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FIRESTARTERS
What is the FiReStarters program?
We have selected 10 businesses - top startups or businesses with new startup
technology - for world promotion, based on nominations by trusted strategic
investment SNS Members, as part of this pioneering program at FiRe 2007.
These are businesses which we, and those businesses who nominated them,
believe will change our world in a positive way. They are businesses we believe you should know about.
Why did we create the FiReStarters program?
Because we know our SNS Members have access to and knowledge of key world-changing
new businesses, or businesses with new technologies, that are on the cusp of making
great strides in improving our world - businesses that deserve recognition - we invited
a select number of SNS Member investment firms to nominate businesses they know that fit
into this high-caliber category for our review. From these nominations, we selected 10
finalists for FiRe 2007. These are businesses we hope to follow for a very long time.
In addition to promoting these businesses before, during, and after FiRe, we will follow
up with each FiReStarter to learn how and in what ways their business has changed as a result
of their participation at FiRe
If you have any questions, or if you would like your company to be considered as a FiReStarter
nominee in 2008, please contact Sharon Anderson-Morris, Director of SNS Programs, at sam@tapsns.com.
FIRESTARTER
COMPANIES
American Well
American Well™ is a new healthcare marketplace where consumers and
physicians can come together online to acquire and provide convenient and immediate healthcare
services. Using the latest technologies in Web communications and digital telephony, the company
extends traditional healthcare services to the home setting. American Well is committed to supporting
health plans in meeting consumer and employer demand for affordable, efficient, and immediate access
to quality care.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, American Well was founded in 2006 by Drs. Roy and Ido Schoenberg, and
is the founders' third venture in the healthcare technology field. The founders, together with their
executive management team, have successfully built and implemented large-scale, mission-critical enterprise
solutions for healthcare consumers, providers, and payors in both U.S. and international markets.
FiReSpotter: Investment Management Group: Jeb Terry, CEO, Aberdeen Investment Management, Inc.
Participating at FiRe:
Roy Schoenberg, MD, MPH, CEO (Speaker)
Ido Schoenberg, MD , Chairman and CEO
Website: www.americanwell.com
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Global Solar Energy
Global Solar Energy is a solar-industry leader that manufactures highly efficient thin-film
solar cells for glass module or flexible material products. Global Solar is the only Copper Indium
Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) manufacturer in full-scale production on a flexible substrate and has
achieved 10% average solar-cell efficiency. Its thin-film CIGS strings are not dependent on silicon
and instead use highly available raw materials that are easily integrated into a wide range of applications
for use in commercial, residential, utility-scale, and government products.
Global Solar has developed a proprietary process for manufacturing thin-film CIGS photovoltaic (PV)
cells and modules. Global Solar is the only company reliably producing CIGS that can be encapsulated
in traditional glass modules or in a flexible substrate. CIGS creates more electricity from the same
amount of sunlight than do other thin-film PV technologies and therefore has a higher "conversion efficiency,"
leading to lower cost. CIGS conversion efficiency is also extremely stable over time, meaning its performance
continues unabated for many years.
FiReSpotter: VC Partner: Rodel Foundations
Participating at FiRe:
Mike Gering, President and CEO (Speaker)
Website: www.globalsolar.com
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Hawaii Oceanic Technology Inc.
Hawaii Oceanic Technology Inc. is developing an environmentally responsible open-ocean
aquaculture system. The company's intellectual property is a hybrid ocean thermal energy
conversion (OTEC) power plant and an 82,500-cubic-meter aquaculture vessel called the Aquasphere™
that is capable of growing 2,000 tons of seafood.
The Aquasphere is not tethered to the ocean floor, will stay on station in the deep ocean to avoid
any possibility of impacting shore and coral reef environments, and will allow efficient dispersal
of effluents. The company's business model is to license this technology and to operate an Ahi farm
in the pure clean waters off of Hawaii. Ahi is the Hawaiian word for Big Eye and Yellowfin tunas.
World demand for fish protein exceeds what the ocean can sustainably produce, and many species of
wild fish stocks, such as Bluefin tuna, are rapidly being depleted.
Aquaculture is a $60 billion global industry composed of inland-based shrimp and freshwater
fish farms dominated by Asian producers whose products do not always meet U.S. food and safety
standards. Aquaculture products from Asia make up 50% of U.S. imports, which exceed $12 billion
per year. Federal legislation is being considered that will allow open-ocean aquaculture in the
U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone to address this seafood security threat.
Successfully deploying a next-generation aquaculture system capable of operating in deep ocean
waters can create a new, economically viable capability for industrial-scale ocean fish farming
to meet the world's insatiable demand for fish protein. The company is committed to environmentally
responsible aquaculture and ocean stewardship and has designed the Aquasphere with this in mind.
FiReSpotter: VC Partner: Michael Pfeffer, Managing Partner, Kolohala Ventures
Participating at FiRe:
Bill Spencer, CEO (Speaker)
Chenoa Farnsworth, Partner, Kolohala Holdings
Website: http://www.hioceanictech.com/
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High Throughput Genomics
High Throughput Genomics Inc. provides quantitative Nuclease Protection Assay (qNPA™)
technology and services for the life sciences industry, addressing current unmet needs and enabling
a new era of drug discovery and diagnostics. The company's qNPA technology platform enables the accurate,
sensitive, reproducible, and repeatable measurement of molecular signatures through the multiplexed measurement
of RNA expression levels, DNA, and protein levels and function.
qNPA data measure how drugs act and how diseases are mediated at the level of whole cells, tissues, or organisms.
These measurements enable researchers to focus their resources by rapidly obtaining higher-quality results than are
possible with other methods in days rather than months, saving time and cost while addressing critical unmet needs.
Privately held, HTG is based in Tucson, Arizona. Investors in the company include Solstice Capital, Merck Capital
Ventures, Valley Ventures, and Village Ventures
FiReSpotter: VC Partner: Rodel Foundations
Participating at FiRe:
Tim Johnson, CEO (Speaker)
Billie-Jo Kerns, VP of Strategic Marketing and Business Development
Website: www.htgenomics.com
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Imaginatik
Imaginatik is a software and professional-services company specializing in innovation and idea management.
For over 10 years it has worked with the most demanding companies in a wide variety of industries,
delivering tangible return on investment through the use of its services and its software, Idea Central.
Imaginatik's customers include companies such as Pfizer, Georgia-Pacific, W.R. Grace, Bayer, Cargill, Henkel,
Hallmark, and Chevron.
Imaginatik has offices in the U.S., the U.K., Spain, and Germany, and a network of partners around the world.
Its main offices are in Boston, Massachusetts, and Winchester, U.K.
FiReSpotter: Bruce Harned, Strategic Innovator
Participating at FiRe:
Mark Turrell, CEO (Speaker)
Geoff Carss, VP, Sales & Global Marketing
Website: www.imaginatik.com
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Open Labs
Open Labs encompasses the three key elements of creative expression: providing the integrated
environment to create, empowering the creator with expressive tools, and providing a way to encourage
broad collaboration, all in an "open" work environment. Some of Open Labs' customers are Prince; Faith Hill's
producer, Jimmy Nichols; Maroon 5; and Timbaland.
Open Labs manufactures world-class musical instruments, develops custom musical and creative
software, and provides unique tools for creative expression. Open Labs is the only "open system"
provider of these types of devices and software, and its creative tools extend to the musical and
video ecosystems most exploited by today's social networks. The company will provide these tools for the
broad collaboration the current system does not allow for, and it has unique and patent-pending ways to make all
the creators and collaborators participants in the revenue models it provides.
The collaborative piece rivals the ringtone and surpasses it, because music can be sold in "stems,"
tracks, multiple tracks, or "split stems," and mixed, remixed, mashed, or looped. Open Labs provides
the integrated environments for creation, expression, and collaboration. It provides hardware, software,
and Internet portals to allow its users to accomplish their vision. It is unique in that respect.
FiReSpotter: Investment Management Group: Jeb Terry, CEO, Aberdeen Investment Management, Inc.
Participating at FiRe:
Hank Coleman, CEO and Director (Speaker)
Victor Wong, Co-Founder and Chairman
Website: www.openlabs.com
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Seeo Inc.
Seeo is an early-stage battery venture based in Berkeley, California. With a team of world-class
scientists and engineers, and funding from Khosla Ventures, Seeo is moving full speed toward revolutionizing
electricity storage and delivery.
Today's high-performance lithium ion batteries are based on an inherently unstable platform.
Stability and lifetime limitations prevent lithium ion cells from addressing key applications.
Efforts to increase performance while minimizing cost have exposed the vulnerability of this system to
catastrophic failures and explosions that are taking their toll on the industry and consumers alike.
Seeo is developing a novel materials platform that provides the inherent safety and stability needed to
enable a new generation of high-performance batteries.
FiReSpotter: Khosla Ventures
Participating at FiRe:
Nitash Balsara, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Scientific Chairman (Speaker)
Ilan Gur, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Director
Website: www.seeo.com
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Transonic Combustion Inc.
Transonic Combustion Inc. is a research & developmentÐphase company focused
on developing a suite of technologies which is projected to enable conventional
automotive engines to run at ultra-high efficiency on gasoline and on bio-renewable
flex fuels. The company was founded by an inventor/entrepreneur with patents in fuel
cells, batteries, electronics, and computer/communications architecture. The startup
management team has a track record of establishing strategic partnerships with automotive,
computer, and wireless communications companies.
FiReSpotter: Khosla Ventures
Participating at FiRe:
Mike Cheiky, CEO (Speaker)
Michael Rocke, Vice President of Business Development
Website: www.tscombustion.com
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uBoost
uBoost is a web-based rewards and recognition platform for K-12 students whereby points are
awarded for academic achievement and redeemed for relevant rewards and recognition. Rewards aimed
at all constituencies (students, parents, and teachers) are necessary to create the system of collaboration
that motivates and supports students. uBoost is designed to improve the way students feel about their education,
enable parents and educators to encourage their progress, and ultimately drive positive student learning outcomes.
- Premium Rewards - In addition to over 100,000 unique rewards which include free and discounted merchandise and digital assets,
uBoost has added on-line educational games, music and other digital downloads. Students can convert their points into cash for their
college savings account, gift awards to their friends, and donate points to a charity in support of their favorite cause.
- Community/Corporate Sponsorship - An increased selection of rewards such as scholarships, laptops, and school funding will be provided
by private individuals, corporations and foundations.
- Parent Engagement - The parent desktop application (widget) and toolbar will communicate student performance data through rss feeds,
text and email messaging. Parents are awarded 25% of all points earned by their child and those points can be used reward their
child's achievement.
- Social Networking - Students spend an increasingly large percentage of their time online interacting in social networks.
uBoost offers a controlled virtual environment to redeem points and interact with peers. Each student will have a home
page displaying awards, academic results, reward wish lists, filtered-chat, feedback and award ranking.
- Auction Site - Relevancy and engagement will be greatly enhanced with the opportunity to use uBoost points to bid on a
large selection of premium rewards.
Early partnerships with Weekly Reader, Reader's Digest, Schoolnet, E2020 and New York City Department of
Education will help uBoost scale quickly.
FiReSpotter: VC Partner: Michael Pfeffer, Managing Partner, Kolohala Ventures
Participating at FiRe:
John Bower, CEO (Speaker)
David Remy, CTO and Chief Architect
Website: www.uboost.com
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vlingo Corporation
vlingo Corp. delivers a voice-powered interface for mobile phones.
Leveraging a new technology called adaptive "Hierarchical Language Models" (HLMs), vlingo's approach allows carriers
and mobile application providers to quickly and inexpensively voice-enable any application - without custom engineering
or in-house speech expertise. Unlike conventional voice recognition technologies that require individual purpose-built
applications and rely on constrained grammars and scripted interactions, vlingo's open approach eliminates a costly and
intensive manual effort and scales to tasks as broad as open mobile search. As a result, consumers get quick, easy, and
accurate access to mobile applications, which translates into new revenue streams.
Participating at FiRe:
Dave Grannan, President & CEO (Speaker)
Erin Keleher, Marketing Communications Manager
Website: www.vlingo.com
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