Tag Archives: DCA

Dingman Center Angels: A Year in Review

The Dingman Center Angels connects regional startup companies seeking seed and early-stage funding with angel investors. In this special edition of Worth Reading, we are featuring an info-graphic showing the metrics from this year’s investment season.

DCA Year Review (1)

Background on the companies Dingman Center Angel members invested in from September 2012 to August 2013.  

  • 6th Street Commerce: focuses on simplifying and streamlining the critical business processes associated with managing a successful E-commerce business.
  • Astrapi Corporation: Astrapi’s patented Compound Channel Coding™ (cCc™) allows for dramatic improvements in communication performance by smoothly integrating periodic and exponential signal parameters.
  • Brazen Careerist: a growing community of connectors, coaches, job-seekers, recruiters and entrepreneurs to help you find your next great opportunity.
  • Cirrus Works: a scalable integrated infrastructure solution that forms the basis of efficient technology management in commercial networking environments.
  • Distil Networks:  protects websites against web scraping, content theft and competitive data mining.
  • E-ISG Asset Intelligence LLC: delivers cost efficient solutions to help customers manage and track their assets so they can reduce costs and improve operation efficiency.
  • ExecOnline: provides every executive at the world’s great companies with access to superb training opportunities.
  • Foodem: an online trading, business intelligence, and process automation solution for the $670 Billion U.S. wholesale food distribution industry.
  • InGo: the revolutionary solution which brings data-driven value to face-to-face sales and marketing. InGo provides Social Event Marketing with Meeting Matching for show growth and guaranteed value for every user.
  • Mobile Systems 7: allows enterprises to securely deploy smartphones and tablets by monitoring deployed systems, securing sensitive data and enforce corporate policies without relying on software agents.
  • Naaya: a game-based social learning platform for Elementary Schools (K-5) focused on global and social studies and 21st Century Skills – Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character.
  • Nexercise: a free mobile application that rewards users with virtual medals, discounts and free merchandise for good health.
  • Plant Together: a platform to mobilize youth and families, in partnership with other agencies, to plant trees and promote reforestation in critical zones on the African Continent.
  • Riskive: provides enterprise grade security technology dedicated to identifying, monitoring and preventing risk across the socially connected enterprise.
  • Spinnakr: increases click-throughs and conversions by automatically displaying the right message to the right visitor.
  • Visisonics: brings to market state of the art products and solutions in 3D sound capture, analysis and reproduction.
  • YaSabe: connects businesses, Latino culture and community by allowing users to be “in the know” and confidently make choices about how and where to spend their time and money.
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Startup Success: Lemur Technologies

The Startup Success series features interviews with regional entrepreneurs who received funding from the Dingman Center Angels investor network. Click HERE to see a full list of companies that presented and received funding from the Dingman Center Angels during the 2011-2012 year.

Lemur Technologies collects market, retail, customer and community data to optimize the results per location. Using various methods of real-time communication, Lemur creates a sense of urgency and a call to action that leads to more sales. Lemur clients are provided with the best data analysis and individual algorithm results that maximize each store’s opportunities to move inventory. Keep reading for an interview with Lemur Technologies CEO, Will Fuentes.

How did you get the idea for your business?
I worked in the retail industry for about 9 years and identified a unique approach to solving the problem that slow moving inventory is a huge drain on resources.

Why a startup?
I really felt that I had a unique approach to solving a big problem. After spending some time with mentors they told me that I should go pursue building a company. I thought I had the right idea and the right market. Also, I like the freedom of being my own boss.

What phase is the company in?
We are currently in the “ramp up” phase. We are launching with a national client and looking to finish negotiations with another client.

As a startup, what are some of the greatest challenges you face?
Our greatest challenges are maintaining culture and finding the right employees!

What piece of advice/information have you received that has added the most value to your business?
If you have to ask if it’s a good idea, then you shouldn’t start your own business. You have to know it is good idea and go after it.

What was the Dingman Center Angels review process like?
The staff and Elana have been very generous with their time and advice. I have gained a lot from being able to present; not just money but other things as well.  

What can be difficult working with Angel Investors?
The process can be complicated. Angels are usually less invested in a company than VC’s because they prefer simple deals and invest in smaller amounts. To secure a second meeting they need to be convinced of your company from the start.

What advice would you give student entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?
Go for it! And most importantly, pay it forward. When you meet someone that could possibly help your business make sure you see what you can do for them before asking for anything.

What piece of advice/information have you received that has added the most value to your business?
The biggest piece of advice has been to believe in my ability and my product but not so much that you lose focus or the ability to take feedback and criticism.

Will Fuentes founded Lemur Technologies, Inc in 2011. In his role as CEO, he is in charge of all aspects of vision, strategy and execution for Lemur IMS. Will brings 7 years of field and corporate experience to Lemur. This experience has allowed him, and the Lemur team, to create software that is easy to implement and impactful to the bottom line. After graduating from The George Washington University Law School in 2001, Will worked for two years in the legal field before pursuing a career in retail management. 

Connect with Will Fuentes on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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Startup Success: Social Tables

The Startup Success series features interviews with regional entrepreneurs who received funding from the Dingman Center Angels investor network. Click HERE to see all of the companies that presented and received funding from the Dingman Center Angels this past year.

 

Social Tables created a web-based event planning platform for large, seated events. About a month after closing their seed round, which was oversubscribed by $250K, Social Tables launched a new version of the platform that is a total rewrite of the previous one. Founder and CEO of one of the most elegant event management software platforms on the market, Dan Berger sat down with the Dingman Center to discuss his entrepreneurial experience with Social Tables. Keep reading for Q&A with Dan Berger.

How did you get the idea for your business? 
I was going to a destination wedding and thought to myself “wouldn’t it be amazing if I could see the seating chart before I got there?”  Since then, the idea has evolved to include a suite of event planning products, but the root of the idea is still always on my mind.

Why a startup?
I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love building teams, beautiful products, and winning.

As a startup, what are some of the greatest challenges you face? 
Letting someone go is probably the hardest thing I have to do but it’s part of building great teams.

What piece of advice/information have you received that has added the most value to your business?
“What you don’t know, you don’t know.” In other words, don’t be all-knowing because there are some things you haven’t experience.

What was the Dingman Center Angels review process like? 
It was exhilirating and seamless. The Dingman Center staff, especially Elana Fine, played a critical role in moving us through the process. She gave me pointed and actionable feedback that helped us tremendously.

Have you had to pivot with your current business plan?
We’re constantly pivoting to build features people want (not just what we think they want). Our biggest pivot, however, was moving away from a guest platform to a planning platform.

What do you think about the current state of the entrepreneurial community in Washington DC and Baltimore? 
I think it’s really exciting to be a part of. I see it as a second coming of sorts for the tech scene in the DC metro area. It’s so invigorating. I hope more startups continue to emerge and that new angels emerge as a result.

What advice would you give student entrepreneurs who want to start their own business? 
Just do it! Quit your job, energize people, and do it. That said, never lose sight of good customer development. Don’t just build something because you want it. Talk to as many potential customers as possible!

Dan Berger has planned and staffed hundreds of events. Prior to Social Tables, he worked for a Member of Congress. He has been building websites over 10 years and has an MBA from Georgetown and a BA from Hunter College. He loves languages and traveling (35 countries!). 
Connect with Social Tables on Facebook and Twitter
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Startup Success: 6th Street Commerce

The Startup Success series features interviews with regional entrepreneurs who received funding from the Dingman Center Angels investor network. To date in 2012, members have invested in 5 companies.  In 2011, member  invested in eight regional companies, making it the network’s most active year since its founding in 2004.. Click HERE to see the rest of the Dingman Center Angels portfolio companies.

6th Street Commerce focuses on simplifying and streamlining the critical business processes associated with managing a successful E-commerce business. Using their E-commerce software platform – SalesWarp™, 6th Street Commerce has been able to save their clients from $600K to over $3.5M by automating all the critical business and marketing processes needed to run an E-commerce business, including order processing, shipping, customer management, product publishing and SEO.

6th Street Commerce received funding through the Dingman Center Angels in 2012. This interview in our “Startup Success” series features CEO & Founder, Dave Potts and VP of Marketing David Anderson.

How did you get the idea for your business?
David Potts: 6th Street Commerce came out of a retail experience that I had with my family. I was living through the pains that retailers had with taking their businesses online while helping family and friends with their own online businesses. That became the foundation of the company and the source of our technology platform which we have branded SalesWarp.

What phase is the company in?
David Potts: We developed the product for two years and then brought it to market last year, generating a small profit our first year. We’re now in rapid expansion. The first year was the initial product line and roll-out. Now in year two, we’re going into a broader market.

Phase 1 involved direct sales to retailers; Phase 2 is targeted at resellers (Web Design Firms, Creative Agencies, E-commerce service providers) where we let our clients sell and customize the product. These first two phases have been aimed at larger retailers and resellers, while Phase 3 will bring SalesWarp to smaller mom-and-pop style retailers through a cloud-based product.

As a startup, what are some of the greatest challenges you face?
David Anderson: We’ve run into problems with resources, which is why we turned to the Dingman Center Angels. We had an overflow of client engagements. Another challenge has been awareness marketing. We’ve been focusing on getting market awareness through trade shows and conferences, and teaming up with partners in order to get the word out to retailers.

What is your best networking tool?
David Anderson: We use Twitter and LinkedIn quite a bit, and have been getting into Facebook more as well. Overall, Twitter has been the most effective so far and LinkedIn has always given us a good advantage in helping us target specific clients. But beyond those social media tools, our partner network has been the most important.

What piece of advice/information have you received that has added the most value to your business?
David Anderson: The best piece of advice I can offer is this: connect yourself to people who are smarter than you. Don’t rely on yourself for everything. You need a good team and good advisors.

David Potts: Bringing in seasoned advisors has been immensely helpful in terms of overcoming fundraising and other startup challenges. If you can find those folks out there in your industry, then tap into that brain trust as much as you can.

What was the Dingman Center Angels review process like?
David Potts:  It’s been one of the more aggressive and productive groups that we’ve met with locally. I’ve spent most of my career in Texas and California in the smartphone industry and I am used to working with a mature investor group. We didn’t run into a similar group locally until we met the Dingman Center Angels. It’s refreshing and the review process was very constructive. We had our funding two weeks after we presented, so it went well overall and they continue to provide assistance.

Have you had to pivot with your current business plan?
David Potts: One of the things with any new business is that you’re constantly testing what resonates with clients. We pivot frequently in the early stages to meet our clients’ needs. We’ll roll out a pitch in front of our target customers, listen to what they have to say, and then switch things up. As a startup, you can’t have qualms about changing product strategy.

David Anderson: The product itself is built off of a real world need. For the past couple of years, we’ve had the benefit of working on this before bringing it out to the rest of the market. It was proven when it started, and not all entrepreneurs have that luxury. Our pivots aren’t as much on the product functions, but more on marketing based on our customer needs and response to our messaging.

What do you think about the current state of the entrepreneurial community in Washington DC and Baltimore?
David Potts: Obviously, the DC market is the most mature in this area. But I’ve seen Baltimore start to evolve as well. We see an emerging entrepreneurial community, with folks that are more credible. That gives us hope that new companies will have an easier path forward.

6th Street Commerce is founded on the same software (SalesWarp™) that David Potts used to grow his own family’s online business. He originally developed the system in 2006 as they found no available solution that could handle the needs of their business growth at a reasonable cost. Being an entrepreneur at heart, David has always enjoyed working in new and emerging markets.


Avid triathlete and Vice President of Marketing, David Anderson brings a unique background in creative, branding and marketing that encompasses over 20 years. David founded and managed a small 5-person design boutique in Connecticut for almost 10 years before moving to Maryland in 2006 to offer Brand Consulting services to the agency and business community.

Connect with 6th Street Commerce on the Web, on Twitter, and on LinkedIn.

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Startup Success: Veenome

Startup Success, a new feature of the Dingman Center Blog, includes interviews with regional entrepreneurs who received funding from the Dingman Center Angels investor network.  In 2011, members invested in eight companies, making it the network’s most active year since its founding in 2004. Investments included Brazen Careerist, CirrusWorks, Nexercise, SevaCall, Spinnakr, Spotflux, Veenome, and YouEye. Click HERE to view all Dingman Center Angels portoflio companies.

Veenome is a video indexing platform — translating the “stuff” in video into machine-readable data for superior organization, publishing, searching and monetization.
Utilizing video recognition technology, Veenome discovers products, objects, and brands in popular online videos. These objects are auto-tagged, indexed and relayed as clickable objects for  display in video. So if you like the shoes in the Lady GaGa video, just click on them to buy. The data can also be delivered en masse via API for enterprise search and ad targeting. 

Veenome received funding through the Dingman Center Angels in 2011. This interview features Kevin Lenane, Founder and CEO.

As a startup, what are some of the greatest challenges you face?
One of the biggest challenges is that you’re a really small organization. In a startup there is a never ending list of duties and you have to know how to succeed no matter what it is that you’re doing. You don’t have specialist to do everything and you have to be able to manage the stress that comes with that. You also have to be able to figure out what you’re good at and delegate what you’re not. The hardest thing is trying to manage multiple roles.

What is your #1 source of funding?
It was self funded for the first few months; it is investor funded now. There wasn’t a traditional friends and family round.

How did you get the idea for your business?
I had been working on a lot of mobile apps with image recognition as a form of alternate entry. I found that there’s a lot for room for error there; for example flash could obscure the text. User error rate was high, so I wanted to see if there were ways to get more information, which was to take more photos. I wanted to find a way to do this with video so I did some tests on my own and found a place in the market to start a company because there is a need for this. It is really powerful if you can do it right. I’ve had a lot of ideas like this, but the difference with Veenome is that this was tested a lot. I got a lot of data to prove that it would work and the data helped take me from an idea to a business that could be started. It validated that there was a market and it could be achieved

What is your best networking tool?
If you want to talk to someone, first check to see if you know someone connected to them. You’ll be surprised what your second and third tier network contains. In my case, I’ll take a video related to what that person does and I’ll tag it, put it on our webpage, and send it to them in an email to show them what I can do. The video is made custom to the person I want to connect with. If you can demonstrate that you put in effort before the conversation happens, people will be more willing to talk to you.

What advice would you give student entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?
Working for a startup first is critical. The worst that could happen is you raise money and realize that all you want to do is work for a big company. Startups aren’t for everyone and you won’t know that until you work for a startup. Interning at a startup is less pressure, a lot of fun, and will give you an idea of what it is like to start a business.

Why a startup?
I like the idea of improving progress especially in technology. Technology is one of our leading industries, so being able to contribute in a way that increases the general progress of technology and be a part of the technology movement is important to me. I like the idea of being able to build something that I can work at and use and know that it helped progress the industry.

What was the DCA review process like? Were you able to handle the criticism? Did you find the feedback beneficial?
Elana [Fine] was really helpful early on with our deck. Getting feedback on your deck alone is beneficial. I had some really helpful questions and concerns from the students and the Angels-in-Residence. One of the angels was asking very hard ball questions but later ended up investing. I took the feedback and reworked my deck quite a bit, then went back a few weeks later and did the formal pitch to the angels. It was a great way of consolidating some active DC angels. A big problem is finding angels that are really investing and Dingman is a great place to look. They’ve done a great job of getting into really good startups in DC.

Kevin Lenane is co-founder and CEO of Veenome. He is an experienced project manager with a keen sense of how location, platform, and portability play in to the mobile experience for businesses and consumers. Kevin has worked with clients at PointAbout including OnStar, the Huffington Post, FEMA, and the ESRB. Prior to PointAbout, Kevin was part of the product management team behind the location management platform NAVTEQ Locations, which gives businesses total control over their location presence.

Connect with Veenome

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