Location, location, location for tech start-ups

Services employing GPS technologies were high on the agenda at last night’s Dragon’s Lair event for tech entrepreneurs.
A panel of experts heard eight pitches from companies looking for investment cash or just help and guidance at the session organisation by Northern Start-up 2.0.
Of those, three showed the varied use that geo-locative technologies could be put to;
• Captive Portals demonstrated how its product could quickly swamp a location with geo-locative information using wi-fi to create a hot spot for mobile phone users.
• A mobile marketing platform where users subscribe to receive special offers and deals in a location – think a large shopping mall such as the Trafford Centre able to administer its own advertising platform delivered to people’s mobile phones was put forward by DCS.
• Finally MapMe.At pitched a way of tracking personal history based around location which could incorporate data such as photos, a person’s tweets, friends’ tweets and activity in a community which could have uses varying from corporate events organisation to a closed circle of a stag night.

Entrepreneurs also pitched projects which would make the everyday easier. Paul Banks of Image Alchemy has come up with a way to make domestic printing a lot cheaper by the invention of a PC printing device which is refillable and contains a lot more ink for your money.
And David Hawdale of RecycleLocal wants to bring together an online community which would help you live a greener life in the credit crunch.
Other projects from the evening were an electronic invoicing system (PostDox), a data management application (DataNovata) and a travel site for independent and adventure travellers (TourDust).
The event led to expressions of interest from some of the Dragons with more networking continuing over a few pints so it’s going to be interesting to see how each of these initiatives develop over the coming months.
As organiser Manoj Ranaweera points out – unlike the television programme – the Lair is often just the start of the process.