TekDry’s Shark Tank Appearance Results In More Than Just a Deal

 

Brand Awareness and Consumer Education Essential

DENVER (October 12, 2016) – Entrepreneurs Adam Cookson and Craig Beinecke, co-founders of TekDry, a Denver-based venture that provides a solution for wet phones, successfully pitched their technology on ABC’s Shark Tank last week, walking away with a $500K deal with Mr. Wonderful.

Their appearance on the hit reality show also resulted in educating consumers that options exist for wet devices and in increasing the brand’s visibility, another important goal for new companies.  

Shark Tank results by the numbers.*

·       Shark Tank national audience, 7 million

·       Number of national media stories leading up to show airing 359

·       Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE)** $1.58 million

·       Potential audience reach from media coverage 288.6 million.

·       Increase in website traffic by 3,367 percent

·       Increase in social media mentions during show airing 1,778 percent

TekDry’s services are available through a nationwide mail-in service and in select Staples stores, with plans to expand into more markets across the country.

TekDry’s patented technology uses a combination of negative-pressure, controlled heat, and proprietary beads to create a safe environment to remove 100 percent of the moisture from wet devices.

TEKDRY SPECIFICS:

·       The TekDry machine uses a safe, low temperature so there will be no overheating, and the device stays within factory recommended temperatures.

·       Make sure your phone is NOT plugged in after it has become water logged and get it to a TekDry service location as soon as possible.

·       The water removal process causes no cosmetic damage to the device.

·       The phone or device does NOT need to be taken apart to be saved.

·       In as little as 30 minutes, TekDry removes 100 percent of liquid from a wet phone or device.

·       If the device isn’t saved, customers PAY NOTHING.

·       TekDry is the fastest and safest wet phone recovery technology available.

* The numbers are provided by independent sources TVEyes, Meltwater, and Nuvi news and social monitoring services.

**Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) is a tool used to help assign a dollar value to media coverage. The metric is achieved by determining the equivalent cost to purchase advertising and using a 2.37 multiplier to assign “in program editorial content” more value than advertising content.

ABOUT TEKDRY:
TekDry, founded in 2013 in Denver, CO, is the fastest and safest wet phone recovery technology available. Its patented solution restores water-damaged phones and devices in just 30 minutes with all contacts and data restored. TekDry’s patented technology uses a combination of low-pressure, controlled heat and proprietary beads to create a safe environment to remove 100% of the moisture from wet devices. In as little as 30 minutes – and without a single grain of rice – the TekDry process will dry out any phone or device and return it with all data, contact, photos, apps, restored safely, conveniently, and affordably. http://www.tekdry.com

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CONTACT:
Lisa Metzger (720) 771-4238

[email protected]

Lori Jones
[email protected]

 

 

SBA Introduces Online Tutorials for Small Businesses Seeking Federal R&D Funding

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Small Business Administration released its highly anticipated Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) online tutorials to help small businesses navigate the SBIR program. The site provides users with a mobile-compatible site to learn about the program through a combination of videos and text. This platform will provide accessible program information and training resources to underrepresented areas. There is no registration or fee required and the courses are open to all.  
 
“We are excited to introduce these tutorials. We know there are many small businesses in rural communities as well as young entrepreneurs that are unaware of this amazing program,” said  Mark Walsh, SBA’s Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation. “SBA has pulled together resources from across the federal government, providing them in a format easily accessible on mobile devices, while allowing users to select just the information they need.” 
 
The SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, also called “America’s Seed Fund,” inject $2.5 billion every year into small, innovative and nimble firms across the nation. The mission of each program is to support R&D in technical areas that align with American priorities, and build a strong national economy to meet the pressing needs of the federal government. Currently, there are 11 federal agencies with SBIR/STTR programs. 
 
“This new source should be invaluable to entrepreneurs looking to take advantage of our SBIR and STTR programs, which are the largest source of non-dilutive early stage R&D dollars available to small businesses,” Walsh added. “Further, these courses will help the SBA provide timely and accurate information about the programs to our entrepreneurs regardless of their geographic location or ability to attend one of our conferences or SBIR Road Tour events.” 
 
With 52 modules housed within 10 courses, the platform addresses topics relevant to small businesses that are new to the SBIR/STTR programs and companies that have previously received SBIR funding. Topics include:  

  • Agency differences
     
  • Registration requirements  
     
  • SBIR Data Rights
     
  • Accounting and  
     
  • How to find partners.   

More topics are being developed for future tutorials. Tools, resources, links and quizzes accompany each tutorial to help users navigate the process of applying for and winning federal awards. To find out more about SBA’s Online Tutorials, or to begin your learning experience, please visit www.sbir.gov/tutorials.  
 
About SBIR/STTR  
The programs represent the nation's largest source of non-diluted early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, which collectively support more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funding annually. The program is ideal to help early stage firms obtain the needed funding to advance their technology, and was the seed funding for hundreds of now publically traded companies like Qualcomm and Biogen. Additional information about each program can be found at www.sbir.gov. Follow us @SBIRgov and #SBIR to stay updated on the latest SBIR news and announcements.   
 
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012 has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. www.sba.gov 

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Release Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016
Release Number: 16-54
Contact: Tiffani S. Clements (202) 401-0035
nternet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

Colorado Technology Association Board names Andrea Young as new CEO

Colorado Technology Association (CTA) is pleased to announce the selection of its new CEO, Andrea J. Young, a dynamic technology executive with more than 20 years experience driving innovation and growth for multiple industries within the Colorado tech economy.

Young began her career building state of the art telecommunications platforms for commercial real estate in the Denver Tech Center. From there, her career led her to two highly impactful periods as Chief Information and Chief Technology Officer, first with Janus Capital Group and second with BI Incorporated, a GEO Group Company.

In addition to her primary responsibilities as a technology executive, Young has been an active leader within the industries and communities she has served. Young is no stranger to CTA. She has been on the Board of Directors since 2010, serving as Committee Chair for several key initiatives and as Chairperson of the Board in 2013. Young holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Information Systems and Masters in Business Administration from University of Denver.

“I am truly humbled and honored to be selected to lead the next evolution of CTA’s impact within the Colorado tech economy,” said Young. “I believe with the support of an incredible team, partner network, membership and Board, my passion and experience will further the legacy to drive the mission of fueling Colorado’s economy, through technology.”

Young’s first day was June 6, 2016, the same week as the sold-out Women in Technology Conference happening June 10. Visit www.coloradotechnology.org for more information. 

CU-Boulder Researchers Recycle Carbon-Fiber Composites Into New, Equally Strong Material

Contact:          
Wei Zhang, 303-492-0652
[email protected]
Philip Taynton, 626-353-2098
[email protected]
Clint Talbott, College of Arts & Sciences, 303-492-6111
[email protected]
Julie Poppen, CU-Boulder media relations, (O) 303-492-4007 or (M) 720-503-4922
[email protected]

Editors: High quality images and cutlines are available at this Dropbox link.

Feb. 15, 2016

CU-Boulder researchers recycle carbon-fiber composites into new, equally strong material

Carbon-fiber composites – stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum – can easily and cost-effectively be recycled into new material just as robust as the originals, a team of researchers led by the University of Colorado Boulder has found.

Additionally, both the fabrication of the new material and the recycling are energy-efficient and comparatively fast, potentially addressing barriers to wider use in manufacturing. For these reasons, the team’s carbon-fiber composites are “unprecedented,” said Wei Zhang, CU-Boulder associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

The findings, published online today in the journal Advanced Materials address a growing issue with these composites, plastic material that gets its brawn from embedded carbon fibers. These composite materials – used in everything from jetliners to fishing poles – are expensive but often used wherever high-strength light-weight ratios and rigidity are required.

Unlike metal, however, carbon-fiber composite is generally not recyclable. The glue that binds the fiber in most carbon-fiber composites can be broken down with expensive, energy-intensive processes that may yield toxic waste. Carbon-fiber composites can also be crushed into a fine powder, but composites made with short fibers are weak.

Millions of pounds of carbon-fiber composites are therefore destined for landfills.

However, “we can achieve complete recyclability” of both the glue and the carbon fiber, Zhang said.

Philip Taynton, who earned his doctorate in Zhang’s laboratory last year, is the lead author of the paper and co-founder of a start-up company working to bring the novel carbon-fiber composite to market.

The company’s name – Mallinda – is itself a composite of the words “malleable” and “industries.” Taynton and Zhang have also discovered a way to make hard but malleable plastics that can be refashioned into new equally strong plastic using just heat or water.

Recycling the team’s carbon-fiber composites simply requires soaking the composite in an organic solution at room temperature.

“That’s it,” Zhang said. “It’s really energy-efficient and eco-friendly.”

Taynton added, “We reuse all of the stuff that we recycle, that we reclaim. There’s nothing we have to throw away.”

Zhang and Taynton noted that the team’s carbon-fiber composite, for which the university’s Technology Transfer Office has filed a U.S. patent application, is more quickly fabricated than most carbon-fiber composites, which can take an hour to cure. The CU-Boulder team’s composites can be formed in 60 seconds.

Mallinda, LLC, which Zhang and Taynton co-founded with CU-Boulder alumnus Chris Kaffer, has gotten $150,000 in support from an NSF Small Business Innovative Research Grant. Kaffer holds a master of business administration from CU-Boulder and a doctoral degree in immunology from the University of California, Berkeley.

The university and Mallinda have signed an exclusive licensing agreement.

"We were very happy with the way that Michael Carr and the TTO worked with us to negotiate terms that are mutually beneficial for both parties," Kaffer said.

The company’s first marketing target is sporting gear such as shin guards. “You can mold it directly to your body, but it will take whatever impact you can throw at it,” Taynton said.

Co-authors on the paper are Chengpu Zhu, Samuel Loob and Yinghua Jin at CU-Boulder; Huagang Ni at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in Hangzhou, China; and Kai Yu and H. Jerry Qi at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Colorado Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant program.

-CU-

ABOVE: Philip Taynton (left) and Wei Zhang (right) are honored as co-winners of CU-Boulder’s 2014 New Venture Challenge in 2014.
Below: the process of recycling carbon-fiber composites.