Local entrepreneur launches SURGE Accelerator

The Puget Sound is getting a new accelerator and the City of Tacoma is getting a new tenant.

SURGE Launch, a new startup accelerator founded by Eli Moreno, will launch its first cohort in January 2016.

The SURGE Launch program is unique and will be the first of its kind in the Puget Sound; each company that is accepted into the program will receive between $20k to $80k in seed capital and over $100k in perks, in exchange for up to 9% equity stake.

What separates SURGE Launch from other accelerators is the mentor program and the network of resources available to program companies. “The SURGE mentor pool is a mix of seasoned entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists that will have a direct equity stake on each company that they mentor,” said Lee Reeves, Executive Director of SURGE. “Our mentors have built companies, sold companies and invested capital into companies; we have a very diverse mentor program.”

"The City of Tacoma applauds the efforts of Eli Moreno to start this Accelerator." shared
Ricardo Noguera, Community & Economic Development Director with the City of Tacoma
"Through the collaborative efforts of the Accelerator, local tech firms, real estate professionals, the University of Washington, and the Tacoma’s Institute of Technology, expect to see the launch of many new start-up tech firms" added Noguera.

SURGE Launch will help facilitate connections and maximize resources for startup entrepreneurs. “We’re all in this together,” says Eli Moreno. “We are in discussions with multiple stakeholders, across multiple disciplines, about the opportunity we have in front of us.

Having strong, working relationships with community partners is in the best interest of entrepreneurism and the greater community.” Moreno has had a successful career as a startup
CEO and early angel investor in numerous ventures. Moreno is currently the CEO of Premier
Residential, a Tacoma-based company that focuses on property investments, acquisitions and management. He also works closely with companies seeking to raise capital.

“This kind of hub of innovation and collaboration is vital to the growth of the startup and entrepreneurial growth of the Puget Sound. The time is right for Tacoma to participate and see a thriving Start up Ecosystem developed that will sustain the area into the future,” said Gary Rubens, Mentor and Strategic Advisor.

Gary Rubens is a private investor and entrepreneur. Rubens has more than 25 years of experience in launching startups, business acquisitions, commercial real estate investing and running large scale businesses. Rubens sold ATG Stores to Lowe’s in 2012; he is also the founder of the Rubens Family Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships to underprivileged youth. More recently, Rubens launched the 1plus1 Initiative with the mission to give back to the educational and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Mentors are important; community partnerships are equally important. "With a talented workforce and readily available pool of new engineers graduating from UWTacoma and area colleges, startups as well as expanding tech firms from the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle-King County, find this a great place to launch and expand their businesses and The City of Tacoma stands willing and ready to help" said Noguera.

SURGE has developed a series of sequenced elements that need to be in place before companies are accepted into the interview round. If all elements are met, the company will move onto the interview phase. Companies that are interested in applying to SURGE should apply at HERE. The deadline for companies interested in participating in the first cohort is December 31st. Every application will be reviewed upon submission and a response will be provided to each team within two weeks.

CenturyLink Expands Broadband in Tacoma

CenturyLink, Inc. a gigabit deployment leader in the U.S. and Washington, is continuing to expand its broadband service with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) in Tacoma, recently surpassing 36,000 households in the area.

“Reaching 36,000 homes marks a positive milestone in CenturyLink’s progress to become the next-generation technology provider for the South Sound,” said Sue Anderson, CenturyLink vice president of operations for Washington state. “This milestone builds on our ongoing commitment to provide this thriving city with the latest technology for communication, innovation and entertainment. We’re invested in the area and will continue to build out across Tacoma for quite some time.”
 
CenturyLink is using fiber-to-the-home technology to provide speeds up to 1 Gbps, equivalent to 1,000 Mbps, allowing users to stream high-definition video content with little to no delays and download movies, songs and TV shows in seconds. CenturyLink has also made fiber-enabled gigabit service available to thousands of business locations in the greater Tacoma area. Gigabit speeds are helping businesses increase productivity and efficiency while working in the cloud, sharing multimedia files, streaming video content and backing-up data in real-time. In addition, CenturyLink’s 1 Gbps service offers symmetrical speeds, allowing customers to upload information as fast as they download it.

CenturyLink has one of the largest fiber-enabled gigabit networks in the country and is an industry leader in the number of homes it has enabled with fiber technology capable of uploading and downloading information at speeds up to 1 Gbps. The company offers gigabit Internet service to residential and small business customers in parts of 17 states and expects to have more than 700,000 homes across the country enabled with gigabit service by the end of 2015.

The Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council recently presented CenturyLink with this year’s Chairman’s Award for deploying FTTH technology and  making high-speed broadband service up to 1 gigabit per second available to communities throughout the U.S., including underserved areas.

Residential customers can purchase 1 Gbps service for a monthly recurring charge of $79.95 with a 12-month term commitment and when bundled with additional, qualifying CenturyLink services. In addition to speeds up to 1 Gbps, some customers may be eligible for speeds up to 40 and 100 Mbps. Customers should contact CenturyLink to see what speeds are available to them. They can also go to www.centurylink.com/gigabit to find out if broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps are available in their location and request an email notification once network upgrades are completed in their area.

Vets Startups Forum

RSVP: http://sched.co/41U3

Farewell to ZINO Society

Click on Image for a compete view:

FBI Agent to Speak on Cybersecurity October 21

CyberDivision & White Collar Programs
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Presented by FBI Special Agent Norm Sanders



October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Is your business prepared?

Join the Chamber at South County Connections, Wednesday, October 21 when FBI Special Agent Norm Sanders discusses current trends in Cybersecurity, including ID Theft in Business/Commerce, and a case study on fraud.

To register, visit the event webpage or call Janice Hutchins 253.627.2175.

Transpo Tech Conference 2015

Technologies and transportation?  Here's how to know more:

Chinese Provinces- U.S. States Business Cooperation Seminar & Inaugural Ceremony of Joint Working Group for Trade and Investment Cooperation Between Chinese Provinces and Washington State

Sponsored by: Daohe Global & Washington State Sichuan Province Chamber of Commerce          

WHEN: September 22, 2015, 1:30 PM to 6:00 PM

WHERE: Leonesa Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Seattle

                721 Pine Street, Seattle, Washington, USA, 98101

REGISTER HERE

PROMO CODE: SEATTLECHAMBER

Please join the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Commerce for an invite-only afternoon of networking and collaborating as officials and key decision makers in top companies discuss long-term cooperation and partnership opportunities between China and the United States.

Over 200 of China’s top governmental officials and business decision makers in agriculture, aerospace, ecommerce, investment, and technology, will be present at this private event.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is excited to announce the event will begin with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Establishing Joint Working Group for Trade and Investment Cooperation between PRC Provinces and the State of Washington. Following the signing of the MOU, key decision makers in a multitude of industries will be sharing their experiences and ideas while promoting future business endeavors.

                                GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

·         Doug McMillion, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., President and CEO

·         Liu Shaoyong, China Eastern Air Holding Company, President

·         Pan Gang, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company Limited, President

·         Ralph Haupter, Microsoft, Corporate Vice President and

Chief Executive Officer of Greater China Region

·         Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn, Executive Chairman and co-Founder

·         Zhou Xijian, Daohe Global Group Limited, Chairman 

                                               

                                                *Please note speakers are subject to change based on availability and schedule changes

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND ORGANIZERS

Dahoe Global; Washington State Sichuan Province Chamber of Commerce; Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), People’s Republic of China; United States Department of Commerce; Washington State; Trade Development Bureau of MOFCOM; Washington State Department of Commerce; Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce; China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products; China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce

Tech Startups Changes Location

Tech StartUps Networking Event

Improving the Security and Reliability of Your Business

Join the West Side Branch at Smoke + Cedar Restaurant July 31 from 7:30-9:00 am for a technology discussion lead by Wade Stewart of Stewart & Son Computer Services, LLC. Learn how to increase your organization's efficiency and mobility. Topics to be addressed are:

• Emerging Technology: what the focus is and where it's going.
• Popular apps and how to use them for your business
• Technology planning for small business
• Computer Security: How to protect yourself and your business.
  

Admission is complimentary and includes a light continental breakfast. For more information , or to register, please visit the event webpage.

"Fast Track" Important to Tech Industry

On Friday, the U.S. House of Rep- resentatives will likely consider legislation that will allow trade agreements to move through Congress under special rules intended to speed up the approval process.

A great resource is the Information Technology Industry Council's TechWonk Blog: http://bit.ly/1T9kqCi

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA, also colloquially known as “fast-track”) will help grow America’s economy and create new jobs by ensuring future trade agreements benefit American workers, consumers, and businesses. Through the TPA bill, Congress has the ability to tell U.S. Trade officials what goals they must meet to benefit their constituents and local businesses.

The bill enjoys (and passed the Senate with) bipartisan support – of a unique kind. The President has urged its passage, and many pro-trade congressional Republicans and Democrats have said they would support the bill. But some Republicans have indicated they’re on the fence, possibly because they don’t want to support what’s being referred to as “Obamatrade,” or, for that matter, the President himself, because it grants him “too much power.” Many Democrats oppose the bill, some because they still have NAFTA in mind, others because they’ve been threatened by the labor lobby.

Since these complex issues are, as always, rife with political rhetoric, perhaps it’s worth looking at two key myths about this legislation.

Regarding the legislation granting the president some sort of unilateral power, the fact is that Congress still must approve any trade agreement negotiated by the president in an up or down vote. As the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service notes, TPA represents a “gentleman’s agreement” between the Congress and the president, in which the legislative branch offers “fast track” rules if the executive branch agrees to follow a detailed set of negotiating objectives and engages in a consultations with Congress. (A fact that even some members of Congress apparently didn’t realize.)  And of course it’s worked for decades; Congress has endowed every U.S. president since FDR at least some trade negotiating authority.

But those are just Congress’ arguments. Others attacking the legislation say that TPA (and its accompanying Pacific-rim Trade Agreement, or TPP) only benefits large corporations at the expense of workers. This specious reasoning vastly overlooks the fact that innumerable growing businesses and industries, both large and small, will be hurt if the bill fails. In 2012 alone, for example, the U.S. technology industry exported more than $85.5 billion worth of technology goods to TPP countries.

Passage of this critical legislation should be determined by careful consideration of the facts, not by partisan rhetoric and unfounded claims. Luckily, you can help in this effort by taking two minutes to send a letter to your Representative and urge them to pass this important legislation. Join us and speak out in support of jobs, growth, and prosperity. The vote is Friday, so please act now.

Apply for SSTI's '15 Excellence in TBED Awards

Consider sharing your organization's achievements by applying for SSTI's 2015 Excellence in TBED awards.

SSTI will present awards in six categories that focus on several elements found in thriving tech-based economies.  These include research base that generates new knowledge, mechanisms for transferring knowledge into the marketplace, an entrepreneurial culture, sources of risk capital and competitive industries. Other categories are available.

If you wish to participate in an informational conference call June 15, register at sstiawards.org to register.

(Clink on Image for a LARGER View)

$77,500 awarded to student---led startups

Three hundred judges, mentors and student entrepreneurs gathered at the Bell Harbor Conference Center Thursday evening to award a record number of prizes—14—and a record amount of seed funding—$75,000—to participants of the 18th annual UW Business Plan Competition.

The UW Business Plan Competition, run by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the Foster School of Business, offers innovative and entrepreneurial students an opportunity to turn their ideas into compelling and viable startups. In the past 18 years 1,278 student teams from 16 colleges and universities around Washington State have participated in the competition, and the Buerk Center has awarded over $1.3 million in prize money/seed funding to 140 winning teams—over half of which are still in business.

While this year’s winning teams represent many industries, a significant number are innovating in the area of life sciences. Empreva, for example, has developed a new method of birth control and STI prevention, and vHAB’s technology helps stroke patients rehabilitate their fine motor skills.

The winners will use their prize money to turn their student teams into early---stage startups—some may apply to the Buerk Center’s Jones + Foster Accelerator, which provides mentoring and Guidance through the decisive first six months of the startup process.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

$25,000 Grand Prize sponsored by the Herbert B. Jones Foundation
Vie Diagnostics (University of Washington)

A significant portion of patients attending STD clinics fail to follow up for treatment, even when tests are positive and the risk for transmission and complication is highest. Vie Diagnostics’ disruptive molecular diagnostic technology will reduce the spread and pain of STD infections by allowing patients to be tested and treated in a single clinical visit. Its tests will provide better patient management, lower costs for clinics, and improve overall public health.

$10,000 Second Place Prize sponsored by WRF Capital
Empreva (University of Washington)
Empreva aims to empower and engage women across the world to take their health into their own hands by providing a safe, convenient and comfortable method for birth control and STI prevention. Empreva is developing birth control and combination birth control/anti---HIV products to benefit the health of women in high---HIV burden areas of the developing world who lack options for protection.  For every purchase of an Empreva birth control product in the U.S., Empreva will donate one combination product to a woman in need in the developing world to help achieve sexual health and empowerment for women everywhere.

$7,520.15 Finalist Prize sponsored by the Friends of the BPC
Hook (University of Washington)
Hook is a home automation hub that offers smart home capability to the price sensitive consumer. Customers are able to convert existing electronics in the home to smart compatible devices, keeping these products up---to---date for years to come. Consumers will enjoy convenience with control via their mobile devices, savings on energy costs, and improved home safety. With an affordable price and remarkable ease of use, Hook aims to make smart home technology accessible to the masses.

$5,000 Finalist Prize sponsored by Fenwick & West
vHAB (University of Washington)
vHAB is a virtual rehabilitation platform that helps patients regain fine motor skills to lead autonomous lives again. vHAB enables occupational therapists to customize patient treatment and accurately monitor progress through engaging and dynamic video games. System portability and precision metrics  pose a competitive advantage for rehabilitation facilities, allowing delivery of quality treatment to patients – anywhere, anytime. vHAB saves rehabilitation facilities time and money. Most importantly, vHAB empowers patients to reclaim their independence.

$5,000 AARP Prize Targeted for teams that best address the challenges faced by low---income seniors: affordable age---in---place housing; affordable healthy food; increased income; and the impact of isolation on physical, mental and emotional well---being.

Co Optical (Washington State University)
Co Optical specializes in lifestyle management technologies, with a flagship product that revolutionizes diabetes management by continuously and non---invasively monitoring blood glucose. This wearable device, structured as a pair of glasses, improves convenience and enhances the overall user experience allowing seamless integration of lifestyle management strategies into the everyday lives of people with diabetes.

$5,000 Wells Fargo Clean Tech Prize Recognizes a venture with products, services or processes that harness renewable materials and energy sources, dramatically reduce the use of natural
resources and cut or eliminate emissions and wastes.

NOVA Technologies (Western Washington University and University of Washington)
NOVA Technologies’ Smart Solar Window uses transparent nanotechnology to create clean, local electricity that can turn skyscrapers into giant solar arrays and reduce HVAC systems costs, an innovative link to a carbon neutral future.

$2500 Best Idea Prizes Best Technology Prize sponsored by UIEvolution
TriboTEX (Washington State University)
TriboTEX aims to extend the operational life---span of industrial machinery by improving efficiency where lubricated friction takes place. TriboTEX’s self---assembling nanostructured lubricious coating provides regenerative effects to frictional surface during normal operation.

Best Marketplace Prize sponsored by ebay
Enterprise Park A Lot (University of Washington)
Park A Lot is a platform connecting private businesses which have unused parking spaces with customers looking for parking. Lot owners sign up on a hop---on, hop---off platform and their lots become available to the public, generating them revenue. Customers use Park A Lot’s website or app to  purchase parking on a lot of their choice from their home or mobile device.

Best Service/Retail Prize sponsored by REI
SmartyPants (University of Washington)
SmartyPants reinvents toilet training and mitigates adult incontinence issues to prevent millions of diapers from ending up as a biohazard in landfills. It predicts impending bowel events and alerts users to get to a toilet. The company’s innovative, first---of---its---kind, technology creates value for the  consumers by saving on diaper purchases and the environment by reducing waste and biohazard from disposable diapers.

Best Consumer Product Prize sponsored by Accenture
Hook (University of Washington)
(See earlier description)

Best Sustainable Advantage Prize sponsored by Sensors In Motion
JikoPower (University of Washington)
JikoPower makes thermo---electric generators to turn ordinary cook stoves into personal charging stations for off---grid households that have small electronic devices in the developing world. JikoPower POWERS devices, but it EMPOWERS people.

Best Innovation Prize sponsored by Perkins Coie
Vie Diagnostics (University of Washington)
(See earlier description)

Best Health/Healthcare Prize sponsored by Cambia
Empreva (University of Washington)
(See earlier description)

Best Idea for the Future Prize sponsored by DLA Piper
miPS (University of Washington)
miPS is the first consumer stem cell generation and cell banking service. miPS allows consumers to store their adult cells to prevent cellular aging, generate stem cell lines for research, and use banked cells for future stem cell therapies.

For more information contact Ellen Pepin.

New Downtown Tacoma User Research Lab

GearLab, in partnership with digital agency SiteCrafting, Inc., has opened a user research and usability testing lab in Tacoma’s Dome District. The lab is the first of its kind in Pierce County.

GearLab, which stands for Guided Experience and Research, is a user research and usability testing lab outfitted with tools for testing how users interact with technology, including software for eye tracking, a mobile suite for testing across devices and platforms, and an observation room. GearLab’s focus on design thinking and user-centered design is part of an emerging industry trend centered around creating websites, software, and products that are designed, through research and evaluation, to be more efficient and effective for users.

Through a series of facilitated research and testing methods, GearLab enables companies to plan, test, and improve the designs of websites, software interfaces, and products. GearLab works on a variety of project types ranging from companies with in-house development teams looking to improve their own projects, government agencies needing to balance a wide range of audiences, to any business looking to improve their website interface through testing and research. Through a partnership with UW Tacoma, access to the lab will also be provided to students for conducting studies. Additionally, GearLab hopes to expand local partnerships for lab rentals to include other organizations and User Experience professionals.

GearLab Director, Chuck Johnston, is part of the Human Centered Design and Engineering Masters program at the University of Washington. As one of the only programs of its kind, graduates come away with a deep focus on creating solutions designed for real people with the things we use everyday. “Putting people first produces the best outcomes not only for technology and products, but also for entire organizations,” says Johnston.

The GearLab facilities include the lab itself for conducting usability tests and research, an observation room for learning and analysis, and a nearly 1,000 square-foot training room for workshops, sketching exercises, and other working sessions. GearLab is housed within SiteCrafting’s recently renovated office space in the Bowstring Building at 2716 A Street in downtown Tacoma.

While the two businesses share office space and collaborate on mutual projects, GearLab has its own client base that operates independent from SiteCrafting. GearLab is available for on-site testing as well as field testing.

GearLab will be open for demos during SiteCrafting’s open house for clients, partners, and the community on June 3, 2015 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visit HERE to attend.

Free Cyberbullying Prevention Forum

You are invited to join on Tuesday, June 2 for a FREE Cyberbullying Prevention Forum.

Jo Langford, Author, Therapist, Dynamic Public Speaker and Parent will be giving a keynote presentation on Cyberbullying and will teach hands on skills necessary to create a cybersafe environment for your family.

The Forum is designed to be a family friendly event, with a light dinner and childcare provided at no cost. The forum is being held at Stewart Middle School (5010 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408).

Doors will open at 5:00 PM for registration and dinner, the program itself will begin at 6:00 PM and go until 8:00 PM.

This forum is FREE and open to the public. We encourage you to spread the word by forwarding this to friends and family who might be interested in this topic!

RSVP in advance via this link or by calling the Safe Streets office at 253.272.6824.

Spread the word! Please feel free to invite other members of your community to the Forum.

State of Tech Luncheon 2015

Every year, more than 800 of Washington's top leaders in business, tech, research and government gather for the State of Technology Luncheon.

(Click on Image for a Larger View)

Sweet 16 Round for '15 Business Plan Competition

37 student-led start-up teams from colleges and universities across Washington state - including one from UWT - gathered at the University of Washington last week to compete in the 2015 Business Plan Competition (BPC) Investment Round.

For four hours, the teams, initially selected from a pool of 103 entries, pitched their ideas and innovations to 250+ judges—entrepreneurs, attorneys, investors, and other professionals from Seattle’s entrepreneurial community— in the hopes of landing a spot in the next round of the competition. By the end of the afternoon the scores had been tallied and the sixteen top-scoring teams were announced. These teams will move on to the "Sweet Sixteen" round of the 2015 BPC—once step closer to winning the $25,000 Grand Prize. Meet the Sweet Sixteen below, and join the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship for the Final Four round on May 21 (more information HERE).

The UW Business Plan Competition is presented by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the Foster School of Business.

Auctora University of Washington Auctora’s automated recruiting tool seamlessly screens, sorts, and schedules candidates so that corporate recruiters can utilize their time more effectively while sourcing job applicants. No dealing with paper resumes; no back-and-forth emails between recruiters and candidates – welcome to recruiting in the 21st century!

Authality University of Washington Authality’s first product, Klide, is the most secure and convenient smart lock, and the only smart lock that meets the demands of Airbnb hosts. Klide pairs a physical lock with a mobile app that allows hosts to distribute revocable “keys” to guests and control access remotely.

Benchmark Environ- mental University of Washington and Washington State University Benchmark Environmental is changing the way we treat storm water. By combining innovative design with new technologies, our treatment solutions are affordable, easy to install, and low maintenance. Benchmark Environmental’s products enable more companies and municipalities to treat storm water runoff effectively–a win-win for customers and the environment.

Bettery University of Washington Tacoma Bettery provides consumers with the most cost effective, convenient, and sustainable portable power solution on the market. Bettery taps a growing demand for sustainable solutions by offering batteries as a low cost subscription service.

Co Optical Washington State University Co Optical specializes in lifestyle management technologies, with a flagship product that revolutionizes diabetes management by continuous and non-invasive monitoring blood glucose. This wearable device, structured as a pair of glasses, improves convenience and enhances the overall user experience allowing seamless integration of lifestyle management strategies into the everyday lives of people with diabetes.

Empreva University of Washington Empreva aims to empower and engage women across the world to take their health into their own hands by providing a safe, convenient, and comfortable method for birth control and STI prevention.Empreva is developing birth control and combination birth control/anti-HIV products to benefit the health of women in high-HIV burden areas of the developing world who lack options for protection. For every purchase of an Empreva birth control product in the U.S., Empreva will donate one combination product to a woman in need in the developing world to help achieve sexual health and empowerment for women everywhere.

Go KEFI Washington State University Go KEFI is an experience-based travel website that helps you plan vacations based off desired experiences and budget. The team won first place at Spokane Start-up Weekend 2014, and has since sparked a movement for a new way to travel.

Hook University of Washington Hook is a home automation hub that offers smart home capability to the price sensitive consumer. Customers are able to convert existing electronics in the home to smart compatible devices, keeping these products up-to-date for years to come. Consumers will enjoy convenience with control via their mobile devices, savings on energy costs, and improved home safety. With an affordable price and remarkable ease of use, Hook aims to make smart home technology accessible to the masses.


JikoPower University of Washington JikoPower makes thermo-electric generators to turn ordinary cook stoves into personal charging stations for off-grid households that have small electronic devices in the developing world. JikoPower POWERS devices, but it EMPOWERS people.

NOVA Technologies Western Washington University and University of Washington NOVA Technologies’ Smart Solar Window uses transparent nanotechnology to create clean, local electricity that can turn skyscrapers into giant solar arrays and reduce HVAC systems costs, an innovative link to a carbon neutral future.

Park A Lot University of Washington Park A Lot is a platform connecting private businesses who have unused parking spaces with customers looking for parking. Lot owners sign up on a hop-on, hop-off platform and their lots become available to the public, generating them revenue. Customers use Park A Lot’s website or app to purchase parking on a lot of their choice from their home or mobile device.

RainCity Heart Lab Seattle University Seventy percent of patients who have suffered a heart attack for the first time were previously classified as low risk for cardiovascular disease based on the current testing methods. RainCity Heart Lab (RCHL) is a specialty diagnostic lab that offers a better diagnostic test called CALLIS. CALLIS (Calibrated Lipoprotein Ion Separation) is a blood test for accurately quantifying intact lipoproteins for improved Cardio Vascular Disease risk assessment.

SmartyPants University of Washington SmartyPants reinvents toilet training and mitigates adult incontinence issues to prevent millions of diapers from ending up as a biohazard in landfills. It predicts impending bowel events and alerts users to get to a toilet. The company’s innovative, first-of-its-kind, technology creates value for the consumers by saving on diaper purchases and the environment by reducing waste and biohazard from disposable diapers.

vHAB University of Washington vHAB is a virtual rehabilitation platform that helps patients regain fine motor skills to lead autonomous lives again. vHAB enables occupational therapists to customize patient treatment and accurately monitor progress through engaging and dynamic video games. System portability and precision metrics pose a competitive advantage for rehabilitation facilities, allowing delivery of quality treatment to patients – anywhere, anytime. vHAB saves rehabilitation facilities time and money. Most importantly, vHAB empowers patients to reclaim their independence.

Vie Diagnostics University of Washington A significant portion of patients attending STD clinics fail to follow up for treatment, even when tests are positive and the risk for transmission and complication is highest. Vie Diagnostics’ disruptive molecular diagnostic technology will reduce the spread and pain of STD infections by allowing patients to be tested and treated in a single clinical visit. Its tests will provide better patient management, lower costs for clinics, and improve overall public health.

Yowgii University of Washington Yowgii has the potential to disrupt the bottled water industry and the water filtration industry. The global bottled water industry is worth over $157 billion a year, but is heavily comprised of plastic bottles with significant environmental footprint and potential for contaminants. Yowgii combines environmentally-friendly water delivery with innovative water purification to deliver the best drinking water to consumer and promises pure water for a better you!

Contact for more info: Ellen Pepin Assistant Director, Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship Foster School of Business University of Washington  (206) 616-3691

Finalists for Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 in the Pacific Northwest

EY today announced the finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 in the Pacific Northwest.

The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  These business leaders were selected by a panel of independent judges.

Award winners will be announced at a special gala on June 5, 2015 at Sheraton Seattle Hotel.  To find out more about the Pacific Northwest program please visit HERE.  #EOYPNW.

The finalists are:

Avalara, Inc. | Scott McFarlane, Co-Founder & CEO | Bainbridge Island, WA

Avvo | Mark Britton, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

barre3 | Sadie Lincoln, Founder & Owner | Portland, OR

Blink UX | Karen Clark Cole, CEO | Seattle, WA

Context Relevant | Stephen Purpura, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

Dave's Killer Bread | John Tucker, CEO | Milwaukie, OR

DiscoverOrg | Henry Schuck, CEO | Vancouver, WA

EagleView Technologies | Chris Barrow, President & CEO | Bothell, WA

ExtraHop Networks | Jesse Rothstein, Co-Founder & CEO; Raja Mukerji, Co-Founder & President | Seattle, WA

Hydro Flask | Scott Allan, President & CEO | Bend, OR

Life Flight Network | Michael Griffiths, CEO | Aurora, OR

Limeade | Henry Albrecht, CEO | Bellevue, WA

Picmonkey.com | Jonathan Sposato, CEO | Seattle, WA

PitchBook | John Gabbert, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

SET Creative | Sabina Teshler, Owner & CEO | Portland, OR

SmartRG | Jeff McInnis, President & CEO | Vancouver, WA

Smartsheet | Mark Mader, President & CEO | Bellevue, WA

Treehouse | Ryan Carson, Co-Founder & CEO | Portland, OR

Trupanion | Darryl Rawlings, CEO | Seattle, WA

TUNE | Lucas Brown, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer; Lee Brown, Co-Founder & Chief Architect | Seattle, WA

ZoomCare | Dave Sanders, M.D., CEO | Hillsboro, OR

Now in its 29th year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities in 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national program.  Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall National Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 14, 2015.

The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2016. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence at the national level. The awards are the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored nationally by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America.  In the Pacific Northwest, sponsors also include Merrill Datasite, Union Bank and Scherzer International.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

CoMotion Lecture Series Invite

You are welcome to join the CoMotion Incubator for one of these lectures led by students from the UW Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. Register HERE.

Join the CoMotion Incubator Innovation Seminars

Registration Link: http://depts.washington.edu/uwc4c/news-events/events/innovation_seminar_series

IARPA Competition for Cybersecurity

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is looking for a few good ideas.

The organization’s Office for Anticipating Surprise has initiated a competition for its Cyber-attack Automated Unconventional Sensor Environment (CAUSE) program, which aims at discovering ways to anticipate cyber attacks before they occur.

IARPA officials explain that industry has invested heavily in solutions that analyze the effects of cyber attacks rather than capabilities to analyze and mitigate their causes. As a result, today’s approaches typically focus on post-mortem analysis of the various attack vectors. However, as attacks have evolved and increased, these methods do not adequately enable cybersecurity practitioners to prevent attacks.

Cyber Security as a Regional Economic Issue

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber presents Cybersecurity at its Lunch & Learn session.


Join Cybersecurity Policy Advisor Mike Hamilton as he shares an all-state strategy to treat cybersecurity as an economic issue, and how the strategy centers around workforce development, infrastructure protection, and research.


Presented By:
Michael K. Hamilton
Cybersecurity Policy Advisor
State of Washington Office of CIO

Event Location
The Hub
203 Tacoma Ave. S
Tacoma, WA 98402
Date/Time Information
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
11:30 - 1:00 PM


Fees/Admission
$20.00 Member
$25.00 Non-Member
Includes lunch service

Registration HERE

UW Lecture Series 2015

This lecture is open to everyone in the community.

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South Sound Technology Conference this Friday March 6th

This Friday, March 6th, William Philip Hall on the UWT campus will be filled with hundreds of attendees to the South Sound Technology Conference.  Having chaired the conference for 14 of it's 15 years I am pleased to say that Congressman Adam Smith and Congressman Derek Kilmer are once again are honorary co-chairs of the South Sound Technology Conference.  Congressman Adam Smith will be there in person to provide some opening remarks in the 2015 addition of this 15 year running showcase for technology and entrepreneurship in the South Puget Sound.

The annual South Sound Technology Conference, which is hosted by the Institute of Technology at the University of Washington Tacoma and slated for this Friday, March 6th, brings together leaders from industry, education and government from around the state to discuss and demonstrate technological innovations and their ongoing applications.

This year the conference will highlight information and cybersecurity in its keynote addresses and some of the panels. Janine Teranno, CEO of Topia Technology will be the morning keynoter and discuss information protection in the cloud, and Bill Boni discuss protecting the infrastructure and your information.  Panel and keynote presentations - including networking opportunities - provide a venue to discuss, explore, understand and deploy technology as a solution, an opportunity and an advantage. These panels will include entrepreneurial networking opportunities, a discussion of the Kaufmann 1 Million Cups Tacoma project along with success stories and how technology will provide solutions for energy issues in the future.

Bill Boni is Corporate Information Security Officer and Vice President Enterprise Information Security for T-Mobile U.S.A. An information-protection specialist for 30 years, Boni joined T-Mobile in 2009. Previously, he was Corporate Security Officer of Motorola Asset Protection Services. Throughout his career, he has helped organizations design and implement cost-effective programs to protect both tangible and intangible assets. He pioneered the application of computer forensics and intrusion detection to deal with incidents directed against electronic business systems. He was awarded CSO Magazine’s “Compass Award” and “Information Security Executive of the Year – Central” in 2007.

www.southsoundtechconference.com

South Sound Technology Conference 2015 Program

9 - 9:15 am

Opening Remarks

Congressman, Adam Smith

Congressman, Derek Kilmer

Institute of Technology Director, Dr. Rob Friedman

Chair, Andrew Fry

9:15 –  9:45 am

Morning Keynote Address

Janine Terrano, CEO

9:50 – 10:45 am

Morning Panel: Securing Infrastructure and Information

Chair: Bryan Goda: Panel:

Merike Kaeo – IID,

Mike Hamilton – WA State Department of OCIO

Steven R. Ketelsen - student in the Master of Cybersecurity & Leadership

10:45 – 11am

Break

11 – 11:50 am

Breakout One - Entrepreneurial Networking

Chair: Lynnette Claire - TEN

Panel:

Nara McDonald – Chamber of Commerce

Michael Lane – Crowdfunding Club

Kala J. Dralle – Monday Meet-ups

Amy Sallin – Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship

               

Breakout Two – The Role Of Technology In Bringing Clean Energy To Market'

Chair: Graham Evans – Climate Solutions

Panel:

Joe Tellez – Tacoma Public Utilities

George Mobus – Institute of Technology

Chad Condon -  Computer Engineering Student UWT

Rogers Weed - VP Product Mgmt. 1Energy Systems

12 – 12:45 pm

Lunch Keynote Address

Bill Boni, CISO of T-Mobile

12:45 – 1 pm  - Break

1 – 1:50pm

Breakout Three: Military and Mid-Career Transitioning into Cybersecurity

Chair:  Dr. Barbara Endicott-Popovsky – Center of Excellence in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity & Institute of Technology

Panel:

Scott Klauminzer – Tacoma Public Utilities

Jackson Robinson – Microsoft

Morgan Zantua – Creates architect

David Shaw – CEO Global Business Analysis

2 -3 pm

Breakout Four: 1 Million Cups Success Stories

Chair: Andrew Fry – Institute of Technology

Panel:

Jim Kastama – Kastama and Associates

Derek Young – Tacoma Runners

Chris Shepard – Choose Vets

Stephen Tibbets - FabLab            

Student Samplers – Poster sessions

3 - 4 pm

Conference Closing – Birds of a Feather Launch