Archive for the ‘Georgia’ Category
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
 ATLANTA – In the past 30 days, 77 percent of online Americans made a local telephone call using their cell phones and 47 percent made a long-distance telephone call. Another 9 percent made an international telephone call using their cell phones. But people are using their cell phones for much more than just calling.
While this may be common knowledge to the tech community, which has been using smartphones for many purposes for some time, cell phone usage has expanded far beyond voice communications for the general public as well, the survey shows.
In the past 30 days:
- 65 percent of respondents sent a text message.
- 60 percent of respondents took a photo.
- 38 percent of respondents visited a website on the Internet.
- 36 percent of respondents sent an email.
- 29 percent of respondents posted onto Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
“Our cell phones have become critical productivity and entertainment tools. Today, making phone calls is almost mundane. Indeed, only 6 percent of the online Americans in our survey reported not having a cell phone,” said Polaris president Jan Carlson.
Polaris conducted online surveys with a representative sample of 1,000 American consumers during the week of July 18, 2011.
Founded by Jan Carlson, Polaris Marketing Research is a full-service firm that provides state-of-the-art online interactive marketing research reporting, interviewing and data collection, quantitative and qualitative research expertise and personalized project management.
Tags: Atlanta, cell phone use survey, cell phones used for more than calling, Polaris Marketing Research
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, mobile games, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
 SAN FRANCISCO – JustAnswer, a paid Q&A website, has listed its Top Five Most Curious Cities in the U.S. While New York, NY – the nation’s most populous city with over nine million residents – ranked number one in total questions asked, it isn’t anywhere near the top. That distinction goes to Naples, FL, whose total number of questions asked represented 12.01% of the city’s total population of 21,653, making it nearly 38 times more curious than The Big Apple, which came in at .32%.*
Rounding out the Top Five Most Curious Cities (based on percentage of population) in the U.S.:
2. Littleton, CO: 8.41%
3. Spring, TX: 6.68%
4. Sarasota, FL: 5.31%
5. Marietta, GA: 4.62%
“Since the Experts on JustAnswer began answering questions in 2003, we’ve always been intrigued by where the pockets of curiosity are around the country. While we’re not surprised to discover that the nation’s largest urban cities asked the most total questions, we’re very intrigued by the online engagement of smaller cities, such as Littleton, CO and Spring, TX,” said Andy Kurtzig, Founder and CEO of JustAnswer.
How Major U.S. Cities Stack Up in the Curiosity Department
Among U.S. cities with populations of over 400,000, Atlanta, GA topped the rankings with questions asked representing 2.44% of its population, followed by:
2. Miami, FL: 2.16%
3. Minneapolis, MN: 1.87%
4. Las Vegas, NV: 1.55%
5. Denver, CO: 1.44%
A Tale of Two Cities: What’s In a Name?
When it comes to asking questions, two cities can share a name, but not necessarily their curiosity quotient. While Naples, FL topped the JustAnswer ranking of most curious cities, Naples, NC accounted for only two questions.
Similarly, Portland, OR (47th), Philadelphia, PA, (96th) and Memphis, TN (97th) far outdistanced their namesakes, Portland, MO, Philadelphia, MO and Memphis, IN, which combined for a total of just four questions asked.
*Rankings are based on an estimate of user location according to the IP address of the computer used to visit the JustAnswer website between June 2010 and June 2011. Population figures are from the United States Census Bureau. JustAnswer does not identify or record actual locations or addresses of its users.
Tags: CO, FL, GA, Just Answer, Littleton, Marietta, Memphis, Naples, NY., OR, Philadelphia, Portland, Spring, top five curious cities, TX
Posted in Florida, Georgia, Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
 ATLANTA– Kabbage, Inc., a provider of working capital for online merchants, today announced it has secured $17 million in Series B funding, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. Existing investors participating in the round include BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, founder of TPG Capital, Warren Stephens, CEO of Stephens Inc., and the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund.
Several individuals also participated in the round including Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square. Kabbage will use this funding to pursue additional marketplaces, distribution relationships, new financial products and international expansion.
“All businesses, but especially those online have an unquenchable thirst for capital to grow,” Kabbage Chairman Marc Gorlin told the TechJournal in an interview. “That thirst is not being quenched by the banks. They don’t understand the data for online businesses, and even if they did, they’re not in a position to provide advances or loans under $100,000 profitably.”
He adds, “Kabbage is doing what banks don’t.”
Thousands of online merchants advanced working capital
“Thousands of online merchants have obtained working capital and grown their businesses since our push into the market in April 2011,” said Rob Frohwein, Kabbage Founder and CEO. “Although small business fuels the majority of growth in the U.S., it is extremely difficult and time consuming for these businesses to apply for and actually receive financing from a traditional bank. Kabbage fills this need by providing money to these businesses in a quick, easy and painless way, helping them to further grow their businesses and boost the economy.”
Kabbage currently supports merchants operating on eBay, Amazon and Yahoo! platforms and over the next six months will add support for merchants operating on or through a variety of other channels including Facebook, Etsy, Shopify and Marketplace at Sears.com.
Gorlin points out that the company has advanced funds to online retailers such as a woman selling refurbished boots and an Atlanta seller of toy trains who does business on eBay and Amazon. “He had a truck coming back from Boston to Atlanta that $15,000 from Kabbage helped him fill for the return trip. “He since doubled his money,” Gorlin says. “Payback to Kabbage has been unbelievably good.”
Kabbage uses automated data sources to analyze the health of an online merchant’s business including transaction history, customer traffic and reviews, and products to deliver working capital within seconds of the merchant’s completed application. With Kabbage’s release of profile building in May, merchants can now proactively add information to their Kabbage account to immediately increase their access to capital.
“Small and medium businesses are the growth engine of the economy and more and more of these businesses are operating online,” said Bryan Stolle, General Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures. “By using rich, multi-source data and advanced analytics to more fairly and accurately assess business performance, we believe Kabbage’s financial products will enable more businesses to expand inventory, hire new employees, and grow, thereby helping the economy get back on track.”
“There is a rapidly growing delta between small-to-medium businesses’ need for working capital and its availability from traditional sources. The knowledge gained from working with companies like Kabbage helps UPS refine its strategy of enabling global commerce,” said Joe Guerrisi, VP of Corporate Marketing at UPS.
Gorlin said Kabbage wasn’t looking to raise new money, but a number of funds approached the company after seeing what it was doing and the customers and data it was pulling in. “We thought it wise to go ahead and secure the capital now,” he said, “to get into more marketplaces faster.”
He continued, “Not a day goes by when some international company doesn’t contact us.” While Kabbage has yet to fund an international online retailer, the company plans its first several trips abroad in the next six weeks.
In addition to the funding news, the United States Patent & Trademark Office recently granted U.S. Patent No. 7,983,951 to Kabbage, entitled “Apparatus to provide liquid funds in the online auction and marketplace environment.” [Please see today’s announcement “Kabbage Issued U.S. Patent”.]
Tags: Amazon, BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, ebay, fianancing, Kabbage, Marc Gorlin, Mohr Davidow Ventures, online retiailers, Rob Frohwein, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund
Posted in Amazon, Georgia, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Money | Comments Off
Friday, August 5th, 2011
 Lobby of the Gwinnett Innovation Park ATLANTA - Gwinnett Innovation Park, a space alternative for start-ups, entrepreneurs, independent professionals and teleworkers, has launched its eHub Founders Grant which over the next 12 months will provide Atlanta-based entrepreneurs with $100,000.
The Founders Grant is designed to give back to the entrepreneurial community by rewarding entrepreneurial excellence and helping deserving companies continue on their path to success.
The Founders Grant is part of the eHub Nspire Program which helps support Atlanta technology entrepreneurs by providing them with resources and benefits to help them succeed, including office space at Gwinnett Innovation Park at no cost for one year.
“As an alternative to the famous ‘shark tank,’ the Founders Grant is designed to help our entrepreneurs succeed. The Founders Grant allows entrepreneurs to retain full ownership and is designed to create a supportive and collaborative sanctuary,” said Leland Strange, local serial entrepreneur, investor and supporter of hundreds of technology companies in the Atlanta area over the last 30 years.
“I know firsthand the importance of added resources during critical times in a company’s development. The Founders Grant rewards an Nspire company with $25,000 each quarter – no strings attached – to help them continue to grow and succeed. While we are invested in their success, the Nspire company will retain full ownership of the company. The Gwinnett Innovation Park Trustees are here only as a resource to help them succeed.”
Paul Freet, Catalyst with the ATDC Gwinnett initiative, commented on the Founders Grant and Nspire Program. ”It’s great to see the commitment of Gwinnett Innovation Park and its entrepreneurial leaders to bring needed resources and funding to support the technology start-up community in Gwinnett. Both ATDC and GIP have a long history of helping entrepreneurs grow and succeed and I am sure these programs will inspire even more success stories in Gwinnett.”
Network, Inspire and Grow
The Founders Grant provides a $25,000 stipend each quarter to a member of the recently launched Nspire Program. The Gwinnett Innovation Park Trustees, a panel of distinguished entrepreneurs and Atlantabusiness professionals, will select the quarterly honoree based on the merits of the business plan and business opportunity of an Nspire company that has been a resident for at least one quarter.
The Nspire Program includes:
- Establish office in eHub at no cost for one year
- Access to experienced, successful business executives including face-to-face time with successful serial entrepreneur and monthly marketing and PR advice sessions
- Office space in an open plan environment
- Eligible for Gwinnett Innovation Park Founders Grant
For more information or to download an application to become part of the Nspire Program email applicant@gwinnettinnovationpark.com.
Tags: ATDC, Atlanta, grant for Atlanta entrepreneurs, Gwinnett Innovation Park, Nspire program
Posted in Economic Development, Georgia | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
 Both TAG and ATDC are located in the Tech Square building ATLANTA – The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is known for providing strategic entrepreneurial advice and key business connections to help grow Georgia-based technology startup companies. The Georgia Tech startup accelerator is now expanding on these abilities with the creation of a new Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program.
The program features four EIRs with a wealth of experience in the technology startup world. Jamie Bardin, Tim Dorr, Hezi Moore and Blake Patton will all serve as advisors for ATDC member companies in the areas of business strategy, fundraising, team development and more. They will also seek opportunities to connect startups with prospective business advisors, investors and customers in the market.
“Our EIRs offer experience and knowledge that is extremely valuable to startups. They have lived through the demanding process of starting a business, both the failures and successes,” said Nina Sawczuk, ATDC’s General Manager and Director of Startup Services. “They will work with young companies to avoid common mistakes and find ways to excel. This is the heart of what ATDC does.”
Each mentor is a repeat entrepreneur with a track record of success in starting, growing and funding a business.
- Bardin was the CEO of EZ Prints, which he grew from a startup to a $25 million company, and has experience in business leadership for mid-market and Fortune 500 companies as well.
- Dorr is a Georgia Tech grad who has founded multiple successful web-based startup companies, including A Small Orange and the hot in-town co-working space Ignition Alley.
- Moore has more than 20 years of experience in technology and business leadership, having raised more than $45 million in venture capital funding. He has founded several technology security companies, including Reflex Security and MicroTech systems.
- Patton brings 20 years of experience in startup, venture-backed and publicly traded companies in the finance and payments world. He was the president ofInteractive Advisory Software and the CEO of iKobo before joining ATDC.
EIRs will host weekly office hours to accommodate one-on-one meetings with member companies. In addition, they will conduct learning circles to help facilitate peer-to-peer learning and networking. Moore will lead the Friday morning ATDC circle in Alpharetta’s Roam Atlanta co-working space. All four will also regularly participate in ATDC events like CapVenture, Brown Bags and the monthly New Member Orientations and Entrepreneur’s Nights.
“In my new role, I am really looking forward to helping the entrepreneurial and startup community in Atlanta,” Dorr said. “Atlanta has a lot of drive to become a big player in the startup world and I’m excited to help make it happen.”
Tags: ATDC, Atlanta, Blake Patton, entrepreneur in residence, Hezi Moore, Jamie Bardin, Tim Dorr
Posted in Economic Development, Georgia, Internet/New Media | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
 Greg Foster - CEO, co-founder, BrightWhistle By Allan Maurer
ATLANTA – Successful technology entrepreneurs often start a new company with an innovative idea of interest to any number of verticals, from retailing to healthcare – but find a natural early fit in the marketplace. That’s what happened at BrightWhistle Inc., a first-in-class online customer and patient acquisition management platform provider, has raised $1.1 million in seed funding, led by Atlanta-based Hamilton Ventures.
Eastside Partners and other prominent angel investors also participated in the round. Jamie Hamilton, managing partner, Hamilton Ventures, and Emerson Fann, general partner, Eastside Partners, will join the company’s board of directors. Former Weather Channel and Disney executive and prominent Atlanta angel investor Paul Iaffaldano will also join the board.
BrightWhistle C0-founder Greg Foster, well-known in the Southeast venture and Internet communities, tells TechJournal South that in healthcare, “The need for more efficient patient acquisition is a big problem in a big industry. It’s just huge, trillions of dollars and one of those few mega industries where you can build a great scaled company. Our solution speaks to that industry.”
With several health care clients already realizing a significant ROI using the BrightWhistle solution, the company will use this investment to fuel continued growth in thehealth services sector as well as future expansion into multi-location businesses and marketing agencies. The funding will also help augment the engineering team in order to enhance the company’s platform.
“Current marketing automation tools help manage leads once they’ve entered the pipeline, but marketers continue to face intense pressure to fill the pipeline with new, highly qualified leads that actually convert into new customers,” said Foster, who is also CEO of BrightWhistle and entrepreneur-in-residence, Chrysalis Ventures.
“Leveraging quality, condition-specific content, BrightWhistle’s first-in-class platform reaches across various digital vectors – multiple-location and doctor-specific sites, social media sites via paid advertising, and customizable news-and-health information sites – in order to attract, target, qualify and convert new customers and patients. This approach represents a sea change in how marketers take control of the customer/patient acquisition process,” Foster said.
Foster explains that the BrightWhistle technology creates a “vibrant, localized presence with educational content wrapped in, increasing the likelihood they will be found by qualified patients.”Finding people searching for a particular medical service or treatment, then sending them down a pathway leading to the healthcare providers door is “a much more efficient way to generate conversions,” he said.
The system makes it possible to upload thousands of dynamic ads at a time, each with a local dynamic landing page online.”
Prior to BrightWhistle, Foster served on the management team of three successful start-ups, including Southern Direct, a company he founded and ultimately sold to Turner Broadcasting. He then served as vice president of corporate development at Turner, followed by a transition into venture capital.
“At the heart of our approach is a platform capable of generating and managing hyper-localized sites powered by high quality content that educates and informs prospective consumers,” said Chad Mallory, co-founder and CTO, BrightWhistle.
“When combined with our system that scales the targeting and conversion of prospects within search and social media platforms like Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, the complete solution serves as an end-to-end customer acquisition system.” Prior to BrightWhistle, Mallory was co-founder and CTO of Nexteppe, a company designed to serve the lead generation needs of the automotive marketplace.
“BrightWhistle’s pioneering approach to automating the online customer acquisition process combined with the business, technology and marketing expertise of the founders sets BrightWhistle apart from other digital marketing and advertising vendors,” said Jamie Hamilton, managing partner, Hamilton Ventures.
Foster also notes that BrightWhistle is one of only a handful of companies with “full rights and access to the Facebook advertising API.”
You can hear the voice of experience when Foster talks about how the company plans to proceed.
The company will stay focused on healthcare for the time being, Foster says, but “As you establish critical mass in one vertical and the cost of sales in that vertical diminishes, you can on to other verticals.”
Tags: Allan Maurer, Atlanta, Brightwhistle, Chad Mallory, Eastside Partners, Emerson Fann, Facebook ad API, Facebook advertising API vendor, financing, Greg Foster, Hamilton Ventures, Healthcare patient acquisition, Jamie Hamilton, lead generation, Paul Iaffaldano, Southern Direct, Turner Broadcasting, Weather Channel
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Money | Comments Off
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
 Vitrue an Atlanta-based social marketing platform, has acquired San Francisco-based GamesThatGive, the social gaming platform designed to engage brands’ customers in charitable activities through branded-gaming experiences.
As part of the acquisition, GamesThatGive co-founder Adam Archer and the team will now operate out of Vitrue’s newly opened San Francisco office and oversee all gaming-related functionalities on the Vitrue SRM platform. Vitrue will also be adding as many as five new staff members to the team as part of the acquisition. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“A key goal for Vitrue this year is to provide our customers with the most robust and innovative platform for social marketing, whether through partnerships, integrations, or new acquisitions,” said Reggie Bradford, founder and CEO of Vitrue.
“We’ve seen great results from incorporating elements of charity and gaming into brands’ social campaigns. With this acquisition of GamesThatGive, a company that has developed a successful, smart platform, we are now offering both the gaming and charitable elements through our platform to continue to help brands reach and engage with their target audiences in new and effective ways.”
The acquisition allows Vitrue to add gaming functionality to their leading social marketing platform, the Vitrue SRM, allowing brands to seamlessly create custom games on Facebook and maintain consistent brand visibility during the entire experience, all the while supporting a brand’s charitable programs. The platform will now allow clients to create custom, fully skinned, branded casual games to increase brand loyalty, integrate charitable giving features, and add new customer touch points.
“Charitable game mechanics are a new way to motivate Facebook fans to play while giving brands a truly unique and charitable manner to engage with their fan base,” said Adam Archer, co-founder and CEO of GamesThatGive. “Our gaming solutions allow brands to drive fans to their Facebook pages and increase user retention and brand affinity. We give brands a platform to showcase and raise funds for their charities through engaging gaming experiences for Facebook fans.”
GamesThatGive has been successful in boosting fan engagement and spreading brand awareness for many brands across Facebook. Many of their apps have players averaging more than 40 minutes of game play per visit. The company also notes that many apps have more than 80 percent of visits coming from returning players and some games have achieved more than 100 percent virality, bringing in more than 1,100 additional fans for every 1,000 fans driven to the game. GamesThatGive has also raised more than $100,000 for charities including the Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, St. Jude’s Hospital and The Breast Cancer Fund.
Vitrue, whose clients include many of the world’s most recognizable brands and agencies, has cross-over clients with GamesThatGive including Pepsi and Domino’s. GamesThatGive has also worked with MasterCard, Dial Soap, Quaker, Dockers, UNICEF and Propel, to name a few.
“Domino’s puts a priority on reaching and building real social relationships with the millions of people that are on Facebook and other emerging social networks,” said Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino’s Pizza, a Vitrue and GamesThatGive client. “But there are also millions of people playing games for free online every day and we’ll certainly jump at the chance to put our product in front of them and demonstrate our commitment to the community at the same time. As a partner of both Vitrue and GamesThatGive, we can easily manage our entire social presence in one place, and not only acquire and engage with fans in ongoing, innovative ways but also tie-in our charitable foundations in a seamless manner.”
Tags: acquisition, Adam Archer, Atlanta, charitable giving, GamesThatGive, Reggie Bradford, Vitrue, Vitrue SRM
Posted in Acquisitions, games, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
Monday, July 18th, 2011
 ATLANTA – Calling all start-up companies located throughout the Southeast, Start-Up Council, a group of industry experts committed to supporting the next generation of emerging companies, is now accepting applications for its next fall Forum taking place on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Entries are being accepted until Monday, Aug. 29.
Each quarter, Start-Up Council offers free consulting, in a roundtable setting, with individual start-up companies to answer questions and discuss issues impacting the start-up’s business strategy and launch, including brand identity, market strategy, venture capital, business development and public relations. Over the past five years Start-Up Council has advised more than 40 companies.
“The southeast’s start-up community continues to gain momentum as more groups rally around early stage companies, encouraging them throughout the build, funding and launch milestones. Start-Up Council is enthusiastic about its next roundtable event to further local efforts and support for these companies,” says Genna Keller, principal at Trevelino/Keller, the founding member of the Start-Up Council.
Created in 2006, the Start-Up Council is a forum providing gratis counsel to entrepreneurs launching new businesses by providing guidance on public relations, social marketing, funding, legal, business development, outsourced manufacturing, marketing and branding.
Applications can be submitted via email to ccrabill@trevelinokeller.com or faxed to (404) 214-0729.
Tags: Atlanta, forum for startup firms, Genna Keller, Start-Up Council, Trevelino/Keller
Posted in Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
 MARIETTA, GA – Metago, creator of ASTRO, a file management application with over 12 million users worldwide, has closed $550,000 in Series A financing from Kii Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture fund. The capital will support the expansion of the ASTRO product line including a new cloud-based product, enhancements to ASTRO File Manager and continued investment in their OEM channel.
“ASTRO File Manager is recognized as a leading app in the Android ecosystem with millions of loyal users worldwide, and we are excited about the new opportunities this funding will support,” said Kevin Payne, founder and chief executive officer of Metago. “We are using this capital to drive exciting features and new products which will be available shortly. We are confident this will accelerate the growth of our user base and help create a raving fan base of customers.”
ASTRO allows users to manage files easily, similar to Windows Explorer on a PC. Users perform tasks like cut, copy, paste and can backup files or apps to an SD card.
ASTRO not only manages your pictures, music, documents, videos and more, it also has several other built-in tools like a task killer where users can manage processes that eat up devices processing power or battery life, SD card usage monitor and more. ASTRO combines these core functions so users do not need multiple apps.
Christof Wittig, managing director of Kii Capital said, “The ASTRO brand is well-known, well-reputed and powerful, because its products solve a real problem that real users have daily — managing content. We have evaluated many alternatives and it was ASTRO which convinced us, based on over 12 million downloads and its top 10 ranking in the Android Marketplace, that it is in a position to be a real and sustainable market leader in smart phone utility apps.”
ASTRO File Manager has received dozens of awards including Best Tool App by Android Awards, a 5-star rating from CNET and Best All-Purpose Utility Android App by PC Magazine. ASTRO has a free ad-supported version as well as a Pro Version which is currently $3.99. www.metago.net.
Tags: Android app, Astro, Christof Wittig, file management app, funding, GA, Kevin Payne, Kii Capital, Marietta, Metago, mobile apps, Silicon Valley
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, Mobile, Money | Comments Off
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
By Allan Maurer
 ATLANTA – People talk a lot about the way software-as-a-service (SaaS) has enabled many businesses to afford technology that only the largest firms could buy under licensing models. But the other side of the coin is that SaaS also makes creating a technology company much easier and less expensive. “We would still be in the garage if not for the SaaS revolution,” says Steve Bachman, CEO of Atlanta-based AuditMyBooks.
Instead, the company, founded in 2008, helped small businesses scan nearly 1.9 million QuickBooks transactions for fraud or errors in the first two months of 2011, saving its customers nearly $12 million, the company says.
Bachman explains, “The AuditMyBooks Analyzer scans QuickBooks for more than 20 different warning signs of errors and fraud. Assuming you could run the same 20 tests manually at the rate of 1 transaction analyzed every 5 minutes, it would take more than 157,000 hours to analyze 1.9 million transactions which represent a cost to businesses of almost $12,000,000.”
Accounting errors common in small businesses
Accounting errors are unfortunately quite common in small businesses. Sixty percent of such errors result from simple bookkeeping mistakes or misapplication of easily understood accounting standards. Although unintentional, mistakes can still lead to bigger issues like penalties from erroneous tax filings.
Fraud is also an ongoing problem for small businesses in the U.S. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) estimates that organizations lose 5 percent of their revenues to fraud, and small companies represent more than 30 percent of all fraud cases. ACFE research also shows that small businesses suffer the highest median losses of any sized company at nearly $150,000 per occurrence.
Repurposing security tech
The company, funded by the management team and grants from teh National Science Foundation and SBIR grants to the tune of $180,000 with another $500,000 Phase II grant in progress, was started by a group of tech execs who had worked together and had a variety of skills and experience, Bachman says. They have combined experience in financial systems, information security, spyware, intrusion detection, and content filtering and management.
They asked themselves, “Why can’t some of this technology used for identifying threats in information security be used in other ways?” They indeed found that they could use some of that forensic technology on financial transactions instead of file downloads or web transactions.
Then they asked themselves that other ultra-important question of the successful entrepreneur: what market is underserved?
It certainly isn’t large enterprises, Bachman says. “They have lots of resources and money and they get everything,” he notes. “But we saw a monster hole in tools and technology to protect small businesses. They have a need that lacks a good solution without an expensive and time-consuming end-of-year audit and review.
“It’s a $944 billion a year problem affecting 30 percent of all small businesses,” Bachman says.
So, when Intuit, which makes QuickBooks, which owns 71 percent of the small busines accounting market, introduced the Intuit app center, the AuditMyBooks team saw a big opportunity – 4.5 million QuickBooks users looking for complementary solutions.
AuditMyBooks standalone app is cloud-based and connects to QuickBooks via the Intuit app center, so Intuit is handling all the hosting.
“We’ll enhance the product over time,” says Bachman, who adds that the 12 employee company may seek growth funding toward the end of 2011.
Tags: accounting for small busiensses, Allan Maurer, Atlanta, AuditMyBooks, AuditMyBooks Analyzer, error and fraud protection, Intuit, Intuit app center, QuickBooks, Steve Bachman
Posted in Company Profile, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
|
|
|
