Technology Corridor Happenings

At the recurring monthly XcellR8 meeting, Hemal Shah and the team from Platforum, fresh from their winning effort at Startup Weekend Storrs, were invited to present their novel technology. 

Hemal is a co-founder and leader of the Platforum team. His professional career includes project management, business development and leadership training from General Electric's corporate division and a thriving tech startup out of Cambridge, MA. Hemal is a winner of the CCEI & D.E Crow business plan competitions, Startup Weekend Storrs, and has had substantial amount of mentoring from some of Connecticut's most prominent entrepreneurs. 

Hemal is finishing a B.S in Computer Science and Computer Engineering with minors in Business and Mathematics this year.

Andrew Jorgensen is the lead developer of Platforum. With an extensive background in industry design and programming, Andrew has years of experience in software and mobile development. Andrew is currently continuing his 4th year as a contracted developer for Fidelity Investments where his work has led to more efficient mobile application strategies. Andrew is also a winner of the CCEI & D.E Crow business plan competitions as well as Startup Weekend Storrs.

Andrew is finishing a B.S in Computer Science and Computer Engineering with a Mathematics minor this year.

The Platforum product concept and positioning was pitched to the assembled group of mostly c-suite attendees. The shared objective was to refine the product and market approach, vet the technology, as well as assist with the development of credible pro-forma financial and marketing details. The team seeks to prepare a solid business plan and develop a strong funding pitch over the next six weeks, culminating in a pitch presentation late March at the Stamford Innovation Center.

As some of you may have heard, a recent XcellR8 participant, Combat2Career, was hand selected (along with 7 other startups) to join Startup America at the New York Stock Exchange this past Monday. As part of the event, the NYSE executives hosted a breakfast for the startups where they were asked to give a 30 second pitch on their company’s growth ambitions. Combat2Career won the pitch contest and was awarded the privilege of being able to ring the opening bell. Following is the news article and video clip from the event.

In other good news, Combat2Career closed a Pre-Seed funding deal with Connecticut Innovations and private investors in December and are hard at work on the development of the Combat2Career portal. They have an anticipated launch date of May 1, 2012.

NYSE press release: https://exchanges.nyx.com/en/new-york-stock-exchange/startup-america-partnership-celebrates-first-anniversary-helping-startups-gr

CNBC video clip: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000069941