Capital Factory

Demo Day September 9 with Keynote by Mike Maples, Jr.

For press inquiries, contact:

Caroline Traylor

Porter Novelli

  Caroline.traylor@porternovelli.com

512-241-2239

Capital Factory’s Demo Day Set for September 9 in Austin, TX, Marking Culmination of Inaugural Ten-Week Incubation Program

Capital Factory startups showcase business concepts to the world for first time at upcoming event

August 12, 2009, Austin, TX – Startup incubator Capital Factory today announced their inaugural “Demo Day” event will be held close to a month from today, on Wednesday, September 9 at the AT&T Conference Center on the University of Texas campus. As the culmination of a ten-week technology incubator program this summer, Capital Factory’s Demo Day will provide the five portfolio start-ups with the opportunity to launch their business concept to the world and specifically, to attending investors, to help the companies move toward the future and take things to the next level with their businesses. 

Demo Day, 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., will kick-off with a keynote by Mike Maples, managing partner of Maples Investments, followed by 8-minute concept demonstrations from each of the five portfolio companies.  After each demonstration, there will also be a brief Q&A from the feedback panel.  

The five Company demonstrators include:

Cubit Planning, which provides data services that help engineering firms get environmental clearance faster. 

Famigo, which developed a platform for game developers to distribute family-friendly mobile games, hosted on a network that brings the family players together. 

HourVille, an online marketplace for local services, empowering freelancers and small service businesses to grow – with online scheduling, marketing and payment tools, and allowing consumers to find the right provider at the right place at the right time.  

PetsMD.com, an online resource that supports pet owners by providing the knowledge and products they need to more effectively manage their pet’s health; also supports vets by helping them grow their business. 

SpareFoot, an open marketplace for self storage with options ranging from the units at your local storage facility to your neighbor's garage. What Expedia.com does for travel, SpareFoot does for self storage. 

Additionally, after the demonstrations, both attendees and start-ups alike will benefit from a Venture Capital panel, “What’s it Take Today to Build a Super Startup?,” during which veteran investors will combine their varying experiences and perspectives to discuss best practices for securing venture capital and positioning new companies in a positive light.  Moderated by Joshua Baer, the panel will feature Satya Patel, Principal at Battery Ventures; Jim Armstrong, Managing Director at Clearstone Venture Partners; Rudy Garza, founder and managing partner at G51, and Bill Wood, Principal at Silverton Partners.  Attendees at Demo Day will also be able to enjoy one-on-one access to Capital Factory portfolio companies and hundreds of attending entrepreneurs over lunch. 

The corporate sponsors of Demo Day helping to make this inaugural event happen include ThinkTiv, Microsoft BizSpark, Austin Ventures, Red Velvet Events, Silverton Partners and WGSR.

The event is primarily invitation-only, open to technology investors, executives, entrepreneurs and press attendees. To request a ticket to attend Capital Factory’s Demo Day on September 9, email demoday@capitalfactory.com.  The ticket costs $30, which covers parking as well as lunch at the event.  The event will also be streamed live to thousands of viewers over the Internet. Check the Capital Factory website at www.capitalfactory.com to find out more on the video streaming component as more details become available. 

"We are very proud of the rapid progress the inaugural group of Capital Factory companies has made and Demo Day will be an incredible opportunity for these entrepreneurs to showcase their accomplishments," said Bryan Menell, co-founder and managing director of Capital Factory. "I think I speak for all of the mentors when I say that working with the five companies proved to be very motivational and energizing for us. They really reminded us of how tireless and inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit is in its purest form.  Attendance at Demo Day is limited so interested attendees are encouraged to request tickets soon.”

The inaugural summer program all started in April 2009 when Capital Factory founders, Joshua Baer, widely recognized email marketing pioneer who founded OtherInbox; Sam Decker, Chief Marketing Officer at Bazaarvoice, and Bryan Menell, founder of AustinStartup.com, selected the five start-up companies from a pool of over 250 applicants.  The winning companies officially kicked off their 10-week program in late May, receiving up to $20,000 in cash as well as weekly mentoring sessions with a select group of proven, successful technology entrepreneurs.  

Capital Factory would also like to specially acknowledge the sponsors that played a significant role in making this summer program a success. The sponsors donated everything from brand development support to legal advice to office space to press relations support, among many others.  Sponsors to pay tribute to include the following:  American Workforce, Clutch Creative, Conjunctured, JungleDisk, Microsoft BizSpark, Mosso, Porter Novelli, Rackspace, Slicehost, Square One Bank, Tech Ranch Austin, The Accounting Group, vcfo and Wilson Sonsini.  

Details for next year’s program are still underway, but more information, including ways to get involved in the 2010 program, will be available at www.capitalfactory.com as additional details are confirmed. 

About Capital Factory:

Capital Factory is an early stage technology incubator based in Austin, Texas. Startup companies participate in an intense 10-week summer program that gives them up to $20,000 in cash, more than $20,000 in free services, and mentorship by a group of successful entrepreneurs. The program culminates in a demo day where the startups present to investors, the press, and the world. For more information on Capital Factory, visit the website at www.capitalfactory.com or on Twitter @capitalfactory.  For the full list of 2009 mentors, visit: http://www.capitalfactory.com/mentors.html

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Thank you, thank you, thank you

I can't say it too many times. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this summer's first Capital Factory program a success!

• Thank you to the other Managing Directors Bryan Menell and Sam Decker.
• Thank you to the mentors that donated their time.  
• Thank you to the participants that gave it their all.  
• Thank you to the advisors that shared their experience. 
• Thank you to the partners that donated their services.
• Thank you to the sponsors helping to make Demo Day possible.
• Thank you to the more than 300 companies who submitted an application 
• Thank you to all of our other supporters on Facebook and Twitter. 
• And of course thank YOU!

How do we measure success? It's kind of hard because the most definitive success is when one of our companies has an exit through an IPO or acquisition and that takes most companies about 7 years on average. So going into the program we discussed a few objectives that we could measure by the end of the summer.

First of all, we knew that it was a success if there was sufficient interest and momentum from the participants and mentors to do another program in 2010. It's clear that we hit that one out of the park. Not only are we planning on repeating the program in 2010, but we've had quite a bit of interest in launching sister programs in Dallas and Houston in 2010!

Second we wanted the participants to walk away feeling like Capital Factory was a good use of their time and that they felt they had received significantly more value from the program than they expected. This seems like a clear win as well. While the participants have not been shy about telling us where we can improve, they have also made it clear that they are glad they made the decision to participate in Capital Factory this summer and feel like their business is much farther along now than it would be if they hadn't participated.

Finally, we wanted the mentors to feel like this was a worthwhile use of their time and wanting to participate again in 2010. It's clear from the level of participation and enthusiasm that we received that the mentors really enjoyed it and are already talking about how to improve for next year. We've also had quite a few inquiries from new mentors who are interested in participating in 2010 and we're looking forward to widening the circle.

I'd like to thank the Managing Directors Bryan Menell and Sam Decker who helped to launch Capital Factory 2009 and without whom it just wouldn't have been possible. It was quite a task to work through the 300 applications that we received in April and we all spent a long weekend watching videos and narrowing it down. Throughout the program they have been instrumental in lining up other mentors, advisors and partners and its hard to imagine two better people to organize an event like Demo Day.

The mentors went above and beyond the expectations that were set at the beginning of the program. Many mentors were attending multiple meetings per week for different companies. They donated office space, desks and chairs, old servers and more. Some drove hours to get here and some squeezed in early morning meetings before already jam-packed days. The mentors are the core of the program and these 20 individuals will always have my gratitude for believing in the Capital Factory vision and stepping forward with their wallets and their time.

The participants are what made it all worth it. We were blown away when we received more than 300 applications to the program and narrowing it down to just 5 was quite a challenge. The mentors were constantly impressed by the passion and tenacity of the entrepreneurs participating in the program and I know that many lifelong friendships were forged. We are fortunate to have selected 5 incredible companies to spend the summer with. Thank you to Cubit Planning, FamiGo Games, Hourville, PetsMD and Sparefoot.

In addition to the mentors, we had some incredible advisors volunteer their time with the participants this summer. Thank you to Allen Weiner from Gartner, Evan Kastner from WSGR, Jason Sugawa from Clutch Creative, Joe Dolye from Stalelife, Jonathan Davis from American Workforce, Kyle Parks, Laura Beck and Caroline Traylor from Porter Novelli and undoubtedly some others I'm forgetting.

I was blown away by all of the partners that provided services and products of tangible value in order to help the Capital Factory companies get off the ground. Thank you to 37 Signals, Blue Fish Development, Clutch Creative, Datran Media, Kenobi Restaurant, Porter Novelli, Rackspace, Red Velvet Events, Square One Bank, The Accounting Group, Tocquigny Advertising, vCFO, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and undoubtedly some others I'm forgetting.

We're fortunate that some other great companies share our vision and are helping to make Demo Day possible with their support. Thank you to Thinktiv, Microsoft BizSpark, Rackspace, the AT&T Executive Conference Center, Silverton Partners, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and Austin Ventures.

And of course thank you! We need everyone's help in spreading the word about Capital Factory to potential applicants that would benefit from the program. Please encourage others to apply for the program in 2010!

Capital Factory Invests in Five Startups for 2009 Fund Also Recognizes 5 Additional Finalists

Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 22, 2009 -- Capital Factory, an early stage technology incubator in Austin, Texas, announced investments in five emerging technology startups selected to participate in its inaugural 2009 summer program. Each company will receive a cash investment of up to $20,000, more than $20,000 in free services, and mentorship from some of the top entrepreneurs in central Texas. The free services include office space, legal counsel from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosatti, public relations support from Porter Novelli, and accounting support from The Accounting Group and vCFO, among many other benefits.

Investments:

    * Cubit Planning - Environmental reports at the click of a button

    * Famigo - Mobile games that bring the family together

    * Homstie - Person-to-person marketplace for storage space

    * Hourville - A marketplace for services by the hour

    * petzMD - Website for Pet Health, from A to Z

Capital Factory also recognizes five additional finalist startups that were top runners among the program applicants as well, including:

    * Infochimps - A central website to find any dataset worldwide

    * Notesmart - Buy & sell classroom notes efficiently

    * Pear Analytics - Marketing decision analytics

    * POLCO - Public policy portal for measuring your representation

    * ProspectIdentify - Sales intelligence tool to find who to call, when, and what to say

The five startups were selected from a list of more than 250 applicants and five additional companies were recognized as finalists. Applications were submitted from all over the country although more were from Texas than any other state. Four of the five startups were already located in Austin and one, Homstie, will be relocating from California this summer.

"We were only planning on investing in three startups this year," said Capital Factory managing director, Joshua Baer. "But we received three times the number of applications that we expected and ended up investing in five! We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with these entrepreneurs."

The selection process included a one page application and five minute video. After reviewing hundreds of applications, about five percent were invited to in-person interviews with the mentors. With many promising entrepreneurs to choose from, the mentors focused on startups who they could help the most and with the greatest chance of success.

"The interviews helped us understand what these companies needed and the extent to which we could help them," said Sam Decker, Capital Factory managing director. "All of them stated that the money helped, but the mentorships were what they needed to get their idea off the ground or to the next level."

The mentorship program starts on May 22 and lasts throughout the summer, ending with a "Demo Day" where the five startups will present their business to investors, the press, and the world.

About Capital Factory:

Capital Factory is an early stage technology incubator based in Austin, Texas. Startup companies participate in an intense 10-week summer program that gives them up to $20,000 in cash, more than $20,000 in free services, and mentorship by a group of successful entrepreneurs. The program culminates in a demo day where the startups present to investors, the press, and the world. For more information on Capital Factory, visit the website at www.capitalfactory.com or on Twitter @capitalfactory.

Click here for the full list of 2009 mentors

For press inquiries, contact:

Caroline Traylor

Porter Novelli

(512) 241-2239

carolinetraylor [at] capitalfactory.com

Video Pitch Review

Most of the companies who submitted applications to Capital Factory made them public on YouTube or their website and included the words Capital Factory so you can just search YouTube to find them. Here are some of our favorite videos. Note that this is not a measure of how we evaluate their business - this is about the quality of the video. You'll see how we rate the businesses when we announce the winners.

Best Instructional Video - Homstie

Best Video Editing - InfoChimps

Best Background - ShortOrderPhoto

Best Voiceover - PetzMD

Most Likely to Get Arrested - dSpot

(there were numerous candidates in the running for this one)

Best Floating People - BullMooseTicket

Why wasn't I accepted into the program?

I've received dozens of polite, respectful responses to the first round of "Sorry..." letters we had to send out. They pretty much all ask the same question, "Why wasn't I accepted into the program?" I am going to try and respond to each one individually with some feedback over the next two weeks, but here is answer for most of the applications: It's not you, it's us.

The very thing that makes us attractive to work with makes us very busy because in addition to doing the mentoring most of us are running another business. We aren't limiting the number of companies that we select because of a lack of cash - quite the contrary - we've been turning away people who want to put their money into the fund. We have to limit the number of companies because of a lack of time. After reading so many impressive applications, I know that all of the mentors are wishing that we could accept more of them!

In filtering down the applications, we focus the most on companies that we think we can help the most and have the best chance of succeeding. You could have an amazing company idea for a new type of medical device that would save lives and make lots of money. Even though we might believe in the product and the founders we just wouldn't have a lot to contribute to making that a success and so we'd probably pass on it. 

When I say, "It's not you, it's us" what I mean is that in most cases there is nothing at all negative about your company idea or your founders. Figuring out which companies to focus on was a matter of adding up all their strengths - we really didn't talk about negatives. 

Things that made an application stronger:

• one or more of the mentors has experience in that market
• we think we can accomplish a significant milestone within the 10 week program
• the product is sold and marketed over the Internet
• the company has unique competitive advantages 
• the company has paying customers 
• the company has a balanced team with both business and technical resources  
• the product is a good fit for word of mouth marketing and social media 
• more... 

I hope that gives you some insight into how we filtered the applications. I know that there are going to be a LOT of great companies who were not accepted but are going to succeed anyway. I'm bummed that we can only work with a handful! 

Applications closed - what happens next?

First of all, THANK YOU to the hundreds of entrepreneurs who took the time submit an application for the 2009 Capital Factory program. Our goal was 100 applications and you've surpassed that by many times. We're very impressed by the enthusiastic response from all of the incredible entrepreneurs we have met over the past few weeks.

The 20 mentors have already had multiple meetings and have been reviewing applications all weekend. It's already obvious that there will be many more companies that we want to work with than that we will be able to work with. I guess that's a good problem to have, but it's going to be hard to say no. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that even the companies who are not selected for the program can still benefit from the program. 

So what's next? First we narrow down the list by eliminating companies who don't meet the basic qualifications. Then we will identify a shorter list of the companies that we think we can help the most and ask some more questions by email. Finally we'll interview companies over the phone and in person.

We're still shooting for April 15th to announce the winners. The unexpected surge of applications at the end may push it out a few days but we're not sure just yet. Watch this blog and follow us on Twitter to find out about any changes.