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Two of the top elevator pitches presented at the Rice Alliance IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum, the largest in the Southwest – Adjungo: An interactive platform and marketplace for creative people to create and compete for company projects; and Wonder-Space Mobile: : A mobile phone platform to deliver customized educational services.
Russ: This is The BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And now it's time for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback brought to you by Aflac. Ask about it at work. And this morning we're just rolling back to Thursday of this week when the Rice Alliance held their sixth annual IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum that included almost 60 companies presenting their plans. And for our flashback this morning, we're going to share two of the 90 second elevator pitches. First up, Adjungo.
Travis: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Travis Skweres from adjungo.com and I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the term, "crowd sourcing." And for those of who aren't, fear not, you soon will be. I'll start with a story. In 2007, Doritos held a public contest to make their next commercial for the Superbowl. Thousands of videos were submitted and voted upon. And in the subsequent months after the winner was aired, sales of Doritos chips went up 300 percent. It was so successful that they're doing it again this year. This is the power of crowd sourcing.
And our role at Adjungo is to harness this power to revolutionize advertising. We will essentially be a Facebook for creative artists that are ready to work on your company's next creative project. Why still pay an ad agency an exorbitant fee to make your next logo or brochure or commercial when you can submit your project to the crowd? You can name your own price, set your own deadline, and then pick your favorite from dozens of submissions put forth. Companies love us specifically because we provide high quality creative content more efficiently and cheaply than traditional methods.
And creatives love us because we provide community, a place to show their portfolio to the world, and a way to make money, which is great. We make our money not only through traditional ad display, but also by charging a percentage of each project uploaded to the site. As well as plans for an online store stocked with our own community's creations. We have a working website and a fantastic team in place. Now we're seeking funding to grow. Please see me at the company showcase for details. Thank you.
Russ: OK. Cool, cool model changing the world. And up next, Wonder Space Mobile.
Igor: Hello, my name is Igor Frankhel. My partner Emmie Chang and I are Rice grads and have graduate degrees in law and in business from UT Austin. We have six years of experience running a successful tutoring business. And about three months ago our passion for education and technology led us to founding Wonder Space Mobile, dedicated to the development of educational solutions for mobile devices. Our first offering is a unique math program for low income students and under-performing schools.
Tapping into 2.6 billion federal dollars allocated annually for such students, we're able to charge 1,200 dollars per student, per school year. Less than 10 percent of these funds are currently being utilized and we designed our program to reach every single eligible student. Specifically, each student receives a cell phone, which they use to access pre-recorded lessons. A work book, which follows along those lessons. And a tutor, that they can talk to on a regular basis. As long as they keep using the program, we keep adding minutes and text messages to their phone.
And this has been an incredible incentive for them. They're crazy about it. A hundred students are using the system right now and we're on track to reach a thousand and 1.2 million by June of 09. We are seeking half a million dollars to validate scalability, achieve cash flow, break even, and enable cell phone expansion into new markets. Please come see us at table 50. Thank you very much.
Russ: OK. Another cool model. To hear all elevator pitches from the Rice Alliance sixth annual IT and Web 2.0 Venture Forum, go to thebusinessmakers.com and check our The BusinessMakers Web Extra. And that wraps up the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, brought to you by Aflac. Ask about it at work. And now, it's time for another advantage point. So let's welcome Katie Laird.
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