TechColumbus Invests $700,000 in Five Tech Companies

TechColumbus today announced $700,000 in strategic investments in five Central Ohio companies. The investments are through the Central Ohio TechStart initiative. The Ohio Third Frontier Program and 17 local governments, institutions and individuals fund TechStart.

“These investments help the most promising high-tech companies in the Central Ohio region advance their products and services in the marketplace,” said Ted Ford, president & CEO of TechColumbus. “These companies have great potential to generate substantial revenue, to attract further investment, and to create high-wage jobs in Central Ohio.”

Ford said the Ohio Third Frontier program, which is committed to expanding Ohio’s technological strengths and promoting commercialization that leads to economic prosperity throughout Ohio, has been instrumental to the development, growth and success of these high-tech start-ups. Ohio Third Frontier funds $15 million of the $22.5 million TechColumbus initiative known as TechStart, which is driving the launch and acceleration of technology-based companies in Central Ohio.

As of December 2008, TechColumbus has invested $10.3 million in 60 companies and 111 companies have been incubated as part the TechStart program. These companies have generated $183.2 million in revenues and have created 809 jobs with an average salary of $62,468.

One part of the program, TechGenesis Grants, provides investments up to $50,000 for early-stage companies to research their business ideas and do product prototyping. The TechColumbus Pre-Seed Fund provides up to $500,000 for more established companies with the potential to become high-growth businesses that can attract follow-on capital. Both funds are available to technology companies in the 15-county Central Ohio region.

The following company received investments from the TechColumbus Pre-Seed Fund (up to $500,000 each):

Updox (Columbus, OH) – Updox provides an easy way for physician practices to securely document, share and save information. The company’s Web-based application enables practices to use less paper, fewer keystrokes, and reduce reliance on phone, fax and e-mail. Within a day, an average office will be receiving and reviewing reports, filing patient records, commenting on documents and images, and sending notes to labs, pharmacies and other physicians—all without expensive training, installations, or record conversions.

Contact Information:
Mark Shary
CEO
mshary@updox.com
www.updox.com


The following companies received investments from TechGenesis Grants (up to $50K each):

Accelerated Data Concepts LLC (Columbus, Ohio) – Accelerated Data Concepts (ADC) uses high-performance computing technologies to develop high-speed solutions for intense data processing. The company develops and supports reconfigurable computing applications using an ever-expanding array of multi-core processors, FPGAs, and high-speed graphics processors. These multiple technologies are integrated into reliable, high-performing solutions with an emphasis on low cost and ease of use to minimize total cost of ownership for customers who need extreme speed for analysis of information, images and data. ADC has been successful in re-engineering medical, financial and security applications with significant speed-ups.

Contact Information:
Daryl Popig
Co-founder and CTO
614.309.8661
dpopig@acceleratedata.com
www.acceleratedata.com

EXCMR (Columbus, Ohio) – EXCMR, an OSU spinout, develops medical devices to enhance cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The company has developed an innovative MRI-compatible treadmill that enables cardiovascular exercise stress testing with MRI, giving doctors pictures of the heart immediately following peak exercise stress. MRI shows both heart function and perfusion (blood flow to the heart muscle) with higher resolution and clarity than available with other imaging tests. Symptoms, like chest pain, caused by coronary artery blockages often can be reproduced only with exercise-induced stress. Images of the heart taken immediately after exercise allow doctors to examine the pumping action and blood flow at rest and stress to more accurately determine the cause of symptoms. The MRI-compatible treadmill enables for the first time the combination of exercise stress testing with magnetic resonance imaging.

Contact Information:
Orlando “Lon” Simonetti, PhD
CEO
614.306.5502
orlando.simonetti@excmr.com
www.excmr.com


Health Care Data Works, LLC (Columbus, Ohio) – Health Care Data Works was formed by members of The OSU Medical Center’s information technology group, offering software tools and services to healthcare organizations by helping them improve important areas of their operations, such as the quality of medical care, patient satisfaction and financial performance. The company’s products make data manageable and turn volumes of reports and spreadsheets into actionable information much faster and more efficiently than most methods currently in use today. Health Care Data Works software tools provide critical knowledge to the right people at the right place at the right time, enabling better and more cost effective quality of care.

Contact Information:
Herb Smaltz
Health Care Data Works
877.979.4239
herb.smaltz@hcdataworks.com
www.hcdataworks.com


MobileWait (Dublin, Ohio) – MobileWait is a Web-to-SMS loyalty, wait list and reservation management solution for full-service restaurants. The company automates the wait list and check-in process, allowing restaurants to ”pitch their pagers,” recognize loyal guests up front and notify guests when their table is ready via text message (aka SMS). The technology also provides the ability to customize exclusive offers within the text message notification. Guests also can opt-in for future exclusive offers from their favorite restaurants online or by text message. This technology gives guests the freedom to enjoy their wait on their terms, while gaining exclusive offers from their most beloved restaurant brands.

Contact Information:
Matt Armstead
Founder & CEO
614.634.6161
matt@mobilewait.com


About TechColumbus
TechColumbus is a nonprofit organization that focuses on technology-based economic development in the 15 counties of central Ohio. TechColumbus accomplishes this by:

• Providing professional development and technology business assistance to both large and small companies that rely on technology for business success
• Managing a 62,000 square foot technology business incubator that has been recognized as one of the best in the country
• Managing TechStart, the $22.5 million Central Ohio Entrepreneurial Signature Program, with a mission to create, finance and launch new tech companies in central Ohio
• Assisting in the development of facilities for tech companies
• Working with state and local organizations to attract new tech companies to the region