Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Spark Raises $4.9 Million ‘A’ Round

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READ THE UPDATE

Katherine Grayson from Twin Cities Business let us know that Spark has relocated to Silicon Valley: ‘Internet of Things’ startup Spark moves to San Francisco – Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Also, thanks to Donnie Berkholz for letting us know in the comments as well.

Spark-logo-horizontalGood news that Liz Gannes at re/code posted about Twin Cities-based Spark raising $4.9 Million to “bring Wifi to things”:

Last time Spark raised money, it set out to raise $10,000 and got $567,000, via a nifty pitch on Kickstarter. This time, venture capitalists including Lion Wells Capital and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures have put up $4.9 million in a Series A round. Spark is another one of the many connectors for the Internet of Things. It helps people add Wi-Fi to whatever they are building with a tiny piece of open source hardware and an API. Spark also wants to expand beyond Wi-Fi, said CEO Zach Supalla.

Workface HTML5 Chat Debuts

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workfaceWorkface is a Minneapolis-based company that delivers real-time and, as they call it, “uniquely humanized” sales enablement and customer support technologies for the Web, mobile and more.

Their product is a website add-on that creates an opportunity to connect prospects and customers to a company internal (and available at the moment) inside sales or customer support folks. If your favorite person isn’t available, you can leave messages too.

As someone who is very familiar with Workface’ value proposition (disclaimer: I’ve also done work for Workface in the past) I must admit that one barrier I saw back in 2010 to wider adoption was to move away from Adobe Flash entirely. Especially now that “mobile first” seems to be the mission-critical strategy for most online deployment—and Adobe announced ceasing mobile support back in late 2011—this HTML5 direction removes one potential, and key, objection.

Founder and CTO Lief Larson kept me informed about their direction and that HTML5 was close. Smart move Workface!

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New HTML5 Chat Application from Workface Enhances User Experience

Fully-Responsive Interface Supports All Web Platforms and Mobile Browsers

(Minneapolis, Minn. – July 8, 2014) – Workface, the leading solution for real-time and uniquely humanized Web-based sales enablement and customer support today announces the launch of Workface v2.0 its HTML5-based technology. Built on the company’s popular chat functionality, the new application makes Workface available to users on all modern Web platforms and mobile browsers, while offering a fully-responsive interface to facilitate real-time customer interaction.

“The ability to chat on all modern desktop and mobile browsers in real-time is a benefit that will allow our agents, customers and potential customers greater access to each other, in a way that resembles face-to-face interaction,” said Dawn Mortimer, American Family Insurance innovation director.

Workface founder Lief Larson said the user interface shift enhances both the customer and client experiences. The IP geolocation can identify a customer’s whereabouts to a level of granularity never seen before in live chat. In addition, real-time browser preview allows businesses to track the movements of website visitors in real-time.

Workface 2.0 is responsively designed to work seamlessly with mobile devices.

Workface 2.0 is responsively designed to work seamlessly with mobile devices.

“This is a game changer for Workface users on many levels,” Larson said. “Using HTML5, prospects can chat with agents from virtually any Web-connected device, including tablets, smart phones, and even some Web-enabled televisions. Customers can choose when and where they’d like to chat, even when they’re on the go. The customers get flexibility and convenience, while the business gets more insight and visibility into their needs.”

“Workface has always been about providing a communications platform that can restore the human element to real-time online sales and customer service,” said Kevin Erdman, Workface CEO. “Our mission is to empower businesses by giving them tools for personalized, high-quality interactions. Whether their customers prefer text, audio or video chat, or want to connect with a specific agent, we provide the interactive relationship-building and support tools that today’s online prospective and current customers now demand.”

Workface’s overriding goal has been to make doing business on the Web more human. Its sales enablement Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution provides real-time, one-on-one communications with prospective and current clients. Clients range from Travel Leaders, to American Family Insurance to the Cleveland Browns NFL football team.

About Workface
Workface is a Web-based sales enablement platform based in Minneapolis, Minn. that humanizes the Internet by providing real-time communication between sales professionals and today’s online prospects and customers. The SaaS model solution provides a platform to connect via authentic, multi-channel, real-time text, audio and video chat. The Workface solution includes website and social media integration to create a better online experience for customers and businesses. Workface tools bring human contact to the Internet-based buying process, delivering “Real People, Real Answers, Real Time.” For more information, please visit www.workface.com.

About American Family Insurance
Based in Madison, Wis., American Family Insurance offers auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, health insurance, business and farm/ranch insurance in 19 states. American Family insurance is the nation’s third-largest mutual property/casualty insurance company and ranks 393rd on the Fortune 500 list. Web: www.amfam.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/amfam; Twitter: www.twitter.com/amfam; YouTube: www.youtube.com/amfam.

Helpful Links:
Twitter: @workface
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workface

Media Contact:
Jennifer Jewett
Ubiquity Public Relations
jennifer@ubiquitypr.com
+1 (617) 913-2404

CoCo Expanding to Fargo with Emerging Prairie

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coco-emgprFargo, June 25, 2014 – CoCo announced today that it will partner with Emerging Prairie to open a new location in Fargo, N.D.  CoCo Fargo, slated to open in early August, 2014, will be located in a 6,000 ­square ­foot space at the historic Merchants National Bank Building, 112 1⁄2 N. Broadway. Both individual and group memberships at CoCo Fargo are available now, with registrations being taken at http://cocomsp.com.

Full press release is below…

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Contact:
Don Ball don@cocomsp.com

CoCo to Partner with Emerging Prairie on Fargo, ND Location

Fargo, June 25, 2014 – CoCo announced today that it will partner with Emerging Prairie to open a new location in Fargo, N.D.

CoCo Fargo, slated to open in early August, 2014, will be located in a 6,000 square foot space at the historic Merchants National Bank Building, 112 1∕2 N. Broadway. Both individual and group memberships at CoCo Fargo are available now, with registrations being taken at http://cocomsp.com

This new CoCo location – the company’s first outside the Twin Cities – is the result of a three year grassroots effort by Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation (GFMEDC), the Kilbourne Group and the founders of Emerging Prairie. “With the continued growth of Emerging Prairie and the partnership with CoCo, the preeminent coworking space operator in the Midwest, Fargo is ready to take the next step in its entrepreneurial development. This partnership supports local business growth and sustained economic development for the region,” said GFMEDC President Jim Gartin.

As part of this ongoing partnership, CoCo will manage the space and membership, while Emerging Prairie will organize events and meetups. “We are committed to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Greg Tehven, cofounder of Emerging Prairie. “We believe that a collaborative work space improves the work experience for people, especially entrepreneurs. Our new partnership with CoCo is an important step toward increasing innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in the region,” he said.

Although planning and construction is still underway, CoCo anticipates having enough space to serve at least 100 members, including dedicated space for individuals and small startups. In addition, the space will be reconfigurable to allow for events. CoCo Fargo members will have access to all CoCo locations.

For CoCo, expansion to Fargo is part of a strategy to connect entrepreneurs and innovators across the region. “We’re honored to be invited to Fargo,” said CoCo CEO Kyle Coolbroth. “There’s an extraordinary level of enthusiasm and commitment in this city. Our goal is to actively support all those who want to build new businesses and help Fargo grow,” he said

About CoCo coworking and collaborative space

CoCo is a shared workspace where entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, small businesses and corporate workgroups can gather to share ideas, team up on projects and get work done. CoCo has locations in downtown and Uptown Minneapolis, Minn., St. Paul, Minn., and now in Fargo, N.D. More information: http://cocomsp.com

About Emerging Prairie
Emerging Prairie is a digitalmedia company committed to informing, connecting and activating the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the upper great plains. With a primary focus on startups, technology, and innovation, we operate an online publication and host events that highlights the entrepreneurs, creatives and innovators shaping our region’s future. More information: http://emergingprairie.com

Tech Cocktail’s Twin Cities Mixer & Startup Showcase

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tech-cocktail-mpls-largeAnother Tech Cocktail Social is happening in the Twin Cities this September! You will want to attend to network since these are very fun events and so many key people are in attendance.

That said, if you are a startup know this: Two of the Tech Cocktail Minneapolis startups who present will be chosen by the local audience and will have a chance to attend Tech Cocktail Celebrate and meet a ton of VC’s and influentials in September. More on that event below and in the section HOW DOES OUR STARTUP GET CONSIDERED?

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TO ATTEND, NETWORK & PARTY

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TO ATTEND, NETWORK & COMPETE AS A STARTUP
If you are a startup that meets the criteria below, you could win a spot to the Tech Cocktail national shootout called Tech Cocktail Celebrate, held October 6th & 7th in Las Vegas. If you are selected as one of the two Tech Cocktail Minneapolis winners, you will attend and present at this two-day conference with hundreds of attendees, industry leaders and inspiring speakers.

You will also meet the hottest startups and investors from around the country, as well as learn and collaborate with others turning their communities into startup cities. In addition, you will enjoy music, parties and llama spotting.

Here is a two minute video recap of the 2013 event:

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HOW DOES OUR STARTUP GET CONSIDERED?

You will apply and then selections will be made for Tech Cocktail Minneapolis startup presenters. To be considered, you must qualify with these criteria:

  • Overall Criteria:
    • Less than 3 years old
    • Raised less than $1M thus far
    • Be an independent company (no subsidiaries)
    • Startups must have a working beta or better product.
  • Regional Event Criteria:

Application page: Apply now for inclusion at the Twin Cities event. Please note, unlike Tech Cocktail Mixers, startups will not showcase at the event and must be in attendance when winners are chosen in order to win.

spacer_newkim-garretsonTech Cocktail Social/Minneapolis is hosted by Kim Garretson (LinkedIn), now a Research Fellow at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at University of Missouri; Board Member at Twin Cities Public Television; and Founder & General Partner of Ventures at Ovative/Group.

 

Verizon Wireless Connected Tech Tour

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Verizon Wireless Business is running a Connected Technology Tour around select U.S. cities and yesterday’s stop was in Minneapolis. Its focus? The impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how attendees could, “…learn how businesses and public agencies are leveraging the accelerated growth of connected devices to increase operational efficiencies, enhance safety and security and, in some cases, generate new revenue streams.”

Did it deliver?

The short answer is “yes” since it was incredibly useful and informative to talk with the partners who had booths setup. The things I learned about using wireless technologies for failover and redundant connections—and what solutions were already available—has already enlightened me on possibilities and proved useful for the IoT startups I advise.

Jack Uldrich

Jack Uldrich

The longer answer is “maybe” since several of the attendees I spoke with were very interested in what the keynote speaker, Jack Uldrich, had to say. Billed as a “Global Futurist and Best-Selling Author” Uldrich’s overview of IoT was fairly basic to anyone who has spent any time investigating IoT.

It was unclear to me whether or not the audience knew much of what Uldrich covered—and like me wanted stats-and-facts about the size of the IoT market, what categories are growing and where investments were occurring—but perhaps I was in the minority due to my extensive study of the Internet of Things.

What I really liked (and was probably the point) is that Uldrich’s message was focused  to motivate attendees to investigate IoT now and get moving before they were disrupted by some competitor who would, or before their business model was modified or destroyed.

Uldrich defined IoT, talked about why it was happening, that the audience needed to prepare for it, and what was next, all while sprinkling in fun examples to show how we audience members don’t perceive change well. He was undoubtedly preparing us to strongly consider that IoT was a market that would experience exponential change, and if we weren’t paying attention it would suddenly be all around us and we’d be caught flat-footed.

Getting the audience to think about IoT’s growth as exponential change, instead of linear or geometric change, was done by Uldrich using what I’ve always thought was the best example to explain exponential growth: lilypad’s and a lake…

lakelilypadsTo those who don’t believe IoT will change the world in the near future just because it hasn’t accomplished much yet, consider this little quiz: If a single lily pad began doubling on a small lake on the first day of June and doubled each day thereafter until the entire lake was covered by the end of the month, on Day 20 what percentage of the pond would be covered with lily pads?

The answer is one-tenth of one percent. That’s right, .1%! What happens over the next 10 days is a little short of amazing—the entire pond gets completely covered with lilypads. Such is the nature of exponential growth.

I can say from personal experience (and that I already own about thirty ‘things’ installed at my house already due to SmartThings), that there will be exponential growth of the purchase and use of internet-connected things quickly in the home. But home automation is not the big opportunity.

Businesses adopting IoT—and connecting to the internet mostly in a wireless way—is where the action is. Tracking assets, monitoring remotely, managing vehicles (and where they are, their load and more), and all the possibilities in health care is a huge opportunity for the arguably more dependable (and often the only option for specific use-cases) wireless connectivity.

If the IoT technology space plays out even somewhat like the personal computer, multimedia, and internet space did over the last 35-45 years, once businesses see early adopters enjoying successful implementation of IoT sensors, hubs and analytics to streamline operations and make more money, every other business will scramble to get on board…

…and Verizon Wireless M2M Solutions (machine-to-machine) positioning, services and partners will place them directly in the path of much of this IoT exponential explosion. I’m guessing Verizon thinks so too since they’re investing in seminars just like this one all over the country.

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Recent Articles on the Internet of Things:

Honeywell Takes On Google’s Nest

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honeywell-nestMany articles about Honeywell’s new Lyric thermostat and this one from Time give a great overview:

When it comes to the Smart Thermostat Wars (is that a thing yet?), there’s no love lost between Honeywell and Google-owned Nest. The high-profile Nest Learning Thermostat triggered a nasty patent scuffle back in 2012, when longtime thermostat behemoth Honeywell went after Nest over several claimed patent infringements.

Fast forward to today, and Honeywell is rolling out its own smart thermostat, the $279 Lyric. It’ll actually be part of a broader network of home automation devices, also fitting under the Lyric moniker, but the thermostat will be the first device in the line. It’ll be available now-ish from Honeywell’s home contractor partners, and in August from Lowe’s.

Read the Time article…

Ignite Minneapolis Event on Thursday

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ignitemplsIgnite Minneapolis 7 will be held Thursday, June 12, 2014 at Riverview Theater in Minneapolis, home of Twin Cities’ best movie theater popcorn. Get tickets here.

NEW…A LIVE STREAM! In case you’re not coming to Ignite in person, there will be a live stream brought to you by Rewire. To access the live stream, just visit the Ignite Minneapolis home page on Thursday evening and click the live stream link which will then appear.

spacer_newWhat is Ignite?

Ignite Minneapolis brings together local thinkers, writers, designers, coders, makers and entrepreneurs for an evening of rapid-fire talks given by people with a burning passion for their topic. Some talks are serious science, others are pure satire – but each talk must be about a compelling idea or story. Attendees come to learn and to be inspired.

The Ignite format works like this: Each speaker prepares a deck of 20 slides which auto-advance every 15 seconds, giving each speaker 5 minutes to give their talk. The rapid-fire pace of this format often makes for a frenetic delivery, and the variety of topics means the audience is unlikely to ever get bored. The motto of Ignite is, “Enlighten us, but make it quick.”

SmartThings Accelerates Their Platform

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smartthings-new-platformSmartThings has just released a new iOS app (with Android following next week) that takes advantage of several of their changes to accelerate the SmartThings platform and create a new “app experience”:

Today is an exciting day for SmartThings customers and anyone who’s ever wanted to create a smart home. We’ve just unveiled an enhanced app experience that offers you one place to find, discover, and connect everything you need to customize a home that automatically reacts to your preferences.

Those of you who have followed us from our early Kickstarter days know that it’s always been our goal to create an open platform for the Internet of Things, and this announcement is a very important step toward realizing that long-term vision.

While the app experience has become much better, for those of us fully invested in SmartThings already having them widen their ecosystem with a new certification process is very exciting. This new certification is already widening the number of compatible products for a SmartThings hub:

From locks and lighting solutions, to stereo systems and thermostats, there are already many companies inventing smart home devices. Some of the most valuable things that will one day fill our homes have likely not even been invented yet. At SmartThings, we’re embracing this wave of innovation and have created a new team lead by Kelly Liang to expand the list of devices that are certified as working with SmartThings.

The program introduces multiple levels of certification and compatibility with SmartThings and is designed to offer consumers greater confidence that the products they’re integrating with SmartThings will work properly. Once certified, these products will join our list of more than 100 approved and compatible devices from popular manufacturers like GE/Jasco, Honeywell, Kwikset, Aeon, and others that are discoverable within the SmartThings app.

Check out the post and video to learn more.

IoT Is Real & Already Here

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iotAny of us paying attention to technology know that The Internet of Things is already well underway. But, like the internet itself back in the 1990s, excitement and hyperbole could threaten its adoption due to wildly overoptimistic reporting.

Though many companies like Cisco, IBM and even consulting firm McKinsey & Co. are all touting a $14 trillion market size within a decade or so, many of us struggle with exactly where that kind of revenue will be generated with products and services.

Pew Research Internet Project just released a report called, “The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025: Many experts say the rise of embedded and wearable computing will bring the next revolution in digital technology.”

Some 1,606 experts responded to the following question: The evolution of embedded devices and the Internet/Cloud of Things—As billions of devices, artifacts, and accessories are networked, will the Internet of Things have widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public by 2025?

Eighty-three percent of these experts answered “yes” and 17% answered “no.”

Pretty impressive and this space is something Minnov8 believes will be one of the most profound opportunities in technology in the next 15 years, especially as more of the product and service opportunities become clearer.

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john-rashThen in this morning’s Minneapolis StarTribune, John Rash had this opinion piece that is one of the best, non-hyperbolic and solid overviews of IoT I’ve seen yet. Rash writes the Rash Report column for the ‘Strib’ and is also an editorial writer and a member of its Editorial Board. He also teaches mass media and politics at the University of Minnesota.

Two visions of the future come to mind when considering the new Pew Research Center study about “The Internet of Things.” One is the 2013 dystopian novel “The Circle,” Dave Eggers’ claustrophobic tome about a social network so insidious it becomes a societal noose.

The other is the recent retrospective of 1964’s seminal World’s Fair in New York, during the age of the space race (and “The Jetsons”), when technological transformations were thought to solve, not create, problems.

The future turned out differently than seers imagined 50 years ago, as it always does. With any luck (and common sense), the dark vision of “The Circle” won’t square with Americans seeking to preserve privacy.

And it’s likely that the future envisioned in the Pew report will defy some expectations, too.

Give it a read. It will help you view IoT as the opportunity it is and not just the hype.

Smartphone “Kill Switch” Now Law in Minnesota

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It is done. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed legislation late yesterday (Chapter 241, SF1740) which requires that all new smartphones sold in Minnesota after July 1, 2015, have an anti-theft “kill switch” function. A kill switch function enables smartphone owners to remotely disable their smartphone if it is lost or stolen, rendering the devices useless to thieves and reducing the incentive for a growing wave of violent cell phone thefts.

“This law will help combat the growing number of violent cell phone thefts in Minnesota,” said Governor Dayton. “I thank Representative Atkins, Senator Sieben, Senator Dziedzic, law enforcement officials, and the many student advocates who championed this legislation.”

More on the Governor’s blog post is here.

The Verge published this article late last night which had some interesting perspective that calls this bill in to doubt and whether it’s a moot point anyway:

Strangely, the actual text of Minnesota’s “kill switch” bill doesn’t actually require a kill switch at all. The letter of the law simply states that phones be “equipped with preloaded antitheft functionality or be capable of downloading that functionality,” without specifying what “antitheft” means or what sorts of protections the software might actually offer.

However, that might be a moot point: nearly every major player in the smartphone industry has already promised to offer remote lock and remote wipe functionality by next July. Minnesota’s law and other legislation like it are simply codifying what smartphone manufacturers and US cellular carriers are already working towards. The law gives those companies until January 2015 to explain how antitheft software will help.

It remains to be seen if this will be an important tool for consumers—and actually slow down or stop thefts of smartphones—or there will be a workaround thieves will discover and use anyway. We are also uncertain whether or not a “killed” smartphone can simply be sent offshore and re-enabled on an overseas carrier’s network.

Hopefully built-in kill switches won’t also be targets of black-hat hackers who install malware on smartphones and are thus capable of remotely killing a phone.