ITEN:  Catalyst for Tech Startups                  
       Entrepreneurs Helping Entrepreneurs
                                                       August 2014
                                                                                                           
In This Issue
Sign Up For Startup Digest
Featured Event: 2nd Thursday
ProsperStl Application
Square One Launched
ITEN to Launch Internship Program for Startups
Welcome New Mentors Joining ITEN
Featured Company
Welcome New Companies Joining ITEN.
Featured Job Openings

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BIG NEWS!  ITEN now has more than 2000 Followers. 

StartupDigest 

The personalized insider newsletter for all things startup in our area.

 
Subscribe to the free weekly St. Louis edition of Startup Digest. With the ever-growing array of startup activities in St. Louis, it's hard to know which to attend. Startup Digest can help. We curate the events and point you to the best ones for the week ahead.

ITEN 2nd Thursday September 11th, 2014

Examining startup communities

  

The IT Entrepreneur Network (ITEN, www.itenstl.org), the catalyst of the IT ecosystem in St. Louis, is sponsoring a monthly educational and networking event for all local technology startup companies. "ITEN 2nd Thursdays" is an event series designed to connect fledgling entrepreneurs and anyone interested in startup technology businesses with successful emerging companies and veteran business leaders.

 

Next month's event will be held on September 11th, from 4pm - 7pm.   This special 2nd Thursday is in a new location for us as we are graciously hosted by the Skandalaris Center at Washington University.   Here are some more details for the September 11th location:

 

Location: Simon 106, with free parking in the Danforth University Center garage at 6475 Forsyth 

Registration:   http://www.ideabounce.com/skandalaris/events

Cost:  FREE and open to the public

 

Our guest speaker on September 11th is Yasuyuki Motoyama, PhD.,Senior Scholar at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.   He will be reporting the results of an on-going research project.  This research uses a case study of the startup ecosystem in the St. Louis area. St. Louis was chosen for this study because it is a region that has not been known as a hub of  entrepreneurship, but has been experiencing a substantial transformation of its local entrepreneurship ecosystem, providing more implications for the evolution of the ecosystem.    Different levels of connections were identified: connections between entrepreneurs, connections between formal support organizations, connections entrepreneurs have with key support organizations, and the connection of entrepreneurs to other forms of miscellaneous support such as other entrepreneurs in the area, periodic entrepreneurship-oriented events, or other miscellaneous organizations.

 

In addition to Yas' presentation, there will be a community panel discussion about the local entrepreneurship community with a great group of panelists:

 

o    Ginger Imster, Executive Director, Arch Grants

 

o    Cheryl Watkins-Moore, Director, Bioscience & Entrepreneurial Inclusion, BioSTL

 

o    Ken Harrington, President at The Bayberry Group and past Managing Director of the Skandalaris Center, www.linkedin.com/pub/ken-harrington/0/2a0/3ab 


 

o    Jim Brasunas, Executive Director, ITEN  

 

 

Don't miss it!!  

 

Click here to register for September 2nd Thursday 

 

If you missed the last 2nd Thursday, you can watch our archived video here
 
ITEN 2nd Thursday 08/14/14
ITEN 2nd Thursday 08/14/14

 

 

ProsperStl was created to address the entrepreneur gender gap in the St. Louis region. Prosper is opening up their application process beginning on Sept. 1. 

"SQUARE ONE" Launched to Help Early Stage Tech and Bio Entrepreneurs


 

The Square One Program (SQ1) is a hands-on training program designed to assist entrepreneurs in the creation and development of their tech, bio or manufacturing startups.  SQ1 utilizes a three-pronged approach to instill confidence and skills entrepreneurs need to succeed:

 

1.      Formal instruction

2.      Hands-on learning

3.      Networking & mentoring

 

Class topics include:  defining a business model, developing a pitch presentation and financials, identifying and managing legal and Intellectual Property (IP) matters, and creating and implementing sales, marketing and organizational strategies.

 

The program consists of 10 weeks of classes, one night each week.  There are bullpen or study group sessions that participants may also attend each week.   Participants will also have access to co-working spaces.  

 

The Program is being led by ML Helbig, the Square One Program Manager.   ML is also one of ITEN's EIRs: mlhelbig@itenstl.org

 

Class & Registration Information:

Online registration:          www.SQ1Program.com

Deadline:                            September 5, 2014

Class Start Date:                September 16, 2014

Class Schedule:                  Tuesdays  5:30-8:00pm

 

ITEN to Launch Internship Program for Startups

 

Maryville University and Webster University are the first university partners in ITEN's new internship program, designed to benefit startups while giving local university students great exposure to the entrepreneur community.   ITEN will be matching college student applicants with some of the 250+ tech startups in the ITEN community.   Some interns will require compensation from the startups, while many will not; as the value of the experience is seen to be essential to a student's overall understanding of entrepreneurism and the processes of starting a new venture.


 
Companies interested in working with an intern must be registered with ITEN, have at least one full-time employee who will supervise the intern, and have an office in a public or professional building.

 

For more information about this program, please contact Jing Stiffler at jstiffler@itenstl.org

 

 
Welcome New Mentors Joining ITEN
          

John Williamson

John Williamson

John founded Athr� LLC, a management consulting firm to serve the needs of St. Louis mid-market and emerging growth companies after his retirement from Equifax in 2013. He is actively involved in the St. Louis startup community, serves as a Lead Mentor with Capital Innovators and board member with OCI, Better Weekdays and the Alumni Board of the Washington University's Olin School of Business. 


Previously John was Senior Vice President - Operations for Equifax Workforce Solutions. He has leadership expertise across all core business functions, multiple industries and experience with challenges facing new emerging companies. John was instrumental growing TALX from $18 MM to $460 MM and their Software as a Service business from less than $1 MM to over $300 MM. He has significant experience managing big data analytics, driving sales through key accounts and call centers, aligning IT and business practices, scaling businesses, creating leverage through LEAN Six Sigma programs and building performance-oriented cultures. Built TALX's customer success organization in the late 90's to grow revenue through flawless on-boarding execution and on-going support for their emerging SaaS business.


John enjoys the energy and passion of the startup / small company culture. He is an advocate of the utilization of LEAN Startup principles to assess the specific demands of consumers and how to meet that demand using the least amount of resources possible.


 

ITEN companies can connect with ITEN mentors through ITEN's Mentor Match program. Mentor Match enables startups to quickly search all mentors and find the expertise or connections you need.


 

 
Featured Company 
Splice Machine
          

Led by co-founder and CEO Monte Zweben, Splice Machine is the only Hadoop RDBMS. The Company just announced it has received a $3M extension to its Series B funding from Correlation Ventures, and database pioneers Roger Bamford and Roger Sippl. The additional investment will help the Company accelerate its product development and build out the sales and marketing teams for its Hadoop RDMBS. The funding signals the investors' strong support for an RDBMS with affordable scale out that can replace traditional databases, and expands the initial $15 million Series B investment from Interwest Partners and Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV), bringing the total round to $18 million.

 

Although Splice Machine has its corporate offices in San Francisco, CA, the Company operates a major research and development facility in St. Louis. John Leach, Splice Machine CTO and co-founder, is a long-time St. Louis resident, and a graduate of Washington University. Working out of the St. Louis office, John Leach leads the technical direction of the company.

 

Splice Machine has had a busy and successful year. Since it's first round of funding from MDV in October 2012, the Company has tripled its staff, released a public beta that includes a free download of the database, and engaged with over 15 charter customers in the digital marketing, telecom and high-tech industries. These companies have been putting Splice Machine's scale-out SQL technology to the test, and are all looking for an alternative to traditional RDBMSs that either don't scale or are prohibitively expensive.

 

In May, Gartner named Splice Machine a "Cool Vendor" in its 2014 DBMS report. Since then, the Company has received multiple accolades, including being listed in AlwaysOn' 2014 OnDemand 100 Top Private Companies, 2014 Red Herring North America Winners, and DBTA's 100 2014 - The Companies That Matter Most in Data.

 

This fall, the Company will gear up to announce a general availability release. Its ultimate goal is to turn its charter customers into paying, successful customers, and to solve problems for more large companies in a $20 billion-plus market.


 

 
Welcome New Companies Joining ITEN  

 

Tuloko:   Tuloko develops Internet products and services that connects consumers, corporations, government and collegiate procurement departments to historically underserved businesses.

  

Contact a Doc: Video chat with a doctor about your non-emergency medical question.

 

Systems Enhancement Provides completely managed IT and voice solutions to small businesses

 

 

MeterGenius: MeterGenius is a free website and mobile app that helps users lower their electricity usage and rewards them for doing so.


Less Annoying CRM:  Makes simple CRM (customer relationship management) software for small businesses.

 

MonsterWebinar:  A socially-integrated, monetizable online coaching platform for internet marketers and entrepreneurs.

 


SPONSORS


MTC

   
 
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Sustaining Sponsors


         
contegix
 


Questions? Email Jing Stiffler at jstiffler@itenstl.org or visit  www.itenstl.org