BoomStartup Now Accepting Applications from Tech Entrepreneurs for Mentor-Focused Investment Program

BoomStartup to provide up to 10 promising companies with seed capital, mentorship, a four-month business crash-course and other services. End Quote

Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT (1888PressRelease) March 28, 2011 - BoomStartup, a mentorship-driven, seed capital investment program for Web and software startups, is now accepting applications for its summer 2011 program. BoomStartup will choose up to ten companies to participate in this year's program. Startups interested in participating should apply by April 11, 2011 at www.boomstartup.com/apply-for-2011.html.

BoomStartup is a full-time entrepreneurial program that runs from May through August. The organization provides each selected company with seed capital of up to $15,000, an additional $15,000 worth of in-kind services, mentoring from numerous successful entrepreneurs and technologists, free office space and resources, and education that takes them through the various steps of launching a technology company. Notable "investor-mentors" give of their financial resources and time as mentors to the entrepreneurs.

BoomStartup was founded by Managing Partners John Richards and Robert Kunz. Richards is an entrepreneur and angel investor of multiple successful technology startups. Richards was instrumental in taking InfoSpace, Inc. public on the NASDAQ; achieving a market capitalization of more than $38 billion, and later investing in Utah startups including Omniture, which was acquired by Adobe in 2009 for $1.8 billion, and EnticeLabs, a third-generation online human resources solution company whose customers include Fortune 500 companies. Kunz, is an Active Angel Investor and also the Founder & Managing Partner of ventureBlue Capital, an early-stage high technology investment firm and incubator. He is the Founder/CEO of KnowledgeBlue, an Open Source Systems Integrator and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firm. KnowledgeBlue was recently acknowledged as the 37th fastest growing Company in the State of Utah as part of the elite Utah100 group for 2009.

"Utah is fertile ground for technology startups, but entrepreneurs need the right tools to get started," Richards said. "It is in everybody's interest to help these companies succeed. Our goal is to provide promising entrepreneurs with those tools - capital, mentoring and networking, so they can find success and then give back to the Utah economy."

BoomStartup recently partnered with Grow Utah Ventures and Northfront Alliance to expand the information network all the way north. They have also opened a second campus at the Salt Lake City Miller Innovation Center. This will complement the Orem campus in the Canyon Park Technology Center.

Applicants for BoomStartup must meet the following criteria:
• They must have a founding team (two or more - no soloists) and an idea.
• They must focus on web, mobile, software, and non‐hardware tech.
• They must be highly-scalable businesses.
• They must make a full‐time commitment to the Utah-based program (from May to August).
• They must have a CTO/master coder with at least 20 percent equity.
• They must be willing to work from BoomStartup's offices.

This year's investor-mentors include John Richards, Rob Kunz , Andy White of TH(i)NQ Ed, Craig Earnshaw of LifeLink Corp, Kimball Wirig of Dentrix, and Craig Bott of Grow Utah Ventures, MarketStar, and E&Y. More than 35 other community mentors are also on-hand.

"This year's investor-mentors have each overcome the same types of obstacles faced by our applicants," Richards said. "We are fortunate to have their knowledge and experience in the classroom. They are a great asset to Utah's technology and entrepreneurial community."

BoomStartup will host a series of "Meet the Investor-Mentor Days" each Friday at 4 p.m. through the April 11, 2011 deadline; the first will be held Friday, May 15, 2011 at 4 p.m. at the Canyon Park Technology Center, Building J (1401 N. Research Way, Orem, Utah). Investors-Mentors will be on hand to talk with prospective applicants about business, technology and discuss strategies for their businesses.
Last year's selected companies included TaleSpring, MashWorx and KarmaKey, each of which was recognized by other Utah organizations for their innovation and potential success.

For more information about BoomStartup, or to apply, visit www.boomstartup.com. Follow us on Twitter and join our group on LinkedIn and fan page on Facebook.

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