We kicked off Technori Pitch last week with a great keynote speech by Julian Posada, a serial entrepreneur who has launched two non-profits, a media company, and was most recently the President of Chicago Fire Soccer Club. He’s got an incredibly diverse and rich career background—including serving as Chief of Staff for Public Allies, a nonprofit under the supervision of our First Lady, Michelle Obama.
The main theme of Posada’s keynote speech was the notion of “creating alignment”—of people, ideas, pace, and cadence. He believes that when starters are building a team, pursuing ideas, and doing work that aligns with their vision and purpose, they will inevitably generate momentum. “You can’t build a movement with one person. You have to create consensus,” Posada said. That consensus for a team of people, in turn, allows starters to grow whatever their working on faster.
In 2010, Posada got an offer to run the Chicago Fire Soccer Club. “I had no idea how to run a sports organization,” he said. But, he created alignment in pace and cadence with the organization. When he first started at Chicago Fire, the hardest thing was readjusting the practice of the organization’s pace being set by games rather than the business. He knew that needed to change; so, he created a cadence that was twice as fast, making sure along the way that he was focused on running a business—not just a sports organization. Posada left that position recently, and said about leaving, “I’ve always been a fan of working myself out of a job.” Posada’s position was not replaced when he left at the end of last year.
After the inspiring alignment-inspired keynote address, we welcomed our first startup of the night, Vinyl Me Please, to the Technori Pitch stage.
We love music. Whether we’re jamming out with our ear buds before work or kicking off the weekend right, it’s a delight.
Music also makes us very unique. We all have different tastes and preferences when it comes to our selections. In the recent past, the selection choices have usually been $.99 downloads, $10 monthly subscriptions, or personalized online radios dishing out songs based on algorithms (not to mention the lovely ads).
Vinyl Me Please is taking a different approach. They want to deliver music you truly enjoy not via computer programming, but personal interaction. They do this in two ways:
- Deliver a hand-wrapped record on monthly basis that is picked from a team of industry experts.
- Personal music consultants interact with you to ensure they understand your style + preferences, then send you a playlist each month
As co-founder Tyler Barstow said, “music is the thing that introduces us to ourselves”—one of many great reasons to sign up for Vinyl Me Please.
Hey America. We’re overweight! So are our dogs. It is estimated that 55% of the dogs in this country are obese. A lot of this can be blamed on the dog owners, and we need to encourage activity for a mutually beneficial experience.
That’s why MyFitDog has created an exercise measuring device that can be attached to your dog’s collar. It is a three dimensional accelerometer. Once attached to the collar, it sends data via Wi-Fi to its cloud services that can be accessed through any internet enabled device.
To encourage activity, they are building a social network to create peer pressure and competition amongst users. There is even the capability to interact with your veterinarian so they can monitor progress, and also with pet health insurance companies.
In April they are launching a Kickstarter program and should be releasing some enteraining YouTube videos in the near future. Product price was quoted somewhere between $100-$150.
The Zombie Apocalypse: it’s coming. Well, maybe.
Map of The Dead is a game for your iPhone, based on mobile location and augmented reality. You search for supplies at actual locations in your city and fight off zombies with the materials you are able to secure. You can ride solo (best of luck!) or team up with friends to complete tasks.
The ting is, you can only carry so much zombie fighting equipment. You need to set up a base where you store supplies. Don’t venture off to far from the base, otherwise you might end up knee deep in zombies with no way to fight ‘em off.
You can earn XP throughout the game to level up and receive more guns, ammo, and equipment. You can also make in-app purchases if you just want to stock up and go straight into the thunder dome.
You’ve probably been there before. You get into a relationship, and suddenly, your significant other doesn’t want to hang out with your single friends whose idea of a good time is bar hopping in Lincoln Park until 2:00 AM. Maybe you just moved to a new city and are looking for ways to meet other couples with similar interests. Or, maybe you just want to make new friends.
Couple Circle has created a network for couples to meet other people with similar interests and backgrounds while participating in fun, local events.
The way it works is simple. Sign up and create a private profile, and Couple Circle will organize activities and extend an invitation to users who have similar interests and backgrounds. You only have to participate in events you see fit. So sit back, and let Couple Circle bring the fun to you.
Dude, where’s my wipe? Let’s be honest: looking fresh and feeling clean is in high demand, no matter who you are.
During a fateful Costco trip, Chief Executive Dude Sean Riley realized his apartment full of dudes needed to stock up on baby wipes. Why? Because “they are awesome.” The feedback from the roommates was great. They came to the realization that more dudes need to have a “stay fresh” epiphany.
That’s why Dude Products has created the Dude Wipe. It’s the most innovative 44 square inch product on the market…here are the specs:
- Dude sized (44 square inches)
- Non-woven technology
- Flushable
- Vitamin E
- Soothing Aloe
- 95% renewable + biodegradable
- Fresh scent
The wipes come in single packs and are available at Drugstore.com, Amazon.com, Newgg.com, Sears.com, and Clever Training. Dudes Wipes are traveling fast—check out where they’ve been.
That closes out February’s Technori Pitch. The presenters were all hilarious and fun personalities, which made this one of the most memorable, giggle-inducing Pitch nights in Technori history.