Casabona Ventures

Dec 16, 2015

Buy this photo Mario Casabona, founder of TechLaunch, at its kickoff event Tuesday evening. Montclair State University is a co-sponsor of the training program for new businesses. An online guide for comic book fans. A smartphone application that allows freelancers to show their work on the go. An electronic water bottle that measures your hydration level. Eight start-up companies from as close as Bergen and Passaic counties and from as far as Finland introduced their business models Tuesday evening at Montclair State University at the kickoff event for TechLaunch, New Jersey’s technology accelerator, a training program for start-ups. Buy this photo This year, TechLaunch received around 90 applications, down from 95 the year before, and reduced its class to eight from 10 companies that will work in the program for 16 weeks, said TechLaunch LLC founder Mario Casabona of Kinnelon. TechLaunch also will provide up to $25,000 of seed capital and co-working space at Montclair State, another of the accelerator’s sponsors along with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, law firm SorinRand LLP, accountant WithumSmith+Brown PC and Casabona Ventures LLC. Tuesday’s event was a "coming out party" for the new companies, which will formally begin the accelerator on Monday and end it on Sept. 13, Casabona said. "Demo Day," when the businesses pitch to investors, is scheduled for Sept. 19. "It gives the mentors and investors an opportunity to see the portfolio of companies," Casabona said. Ian Griggs of Montvale and Wayne Goldblatt of Woodcliff Lake — originally writers and producers from the television industry — presented their online social marketplace for comic book enthusiasts, Hazarai.com (Hazarai is Yiddish for "clutter"). Though the site went live at the New York October 2012 Comic Con, a comic book convention that regularly draws more than 100,000 fans, the duo decided to apply for the accelerator to grow its partnerships, network and gain mentorship advice. With hundreds of millions comic book sites online, Griggs and Goldblatt hope their e-commerce platform can be the go-to source for all things comic book and "geek. " To generate revenue, the website would provide services such as analytics for its sellers for a fee, as opposed to the basic, free storefronts available now. The site also would offer native advertising, where user stores can buy ads for themselves on the site, and branded content for interested sellers. "We want to be the rabbit hole to jump into," Griggs said. James Kaiser of Clifton and Clarence Stone of Paramus were part of a team of four, along with Kristenelle Coronado of Saddle Brook and Christopher Zega of Woodcliff Lake, displaying their smartphone application, 30 Second Showcase. The app helps creative freelance professionals pitch their work by featuring their portfolios on a mobile platform. Made up of college students and recent graduates, the team is one of the youngest at TechLaunch this year. "I’m looking forward to not only the business development but the personal development as a professional," Kaiser said. TechLaunch requires half of its participants to be from New Jersey. However, many of the companies, like self-help app SeekChange or cellphone battery transfer device and app ShareWatt, are from New York City. The team of Caktus, an app-connected water bottle, is from Finland. Caktus Chief Executive Officer Panu Keski-Pukkila, who has been working on other start-ups in New York City, found out about TechLaunch by searching online. "I know there is a vibrant tech community here in New Jersey," Keski-Pukkila said. TechLaunch began in February 2012, when the state Economic Development Authority put $150,000 into the program to select a group of technology start-ups to undergo 12 weeks of business training and mentoring. Some graduates include Clifton-based app company Pervasive Group Inc. and Nickelbus.com of Mahwah, a bus-scheduling website. The accelerator does not guarantee funding; rather, it helps to prepare the businesses for the next round of financing, Casabona said. To date, the 10 companies that participated in TechLaunch last year have raised around $300,000, he said. "They’re out there pitching, trying to raise funds, which is what they should be doing," Casabona said. Email: diduch@northjersey.com © 2015 North Jersey Media Group Tags: