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The Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange’s tech awards cast a wide net. This year, the technology marketing-focused industry organization has 50 finalist companies and products in 11 categories for its judges to consider. The winners’ envelopes won’t be opened until June 2, when MITX hosts its tech awards gala at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Being impatient, we rounded up a posse of seven experts on our own and asked them to pick a few companies for closer scrutiny, rating each as a “cash cow,” a “steady business” or a “long shot.”
Did our judges miss the mark on a good company? Did they get snowed by a total dud? Let us know in the comment field below and we’ll invite them to talk back to you.
MHT Judges
Dave Barrett
General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners.
Makes early-stage investments in tech companies. Runs Polaris’ DogPatch Labs Cambridge startup incubator
Larry Cheng
Managing Partner, Volition Capital LLC.
Spun off with co-founders from Fidelity Ventures to form Volition Capital earlier this year
Dayna Grayson
Principal, North Bridge Venture Partners.
Runs North Bridge’s $75K seed competition. Was interim CEO at virtual goods portfolio company Viximo
Kate Imbach
VP Marketing, Skyhook Wireless Inc.
Co-founder of the Mobile Monday Boston networking group
Katie Rae
Product manager
Former director of product at Microsoft’s Startup Labs.
Now working with serial entrepreneur Reed Sturtevant on establishing a new startup accelerator program
David Skok
General Partner, Matrix Partners.
Founder of four software companies, including SilverStream Software, which sold to Novell in 2002
Carl Stjernfeldt
General Partner, Castile Ventures.
Also advises startups through MIT’s Deshpande Center. Has been a judge for the MIT $100K business plan competition
DEVICES
Litl LLC
HQ: Boston
Project: Litl Webbook, a thin-client notebook for web-based computing
David Skok: Long shot.
Toast because of the iPad. This is going to be a big space, but only the very biggest of players are in a position to be defining a next generation operating system. They need to find a new business plan.
Carl Stjernfeldt: Cash cow. Very cool. Google’s best friend. But how do you build a platform that has a sustainable advantage?
Kanguru Solutions Inc. / Kanguru Defender Elite
HQ: Millis
Project: Kanguru Defender Elite, a secure USB flash drive
David Skok: Cash cow.
I like the fact that they have been around for a long time and have been profitable from the start. This is a non-sexy, cash-cow type of a business.
Carl Stjernfeldt: Long shot. Cloud-based solutions will make flash storage obsolete — well, at least partially.
ONLINE ADVERTISING
DataXu Inc.
HQ: Boston
Project: Real-time ad analytics software
Katie Rae: Cash cow.
Fantastic company and idea, and I have heard their algorithms actually work. The more we can put the power in the hand of advertisers and not in the hands of the Big Three the better!
ANALYTICS & BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Localytics Inc.
HQ: Cambridge
Project: Analytics for mobile app dev.
Dave Barrett: Cash cow.
A massive business opportunity: Localytics aims at bringing real-time usage data and deep analytical insights to mobile app publishers. A really high-energy entrepreneurial team.
Kate Imbach: Steady business.
Localytics has already signed up a nice roster of clients. By focusing in tightly on their target markets and giving customers control over analytics, Localytics has a chance to truly differentiate and provide a new and much-needed service in the mobile analytics market.
Netezza Corp.
HQ: Marlborough
Project: TwinFin, blade-server-based data warehousing appliance
Larry Cheng: Cash Cow.
Should be No. 1 on Teradata’s competitor list.
E-COMMERCE & ALTERNATIVE RETAIL
Fashion Playtes Inc.
HQ: Salem
Project: A fashion-based online social network for young girls
Katie Rae: Steady business.
This is the type of thinking that only a mother of girls could understand. It is the perfect mix of fun and vanity. Could be a market leader in the tween girl space.
Dayna Grayson: Steady business.
Tapping into girls’ fashion and more importantly, creativity, will make for a great business. This business will work through repeat purchases and viral invites, so getting to scale will simply take time.
CashStar Inc.
HQ: Portland, Maine
Project: Consumer eGift Application, digital gift cards
Dayna Grayson: Cash cow.
Why? Because they have cash in their name of course. Sounds like a great team with serious domain expertise who can execute in the space.
Daily Grommet Inc.
HQ: Lexington
Project: E-commerce site discovers one item each day
Dayna Grayson: Steady business.
They have great products that are really hard to find otherwise. The experience makes me want to buy. It’s the closest thing to HSN done well on the Internet.
Larry Cheng: Steady business.
I’d never bet against their founder, Jules Pieri. Promising company.
CLOUD COMPUTING
Viewfinity Inc.
HQ: Waltham
Project: Desktop virtualization software
David Skok: Cash cow.
This is a hot area, and they are one of a few players that are going to duke it out here. One of their competitors is Unidesk that is in our portfolio, and who we really believe is well positioned in the enterprise end of this space. I also really like the two founders here, Gil Rappaport, and Leonid Shtilman.
Nasuni Corp.
HQ: Natick
Project: Nasuni Filer, Internet-based data storage
David Skok: Steady business.
I really like this story, and also really like the two founders, Andres Rodriguez, Rob Mason. They have to figure out how to sell this very low-priced solution in a way where they can still make money.
Dave Barrett: Cash cow.
An enterprise-grade file system in the cloud is compelling stuff for customers and partners alike. Their technical team is top-notch, but it’s a confusing space with a good number of adjacent solutions.
RICH MEDIA
Episend Inc.
HQ: Watertown
Project: Rich media embedded in e-mail
Dayna Grayson: Long shot.
They will need to prove that they can attract the consumer segment. They describe the prosumer/freelance market as a target but this problem has been solved with other tools for that market.
MOBILE APPLICATIONS
Fitnesskeeper Inc.
HQ: Boston
Project: Runkeeper, a GPS-enabled training app for runners
Kate Imbach: Steady business.
Runkeeper is one of the best apps built in Boston. Any developer could learn important lessons about how to build successful applications from FitnessKeeper’s responsiveness to customers, user loyalty, interface that fits the mobile device perfectly, and clever use of social and viral marketing tactics.
Carl Stjernfeldt: Long shot.
Competitive landscape looks a bit hairy. Tracking runners online in real time — a stalker’s delight!
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