Tuesday, May 20, 2008

NearbyNow, the online service that allows US-based consumers to search inventory at stores in their local shopping mall and reserve items to pick up

What Company Is Offering:
NearbyNow, Inc. provides a unique online service that allows consumers to find products, brands, and sales near them at any time using the Internet or mobile phones. NearbyNow powers hundreds of shopping centers across the U.S., allowing shoppers to search store inventory and put items on hold without placing a phone call. The company also creates an efficient marketing tool for retailers to target nearby consumers, helping to drive sales by turning online shoppers into in-store buyers.

How Much They Got From VCs:
NearbyNow, the online service that allows US-based consumers to search inventory at stores in their local shopping mall and reserve items to pick up, today announced a new investment of $11.75 million led by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) to expand the company's Internet and mobile local shopping services.

Also announced today -- NearbyNow has partnered with TheFind, Inc., a leading shopping search engine for discovering lifestyle goods, to offer online shoppers using TheFind.com the ability to reserve products at select local retailers. Additionally, NearbyNow has revealed a sneak preview of a new mobile service for the Apple iPhone(TM) that allows shoppers to graphically navigate a shopping center, search local inventory, and reserve items for pick up.

"We are very pleased to have Norwest Venture Partners, one of the world's leading technology investors, on the NearbyNow team," said Scott Dunlap, CEO and President of NearbyNow, Inc., "NVP has a deep knowledge of Internet and mobile technologies, and a successful track record of spotting new consumer trends. We look forward to their experience and insightful direction as we move forward."

More at:www.nearbynow.com.

Endoscopy's ONE-STOP SHOP is now EndoChoice, the most trusted partner in endoscopy for supplies, devices, equipment, and services got VCs funding

What Company Is Offering:
Endoscopy's ONE-STOP SHOP is now EndoChoice, the most trusted partner in endoscopy for supplies, devices, equipment, and services. Providing endoscopy products since 1992, the Company leverages an efficient web-based channel, resulting in a dramatically improved customer experience. Designed to improve the efficiency of the clinical staff, EndoChoice customers enjoy the simplicity of ordering endoscopy supplies in one place, having trusted access to pricing, and accessing utilization reports -- all at the click of a button. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

How Much They Got From VCs:
EndoChoice Inc, an emerging leader in GI Endoscopy products and services, announced today that River Cities Capital Funds led its Series A financing round. EndoChoice will use the funds to accelerate their growth as they provide an efficient marketplace to the clinical staff within the highly fragmented medical market of GI endoscopy.

What VCs Says About Company:
"Two things attracted us to EndoChoice. The first is a world-class management team that brings leadership experience from GI-focused companies like Given Imaging and Boston Scientific. The second is research that confirms market demand for a company that can help GI departments deal with the pressures of increasing procedures, declining reimbursements, and growing customer and product fragmentation. We are pleased to partner with EndoChoice to help them advance their mission of becoming a market leader that can help gastroenterologists and their colleagues focus on their patients and not on administrative issues," said Rik Vandevenne, Principal of River Cities Capital Funds and new EndoChoice board member. Joining Rik on EndoChoice's board is Ed McCarthy, a Managing Partner of River Cities Capital Funds.

More at:www.endochoice.com

Razorsight Corporation is the market leader in on-demand financial business intelligence solutions got VCs funding

What Company Is Offering:
Razorsight Corporation is the market leader in on-demand financial business intelligence solutions for communications, media and entertainment companies. Razorsight’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions automate payables processes with zero touch by eliminating all manual processes and paper, while providing automated workflow and powerful auditing and analytics of cost and revenue data. Razorsight’s solutions ensure that Communications Service Providers (CSPs) maximize their Network Cost Score ™ - a unique performance metric created by Razorsight to benchmark how CSPs balance the blend of internal staff costs, systems and third party providers to obtain the lowest possible network costs.

How Much They Got From VCs:

Razorsight Corporation, the market leading provider of on-demand financial business intelligence solutions for communications, media and entertainment companies, today announced that Sierra Ventures has invested an additional $9 million in the company. The proceeds will be used to expand Razorsight’s innovative product set, accelerate the company’s international expansion, which is underway as a result of two major European carrier wins, and to support strategic global alliances.

Razorsight’s solutions ensure that Communications Services Providers (CSPs) maximize savings from network cost management while minimizing the cost of doing so. Razorsight enables service providers to realize the highest return on investment by optimizing the investment in internal staff, systems and third party service providers to achieve the maximum Network Cost Score™ - a unique performance metric created by Razorsight to quantify, benchmark and improve network cost management efficiency. Leading CSPs have generated hundreds of millions in savings, and maximized their Network Cost Score™ using Razorsight’s solutions such as AIM Capture and AIM Analytics. Razorsight’s solutions allow CSPs to gain 100 percent visibility into detailed cost data with zero touch, thereby automating critical processes that were previously arduous and manual. In addition, powerful reporting and executive dashboards allow financial executives to analyze significant cost, revenue, inventory and variable cost data in unique and meaningful ways for strategic business initiatives including network engineering, market, product and customer profitability analysis and quarterly financial reporting.

More at:www.razorsight.com.

Mu Dynamics, a pioneer in helping network operators and their vendors eliminate downtime through proactive service assurance got $10 million funding

What Company Is Offering:
Mu Dynamics proactively eliminates the high cost of service, application and network downtime. Mu’s solution automates a systematic and repeatable process that identifies hard-to-detect sources of potential downtime within IP services, applications, and underlying networks. The award-winning Mu solution is deployed at more than 100 locations, primarily at leading global service providers, cable operators and network product vendors.

How Much They Got From VCs:

Mu Dynamics, a pioneer in helping network operators and their vendors eliminate downtime through proactive service assurance, today announced a $10 million third round of financing led by Focus Ventures and previous investors Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital and DAG Ventures. The funds will accelerate the company’s rapid market expansion, particularly among Tier 1 Network operators and their vendors. Mu now has more than 100 active deployments worldwide. (Editors note: See today s announcement from Mu Dynamics: Mu Broadens Ability to Eliminate Service, Application, and Network Downtime with Addition of Denial of Service Module.)

“Given the six-digit costs associated with even a single hour of downtime in any operators’ networked applications or even SaaS offerings, there is a significant worldwide market opportunity for Mu's systematic, automated and proactive approach to pinpointing potential sources of failure in IP-based infrastructures,” said Jim Boettcher, general partner with Focus Ventures. “The company's track record with leading global operators is among the reasons we're so bullish about our investment in Mu.”

Mu’s award-winning solution, the Mu-4000 appliance, is widely adopted globally at more than 100 installations within global service providers and their strategic vendors. The Mu solution automates the detection, isolation and elimination of a wide range of weaknesses in IP-based networks and supplier products. This methodical and proactive approach maximizes network operator service availability and network uptime. With the Mu-4000, service providers can proactively eliminate many sources of costly downtime, avoid reputation damage, ensure customer satisfaction is maintained at the highest levels possible, and reduce costly customer churn.

Expert Village provides thousands of how-to videos by acknowledged experts in a wide variety of fields

What Company Is Offering:
Expert Village provides thousands of how-to videos by acknowledged experts in a wide variety of fields. Their videos are highly focused and Internet-optimized, which means they deal with a specific topic and are generally short compared to traditional broadcast media. Their goal is to provide users with qualified, trustworthy video content, a place on the Internet where you know that what you see is not idle speculation by a random amateur, but rather someone who really knows what they're talking about. They want to provide very targeted how-to content that answers a specific question you have. No one wants to sit through a half-hour broadcast on the history of automobile maintenance when all you need to know is how to change your spark plug. Web searches excel at bringing you exactly and exclusively the information you need, and Expert Village is committed to bringing as many answers as possible to you through video.


How It Works:
To be considered an expert on our site, the person must have either credentials from a legitimate licensing authority, extensive personal experience in the field, or both.To be considered for appearing in an Expert Village video, complete the "A" portion of the form at http://www.expertvillage.com/expertinfo.htm, which is under the "Become an Expert" tab at the top of each page. Our filmmakers will have access to a report showing what experts in which subjects are available in their area. It is up to the filmmaker to decide what experts or subjects he or she wants to make a video about; they cannot guarantee whether or not a given expert will be contacted by a filmmaker. Note that the experts appearing on our site are not Expert Village employees.

More at:http://www.expertvillage.com/

Coordinatr is a site designed to give you the necessary tools to quickly and effectively coordinate plans

What Company Is Offering:
Coordinatr is a site designed to give you the necessary tools to quickly and effectively coordinate plans with your friends, without any unnecessary or confusing features to slow you down.


How It Works:
Coordinatr is here to help you spend more time with your friends and less time arguing about the who, what, when, and where (if you need a why, you might be hanging out with the wrong people!).

They provide you with the tools to easily coordinate social events with your friends (the ones you know in the real world...remember the real world?) so, as a group, you can make plans and keep in touch throughout the outing.

Even after the outing, they'll keep the memories alive by giving you a place to share your pictures, videos, and comments from the event with everyone else who was there with you.

More at:http://coordinatr.com/

skwibble is a place for people to browse invites, cards, post cards, announcements and cool content to use and communicate with others

What Company Is Offering:
skwibble is a place for people to browse invites, cards, post cards, announcements and cool content to use and communicate with others via email, online and eventually mobile.

browse hundreds of original images.
personalize a skwibble with your own messages.
communicate with the universe in a fun and unique way.
network through unique imagery to brand yourself.



Who Is Backing Them:

Derek Shields moved to Los Angeles in 1987 from his home in New York City to fulfill a life of design, art and groundbreaking skwibbles. Soon after arriving in LA, he began a career at The Walt Disney Company where he created the poster art (they call it key art in the biz) used to promote feature films. While at the Walt Disney Company Derek launched numerous movie campaigns both domestically and internationally.

In 2000, Derek partnered with Craig Murray Productions, to create Poster Child a full service print division, of the company that creates the trailers for feature films . Within six years Poster Child was working on posters and "key art" for clients such as Disney, Universal, MGM, Sony, Warner Bros., 2929 Films, ABC and HBO.

In 2006 Derek co-founded The Arterie, a creative agency specializing in entertainment advertising as well as corporate branding. His goal with The Arterie was to blend art, photography, clothing and advertising together to create memorable visuals.

More at:http://www.skwibble.com/

Schmap’s series of digital travel guides integrates dynamic maps with useful background reading, suggested tours etc

What Company Is Offering:

Schmap’s series of digital travel guides integrates dynamic maps with useful background reading, suggested tours, photos from the traveling public and reviews by local correspondents (for sights and attractions, hotels, restaurants, bars, parks, theaters, galleries, museums and more) to profile 200 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

How It Works:

Schmap Guides can be browsed online, or downloaded for offline trip planning and when traveling with a laptop.
Exploring a Schmap Guide online is a uniquely interactive web travel experience: maps and guide content are dynamically integrated, allowing intuitive, real-time access to place reviews and photo slideshows, and freedom for the reader to navigate a city by neighborhood and special interest.



Schmap Guides are brought to life offline by Schmap 2.0, a powerful desktop application that gives you a world of additional trip planning convenience, including options to take virtual tours and custom print full-color guides.

More at:http://www.schmap.com/

Fellowforce.com is a platform to connect innovators and organizations

What Company Is Offering:
Fellowforce at its core is an Idea platform. Innovation takes place when great ideas are given breath and brought out of the shadows.They welcome your ideas (toss them in the Innovation Box). They encourage you to pitch your best ideas to the companies on their Innovation Challenge Board.
Fellowforce.com is a platform to connect innovators and organizations. A platform for open innovation. Any organization worldwide can run innovation challenges or connect via Fellowforce's Innovation Box with their consumers.
And they're asking that you help them build this innovation community.

How It Works:
You handover the intellectual property rights to the receiving organization when you post a challenge pitch or an innovative idea, thus giving the receiving organization the unrestricted right to use and disclose any of the posted materials. This may sound a bit scary, but is normal practice. As other companies may receive the same ideas or may freely copy unpatented ideas, most companies are unwilling to accept any restrictions on postings, except for claims arising under patents.
In general all postings will be visible on the Fellow Forum, allowing you and other fellows to collaborate (promote, rate and comment). In the event the receiving organization will close the challenge or the innovation box, postings will not be visible in the Fellow Forum. In those cases only the receiving organization can view your postings. It is also possible that the receiving organization takes your posting of the Fellow Forum. This can happen when they find it such a good posting that they do not want to share it with anybody.
The reward money is 100% yours. They do not take any charge or commission from your reward fee.
More at:http://www.fellowforce.com/