Disrupting market research by crowdsourcing new product, service and marketing ideas.

JD Sound
Korea

JD Sound is the innovative and revolutionary creator of the “Portable DJ” (PDJ), a portable and standalone DJ system and music production studio. JD Sound specializes in engineering digital audio platforms, including hardware and software.

Vuact
Finland

Vuact is a video engagement platform that gives the viewers a new video experience, helping them find and mark valuable moments in their videos.

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Press From the Event:

Startups from around the world take on America at Plug and Play Expo 2013
Watch out, America — all the winners from Plug and Play’s demo day hail from abroad

International Press

The Runners-Up

SEO Engine
USA

Search Engine Data + Intelligence
SEO Engine has created and patented a unique search engine – used by brands to access data that has just recently become very valuable. The company anticipated this market shift, has a working solution, and its core patent was issued last month.

SocialCode
New Zealand

Goalpost, SocialCode’s latest product, is a behavior change and patient engagement platform for the prevention and management of chronic diseases, medication adherence and rehabilitation.

Mobile Event Guide
Germany

Mobile Event Guide creates interactive applications for events, exhibitions and conferences.

BlueFox
France

BlueFox is the expert content provider for digital-out-of-home screens worldwide. They provide rights-cleared premium content for broadcast in Digital Signage and Digital Place-Based Media.

Appfuel
Canada

Appfuel is a ‘business plan in a box’ for mobile app studios. They provide app developers with one single network that, using display advertising, provides distribution and a revenue stream, with real-time adjustment between these two purposes.

IDXP
Brazil

IDXP analyzes consumer behavior in real time for brick-and-mortar retail. They track the paths to purchase and analyze the shoppers behavior at the point of sale through an innovative technology.

Cloudtenna
USA

Cloudtenna supplements enterprise storage with a cloud service which enables users to browse files from mobile devices.

FLASHiZ
Luxembourg

FlASHiZ is an e-money company, providing a multi-channel mobile payment solution that integrates retailers loyalty and rewards within the payment transaction.

pulse.io
USA

Performance monitoring service for live mobile apps. They find the top issues slowing down apps.

ProTenders/Monaqasat
UAE

ProTenders/Monaqasat.com is the MENA’s leading Cloud eTendering solution for the construction industry that allows its member companies to streamline their tender process, collaborate on documents, submit bids online, immediately generate interactive reports, and seek new opportunities in a secure, transparent, and user friendly platform.

Tickengo
USA

Tickengo is an online and mobile app service that enables thrifty ride seekers to connect with drivers’ empty car seats.

AtContent
Russia and USA

AtContent helps bloggers to reach new readership and control content outside of their sites. They monetize the bloggers market which is currently estimated at 200M bloggers and is projected to reach 400M by 2015.

Upshift
USA

Zipcar meets car leasing.

NoviFlow
Canada

NoviFlow develops software defined networking (SDN) Ethernet switches based on Network Processors.

Audience.fm
France and USA

Audience.fm uses passive music consumption data to identify user’s musical preferences, and match marketers with the right fans.

irisnote
USA

irisnote is a SaaS provider of Scientific Resource Planning (SRP) software to scientists and researchers to manage their work.

Empire Avenue
Canada

EmpireAvenue.com is a marketplace for individuals to monetize their reputation and networks.

inWebo
France

inWebo is an identity protection platform that is both a frictionless 2-factor authentication solution (for providers) and a digital identity wallet (for users).

Audiodraft
Finland

Audiodraft helps companies to outsource their music and audio production to a global community of over 20,000 sound designers and music composers.

Beezy
Spain

Beezy helps an enterprise to unlock the business value of its most precious asset: the knowledge and expertise of its employees.

Kalibrr
Philippines

Online learning + assessments that help people get jobs and deliver talent to companies at scale.

Capy
Japan

Frustration-free Captcha solution.

Check back tomorrow to see pictures and video from EXPO!

Earlier this week, a batch of red hot startups emerged from the second class of Plug and Play Valencia’s accelerator program to show off their stuff. Following a 14-week program which included co-working, mentoring, sessions with experts, and active coaching, the startups took the stage in front of an audience of investors, corporate partners, and entrepreneurs to compete to be the best. You can check out pictures from the event here.

Without further adieu, here are your winners:

- Lilymedia (Judit Villarte – CEO)
Lilymedia creates educational apps for Android and iOS tablets. Their didactive games adapt to the skills of the children and also offer reports to the parents about where there children excel.

- Fromlab (Mireia Valldecabres – CEO)
Fromlab is an online platform that helps creators of physical products fund, produce and sell their projects through crowdfunding and e-commerce.

- Yeeply (Luis Picurelli – CEO)
Yeeply.com is a platform externalizing mobile services. App development companies can offer their services to corporations looking to outsource their mobile development. Yeeply takes a small commission per project.

…And your runners up:

- Meetmeals (Javier Cortés – CEO)
Meetmeals allows you to organize social cooking meetups among people who like to cook and people who like to try new and different dishes.

- Eurotri (José Luis de Quesada – CEO)
Eurotri is a website about triathlons that integrates everything a thriathlete may need: an online shop, news, a ticketing platform, training programs, etc.

- OmbuShop (Ernesto Tagwerker – CEO)
Ombushop is a simple and friendly platform where you can create an online shop in just three clicks, without any technical knowledge.

- Hypecal (Brice Pissard – CEO)
Hypecal has created a new standard, called ESS (Event Standard Syndication), to share and publish information about events and real time updates.

Wish you could have been there? Check out Plug and Play’s international EXPO in Sunnyvale, CA on Thursday, June 13.

Check out more images from Plug and Play Valencia’s Demo Day:

The Philippines, sometimes referred to as the “baby tiger” in terms of Asian economic development, has been growing at a rate of 8% per year and is building its global reputation with 10 million Filipinos working abroad. Within its boundaries, an estimated 1 million outsourcing positions have developed within the last 10 years. The Ayala Group has been a pioneer in banking, real estate and telecommunications in the Philippines for more than 50 years and now aims to become a force in developing the technology ecosystem in Manila and the rest of the Philippines. The partnership between Globe and Plug and Play also offers Philippines tech companies a clear distribution path to the US market.

“It has been approximately one year since I last saw the new group of startups in Manila and I must say the quality and enthusiasm of the startups were as good as any startup I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Plug and Play founder and CEO Saeed Amidi. “We really look forward to this relationship producing more than 100 companies in Manila.”

Only a month ago, Plug and Play announced a similar partnership with German publisher Axel Springer, suggesting that overseas expansion and investment remain a top priority for the Silicon Valley business accelerator.

Seeking out new and untapped resources for startups to leverage is something of a specialty for Plug and Play, which offers hundreds of startups a direct line to business development and funding opportunities through its extensive corporate network and 60 plus investments per year. The secret sauce to Silicon Valley’s biggest business accelerator is creative allocation of resources that leads to win-wins. In the present case, a Plug and Play startup looking to expand into Asia and score funding at the same time could do so through personal introductions to key members of the aforementioned organizations. Such partnerships align with Mr. Obama’s stated goal of advancing economic prosperity and strengthening regional institutions in Asia.

“When Silicon Valley startups think about resources, they tend to think only about venture capitalists and angel investors. But there are a lot more resources, financial as well as network resources, and Plug and Play can help tie [startups] into these resources,” said Wu, who is also leading a B2B-focused accelerator for early and growth-stage businesses seeking major partnerships and funding. Government programs like those discussed at the Doing Business in Asia forum, along with Plug and Play’s strong governmental relationships in the Asian-Pacific region and partnerships with Baidu, Samsung, and more round out the offering.

Startups seeking information and guidance about how to utilize these resources can contact me at Andrew (at) plugandplaytechcenter (dot) com.

Notes:
-Business owners and entrepreneurs can also contact the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, and any local US embassies to connect with in-country resources and business leaders.
-The Small Business Administration – loans, grants, and other resources.
-OPIC – Finances individual projects that solve critical and global development challenges with private market resources. $200 billion invested to date.
-EXIM – Financing programs that decrease exporting risk for companies looking to export to Asia.
-The U.S. Trade and Development Agency

Two years ago a company called Decisyon Inc. joined the Plug and Play community, where our Ventures Team presented them to dozens of our investment partners like NEA, Alloy Ventures, General Catalyst and Opus. Decisyon listened to the feedback from these meetings and went on to present at our Plug and Play EXPO. Today, the company has raised $15 million in funding to drive global expansion.

“Decisyon has an extraordinary set of assets, most notably breakthrough technology, great people and a strong customer base of well-known global brands,” said Tom Cowan, Decisyon president and chief executive officer. “This funding enables us to support the company with the resources to expand into the global software market.”

Decisyon, Inc., will use this round of funding to drive global expansion and strengthen its capabilities to serve its rapidly growing customer base. This includes $10 million of immediate proceeds to the company and a pre-negotiated second tranche of $5 million scheduled for 2013. The round was led by New York-based growth investor Axel Johnson Inc. and included other prominent private technology investors from the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Axel Johnson has a long history of investing behind exceptional management teams working to create deep, lasting value for customers and their businesses,” said Michael Milligan, president and CEO of Axel Johnson Inc.  “We are pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the rapid expansion of Decisyon’s business.”

Built upon a unique collaborative data integration and analytics platform, Decisyon’s applications integrate and analyze disparate sources of information dynamically across the enterprise — enabling teams to quickly engage with new insights, make informed decisions and initiate actions.

The Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL), which innovates for major auto brands like Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, will be looking for ten lucky startups to accelerate. Peter Oel, Executive Director, Volkswagen Group Electronics Research Laboratory said, “Innovation is an integral part of Volkswagen Group’s long term product strategy and we take every opportunity to engage the brightest minds in technology to help define the future direction of automobiles. Our partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center provides an extraordinary platform for the most talented entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and around the country to bring forth innovation that will help us develop the most intelligent, connected vehicles of the future.”

The aptly named Volkswagen ERL Technology Accelerator is now accepting applications from tech startups in a variety of fields, from social media and recommendation engines to display/data integration and visual computing. Chosen startups will participate in the three-month program located at Plug and Play Tech Center’s Sunnyvale headquarters. Participating companies will receive access to hundreds of investors, corporations, and mentors within the Plug and Play network, exposure at Plug and Play events, regular educational seminars, and office space. Click here to learn more and apply.

Your original idea has gone south, but you still have money in the bank. What’s a savvy startup to do? Pivot, of course. In fact, the ability to pivot successfully might just be the single greatest talent a company can have. However, there are always questions to consider:

• What’s the difference between a product pivot, a business model pivot, and a whole company pivot?
• When is a pivot justified, and when is it just a “mulligan,” to use Mike Maples’ term?
• Can a startup pivot too frequently, or too many times?
• How can you tell if you’re one of the Living Dead—a company that needs to pivot, but is afraid to?
• Pivoting is stressful—how do you ride it out without succumbing to panic?
• How do you hold on to your higher purpose through a pivot?

Join founders and startup gurus to get the answers to these questions and hear frank insider stories about successful (and unsuccessful) pivots. This event will be held at PARC—itself the product of a successful pivot back in 2002, when Xerox spun it off as a contract-research subsidiary. We look forward to seeing you there!

December 4, 2:00 – 5:00pm - PARC, George E. Pake Auditorium, 3333 Coyote Hill Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94304

Click Here to learn more and register!

Meet October’s Hottest Company of the Month: xAd! xAd is one of the largest mobile advertising networks in the U.S. with access to the largest supply of location based advertising inventory in the market. With over a million advertisers, xAd delivers mobile location at scale.

1. Don’t be afraid of failure. Learn from it and move on. - As Vlad Barshai, Co-Founder of Pinerly says, “The reality is, for first-timers, you’re more than bound to fail. So fail and get up and do it again, and again. Eventually you’ll learn and end up hitting the right market.”

2. Just do it. At some point, you have to put the books down and get started. - Alexander Debelov, CO-Founder and CEO of Virool says, “You can spend a lot of time fleshing out a business plan, reading a lot of books, making presentations – but what will actually make your business is your first customer.  Before you do anything, find your first customer. Try to sell them your idea. Even if they say no, it’s going to power you up.”

3. Be smart about hiring your team. - Roman Karachinsky, CEO and Co-Founder of News 306 advises, “Spend time thinking about strategy in terms of building the team, the culture, and don’t do it as-you-go. Have a plan. It may not work 100% but it will help.”

Plug and Play is gearing up for its first-ever cloud event, CloudScale, in partnership with CloudNOW. This is a behind-the-scenes preview of the 10 pitching companies. For more information on CloudScale and to register, click here.

CloudInsure is a Cloud Insurance platform designed to specifically address emerging liabilities within the Cloud environment. In partnership with global insurance and reinsurance carriers, we’ve engineered privacy & security liability coverage to meet the needs of the Cloud Computing space for enterprise customers. Through our innovative underwriting models and proprietary analytics, we bring insurance solutions that move at the pace of Cloud technology.

ComputeNext  – An “uber-aggregator” of cloud IaaS, ComputeNext has built the only transparent marketplace for cloud infrastructure procurement.

distil.it - Business Description: Distil is the first Content Protection Network that helps companies identify and block malicious content scraping and data theft. Distil makes real-time decisions and seamlessly distinguishes human visitors from malicious bots while improving page load times and reducing server load.

Oris4 allows you to find any corporate information, from anywhere without searching. Our software serves up anything in your enterprise, including email and across your cloud services like Salesforce, Box, Dropbox and Gmail. All of the information is organized for you and delivered to you in the context of what your are working on and who you are working with.

Strategic Blue Cited by Gartner as the only true cloud broker dealer, Strategic Blue brings the pricing and risk management strategies of the financial commodities markets to cloud computing via revenue-generating services that add convenience and value to the cloud user. Strategic Blue steps into the billing chain between you as a cloud user, and your cloud providers, so that you can pay for your cloud usage under an arrangement tailored to suit you: ”Strategic Blue buys from cloud providers how they want to sell, and sells to cloud users how they want to buy.

Zadara Storage Winner of Venturebeat’s and Under the Radar cloud competitions, Zadara Storage offers Enterprise-class storage for the cloud. With Zadara Storage, cloud storage leapfrogs ahead to provide cloud servers with high-performance, fully configurable, highly available, fully private, tiered storage. By combining the best of Enterprise storage with the best of cloud storage, Zadara Storage takes the cloud to the next level enabling Enterprises to migrate mission-critical applications to the Cloud. Discover the benefits of cloud without the compromise: zadarastorage.com

Corent Tech Corent is emerging as the “Intel Inside”® for the exploding SaaS market. Its “plug- in” SaaS-enabling software rapidly transforms conventional on-premise single- tenant software applications into elastic, scalable, on-demand, multi-tenant cloud- ready SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions without re-writing the applications. The average savings are $3M of development costs and 3 years of go-to-market time. In other words: What VMware has done for hardware, Corent is now doing for Software.

TransLattice TransLattice is the geographically distributed database and application platform company that provides data where and when it is needed, for enterprise, cloud and hybrid environments. This new approach to enterprise and cloud infrastructure results in significantly reduced costs and deployment complexity, while dramatically improving system reliability, scalability and response time. TransLattice was founded in 2007, and officially launched in August 2010. For more information, please visitwww.translattice.com.

everbill With everbill startups and SMEs can easily create invoices, estimates, purchase orders, and alike documents via any connected device and exchange them with their customers and suppliers. everbill is a software-as-a-service application wherefore our users don’t have to install, update, or maintain local software. With already 600 paying customers in Austria and a conversion rate of 25% from test- to-purchase, everbill is a proven product to be scaled in other geographic markets.