Scrappy & Scraps Gourmet Pet Treats is a local enterprise founded earlier this year with a mission to harvest eggshells from local restaurants and hotels and bake them into pet treats. This helps the food service industry lower its environmental impact and, in turn, benefit the eco-system. The recycled shells will be collected weekly, pasteurized and ground into a fine … [More]
SaaS Platform for Influencer Marketing
Find Your Influence has become a leading SaaS Influencer Marketing platform, connecting brands such as V8, Tylenol, Budweiser and Delta to high-impact influencers and tracking their campaigns from start to finish. It was founded in July 2013 by Cristine Vieira and Jamie Reardon, who brought their complementary expertise in marketing and technology, respectively, and their … [More]
In Business for Good
Colleges have long been a source of innovative ideas, and in recent years many higher institutions of learning have adopted formal programs to assist students and faculty in starting up a business around their idea. The recent Collegiate Challenge, presented by Conscious Capitalism Arizona and hosted by Grand Canyon University, focused on encouraging startups that … [More]
Making Wait Time Engagement Time
A mobile messaging and marketing automation technology that delivers dynamic mobile pages through text messaging, BrightGuest is a local startup founded by Ryan Quinn in August 2014. Quinn came up with the idea for BrightGuest some years ago waiting for dinner at a restaurant that had a long wait. The restaurant gave him a coaster pager that he stared at for far too long, … [More]
Champion for the State’s Tech & Innovation Community
The purpose of recently launched invisionAZ is to help the state’s technology and innovation community grow. Its three-part goal is to help early-stage and startup businesses gain access to capital; enhance the technology ecosystem with the right technical workforce through mentoring, accelerators and education; and to raise Arizona’s profile as a welcoming environment for … [More]
Unblocking Blockchain
KryptoPal is a blockchain-based platform that can be integrated into various applications around the world to perform various cryptocurrency transactions. Headquartered in Phoenix, it was started by technologists who have been inside the world of blockchain (records linked and secured by cryptography) for years and are frustrated with the current barriers preventing widespread … [More]
Invigorating the Valley’s Tech Growth
One startup at a time, Chandler-based Kadima.Ventures is changing the way businesses are launching with its integrative, hands-on marketing solutions; tech applications; savvy business connections; and much more. Earlier this year, Kadima partnered with fellow East Valley startup BrightGuest, a business known for its mobile messaging and marketing automation capabilities, to … [More]
Startup Support
Last month’s ASU Innovation Open attracted support from the established business community for upcoming startups. The ASUio is the largest student venture competition in the southwestern United States. University students from across the nation and from all disciplines participate in a series of competitive rounds to showcase the power of entrepreneurship in tackling the … [More]
Startups Are Thriving in Phoenix
If a startup is looking for a place to dig in its roots and flourish, that place is Greater Phoenix. There’s no other city in the nation full of more promise and potential of fostering a growing startup than the Valley of the Sun. And I saw it all begin in 2015 with the birth of what is now Techstars Startup Week PHX powered by Chase for Business. At the time I was local, … [More]
Scottsdale-based Startup One of 15 Invited to TechCrunch Disrupt
Scottsdale-based eTrack Tech was one of just 15 startup companies worldwide invited to the 2017 TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin’s Startup Battlefield Competition to present its solution for heavy equipment fleet management. Excited about the opportunity to launch her company’s forklift solution at the competition, “along with other disruptive startups,” and demonstrate the technology … [More]
Valley Startups Part of Inaugural Cohort to China
Everyone always talks about the importance of networking for business growth and development, but what if you took it international? This past December, 50 American entrepreneurs from across the U.S. were selected to travel to Shenzhen, China, to meet, learn from, and build mutually beneficial relationships with 50 Chinese entrepreneurs in the inaugural U.S.-China Youth Forum … [More]
