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Posted by Kaylyn

In the upcoming weeks, Congress will consider language that will allow for the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, set to expire on July 31, 2009. As an advocate for Georgia’s high-tech entrepreneurial community, TAG invites you to join us in urging your Senator and Congressman to provide their support for this highly successful and sorely needed program.

With the help of funds allocated through the SBIR program, 264 small Georgia-based companies have received awards totaling $244 million for the advancement of technology development. These companies have also received 638 patents on the technologies they developed — a great win for the companies, the state of Georgia and the federal government!

For 25 years, the SBIR program has helped to fulfill an important need for Georgia’s technology community. Companies funded by SBIR dollars have helped our nation to maintain its competitive edge in a fast-paced global marketplace by providing federal agencies access to emerging and novel technologies.

The House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology, chaired by Congressman Glenn Nye (D-VA), is scheduled to meet regarding SBIR reauthorization on Thursday, June 4.

Please take a moment to contact your Senator and Congressman today to voice your support for this important program!

Comments (0) Legislative Issues

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://theprofitablefreelancer.com/site/personaldevelopment/how-to-network-strategically-as-a-freelancer
The Profitable Freelancer

As a freelancer, networking can be one of your most powerful prospecting ingredients—if you do it properly. In fact, some of the most successful freelancers I know built their businesses entirely through networking. And for me, networking has been a big driver of new leads and great clients....

#1: Focus Your Efforts

First off, it’s essential to focus your efforts. Going to every networking breakfast and joining every “leads club” in town is counterproductive—and completely insane! You’ll be spreading yourself too thin.

Instead, stick to a couple of organizations and get involved as much as possible in each one. Begin your search by selecting no more than six organizations. Attend a few of their events and meetings, and see which ones you truly like. Focus on organizations that are loaded with potential prospects in your chosen specialty, if you have one.

At a minimum, concentrate on organizations whose members truly understand the value of your services and could potentially hire you. Once you have a really good feel for each of these organizations and the type of people who attend its meetings and events, narrow your list to no more than two or three (sometimes one organization is all you need) and become a member.

For me, getting involved in the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) has been a smart decision. Because my target market is software and technology, this is a prospect-rich audience. Plus, membership and involvement in TAG gives me exposure in my local market.

Now, I could (and should) pick another group to diversify my networking efforts. But I’m happy with my TAG involvement for now, which says a lot about the value of joining an organization for the quality of its members and not just the size of its membership.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Josh Lewis

WebVisions… where your tech IQ grows.  From exploring the future of technology in entertainment with an academy award winning special effects designer and the opportunities for business in the virtual world to the business logic of implementing “green” processes and a Google executive’s predicts what’s next for media, a new show is launched every week day on WebVisions: a TAG TV compilation of tech news and information clips from various popular Internet video sites.  Watch a show a day to conveniently keep up with, and explore, a variety of tech topics! 

Go to WebVisions Now!

Tuesday: The Future of Technology in Entertainment
Academy Award-winning special effects designer John Gaeta (Matrix, Speed Racer) talks about the technology behind the forthcoming movie Ninja Assassin, plus the future of games, movies, interactive and “hybrid” entertainment.  6 minutes

Wednesday: Real Opportunities for Business in the Virtual World
At the 2009 Front End of Innovation Conference, Kara Francis, Business Development Analyst , Lockheed Martin speaks about the opportunities businesses and organizations can implement in the virtual world.  7 minutes

Thursday: The Business Logic of Implementing Green Processes
At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional “take / make / waste” industrial system on its head. He shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.  16 minutes

Friday: Google Executive Predicts What’s Next for Media
Google’s President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development, Nikesh Arora speaks about media and what happens next during the May Media Trends Conference in Warsaw.  30 minutes

Go to WebVisions Now!

Other TAG TV Features: Tech Talk on TAG Radio
TAG President Tino Mantella interviews Atlanta’s top executives, with a new show launching every Tuesday afternoon. Click to listen to Tino’s latest interview!

Comments (0) Notables What’s New?

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.sramanamitra.com/2009/05/28/solohealth/
Srmana Mitra

Launched in 2007, SoloHealth offers self-service health screening. Their inaugural product, EyeSite™ is an interactive kiosk that provides vision health information and customized vision reports, and also directs consumers to an eye care professional nearby ...In April 2008, SoloHealth raised $1.8 million in seed funding from friends, family and members of the Atlanta Technology Angels (ATA). A $1 million Series A is in progress, led by Larry Gerdes, who is on the board of directors.

The EyeSite kiosk concept was conceived by Foster in 2004. Each kiosk is automated and entirely self-service, unlike similar eyesight screenings available in the market. The concept is driven by two growth trends Foster predicts will characterize heath care — consumer-directed health care and self-service technology. Quick and easy to use, the kiosks are placed in high-traffic areas. EyeSite kiosks allow consumers to assess their near and far vision, schedule an appointment with a local eye doctor and learn about general eye health conditions. SoloHealth’s aim is not to replace a doctor’s visit, but to emphasize the need to visit an eye doctor regularly.

The EyeSite kiosks collect information from users and utilize data such as user demographics and visual acuity to deliver customized, relevant content to customers. SoloHealth offers this service free. 

Including glasses, contact lenses, eye exams and services, the US vision care market is over $26 billion. It would be much larger if more people got regular eye exams more frequently. Since September 2008, the company has screened over 100,000 people in Atlanta. Of those screened, 26% had never had an eye exam, yet 26% failed the distance test and 30% the near vision test. Forty-eight percent reported having a family history of eye disease and over 3% of all users requested an appointment with an eye care professional. 

SoloHealth earns revenue from advertisers targeting the vision market as well as fees from referrals. In April-May this year, the company signed several corporate deals which earned them revenue of over $650,000. The company is not yet profitable, but Foster is confident of reaching profitability by early 2011. 

SoloHealth aims to set up kiosks within the optical departments of mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart, Target, ShopKo, Sam’s Club and Costco. Large optical retailers like Pearl Vision, LensCrafters and Sears Optical are also suitable places for the kiosks. The company has piloted with kiosks in Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Kroger all over Atlanta.

In 2008, SoloHealth was selected from a pool of 1,500 contestants to be one of the top five companies on Forbes.com’s ‘Boost Your Business’ entrepreneurial list. It was also selected as one of the 2008 ‘Top 40’ Innovative Technology companies in Georgia by the Technology Association of Georgia and has won other awards like ‘Best in Show’ at the Kiosk.Com Self-Service Expo.

In the future, SoloHealth expects an exit in the form of an acquisition by a self-service kiosk company, health care media company or one of the large optical retailers or manufacturers. Till then, the company will expand into other branches of health care such as blood pressure, BMI and health risk assessments. At present SoloHealth’s main aim is to increase the network of EyeSite kiosks across the country.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.techlinks.net/community/articles/article/17666-atdc-and-tag-s-annual-fundraising-program-now-accepting-applications-
TechLINKS

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) have begun accepting applications for this year’s CapVenture Program.  CapVenture is a unique program that educates and equips CEOs and executives of early-stage companies for smarter and more productive capitalization of their businesses.  Now in its 3rd year, CapVenture has been incredibly successful; past participants include Solo-Health, FluxMedia and Global Crypto Systems who all credit CapVenture for their successful fundraising.

Technology companies selected for this year’s CapVenture will be guided through extensive workshops on fundraising preparation, an elevator pitch exercise and review, executive summary review, investor communications and practice investor pitches.  Participants will also receive weekly mentoring from Atlanta investors and entrepreneurs. CapVenture’s series of presentations and workshops prepare executives for the opportunity to meet angel and venture investors and culminates with an Investor Forum and Celebration.  After the final event, the top-rated CapVenture companies will also have an opportunity to present at the 2nd annual Venture Atlanta conference, Georgia’s largest venture capital conference (http://www.ventureatlanta.org

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2345680/
Trading Markets

(Close-Up Media via COMTEX)—SRVS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating—Venture Atlanta, a Georgia technology event, announced that it is seeking presenters for its annual investor showcase this fall.
Up to 20 tech firms will be selected to speak at Venture Atlanta 2009, held Oct. 13-14 at the W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. Presenters will have the opportunity to pitch their companies to more than 100 private-equity investors from Atlanta and other areas of the country, including Silicon Valley and the Northeast. Last year, out-of-state venture capitalists--representing Chrysalis Ventures, Edison Venture Fund, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures and others--participated in the event.

“Venture Atlanta has earned a reputation as one of the best events in the Southeast for developing relationships between entrepreneurs, investors and service providers,” said John Glushik of Durham, N.C.-based Intersouth Partners, a VC firm that has invested in Purewire, a company who secures business and social interactions on the web, and several other Atlanta area companies. “In spite of the current economy, I’ll make the trip again this year because we are still looking for quality deals. Venture Atlanta has a proven track record of providing those opportunities.”

Venture Atlanta is co-hosted by three business organizations in Georgia: Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

“Venture Atlanta was created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the purpose of connecting Georgia’s best companies to tier one investors,” said Ashish Mistry, Venture Atlanta co-founder and Atlanta CEO Council president. “Presenters have always found this conference to be a valuable opportunity from a marketplace visibility aspect as well as for the small things we do, like not charging application or presenter fees.”

In addition to company presentations and quality networking opportunities, Venture Atlanta 2009 will feature a still to-be-announced headline speaker. 

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

PR Newswire http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/05-26-2009/0005032388&EDATE= &
Modern Materials Handling http://www.mmh.com/article/CA6660934.html &
Stockhouse http://www.stockhouse.com/News/USReleasesDetail.aspx?n=7328433

Karin Bursa, vice president of marketing at Logility, named “Technology Marketing Executive of the Year” by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

ATLANTA, May 26 /PRNewswire/—Logility, Inc. (Nasdaq: LGTY), a leading supplier of collaborative solutions to optimize the supply chain, announced today that Karin Bursa, vice president, marketing, Logility, has been named the 2009 “Technology Marketing Executive of the Year” by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

The TAG “Technology Marketing Executive of the Year” award honors one technology executive each year that has clearly demonstrated outstanding leadership and positive contributions to not only their company’s success but also to the advancement of technology marketing as a whole. The award is based on peer nominations and the winner is chosen by a selection committee comprised of individuals from the technology marketing community.

Bursa has been vice president of marketing for Logility since 1999 where she oversees the company’s market positioning, strategy development and marketing programs. She is known for her strategic vision and market knowledge as well as her experience in the development, support and marketing of software solutions to improve and automate enterprise-wide operations. During her tenure leading Logility’s marketing initiatives, Logility has continued to deliver outstanding growth and performance with annual revenues steadily increasing and a record number of customers added across the globe. In addition, Bursa is an active member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the Atlanta APICS Board of Directors, GlobalEXECWomen, and the Technology Association of Georgia.

“Karin’s industry knowledge and marketing expertise have been instrumental in effectively positioning Logility as a recognized leader in the supply chain software market,” said Mike Edenfield, president and CEO Logility. “It is an honor for her to be recognized by her peers for such an outstanding contribution to technology marketing and Logility congratulates Karin on this significant recognition.”

About Logility

With more than 1,250 customers worldwide, Logility is a leading provider of collaborative, best-of-breed supply chain solutions that help small, medium, large and Fortune 1000 companies realize substantial bottom-line results in record time. Logility Voyager Solutions is a complete supply chain management solution that features performance monitoring capabilities in a single Internet-based framework and provides supply chain visibility; demand, inventory and replenishment planning; Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP); inventory and supply optimization; manufacturing planning and scheduling; transportation planning and management; and warehouse management. Demand Solutions provide forecasting, demand planning and point-of-sale analysis for maximizing profits in manufacturing, distribution and retail operations. Logility customers include Avery Dennison Corporation, BP (British Petroleum), McCain Foods, Pernod Ricard, Remington Products Company, Sigma Aldrich and VF Corporation. Logility is a majority owned subsidiary of American Software (Nasdaq: AMSWA). For more information about Logility, call 1-800-762-5207 or visit http://www.logility.com.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.techviewatlanta.com/archive_026.html
Tech View Atlanta

More and more, advertisers seek real people to help them sell a variety of products, from soap to nuts. So, back in 2006, Rad Harrell began developing Talent Soup within his six and a half year old media production company, Stir, as a Web marketplace and matching engine to help ad agencies, photographers, and producers find the exact faces they want.

“Advertisers have known for 75 years that faces sell products,” says Harrell. “We sell the faces advertisers want to sell products,” Harrell says.
Harrell, president and founder of Talent Soup, spun out the company from Stir in January and it is one of three firms in the Georgia Research Alliance/Technology Association of Georgia (GRA/TAG) launch competition this year. “This contest woke me up to what a rich technology environment we have in Atlanta,” Harrell says. “I’ve already seen the fruits of the process regardless of the outcome.”

Harrell funded the company with revenue from Stir. Since creating its software matching engine to help production people match faces to their projects, Talent Soup has generated $240,000 in revenue and already has Fortune 500 clients, Harrell says.

Harrell says the company may seek an institutional round of funding in the future, but he sees “multiple ways to build the business,” adding, “You have to crawl before you can run.”

The company has one fulltime employee and seven contract people. “We may be hiring shortly,” Harrell says. “We’re looking to build a team, so management is on the radar.”

Harrell says he created the company as a separate entity because of the increasing shift toward using real people and ad budgets to support acquiring them in the industry. “There has been a shift toward using non-models in major ad campaigns. I just turned 40, I’m balding, wear glasses and I’m not pretty and I’ve been in an ad,” he says. “For me to be in an ad says a lot about the power of using regular people.”

Also, he notes, “There is a lot of media being produced in Atlanta. There are a lot of Fortune 100 to Fortune 500 companies here and they’re shooting more here.”

Talent Soup clients include marquee names such as Delta Airlines, Home Depot, UPS, and more.

Talent Soup’s searchable, city-based matching engine includes both professional models and real people. “It’s a mix of match.com and Amazon,” says Harrell. “It has all the transactional benefits of an online marketplace with a great depth and breadth of talent.”

As new media channels emerge, Harrell says, “We’re moving into a visual economy. In social networking, mobile media, video and interactive channels, there is going to be a great need for new images, new faces, and new people.”

At present the company primarily provides faces for print ads but has also helped Turner Broadcasting find talent.

Talent Soup has about 7,000 people in its system now, with something like 2,900 within 150 miles of Atlanta. “All our growth until now has been viral,” says Harrell. “We planted it here and word spread in Atlanta and from there. We’ve only done some low budget search and Facebook ads.”

Talent Soup has had mixed results with those, but “Driving talent to our community is not difficult,” Harrell says. “We treat people differently than is standard in the industry. We’re very transparent and we don’t take any money from the talent. We try to treat people the way they want to be treated.”

That results in a large selection that users love, while the talent loves the opportunity to be picked for projects, Harrell says.

One thing that helps is that the state of Georgia has done a good job of bringing in more high level film productions, Harrell notes. “More and more, producers in LA and elsewhere see Atlanta as a four season place to shoot. It has good support and good infrastructure and you can shoot here year round. If you’re doing a spring ad, you can’t do that in December in New York. So we’re seeing a lot of new business coming out of New York and LA.”

He points out that while everyone thinks the south is hot, “In August, New York is hot.”

Talent Soup typically interfaces directly with a creator, such as a photographer or producer. “When they’re assembling talent, we get a call to submit folks,” Harrell says. “We have a good deal of return customers. On the client side, we’ve grown virally as well.”

Talent Soup plans a larger ad campaign later this year and is currently building its next generation platform, which will be in beta by the end of June. “Right now we’re focused on the self-service for the talent side. Talent can sign up, fill out forms and upload images, but filling galleries for a project requires a human administrator,” Harrell says.

“The new system allows for a great deal of self-service on the clients side. That includes features that will allow marketing, ad firm execs, photographers and producers to collaborate inside online project folders to review and rank talent, do the booking and everything else within the system.”

The secret sauce of the system is to “Use the power of the technology to streamline the process and create efficiencies and cut out the middlemen,” says Harrell.

The company has lots of room to grow, he adds. “We haven’t even really touched broadcast yet and we can step out to completely different verticals. Locations and crews are ripe for this sort of thing.”

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

Newsblaze http://newsblaze.com/story/2009052204302200002.bw/topstory.html &
CityBizList (Baltimore) http://www.citybizlist.com/yourcitybiznews/detail.aspx?id=49173 &
TechLINKS http://www.techlinks.net/community/articles/article/17665-tag-marketing-announces-2009-tamy-award-winners &
Ad-Ops http://www.adoperationsonline.com/2009/05/29/tag-marketing-announces-2009-tamy-award-winners/

ATLANTA - (BUSINESS WIRE) - TAG Marketing, a society of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), today announced the winners of the 2009 TAMY Awards during its awards ceremony held yesterday at Maggiano’s Little Italy, Cumberland Mall. Winners were recognized for demonstrating significant and measurable accomplishments in specific award categories.

The winners of the 2009 TAMY Awards are:
Reveille Software
Corporate Repositioning Award - Large Company
ERDAS
Marketing Tactic Award - Emerging Company
Virtual Premise
Marketing Tactic Award - Large Company
Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)
Marketing to the C-Level Award - Large Company
Manhattan Associates

Karin Bursa, Vice President of Marketing at Logility, Inc., was also honored with TAG’s prestigious 2009 Technology Marketing Executive Award.

“We’re extremely pleased with the quality of the submissions in this year’s competition,” said Stein Soelberg, TAMY Awards Co-Chair, TAG Marketing. “In each case, these winners have differentiated themselves as marketing professionals and, importantly, in a competitive marketplace during one of the worst economies in the modern era. So, we extend sincere congratulations to all.”

The winners were selected from a qualified group of applications. Each applicant had to be currently active in technology in Georgia, and the marketing program entered must have been managed entirely from Georgia. In addition, the programs/tactics submitted must have been carried out primarily during calendar year 2008. All applications were reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of:

Dr. Goutam Challagalla - College of Management, Georgia Tech
Mr. Daryl Evans - AT&T
Ms. Mary Ford - Cbeyond, Inc.
Mr. Dudley Larus - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories
Mr. Ian Oxman - Oxman Consulting, Inc.
The TAMY Awards were sponsored by Arketi Group, TAG Marketing’s 2009 gold sponsor and CBeyond and Denmark {The Agency} as bronze sponsors along with TechLINKS and Business Wire, the event’s media sponsors.

Penny McIntyre, The Coca-Cola Company senior vice president and general manager, Water, Tea and Coffee Divisions, was the event’s keynote speaker for the TAG Awards Breakfast. In her keynote, entitled “The New Rules of Brand Management - Leveraging New Media in the New Economy,” McIntyre shared the challenges and benefits of applying Web-based communications to reach buyers directly in the era of social media.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.techlinks.net/community/articles/article/17652-local-students-accept-webchallenge-awards-for-developing-technology-solutions-and-share-details-on-tag-tv
TechLINKS

Watch online video interviews of award-winning high school student teams and the technology solutions they created to compete for $15,000 in college scholarship money. The TAG Educational Collaborative (TEC) 2009 WebChallenge inspired teams of high school students across north Georgia to get creative, and the winning teams shared their personal success stories exclusively with TAG TV.  Explore the mindset of these special teens and their technology solutions.  They will also be featured on YouTube to show the world that Georgia has young, energetic intellectual capital!  The interviews and entire gavel-to-gavel awards event is available for viewing at http://tagtvonline.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&catid=34&Itemid=303.

Using free and/or open source technologies to benefit their local community, the 2009 Free Your Community WebChallenge charged the student teams to focus on an effective solution to a problem not necessarily on the technical difficulty of the final product.  With so many free Web-based tools being used by students every day, the goal was for development of applications for greater use. 

Student teams choosing free tech could use Gmail, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Google Maps, Blogger and other social media to create their solution.  Teams choosing open source technologies could use Websitebaker, Moodle, Joomla, Wordpress, and more.  Although free to download and install, the open source options were technically more challenging.

First, second and third place awards were given for three TEC 2009 WebChallenge categories Free Tech, Open Source and Most Useful Concept.  A grand prize was awarded to one of two teams that created solutions for helping their fellow students keep up with school events.  Jonathan Hunsucker, of North Gwinnet High Schools team Line Up, describes how he and fellow members Matthew Palmer and Samuel Elgin created a Facebook application that interfaces the schools Google calendar into a students personal Facebook page.  The first place Free Tech team from Morgan County High School approached an events solution from another angle.  According to winner Imran Momin, he and Gareth Newton combined a blog and Twitter with Facebook to create an events application for their school and students.  Creativity and focus paid off for the nine teams who were awarded more than $20,000 in scholarship funds a bigger prize than anticipated.  Watch the interviews about the solutions and the awards ceremony now at http://tagtvonline.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&catid=34&Itemid=303.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://houghtontalent.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/tonight-creditstax-where-credit-is-due/
Houghton Talent Blog

May 21, 2009 TAG Entertainment Society Event
...Investor Panel

Sig Mosley: Imlay Investments

I. Sigmund Mosley, Jr. is President of Imlay Investments, Inc.  Mr. Mosley received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University in 1968.  From 1968 to 1969 Mr. Mosley was employed by Peat Marwick & Mitchell as a staff accountant.  He joined Management Science America, Inc. (now Dun & Bradstreet Software Services, Inc.) in 1969 as a staff accountant and served as Secretary-Treasurer from 1972 to 1990 and was a Vice President from 1982 to 1991.

Imlay Investments, Inc. is the personal investment company of John P. Imlay, Jr.  In addition, Mr. Mosley is a Director of The Imlay Foundation, Inc., Techbridge, Technology Association of Georgia, and Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Southeast.  Mr. Mosley is also a director of GATV.Mr. Mosley was born in 1946 and has six children.  Hobbies include golfing, coin collecting and reading.

...

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://au.sys-con.com/node/971754 & http://www.citybizlist.com/yourcitybiznews/detail.aspx?id=49079
Cloud Computing Journal same article as well in CityBizList in Baltimore

Venture Atlanta, Georgia’s technology innovation event, announced today that it is seeking presenters for its annual investor showcase this fall. Up to 20 tech firms will be selected to speak at Venture Atlanta 2009, held Oct. 13-14 at the W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. Presenters will have the opportunity to pitch their companies to more than 100 private-equity investors from Atlanta and other areas of the country, including Silicon Valley and the Northeast. Last year, out-of-state venture capitalists—representing Chrysalis Ventures, Edison Venture Fund, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Sierra Ventures and others—participated in the event.

“Venture Atlanta has earned a reputation as one of the best events in the Southeast for developing relationships between entrepreneurs, investors and service providers,” said John Glushik of Durham, N.C.-based Intersouth Partners, a VC firm that has invested in Purewire, a company who secures business and social interactions on the web, and several other Atlanta area companies. “In spite of the current economy, I’ll make the trip again this year because we are still looking for quality deals. Venture Atlanta has a proven track record of providing those opportunities.”

Venture Atlanta is co-hosted by three leading business organizations in Georgia: Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). Currently in its second year, Venture Atlanta is already known for attracting top-tier venture firms and representing Georgia’s dynamic technology ecosystem.

“Venture Atlanta was created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the purpose of connecting Georgia’s best companies to tier one investors,” said Ashish Mistry, Venture Atlanta co-founder and Atlanta CEO Council president. “Presenters have always found this conference to be a valuable opportunity from a marketplace visibility aspect as well as for the small things we do, like not charging application or presenter fees.

In addition to company presentations and quality networking opportunities, Venture Atlanta 2009 will feature a still to-be-announced headline speaker. Last year, Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, chairman of the Marcus Foundation, and the main financial contributor to the Georgia Aquarium, spoke to the 500-person audience.

Organizers expect presenters and participants from diverse industries, including software, communications, wireless, new media, semiconductor, transaction processing, medical device, clean technology and alternative energy.

PlayON! Sports, a startup that helps media companies, academic institutions and sports associations produce Web-based video coverage of live events, was a featured presenter at last year’s event. The company raised venture funding in late 2008, and indicates that Venture Atlanta was a direct link to the exposure it needed to get to the next level.

“What I liked most about Venture Atlanta 2008 was its fast pace,” said David Rudolph, PlayON! Sports CEO and former Turner Broadcasting executive. “I got a lot of crucial industry information and met investors and fellow entrepreneurs who I’m still in contact with today.”

Georgia-based entrepreneurs interested in presenting at Venture Atlanta 2009 should submit two-page executive summaries and applications to http://www.ventureatlanta.org by August 31. There is no fee to apply.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

http://www.techjournalsouth.com/news/article.html?item_id=7460
Tech Journal South

ATLANTA - The Georgia Research Alliance/Technology Association of Georgia (GRA/TAG) have named AccelerEyes, Band Metrics and TalentSoup as the finalists for the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition.

The winner will be announced during the June 3, 2009 awards ceremony held at IBM’s Hillside Building at 8:00 a.m. Registration for the awards ceremony is currently open at https://www.123signup.com/event?id=znmng.

The TAG/GRA Business Launch Competition is designed to help a local startup technology company launch its business and has become one of largest competitions of its kind in the U.S.

The competition is GRA/TAG’s way of rewarding high-tech entrepreneurship and assuring a deserving Georgia startup company is primed for success.

The winner will receive $100,000 in cash and $200,000 in business and professional services. The three finalists for the GRA/TAG competition come from varied industries, including high-performance computing, music and advertising.

AccelerEyes was formed in June 2007 to deliver on its vision of creating and leading the movement towards “Personal Supercomputing.”

AccelerEyes brings a new level of supercomputing power to personal computers by delivering powerful software solutions to the high-performance computing (HPC) market.

Band Metrics analyzes, ranks and scores the overall popularity of a musician, band or song by aggregating and interpreting all relevant online content.

Through its patent-pending Popularity Profiling System ("PPS"), Band Metrics aggregates comprehensive information about bands and musicians from across the global Internet landscape, calculating and delivering results in an easy-to-use, analytical dashboard.

TalentSoup is an interactive service that provides a highly efficient matching engine to connect talent with advertising projects.

This year’s winner will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges which includes venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and seasoned executives. The 2009 judges panel includes:

Mark Barry, Venture Partner, OpenView Venture Partners;
Matthew Chagan, Vice President, Trident Capital;
Nelson Chu, Managing Partner, Kinetic Ventures;
Kevin Costello, President, Ariba Inc;
Tom Crotty, Managing Partner, Battery Ventures;
Roger Hurwitz, Partner, Fidelity Ventures;
Matt McConnell, CEO, Knowlagent.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Ariel Killen

Network with Georgia’s Best Technology Marketers
TechLINKS

Join TAG Marketing at the 2009 TAMY Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 21st, from 7:30 to 9:30 am at Maggiano’s Cumberland. The keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony is Penny McIntyre, senior vice president and general manager of Water, Tea and Coffee, The Coca-Cola Company. Click here to register for this exciting event.

Comments (0) TAG in the News

Posted by Josh Lewis

From a PBS episode on Twitter mania and a look at how the Internet is killing mass marketing while, at the same time, reviving tribal social units, to a top brick and click CIO panel discussing new technologies and customer needs, a report on Google’s book scanning project to transform education and a small tech energy solution fueling an apartment building’s operations, a new show is launched every week day on WebVisions: a TAG TV compilation of tech news and information clips from various popular Internet video sites.  Watch a show a day to conveniently keep up with, and explore, a variety of tech topics!

Go to WebVisions Now!

Monday: PBS Explores Twitter Mania
A panel of experts explore how Twitter is being used by politicians, public figures and businesspeople, plus discuss authenticity on Twitter, conversations vs. broadcasting and whether Twitter as a medium can change the world.  28 minutes

Tuesday: How the Internet is Killing Mass Marketing by Reviving Tribal Social Units
Best selling author Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. 17 minutes

Wednesday: Brick and Click CIO Panel 2010: New Technologies and the Customer
Chief Information Officers from top brick and click enterprises look at Web 2.0, social networking and cloud computing for solving business problems.  How do these technologies relate to the customers buying drivers, wants, and spending plans? 91 minutes

Thursday: Will Google’s Book Scan Project Transform Learning? 
Explore the experience of the 25 participating university libraries in Google’s Book Scan project and the resulting future impact of public higher education on social mobilization and economic development.  3 minutes

Friday: A Small Tech Apartment Building Energy Solution
Reuters News reports on a Swedish property company that developed the first wind turbine running on the roof of an apartment block to create energy for operating the building, including the elevator.  2 minutes

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Other TAG TV Features: Tech Talk on TAG Radio
TAG President Tino Mantella interviews Atlanta’s top executives, with a new show launching every Tuesday afternoon. Click to listen to Tino’s latest interview!

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