TechColumbus Awards $350,000 in TechGenesis Grants to Seven Companies

In the last half of 2011, TechColumbus, the Central Ohio organization charged with accelerating the region’s innovation economy, awarded TechGenesis grants totaling $350,000 to seven Central Ohio pre-seed stage companies. 

These companies, which are in the earliest stages of development, use TechGenesis awards to validate their business concepts through prototyping, market research, intellectual property protection and other very early stage commercialization activities.  

“Many great ideas die before they are even tested,” said Tim Haynes, interim president and CEO of TechColumbus. “TechGenesis grants support the efforts of entrepreneurs to fully vet their ideas and prove their viability to themselves, to first customers and to early investors. The TechGenesis program is critical to the continued expansion of the region’s technology entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Companies are awarded up to $50,000 each to fund specific validation exercises.  The objective is to prove the validity of the business concept and/or product and advance the company further along the commercialization process.  After completing their TechGenesis validation phase, many of these companies apply for pre-seed or angel investments.   

In response to an ever increasing number of technology business concepts being brought forth from the community, TechColumbus changed its TechGenesis review cycle from once per quarter to a real-time basis in the fall of 2011.  This helps both accommodate the growing demand for validation funding and increases the speed with which these companies can begin to test their concepts and move toward the next level of commercialization. 

“We find this steady growth in entrepreneurial activity very encouraging for the region’s tech economy and we’re continually reviewing our programs and processes to make sure they remain relevant and of greatest support to the entrepreneurs we serve,” said Haynes.

In the last half of 2011, TechColumbus awarded TechGenesis grants to the following companies: 

Acceptd LLC, Columbus, Ohio (www.getacceptd.com)
Acceptd has developed a Web-based prescreening tool designed to streamline the admissions process for fine arts colleges and programs.  Currently, fine arts programs rely on in-person interviews and live auditions to gauge applicants’ potential beyond written applications.  Acceptd provides a Web-enabled solution that allows faculty members to pre-screen applicants via computer, smartphone or tablet.  From a single dashboard, faculty can view a student’s online application, audio or video audition, headshots, social media feeds and assorted PDFs representing the applicant’s resume, portfolio or other pertinent information. Screeners can then review, rate, track applications and collaborate in real-time with all decision makers regarding the student selection process. Acceptd is also a recent recipient of an investment from the TechColumbus Pre-Seed Fund. 

Cell Gull Ltd., Columbus, Ohio
Cell Gull has developed the first-of-its kind mobile technology application, DEELS.  The app offers a unique advertising solution for retailers based on augmented reality (AR), which provides customers with a way to enhance their shopping experience and find nearby deals using their smartphones. 

DNA Concepts LLC, Bexley, Ohio
DNA Concepts is a software solutions provider focused on enhancing consumer experiences using a technology known as augmented reality (AR). AR enables a view of the physical real-world with computer-generated sensory input, such as 3D objects, sound or graphics, placed in the environment in real-time.

Facio, Inc., New Albany, Ohio (www.fac.io)
Facio is a software company which helps companies get the most from their human capital.  Their proprietary 360 degree assessments provide deep insight into the skills, behaviors, preferences, values and interests of individuals and teams; creating environments that attract, cultivate, and retain the best talent.

Inmobly Inc., Columbus, OH
Inmobly is a spinoff of The Ohio State University.  The company is commercializing a patent-pending mobile content distribution technology which combines sophisticated learning techniques for user profiling with advanced scheduling algorithms for improved network efficiency and enhanced user experiences.

Moncaí LLC, New Albany, OH (www.moncai.com) 
Moncai is developing a platform as a service (PaaS) that facilitates rapid deployment and scaling of Microsoft .NET web applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software. It provides web developers all the facilities required (such as capacity provisioning, load balancing, auto-scaling and application health monitoring) to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web applications and services.  Moncai is unique because of the ease and speed with which it supports enterprise-scale application development. 

Ripple Mobile LLC, Dublin, Ohio (www.ripple-mobile.com) 
Ripple Mobile is a mobile technology firm specializing in location-based technology for businesses and consumers.  Their vision is to improve people’s hectic lives while they are mobile.  They have released three products so far using the Ripple Platform: Ripple Tag, OnTime and Plan My Trip.

About TechColumbus (www.techcolumbus.org)
TechColumbus is the public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate the advancement of Central Ohio’s innovation economy.  It is distinguished by its comprehensive breadth of services, including membership, advocacy, venture acceleration and seed funding.  Through its services and programming, TechColumbus supports the innovation initiatives of all companies within the region from the newest entrepreneurial startups to the Fortune 500 companies that call Central Ohio home.  TechColumbus measures its impact through increased economic growth and the creation of high-paying jobs.  With thousands of companies served, and hundreds of millions of dollars directly or indirectly invested, TechColumbus champions the region’s world-class technology-enabled companies and is the driver of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Columbus region.