Posts Tagged ‘Startup Tour’

100 Startups and Growing Fast!

Posted in 2010 on March 5th, 2010 by Robert X. Cringely – 52 Comments

It has been just over a day since we opened nominations for the Cringely (NOT in Silicon Valley) Startup Tour and already there are more than 100 companies in the system, all six categories are covered, and the level of competition is very high. At this point I am confident we’ll get 500-600 companies in the eight week period, which is what I had hoped.

While all six categories are represented, more than half are IT companies, which isn’t surprising given the orientation of this blog. But the Kauffman Foundation just sent out a press release about the Tour to 11,000 reporters and editors, so I’m guessing the technology base will broaden as some of those people write their stories.

In any case we’ll try to have in the final 24 companies representatives from all six categories, but that doesn’t mean there will be only four companies from each category. Rather it is likely that there will be more than four IT companies and less than four, say, transportation companies.

Still, if you are novel enough and tell a good yarn, upi might still fit in.

And don’t forget that I’ll shortly start profiling some of these companies right here.

We’re already learning quite a bit about the new web site, which uses completely new software from a startup that is itself more than 15 years old! This type of application is an entirely new thing and we have the first instantiation of it, anywhere. Look for the product from which the site was derived to be announced later this month.

There have been a few bugs, of course, but most of our problems have been pilot error: I screwed-up the links (now fixed) and some companies have submitted multiple entries (a no-no). If you want to change your entry, I’m afraid, you have to start over. We may work to change that.

Another thing I need to change is how I organize and communicate wth the various experts who will be helping out. the response there, too, is greater than I expected. It even looks like we may be able to help some of these companies find the money they need I could use a bit myself.

Finally, I want to give credit for this whole Startup Tour idea to my young and lovely wife, the little southern woman with big hair in the picture. That’s her Amy Winehouse imitation, minus the stay in rehab.

Please keep visiting the Tour site and tell your friends with startups to get their companies in the system. There is no downside to doing so because publicity is always good.