Zaptap to present products at Grow 2011

By Polly Leger – Telegraph Journal | link to original article

A Fredericton tech startup has won the golden ticket in the “American Idol” for online entrepreneurs.Zaptap, a bare-bones app-maker based in Fredericton is one of 15 startups chosen in an online contest to present their products at GROW 2011, an entrepreneurial conference in Vancouver.

On August 17, CEO Yan Simard will fly across the country, set up a booth and meet heavyweights from Silicon Valley, pitch his product, and maybe, just maybe, land an investment deal.

Simard said he's “quite excited” to go to Vancouver, but said he's already back in business mode.

“You never know what's going to come out of these things,” he said. “We just need to be open and let things happen.”

Last month, Zaptap entered the contest Launch@Grow. More than 60 firms across Canada and the U.S. pitched their products online in two minute videos.

Zaptap made it through the first round, where viewers voted for their favourite products, as well as the judged round, which whittled candidates down from 25 to 15.

The company, which is just going into beta trials, has also impressed the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, which has invested $50,000 into the startup since the spring.

Calvin Milbury, CEO of the Innovation Foundation, said he is “thrilled” Zaptap has made it to British Columbia.

“Getting New Brunswick out in front at these events is important,” Milbury said. “Yan is carrying the flag.”

Zaptap has an app to make shopping “more intelligent,” Simard said. Shoppers can tap their smartphone on a special tag to pull up information, from wine parings to reviews, on the product they're looking at.

All they need is a phone with near field communication, something built into most next-generation smart phones.

Simard said his idea is easily monetized. Rather than focusing on consumers, firms would pay to set up a profile with Zaptap's platform, adding anything they want, from videos to coupons.

Now guaranteed a promotion booth at the conference's opening night, Zaptap also has the chance to be one of four companies to deliver a pitch on stage later in the conference.

In front 600 attendees, including “the Valley's best” such as Silicon Valley kingpin Google, four companies will outline their product and why others should invest in it.

All Simard has to do to make it to the big stage is impress Debbie Landa.

It will be no easy feat. CEO of Dealmaker Media, the San Francisco-based company behind the conference, Landa scouts startups every day.

Landa described GROW 2011 as the American Idol for next-generation entrepreneurs. She'll be hand-picking the top four startups after scoping out their booths on the first night.

She said she's looking for ideas that “actually have a chance to make it” and a team that can execute its idea. Landa said “true understanding” of the domain is crucial in order to make it in Silicon Valley.

Regardless of the outcome, with major industry players like Facebook and Linkedin at the conference, Yan said he plans to “network like crazy.”