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Showing posts with label PARKNAV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PARKNAV. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
1871 AND MICROSOFT VENTURES ANNOUNCE THE PARTICIPATION OF 1871 MEMBER COMPANIES IN THE SEATTLE MICROSOFT VENTURES ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
1871 AND MICROSOFT VENTURES ANNOUNCE THE PARTICIPATION OF 1871 MEMBER COMPANIES IN THE SEATTLE MICROSOFT VENTURES ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
1871 Member Companies
ClearContact and ParkNav will Benefit from the Mentor-Driven
Four-Month Program
Focused on Digital Works
CHICAGO
(March 24, 2015)—1871,
Chicago’s entrepreneurial
hub for digital startups, and Microsoft Ventures are proud to announce the
selection of 1871 member companies ClearContract and ParkNav to participate in
the digital work-themed Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Seattle, Washington
this spring.
The
Microsoft Ventures team hosted open houses around the country with the purpose
of attracting digital startups to apply for the four-month accelerator program.
Leveraging the extensive partnership between 1871 and Microsoft Ventures, they
hosted a Chicago open house at the digital startup incubator in The Merchandise
Mart. During this open house, seven local startups had the opportunity to pitch
their businesses to a sold-out crowd of investors, entrepreneurs, and the
Microsoft Ventures team. This, according to the team, was the best-attended
event nation wide, with a greater outcome than all other open houses combined.
“Our primary goal at 1871 is to
help Chicago’s best digital designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs succeed in
creating sustainable businesses,”
said 1871 CEO, Howard A. Tullman. “With partners like Microsoft Ventures, we are able to
provide exciting opportunities that deliver meaningful, long-term benefits to
our members as well as the larger Chicago tech community.”
“The focus of our accelerator program
is to help entrepreneurs build great companies,” said Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in
Seattle Director, Mukund Mohan. “Leveraging
our partnerships, we are able to
provide direct support to the best
entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country, and the world. As a startup hub,
1871 embodies Chicago’s natural drive to innovate in the
digital age and Microsoft Ventures’ determination to foster great technology in
business.”
The
Seattle Microsoft Ventures accelerator program kicked off on March 16, and will
end on July 16 with a demo day. With a digital works theme, the accelerator
will focus on enterprise solutions, productivity, and B2B solutions while
implementing Microsoft technology to the participating businesses. Besides
Chicago-based ClearContract and ParkNav, companies from Michigan, New York,
California, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Canada are also part of the
program.
"We could not ask for a
better partner in growing and scaling our business than Microsoft Ventures,” said ClearContract COO,
Kyle Cushing. “We’re extremely excited to collaborate with the other fantastic
companies in the program, and also to leverage the breadth of talent within the
Microsoft ecosystem to help us bring ClearContract to businesses across the
globe."
“Being selected for the program means
not only that we are able to work together with other amazing companies and
talented people, but also receiving tutelage from the folks at Microsoft to
help us take ParkNav to the next level,” said ParkNav VP of Business
Development, Gerhard Boiciuc.
ClearContract
is a technology that makes it painless to distribute, negotiate, sign, file,
and manage contractual agreements so that dealmakers can eliminate risk and
spend more time closing.
ParkNav is a technology that helps drivers reduce the time they spend searching for available street parking. The technology is predictive and uses big data, crowdsourcing, and machine learning to help drivers save 50 percent of their search time and reduce pollution in our cities.
About 1871
1871 is the home of more than 325
early-stage, high-growth digital startups. Located in The Merchandise Mart,
this 75,000 square foot facility is also the headquarters of nationally
recognized accelerators, Techstars Chicago and Impact Engine; half a dozen
industry-specific incubators in key areas such as real estate, education
technology, food and financial technology; several emerging tech talent schools
(The Starter League, CodeFellows, Flatiron, The Fullbridge Program,
Designation, and the Startup Institute), and the state's leading technology
advocate, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition. It is the second home
to Chicago-based VCs, Pritzker Group, MATH Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, OCA
Ventures, OurCrowd and Chicago Ventures, as well as satellite offices for
Northwestern University, University of Illinois, University of Chicago, Loyola
University, Illinois Institute of Technology, and DeVry. 1871 has fast become
recognized as the hub for the city’s
entrepreneurial/technology ecosystem and has been featured in TechCrunch, Wall
Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business among other top media. 1871 is the flagship project
of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
About
Microsoft Ventures
Microsoft Ventures is a global initiative to help
entrepreneurs build great companies. We work with startups at every stage of
maturity to provide the tools, resources, and expertise they need to succeed.
The initiative is broad-based, and includes a community program, accelerators,
and a seed fund. Our approach helps startups scale their business, bring
innovative services to market and reach new customers.
Sunday, February 08, 2015
Setting a street parking app apart from its competition
Setting a street parking app apart from its competition
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MANUEL MARTINEZGerhard Boiciuc, Parknav's vice president of business development
Parknav
A street parking app aiming for the B2B market
THE COMPANY: Founded in 2011 by Eyal Amir, 44, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Sergei Kozyrenko, 32, a software developer who previously worked at UBS and Argonne National Laboratory, Parknav guides users to those coveted street spots in congested cities.
"We think hoping to get lucky in the 21st century is a caveman strategy," says Gerhard Boiciuc, Parknav's vice president of business development. "We save you 70 to 80 percent of your search time."
Today, the company has 100,000 users in Chicago and San Francisco, with another 20,000 in Germany. The seven-person team, which received undisclosed seed funding from German incubator You is Now, is raising $2.5 million to expand.
The problem: Potential customers don't immediately understand how Parknav differs from other, more established parking apps such as SpotHero and Parking Panda. Those services let users pay in advance to reserve spaces in lots, garages and valet areas, while Parknav focuses on street spots. The distinction between on-street and off-street parking is easily missed, Boiciuc says.
That's a roadblock, since Parknav is trying to grow by proving itself to individual consumers—even though the long-term plan is to make money by selling its services to businesses. The b-to-b pitch to companies such as real estate firms: Cut the time agents spend driving in circles looking for a spot, and you immediately increase productivity. But as Parknav prepares to roll out its U.S. b-to-b service, it needs to keep the b-to-c vertical alive to spread interest and fuel growth.
THE RECOMMENDATION: Experts including Amy Grabow, a former VP of marketing at Chicago-based Hillshire Brands, and Maria Keevins-Kogan, senior director of marketing strategy at Lake Forest-based W.W. Grainger, suggested Parknav invest in quick instructional videos for its site.
"We're so focused on investing in the technology that we questioned whether the efforts in marketing would generate the ROI," Boiciuc says. But the experts assure him it is money well-spent.
THE RESULT: The Parknav team is in talks with several production companies to create a video.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Parknav should invest a small sum in videos that differentiate the brand.
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Microsoft Ventures Asks: What Makes Your City Special? Chicago and 1871
Microsoft Ventures Asks: What Makes Your City Special?
We are proud to partner with Microsoft Ventures to promote their Digital Work Accelerator in Seattle. The team from the Digital Work Accelerator has been traveling across the country to conduct pitch events and information sessions to help startups apply to the accelerator.
Last Friday, the Microsoft Ventures Digital Work Accelerator stopped in Chicago to highlight local startups, local programs and sponsors, and the accelerator program itself. According to Michael Donnelly, the Director of Strategic Partnerships with Venture Connects in Chicago, the Chicago event “reached a larger audience than they have seen in any other city combined to date.”
What does this say about the City of Chicago and its Startup Ecosystem?
“This by itself says that the Chicago entrepreneur and tech community is fierce, and Venture Connects is excited to be a part of this growth by actively bringing together entrepreneurs and investors through advice, education and connections. We heard from local entrepreneurs and had a vibrant round table discussion with influencers on how to keep up the momentum. Can’t wait to see what’s next!”
This week, the program tour continues as they visit DC on Wednesday and San Francisco on Thursday, prior to closing the applications for the accelerator on Friday. Will the DC and San Francisco startup communities rally to support local startups as much as Chicago has? We reached out to Martin Schray, Sr. Evangelist with Microsoft, to find out about all of the exciting happenings in Chicago and at the Chicago event. The collection of quotes from excited attendees that Martin provided was overwhelming!
“With $1.6B in funding and $7B in exits,” he pointed out, “2014 has been the best year yet for Chicago startups.”
Who are some of these startups?
“The Microsoft Open House event was of great value for Parknav. Not only did we get the chance to present in front of a packed auditorium at 1871, but we also experienced incredible support from all the great people at Microsoft who are involved with this amazing event. Their input has been very valuable already and we’re looking forward to continuing the conversation with the folks at Microsoft.” – Gerhard Boiciuc, VP Business Development at PARKNAV
“It was an honor for Kahoots to be selected to pitch to Microsoft Ventures, and after the event we immediately secured additional funding for our bridge round. Kahoots being featured at this event created substantial moment for our startup.” Nick Petit, Kahoots Founder & CEO
“It was amazing to see how many people attended the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator pitch session at 1871. When it’s standing room only, you know that you have something special. Chicago should be proud of the entrepreneurial spirit that was on display that day, and frankly everyday, at 1871. We were honored to have the opportunity to pitch our HR Analytics solution to a company like Microsoft, who clearly understands the value that entrepreneurs bring to the marketplace each and every day.” Neil Morgan, Founder and CEO, Cobalt Solutions
“We were VERY pleased with the Microsoft Open House event hosted at 1871 on 1/23. It was a big win for the Chicago tech ecosystem to have an industry leader like Microsoft spend an entire evening with us discussing its vision to become more involved in startups (specifically in Chicago). For ClearNDA, we benefited greatly from this event. This was our first pitch event, and to have it be on such a grand scale was a fantastic learning experience and opportunity to get our name out there. We see a big future with Microsoft, and will definitely support each and every event they aim to put on in Chicago!” Carl Gatenio, CEO ClearNDA
“Microsoft really shined by getting the right people in the same room — specifically, larger VC’s, MSV reps, and Chicago-based service businesses.” -Earlybird
“The Microsoft Ventures event at 1871 was the largest startup event I have ever seen there.” – William Robinson, VP, Silicon Valley Bank
“Startups that focus on digital work are helping more people return to the workforce and be more productive. Digital work is changing the way we think about employment – people are no longer constrained by where they live or the fact that they may need to or wish to work from home and we see these trends as the future of the working environment. Microsoft has been a great partner in this vision and we expect our partnership to continue to grow.” Howard Tullman, 1871 CEO
The adulation just keeps pouring in about the Chicago event! If you think you might be creating a product that would fit into the Digital Work Accelerator and you still have questions, be sure to contact SeattleAccelerator@Microsoft.
Startups apply now to the Microsoft Ventures Digital Work Accelerator!
Friday, December 05, 2014
1871 hosts marc usa chicago marketing sparks hackathon with 1871 member companies
MARC USA Chicago Partners with 1871 to Host Marketing Hack Event
Marketing Sparks Event Brings Together Chicago Startups and Marketers
to develop communications and business development strategies
CHICAGO
(December 4, 2014) – Four promising Chicago startups will be matched with
leading Chicago marketing executives in the first local Marketing Sparks event.
This three-hour marketing hack on Thursday, December 4th will be led by MARC
USA’s Chicago office in partnership with 1871, the entrepreneurial hub for
digital startups.
Marketing
leaders from McDonalds, United Airlines, Caterpillar, US Cellular, Grainger,
Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, among others, will join MARC USA’s Chicago
leadership in developing actionable strategic and tactical marketing
communications and business development ideas to help increase each startup
company’s chances of success.
MARC USA has
hosted two Marketing Sparks events in Pittsburgh in partnership with local
universities and incubators as a way to provide that city’s most innovative
startups with critical advice on how to market their ideas.
“Young
companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can
put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development
process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth,” explained Jean McLaren,
President of MARC USA Chicago. “We recognized how successful our
Marketing Sparks program was in Pittsburgh and saw an opportunity to bring it
to Chicago’s growing startup community. We’ve invited senior marketers who
enjoy getting together with their peers and working with young companies as a
way to give back to their communities.”
The Chicago
Startups who are participating include:
•
ParkNav, creators of an app that finds open parking spaces in cities
MARC USA
selected 1871 as its partner in Chicago, recognizing its deep roots and success
in developing and supporting innovative local entrepreneurs. The startups
participating in the event were selected based on their readiness to act on the
advice presented.
“By providing
quality, personalized support throughout our member companies’ development,
1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to
help them succeed,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “We are excited to partner
with MARC USA in Chicago to offer this opportunity to our startups.”
The marketers
who are joining the session represent a diverse pool of leaders across
disciplines (PR, strategy, digital, creative and more) who are passionate and
eager to share their knowledge. The Chicago Marketing Sparks will be held at
1871 in Chicago on December 4th from 6 – 9 pm. A website to support the effort
has been launched at http://marketingsparks.org.
About MARC USA
MARC USA is a
national full-service integrated marketing communications firm known for
uncovering radical insights that incite powerful reactions through a deeper
understanding of whole-brain behavior. With offices in Chicago, Miami, Boston
and Pittsburgh, 270 employees and more than $370 million in annual billings, it
is one of the largest independent agencies in the country. Services include
advertising, strategic planning, research, public relations, social marketing,
media planning and buying, digital marketing, direct and customer relationship
marketing and sales promotion.
About 1871
1871 is an
entrepreneurial incubator for digital startups. Home to over 300 companies, the
75,000-square-foot facility in The Merchandise Mart provides Chicago startups
with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors
and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to
building successful businesses. Recently ranked 9th in the world in the 2014
UBI Index list of top university-associated business incubators, 1871 has
become a global leader in the entrepreneurial community. 1871 is the flagship
project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
MARC USA Chicago Partners with 1871 to Host Marketing Hack Event
Marketing Sparks Event Brings Together Chicago Startups and Marketers
to develop communications and business development strategies
CHICAGO
(December 4, 2014) – Four promising Chicago startups will be matched with
leading Chicago marketing executives in the first local Marketing Sparks event.
This three-hour marketing hack on Thursday, December 4th will be led by MARC
USA’s Chicago office in partnership with 1871, the entrepreneurial hub for
digital startups.
Marketing
leaders from McDonalds, United Airlines, Caterpillar, US Cellular, Grainger,
Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, among others, will join MARC USA’s Chicago
leadership in developing actionable strategic and tactical marketing
communications and business development ideas to help increase each startup
company’s chances of success.
MARC USA has
hosted two Marketing Sparks events in Pittsburgh in partnership with local
universities and incubators as a way to provide that city’s most innovative
startups with critical advice on how to market their ideas.
“Young
companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can
put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development
process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth,” explained Jean McLaren,
President of MARC USA Chicago. “We recognized how successful our
Marketing Sparks program was in Pittsburgh and saw an opportunity to bring it
to Chicago’s growing startup community. We’ve invited senior marketers who
enjoy getting together with their peers and working with young companies as a
way to give back to their communities.”
The Chicago
Startups who are participating include:
•
ParkNav, creators of an app that finds open parking spaces in cities
•
Fetchfind, a match.com-like program for pet sitting companies seeking employees
•
Rippleshot, a credit card fraud detection company
•
Double Helix Group, real-time, cloud-based programs to support patient
engagement between regular visits to health care providers
MARC USA
selected 1871 as its partner in Chicago, recognizing its deep roots and success
in developing and supporting innovative local entrepreneurs. The startups
participating in the event were selected based on their readiness to act on the
advice presented.
“By providing
quality, personalized support throughout our member companies’ development,
1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to
help them succeed,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “We are excited to partner
with MARC USA in Chicago to offer this opportunity to our startups.”
The marketers
who are joining the session represent a diverse pool of leaders across
disciplines (PR, strategy, digital, creative and more) who are passionate and
eager to share their knowledge. The Chicago Marketing Sparks will be held at
1871 in Chicago on December 4th from 6 – 9 pm. A website to support the effort
has been launched at http://marketingsparks.org.
About MARC USA
MARC USA is a
national full-service integrated marketing communications firm known for
uncovering radical insights that incite powerful reactions through a deeper
understanding of whole-brain behavior. With offices in Chicago, Miami, Boston
and Pittsburgh, 270 employees and more than $370 million in annual billings, it
is one of the largest independent agencies in the country. Services include
advertising, strategic planning, research, public relations, social marketing,
media planning and buying, digital marketing, direct and customer relationship
marketing and sales promotion.
About 1871
1871 is an
entrepreneurial incubator for digital startups. Home to over 300 companies, the
75,000-square-foot facility in The Merchandise Mart provides Chicago startups
with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors
and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to
building successful businesses. Recently ranked 9th in the world in the 2014
UBI Index list of top university-associated business incubators, 1871 has
become a global leader in the entrepreneurial community. 1871 is the flagship
project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
Marc USA Chicago brings in marketing mavens to give 1871 startups a leg up
Howard Tullman is the new CEO of Chicago tech hub 1871.
Four startups housed at Chicago-based tech incubator 1871 got a very generous helping hand last night from Marc USAChicago. The local ad agency sponsored a "Marketing Sparks" confab to assist the select group of startups in expanding and sharpening their business development and marketing game plans as they begin to move out into the larger marketplace.
The four startups chosen by 1871 to participate in the three-hour session included ParkNav, a company with an app that finds open parking spaces in cities; Fetchfind, a Match.com-like program for petting-sitting companies seeking employees; Rippleshot, a credit card fraud detection company; and Double Helix Group, a company that develops cloud-based programs to support patient engagement between regular visits to health care providers.
At the invitation of Marc USA, marketing executives from a range of high-profile, well-established companies, including McDonald's, United Airlines, Caterpillar, U.S. Cellular, Grainger, Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, participated in the event and worked one-on-one during the session with staff from each startup.
Noted Jean McLaren, president of Marc USA Chicago: "Young companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth."
The Chicago "Marketing Sparks" event comes in the wake of two similar successful events Marc USA sponsored earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania., where the ad agency is headquartered.
"Marketing Sparks" is one of the newest ways 1871 is helping to boost the chances of its start-ups to actually make it beyond the start-up phase. Added 1871 CEO Howard Tullman: "By providing quality, personalized support throughout our member companies' development, 1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to help them succeed."
Monday, February 17, 2014
1871 MEMBERS TAKE TOP SPOTS AT CONNECTED WORLD START-UP PITCH COMPETITION
GET INSIDE THE NATION'S LONGEST RUNNING AUTO SHOW
Startups Pitch Concepts in Connected World Competition
Several technology start-up companies participated in the competition
Megan Purazrang
Connected World Magazine hosted The Peggy Smedley Show and a week of technology speakers from across several industries at the Chicago Auto Show.
Several groups competed at the Connected World Pavilion Friday to win an article in Connected World Magazine.
Each startup group that participated had seven minutes to pitch the company’s concept to a small group of judges.
The top three groups chosen from the pitch were ParkNav, Deconstruction and GimmeAnother LLC.
The companies had 20 minutes to pitch to the judges and again on stage at the pavilion. The final decision came down to a tie for first place between ParkNav and GimmeAnotherLLC.
Throughout the 10 days of the auto show, Connected World invited speakers from across the board of technology to speak to audiences.
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