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SIC's embrace of tech pays off [Fairfield County Business Journal](Fairfield County Business Journal Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Stamford Innovation Center (SIC) on Atlantic Avenue welcomes June 26 the entire Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y., tech and startup communities to a new fundraiser called the Geeks and Nerds Summer Gala. The event will bring tech, startup leaders and doers together with their dates and friends for a night of fun and to raise money for two important charities, Stamford's Future5 and the CT Veterans Legal Center. The Geeks and Nerds event is an evening of cocktails, food, dancing, live music, DJs and games. Guests are also encouraged to dress up for the evening as their favorite Star Trek, comic book or other fun character. Beyond the dozens of events that the Innovation Center hosts every month, the biggest news is that a few of the startups that work in the Innovation Center are starting to make some very exciting noise. ArccosGolf, a company that uses sensors and mobile technology to track golfers' games and leverage shot data to help them focus on areas for improvement, has just launched and is taking pre-sales orders. With local backing and a partnership with Callaway Golf, ArccosGolf is already making headlines in the startup and golf worlds. Another startup housed at SIC, TruOptik, is creating a brand-new data set for marketers and content creators to observe consumer behavior. Tru Optik, which leverages peer-to-peer data from BitTorrent to capture what shows and movies are being watched, this month announced that it is making that data available to customers and partners via an API (Application Programming Interface). "Our startups are the story at the Innovation Center," said Peter Propp, chief marketing officer at SIC. "When they launch something cool, make a big sale or close another round of investment, the buzz in our building is palpable." SIC otters programs and events almost every weeknight and some weekends. One program that runs through September is the "iRelaunch Return to Work Boot Camp" combined with SIC's Roadmap Program. The iRelaunch program is a national effort that provides women returning to the workplace the chance to learn skills required to compete for jobs in today's evolving economy. The program includes the opportunity to interview for paid projects sponsored by local employers when classes end in September. Hacker Night is offered every Tuesday at 6 p.m. This popular event actually offers several tracks of activity, including an IT and Coding track and a "Growth Hacker" track for marketers and startup leaders. Once a month, Hacker Night includes the local chapter meeting of Women Who Code. The positive energy is great and many participants end up finding partnerships, job opportunities and sales opportunities. Another ongoing program is "Inside the Mind of the VC: Best Pitch Presentation Class." Participants give 10-minute pitches to J. Skyler Fernandes, a Stamford-based venture capitalist and angel investor. After each presentation Fernandes provides feedback to help create a winning pitch. The event schedule is peppered with opportunities like computer programming classes for beginners to those looking understand social media's role in growing successful businesses. SIC founder and Managing Partner Barry Schwimmer has a background in private investment, finance, education and media. He created SIC to fulfill his premise that an iconic physical presence housing networking and educational programming could bring together the strengths of the Stamford region and produce a viable startup ecosystem. Augmenting critical support from the state of Connecticut and Connecticut Innovations, several large, innovative Connecticut-based companies, led by Sikorsky and Pitney Bowes, have invested money, time and manpower to help make SIC a leader in the regional startup and entrepreneurial worlds. The 16,000-square-foot facility is in the Old Town Hall at 175 Atlantic Ave. in the heart of downtown Stamford. "We have new classes, workshops and events all the time," said Schwimmer. "The business community, both large and small has embraced us. They look to us for leadership in helping startups turn their dreams into viable businesses." Recently, SIC has hosted several events that have helped to further spur the growth of the local business community. Andrew Bergmann, creative director for CNNMoney, headlined "The Art of Business, Celebrating Internet Week" as part of Internet Week New York in late May. In April, the third Annual Startup Weekend Stamford took over SIC (and parts of downtown Stamford) for three days as 12 newly formed teams vied to create new companies and win startup-centric prizes. Judges, including Stamford Mayor David Martin and local entrepreneurs pored over the creative ideas and presentations, providing advice and guidance to the teams. (c) 2014 Westfair Communications |