NEWPORT, Ky. (May 11, 2012) — UpTech, Northern Kentucky’s super business accelerator, has announced its first round of winners: eight startups that will receive a $100,000 investment along with office space, professional support services and applied research assistance from Northern Kentucky University.
“We are thrilled to finally announce to our region UpTech’s first round of winners,” said Bill Scheyer, President of Vision 2015 and an UpTech co-founder. “Our ultimate goal is to fund 50 of the best and brightest early-stage informatics companies from the United States and abroad. These eight companies will complement the foundation of a growing informatics cluster in our region, an important business sector in a 21st-century economy.”
The eight winners are aligned to the applied research capabilities of NKU’s College of Informatics: health information technology, cloud computing virtualization, business analytics, digital media and cyber security. The companies were vetted through a rigorous selection process that included an online application, live presentation, interviews and screenings.
The winners are:
• 7 Moose Games, a software developer offering 3D simulation products geared towards the health, oil and gas, mining, academic, manufacturing and public safety industries. The company specializes in the “gamification” of business and training software.
• CitiLogics, a developer of real-time data fusion software that helps water utilities lower energy costs, reduce water leakage, improve service reliability and enhance the quality of tap water.
• Crowdspark, an on-demand content platform that allows users to create online contests.
• InstrumentLife, an Internet-based business application with a social media interface that connects musical instruments with owners, retailers, repair shops and schools.
• MakeupHaulic, a website dedicated to aggregating beauty-related vlogs into a searchable interface.
• OneMorePallet, a website that provides small shippers the ability to purchase excess capacity from Less-Than-a-Truckload carriers at a significant discount.
• Student Designed, an online tool that allows businesses and universities to connect through a marketplace where businesses outsource projects for university professors to review and assign to their students as class assignments.
• Text and the City, a mobile marketing company that combines text messaging, a conventional website and mobile website to connect users on a hyper-local basis.
A panel of national informatics, futurists, business analyst and investment experts from leading companies, such as CBS, Cisco, Dell, Procter & Gamble, SAP, Scripps and Summus Software served as the contest judges.
UpTech will invest up to $100,000 into each of the eight winning startup companies. In addition, the business accelerator will provide:
• Six months of free, premium riverfront office space in a Newport office building and with a view of the Cincinnati skyline.
• Essential business support, including legal, accounting and marketing services.
• Support from faculty, staff, graduate assistants and two student interns from Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics.
• Use of on-campus informatics labs and facilities at NKU for collaboration, events, and seminars.
A partnership of Vision 2015, Campbell County Economic Progress Authority (CCEPA), Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED), and Northern Kentucky University, UpTech, LLC, is a super business accelerator program designed to attract startup companies to the area to support regional growth. The goal of the program is to attract and support 50 national and international early-stage informatics companies and provide them with financial and developmental assistance.
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