TechStars Graduates 12 Start-ups

BOULDER, CO, August 06, 2011 (Press-News.org) TechStars, recently recognized as the No. 1 technology accelerator, graduated 12 start-ups in the fifth year of the program's Boulder session. The class of 2011 includes a variety of founders ranging from industry veterans to college graduates - and even one high school student - making it one of the most diverse programs in TechStars history.

TechStars companies presenting at the 2011 Boulder Demo Day are:

• Full Contact is the API (application programming interface) that keeps contact information current. Developers can easily tap into FullContact's database of more than 100 million contact records to quickly turn partial, out-of-date contact records into fresh, complete contact records.

• FlixMaster creates technology that enables anyone to build branching-path video mash-ups that pull videos, audio files, forms and images from all over the web to play in a single video window.

• Simple Energy is changing how millions of people save energy by revolutionizing how utilities engage their customers. Applications use game mechanics to compare real energy usage to friends and neighbors - making energy efficiency social, fun and simple while addressing an $11 billion-a-year problem for utilities.

• Creative Brain Studios has created a powerful yet easy to use game development engine that allows engineers to create their game once and publish it to a billion smart phones, tablets and computers.

• GoSpotCheck supplies brands with real-time insights into their in-store merchandising through an innovative mobile application. The crowdsourced mobile workforce is paid cash to conduct "missions" that brands create, such as taking pictures or videos of a product's shelf positioning, and then verifying that promotional materials are correctly displayed, and conducting price checks.

• MealTicket provides a mobile, social web platform for foodservice distributors to better engage with their restaurants in order to increase customer acquisition, retention and sales.

• FlexTrip offers an API enabling online travel companies to monetize the world's largest selection of tours and activities.

• ReportGrid provides an API that makes it easy for SaaS vendors and technology platforms to give their customers deep analytics and insightful reporting.

• SocialEngine turns anyone into a great social media manager by suggesting tactics to help them manage and grow their communities.

• TruantToday instantly contacts parents when students skip school, bringing students - and funding - back to the classroom.

• InboxFever is a platform and marketplace to build and sell email-powered applications. With InboxFever, developers can add the email functionality a modern web service needs.

• Mocavo is the first and largest free genealogy search engine.

"Every summer, we witness a miracle in Boulder. These companies grow so much during their time in the program - it's always amazing to watch," said Nicole Glaros, managing director of the Boulder TechStars program. "The mentors accelerate these businesses in ways that seem impossible for such a short amount of time. Demo day is their chance to show that off."

"In just 13 short weeks, the teams have demonstrated an impressive ability to execute in the marketplace and with their products. The TechStars mentors, the alumni and the overall Boulder community really rallied behind these teams to get them to where they are today," said David Cohen, founder and CEO of TechStars. "It's a group effort, and on Demo Day, we can all be proud of their accomplishments."

TechStars' New York City Summer Session will conclude in October, and the Seattle program will begin on August 8. In 2011, TechStars received more than 3,000 applications for approximately 50 positions, making TechStars harder to get into than Harvard or Yale with an acceptance rate of approximately 1.50 percent.

About TechStars
TechStars (www.techstars.org) is an elite mentorship-driven start-up accelerator, recently recognized as the No. 1 accelerator program. Founded in 2006, the TechStars philosophy focuses on deep mentorship, and surrounding a small number of companies with highly engaged members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to coach and support them to success. The TechStars community currently includes more than 300 mentors, more than 1,000 investors, and 78 alumni TechStars companies. TechStars currently operates five programs each year: Boulder, Boston, Seattle, New York (winter) and New York (summer). TechStars is funded by more than 50 venture capital firms, and more than 25 angel investors. Information on applying to TechStars can be found at http://www.techstars.org/apply.