Tech Ranch Austin

Meet the Venture Forth® #17 Startups

This class started in the last week of January – and we’re extremely excited about helping this cohort of entrepreneurs move their ventures forward. This group includes a number of interesting ideas and business models.

If it makes you wonder if Tech Ranch® Austin could help your venture move forward – we’re always glad to answer questions and show people around. You can join us at a Chuckwagon lunch any Tuesday or at one of our Campfires to meet with our community and hear about our programs first hand. Check our calendar for the next opportunity and Join Us!

Tech Ranch® offers Venture Start

From the Austin Business Journal – Jan 11, 2013 by Christopher Calnan

Do you want help developing your idea into a business plan?

Business incubator Tech Ranch® Austin has scheduled a Saturday program designed to assist would-be business owners in developing a business plan. The Jan. 26 event, called Venture Start, is expected to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Qcue’s competitor attacks

Executives at the Austin-based startup have had to balance their growth against a protracted legal battle with a competitor, Digonex Technologies, which alleges that Qcue has infringed on its patented dynamic pricing system. Kevin Koym, the founder of Tech Ranch® Austin was interviewed for this article.

Tech Ranch® Member Makes Final Four at CTAN

David Johnston is in the process of securing the $500,000 he needs to take his startup into beta.

Engine is one of four companies selected to pitch before the full membership of the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) this Thursday, November 29th. After presenting as one of the top 20, then again as one of the top 10, this is the final step before due diligence and term sheet negotiation.

The number one benefit Johnson experienced from Venture Forth®, was being able to speed up his alpha launch by three months. Just in time for Startup Bazaar, an event hosted by Tech Ranch® during Austin Startup Week – which in 2012 featured an opportunity to pitch to CTAN.

Startup Bazaar Recap

“Democratize entrepreneurship” is the organizing principle behind the Austin Startup Bazaar. Anyone willing to take the first steps to get a business off the ground deserves the ear of someone and the support of the community.

Startup Bazaar played a key part in Tech Ranch® member company, Engine’s ability to pitch before the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) for a beta round of $500,000. “Because I took Venture Forth,” said CEO, David Johnston, “we were able to accelerate our launch from late December to early October – when we presented at Startup Bazaar.” During Startup Bazaar 2012, CTAN partnered with Tech Ranch® to allow a select number of companies to pitch before their members as well.

PreAccelerate Demo Day

PreAccelerate is not another “incubator” or “accelerator.” There are plenty of great programs out there for companies that are further along in their development, and have a fully developed concept and business model. But what about entrepreneurs that haven’t made it that far and want to prepare for the more advanced incubators and accelerators?

For those entrepreneurs we have created PreAccelerate. If you have nothing more than an idea that you are passionate about, PreAccelerate can help you build a plan and the skills you need to get to the next level.

Tech Ranch® Onsite: Meet Continion

Continion is a digital web marketing company based on three principles: Design build, Consulting, and Marketing. They do email and search marketing, design and build online banners, and consult with…

Press Release: Startup Week

We are excited to report that MadeInAustin, the City’s tech fair, is now the kick-off for Austin Startup Week. That means we will be expanding the fair to include tech professionals, in addition to the CS, Engineering, and MIS students and recent grads from last year’s event. Tech stars will be coming from around the world for Austin Startup Week, and they will be joining us at the MadeInAustin fair. We hope you will too.

MadeInAustin is Austin’s tech fair hosted by campus2careers, Austin Startup Week, Capital Factor, CIO Magazine, Startup America, the City and Mayor of Austin, Tech Ranch® and more. This event will connect the fastest growing tech firms in Central TX with students, recent grads, and young professionals in the tech field across the State and around the world (attendees are flying in from as far away as Australia to participate).

Press Release: Itography at DEMO

Itography today announced the launch of support for branded virtual item collections at DEMO Fall 2012, world-renowned for launching the most innovative companies in enterprise, mobile, cloud computing, consumer, social media and disruptive technologies.

Itography is a virtual item collection game for Android and iOS. Itography provides brands with an alternative to mobile ad campaigns for marketing new or existing products. Items are simply virtual representations of real products. Brands leverage item collections to engage and reward players. Using the mobile app, players pick up and drop items at real places, socially share them, and win prizes from brands.

“Itography is putting products on the map,” said Co-founder and Chief Item Officer Melissa Tyree. “I am happy to announce that Itography is now available for brands as an alternative to mobile ads that smartphone users overwhelmingly ignore. The team has had fun exploring the concept of virtual representations of real products found at places players visit every day. We are looking forward to working with brands to add more diversity to our item universe for our players.”

SXSW Eco

SXSW Eco is a three-day conference addressing the need for a concerted, cross sector approach to solving the recognized challenges facing the economy, the environment and civil society. In its…

From Napkin to Revenue

Over 80 percent of new products fail! The #1 cause for this is because companies and entrepreneurs
jump to creating new products or services before they understand if anyone other than them thinks it’s a good idea and is willing to pay for it. In the “From Napkin to Revenue” workshop, you’ll learn a proven step-by-step process that helps you discover needs that people are willing to pay to solve, significantly increasing your odds of transforming your entrepreneurial dream into a successful product or service.

Throughout this highly interactive workshop, you’ll have opportunities to apply the principles to your own idea, ask specific questions and interact with other aspiring entrepreneurs who bring a wealth of knowledge from their individual experiences.