”I’m Jeff Solomon and I run a successful software company, but I need help to get to the next level,” the man said.
A rehab session mea culpa?
Not hardly. It was the winning pitch at the Tech Coast Angels’ Fast Pitch forum held January 22 at UCLA’s Anderson School as part of Los Angeles Technology Week.
A dozen companies also gave 60-second pitches to a panel of angel, venture investors and others for the chance to win screening sessions with the Tech Coast Angels. Best company went to Solomon’s Leads360, which provides leads management software. It had the top combined score in both pitch and investment quality.
The panel, made up of Scott Jarus of Cognition Inc., Matt Coffin of LowerMyBills, Demian Sellfors of MediaTemple Inc., Mike Jones of Userplane/AOL, and Kamran Pourzanjani of Pricegrabber.com Inc., gave their advice to the audience on topics ranging from hiring employees, finding funding, and how to make your company successful. Also judging were Tech Coast Angel members Richard Morganstern, Kevin Scanlon, Al Schneider, Luis Villalobos, John Harbison and Bill Collins.
Axiotron Inc., which develops Mac tablet PCs, and PetPlay Inc., which creates upscale pet food, tied for best presentation.
RxAdvantage Inc., which provides a calendar and scheduling for pharmaceutical sales reps, was deemed the best investment opportunity.
Other companies pitching at the event were MyNumo Inc. (mobile content), Ecorntech Inc. (renewable fiberboard), DigiContractor Inc. (measurement software), Dogtown Poker Inc. (online gaming), Convisia Inc. (document management) and Metabeam Inc. (DVD menus).
Among the more intriguing pitches came from Conscious Society Inc., which creates “environmentally friendly apparel.”
At her presentation, Conscious Society Chief Executive Kati Yee pointed to one of her models, who was decked out in a sweater made from bamboo, and listed the company’s three goals: making a profit, helping people and protecting the planet.
Two Pacts for Ignify
Ignify Inc., which specializes in eCommerce, accounting and enterprise resource planning solutions for mid-market firms, has signed contracts with two local companies, Giant Bicycle Inc. of Newbury Park and Compton’s Union Supply Company Inc.
The firm is also set to unveil the latest version of its proprietary software, which is built on the Microsoft Net 2.0 framework. It lets businesses use a master page to define the look and behavior for all Web pages on their e-commerce sites.
The company has more than 200 employees and is based in L.A., with satellite offices in Silicon Valley, Nashville, Toronto and India. Sandeep Walia is president and chief executive, as well as a visiting faculty member at UC Irvine,
Online Market Softens
Online job recruiting in Los Angeles County fell slightly in December as holiday season hiring tapered off, according to figures released from Monster Worldwide Inc.
Monster’s local employment index for Los Angeles dipped one point to 103 in December from November, though it was three points higher than December 2005. A reading of 100 is considered baseline for the index.
Overall, the three-point rise for all of 2006 was modest, suggesting a local labor market that has been constrained by weaknesses in the construction, retail and defense sectors.
In all, 10 occupational categories rose in December, while 11 declined. Among those showing the biggest gains were: personal care and service (9 points) and business/financial operations (2 points). The biggest losses were among healthcare support and computer/mathematical occupations, both with 6-point drops. Sales and related industries saw a two-point drop.
Measuring Up
Tarzana’s DigiContractor Inc. has created an innovative software program capable of turning a digital camera into an electronic measuring tape. Now the firm has signed a deal with AB & T; Sales Corp. to sell, market and merchandise its software nationally through Circuit City, Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Comp USA and Radio Shack.
“There is no other software on the market that allows the end user to capture an image and apply simple measurements,” said Huey Long, chief operating officer and partner of AB & T.; “We believe the consumer response will be tremendous.”
When using iPhotoMeasure, the user places a “DigiTarget” in the room and takes a picture. The photo is then transferred to a computer where the software measures everything in the photo with at least 95 percent accuracy.
“Their ability to place our software in major retail chains is an important step forward in our long-term plan to build a strong distribution channel,” said Paul Minor, president of DigiContractor.
Staff reporter Dan Cox can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.
