Survata, VidIQ, And Five Other Startups Take The Stage At Founders Den Demo Night

I’m at Founders Den Demo Night, where seven startups are making their pitches to investors, press and other members of the tech community. As with most other demo events, these aren’t launches per se (we’ve covered most of the companies already), but it’s a good opportunity for us to highlight these startups and the fact that they’re part of the Founders Den community.

Founders Den describes itself as a “clubhouse” for entrepreneurs. In addition to the offices and co-working desks that it offers startups in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, it does indeed have a clubhouse-style space. It’s also club-like in the fact that it’s invite-only and is usually looking for experienced entrepreneurs/more established startups — in fact, a number of the companies demonstrating today went through other incubators.

Here are the seven companies that are on-the-record (there are two that are still in stealth mode, so I’m not allowed to write about them yet). I’ll update with more details from their presentations.

Survata offers a “SurveyWall” for publishers, so that they can monetize their content without putting up a paywall, and in doing so it finds survey respondents for brands, agencies and universities. It was incubated by Y Combinator.

From the presentation: The company says that more than 1 million survey questions have already been answered.

Rollbar is an error-tracking product for developers. It was co-founded by Brian Rue, former CTO of Lolapps.

From the presentation: Rue said that there are already 200 companies actively using the product.

vidIQ offers analytics and other tools for video producers on YouTube to improve their distribution. It recently raised $800,000 in funding.

From the presentation: Customers already include a number of high-profile publishers, including TechCrunch-owner Aol and Revision3.

Clothia allows users to mix-and-match different outfits through its fashion website and iPad app. Users can also browse the outfits created by others in the community.

From the presentation: The iPad app doesn’t include many of the social features (they’re coming in April), but nearly 60 percent of users are already creating content, and 46 percent of them stay engaged from month to month.

Archy is a management and collaboration system for all your cloud storage services. It allows you to import your contacts and to share documents with them.

From the presentation: The current version is Google Drive only. It has 15,000 users, and 30 percent of them are sharing more fields through Archy than through the native Google app.

MOVL offers tools for creating content for multiple screens, particularly smart TVs. It launched its Kontrol.tv system last fall.

From the presentation: Movl showed off a number of products created on the platform including Swipe-it, which has been downloaded more than 300,000 times.

Namo Media aims to build better mobile advertising by focusing on “native” ads that appear in apps’ streams of content. It has raised $1.9 million from investors, including Google Ventures.

From the presentation: Co-founder Gabor Cselle was actually the only presenter tonight to take the stage for the second time — he presented an app called DrawChat at the last demo day, which he has since auctioned off.

Update: Managing partner Michael Levit also offered a “Founders Den report card,” where he said that in total, Founders Den companies have raised $140 million. However, he was only able to get data from 43 of the 85 total companies, so he estimated that the real number is probably “zeroing in on $200 million.” He added that “not all companies are created equal,” and in fact the top five companies (Dotcloud, Tout, Kaggle, Wanelo, and DataSift) account for more than half of the reported results. As for exits, he said that there have been five successful exits so far, including the $60 million acquisition of Socialcam by Autodesk, and three shtudowns.

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FOUNDERS DEN Company:Founders DenWebsite:foundersden.com

Founders Den is a “clubhouse for entrepreneurs” based in the SoMa district of San Francisco, CA.

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Engadget Podcast 336 - 03.23.13

There's a whole lotta new going on this week. A new flagship from Samsung, a new (successful) event for Engadget, new studio gear and -- most importantly -- a new chair for Tim. What isn't new is where you go to get it. As always, that's right here. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Peter Rojas, Brian Heater Producers: James Trew, Joe Pollicino Hear the podcast 01:15 - Samsung Galaxy S 4 official 27:43 - Engadget Expanded! 42:17 - SXSW 2013 54:09 - Oculus Rift Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace. Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) Contact the podcast Follow the hosts on Twitter: @bheater @Tim_Stevens @Engadget Send your questions to @Tim_Stevens Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005) E-mail us: podcast at engadget [dot] com

Facebook will put ads in Home for Android, just not at launch The Verge

Gamestick now available for preorder stake your claim for $79HD

The previously Kickstarter-funded games console has launched its pre-order page, powered by Amazon. You'll have to stump up the same $79 premium which nets you the same GameStick that those crowd-funders are getting. Pre-orders will ship once those early orders are fulfilled. However, anyone ponying up today can expect theirs to arrive a good few months before the global retail launch later this year. You also order those dock and case peripherals, priced up at $25 and $10, respectively. Pick any color (as long as it's white) at the source. Show full PR text

The inside story of Lenovo's ThinkPad redesign

"When you talk to end users about ports, they'll tell you how much they need them. They'll talk about the vast number of USB devices that they have. It's easy to hear that and determine that you need five or more ports based on what these people report. When you watch these people work, however, and you're more overt in your methods -- you rarely see that happening. "Sometimes, there's a conflict between what someone reports they need and what they require." So begins the backstory of the latest ThinkPad overhaul as told by Corinna Proctor, the senior research manager at Lenovo's User Research Center. Clearly versed in the art of separating whimsical wishes from bona fide requirements, she spoke to me in a phone interview alongside two of her colleagues in the run-up to today's unveiling of the redesigned ThinkPad T431s Ultrabook. The machine itself is still very much a ThinkPad -- it's black, it's understated and it's tough as nails -- but those who appreciate the evolution of technology will no doubt recognize some changes. Changes that began as mere notions some 18 months ago. Lenovo ThinkPad Terminator Edition (T431s prototype)See all photos

The Telegraph erects paywall for UK readers

The Telegraph has had a paywall in place for international readers since November, and now its spreading the subscription model to folks in the UK. Despite the slow rollout, the price tiers are staying the same: £1.99 a month nets unlimited access to the newspaper's website and mobile apps, while £9.99 per month grants the same perks, plus use of its tablet editions. Each subscription comes with a free trial before you're charged, but you could keep your wallet shut and skate by on 20 free articles every month. If you're already subscribed to the dead tree version of the publication, however, you'll be able to reap the benefits of its digital incarnations without spending any extra pennies pence. [Image credit: Pleasance, Flickr]

Orange France, EE In The UK Will Get First Facebook Home HTC First Phones In Europe In Summer 2013

Facebook announced them earlier, and now Orange France and EE in the UK have confirmed it: they will be the first two carriers in Europe to carry the 4G HTC First, the first Android device with Facebook’s new Android launcher, Facebook Home, embedded in it. Although AT&T revealed pricing and preorders from today — at $99 — the two European carriers are still mum on how much it will cost and other details, except to note that the devices will be available this summer.

But in an interview earlier today with Bloomberg, Stephane Richard, CEO of France Telecom, owner of Orange and part-owner of EE, noted that mobile consumers in FT’s markets were becoming more “frugal” and less inclined to spend top dollar for mobile handsets. That could spell opportunity for the HTC First and other Facebook Home phones if they come with pricetag’s similar to the one in the U.S.

“Orange has worked with Facebook to bring the best possible Facebook experience to our customers around the world for years, from increasing mobile access to Facebook in emerging markets to the launch of Home today,” said Jean-Paul Cottet, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Innovation at Orange, in a statement. “We are proud to be Facebook’s exclusive partner in bringing the HTC First, with the most advanced and richest mobile Facebook experience available, to our customers.”

France Telecom, which owns both Orange France and half of EE (with T-Mobile), has been a longstanding partner of Facebook’s rolling out services both in Europe and in the rest of its footprint, which is strong in emerging markets in Africa — a key target for Facebook as it looks to sign up its “next billion” users, as Zuckerberg has described them.

Those projects have included France Telecom developing services like Party Call, a social calling service that has yet to launch but will likely make its way to the Facebook Home device, as well as services so that users in emerging markets with less extensive mobile data networks and low smartphone penetration can use the devices.

Facebook Home, and a keenly-priced HTC First, will be one more piece in that strategy.

More details here and here.

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FACEBOOK ORANGE FRANCE TELECOM EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE Company:FacebookWebsite:facebook.comLaunch Date:February 1, 2004IPO:NASDAQ:FB

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 1 billion monthly active users.Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004, initially as an exclusive network for Harvard students. It was a huge hit: in 2 weeks, half of the schools in the Boston area began demanding a Facebook network. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin to help build Facebook, and within four months, Facebook added 30 more college networks. The original...

→ Learn more Company:OrangeWebsite:orange.comLaunch Date:1994

Orange is a French Telecommuncations industry player whose mobile carrier system is prominent around Europe. The Group had sales of 53.5 billion euros in 2008 and a customer base of 186 million customers in 30 countries at 2009, June 30. Orange, the Group’s single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, now covers more than two-thirds of customers. At the end of June 2009, the Group had 125,5 million...

→ Learn more Company:France Telecom

France Télécom is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world

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Virginia Tech learns how to get hydrogen from any plant, might lower fuel cell costsAlt

Hydrogen fuel cell cars have any number of hurdles to overcome, whether it's widespread adoption or the basic matter of locating a place to fill up. If a Virginia Tech discovery pans out, getting the fuel itself won't be one of those challenges. The new combination of a polyphosphate with a special blend of enzymes lets researchers extract meaningful quantities of hydrogen from any biological element that includes xylose -- in other words, the sugar that's present in every plant to at least some degree. The process is potentially more eco-friendly than most, as well. While you'd expect it to be renewable given the main ingredients, it also reduces the need for metals and cuts back sharply on the volume of necessary greenhouse gases. Most importantly, the findings could reach the commercial world as soon as three years from now. If they do, they could lower the price of hydrogen fuel by making it more accessible, all the while avoiding much of the guilt trip that comes with using polluting technology to generate clean energy.