Class of 2012 Applicants Trended Towards Later Stage Companies, Consumer Products and Mobile Startups

SANDY, Utah – May 4, 2012 –BoomStartup announced the 9 companies it has chosen for its Mentorship-Driven investment program, which is now in its third year and runs May to August. The 2012 startups span business-to-business, consumer and mobile industries. They are: Akomplish, AutoBid, BlueRoof360, CityGro, CitySpark, Match Mate Inc., Referral.IM, TextMeTix and XoomPark.

Each selected company will receive more than $100,000 in benefits and investment. BoomStartup provides $20,000 as seed capital. Companies also receive mentoring and education, plus more than $80,000 of in-kind services such as tech infrastructure, office space and professional services from providers such as Microsoft, PayPal and Rackspace.

According to BoomStartup co-founder Robb Kunz, there were some interesting trends in this year’s application process. BoomStartup saw a much higher percentage of later stage companies – many with millions of dollars in revenue – apply to the program. In addition, there was a new entry of product and consumer-based companies that emerged. These companies’ products included a very small software component allowing them to meet the program pre-requisites. Lastly, there was a notable increase in the number of companies participating in the mentoring programs that preceded BoomStartup’s selection process.

“The companies selected did a great job engaging in private pre-mentoring activities such as public office hours and meetups that were held,” said Kunz. “This extra effort allowed the mentors to get to know the founding teams that were applying and it started building the trust relationship which is key to our model.”

Kunz added, “The surge of later stage companies in this year’s application process is a testament to the value that accelerator program mentorship can be leveraged at all stages of a company’s maturity.”

BoomStartup accepted the following companies:

• Akomplish - Akomplish is online productivity software that allows users to manage contacts, tasks and calendars for their personal lives as well as for one or more groups or companies. Akomplish let users see everything cleanly and simply, integrated into one space with no need for multiple logins to several services.
• AutoBid - AutoBid provides simple, elegant technology solutions for the collision repair industry that reduce administrative costs, save employee time and increase overall profit.
• BlueRoof360 - Blueroof 360 is designed to provide real estate brokers with easy-to-use online tools to help their agents make effective use of the Internet to grow their businesses. The tools they provide include a professionally designed, custom personal website with interactive MLS map search, client management, email marketing, blog, mobile site and market analysis tools.
• CityGro - CityGro gives businesses real-time access to customers by releasing special offers. Through the CityGro platform, businesses can build a network of customers who receive live mobile updates for each promotion they run. More than 1500 businesses are currently connecting with more than 20,000 consumers at CityGro.com.
• CitySpark - CitySpark is a local event discovery portal that enables users to discover the hundreds of interesting and relevant events going on all around them. The service provides ideas for dates, afternoon activities with the kids, professional conferences and outdoor adventures.
• Match Mate Inc. - MatchMate.Me is revolutionizing the basic human need for romantic relationships by reducing the awkwardness and complexity of matchmaking. The service – distributed through web, mobile and social platforms – turns us into matchmakers, helping match up the people we know with the people they don't.
• Referral.IM - Referral.IM simplifies the practice of referral passing for the medical industry.
• TextMeTix - TextMeTix is a free consumer service that has unique relationships with various ticket vendors allowing them to create and send last minute deals.
• XoomPark - XoomPark.com offers online guaranteed parking reservations for large, downtown events within walking distance of multiple venues such as sports arenas, theaters, restaurants etc. Event attendees no longer need to show up hours in advance to get a decent parking space at events or carry around extra cash to pay parking attendants. They can now simply reserve a close spot online.

BoomStartup’s 2012 program concludes with Demo Day in Park City, Utah where participants are introduced to more than 100 angel investors and venture capitalists.
Individuals interested in getting involved or joining the BoomStartup team as a mentor or associate can contact Robb Kunz at rkunz@boomstartup.com.
About BoomStartup
BoomStartup is a member of the respected Global Accelerator Network, BoomStartup has been recognized as one of the top 15 accelerator programs in the country by the Kauffman Foundation. For more information, visit www.boomstartup.com.