and ATI-Clean Energy director Mitch Jacobson. Over the course of the summer, each team will work with numerous other domain-specific mentors to assess the potential threats and make the go/no-go decision on their company.

On Thursday, July 29, each company will present and discuss with their mentors what they learned and hear their recommendations on moving forward.

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