Kansas City Startup AudioAnywhere Launches Indiegogo Crowdfunding Initiative with $10,000 Goal

After successful beta testing in early 2012, AudioAnywhere, a Kansas City-based startup that simplifies the streaming music experience, has launched a crowdfunding campaign through one of the world’s largest global funding platforms, Indiegogo.

AudioAnywhere, a client of Kansas City-based technology startup accelerator Think Big Partners, is working to prove that listeners can enjoy a free music streaming experience while artists get adequately compensated through advertising-based royalties. Despite the popularity of sites like Pandora and Spotify, monetization of streaming music has been underwhelming. Streaming services are losing money and record labels are dissatisfied with meager royalty payments.

Kyle Johnson, Scott Johnson and Ryan Luckie have developed this innovative music platform and the revenue engine behind the scenes known as Bixy. By combining the two products, the team expects to revive the online music industry. AudioAnywhere plans to pay artists five times more than what they earn today through revenues generated by Bixy’s more effective audio and banner ads. Bixy will prove that streaming music can be a win-win-win for listeners, artists and advertisers.

 

“AudioAnywhere has a real opportunity to solve a big problem for the entire music industry, and ultimately the listening consumer,” said Herb Sih, co-founder of Think Big Partners. “By combining an easy-to-use, streaming music platform in a social environment with the ability to give consumers highly relevant advertising offers that make sense, AudioAnywhere may crack the code on making online music viable for everyone. Without figuring out how to pay artists and labels in a way that doesn’t hurt the consumer, eventually free online music may die and then everyone loses.” 

Increasingly, crowdfunding is becoming a mainstream method for financing and marketing a variety of new ventures. Confident in the crowdfunding trend, AudioAnywhere is excited to engage the Indiegogo community and hopes to raise $10,000 by October 6, 2012. With these funds, AudioAnywhere plans to first offer a radio feature that uses social data to decide what type of music a listener likes.  With the remainder of the $10,000 raise, AudioAnywhere will implement the system that automatically pays artists when people listen to their music.

“We felt that Indiegogo would be an excellent launch vehicle for AudioAnywhere,” said Kyle Johnson, CEO of AudioAnywhere. “We’re able to tell our story to an audience interested in music and technology and we’ll raise some money too.”

To express its gratitude to early supporters, AudioAnywhere is granting donors access to its streaming music platform before the general public. To view AudioAnywhere’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and to donate to the startup’s $10,000 goal, please visit www.indiegogo.com/audioanywhere.  To learn more about AudioAnywhere, please visit www.audioanywhere.com.

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10 Midwest Startups Selected for Think Big Showcase in Silicon Valley

Last week, Think Big Partners revealed the 10 startup companies that will participate in the Think Big Showcase, a highly-intensive, multi-day pitchfest for entrepreneurs who live in the Midwest and want to get in front of investors from startup hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.


This Spring, Think Big Partners has invited 10 startups to travel to Silicon Valley to participate in the Silicon Valley Bank Showcase and the Think Big Showcase at the end of March.  The startups include:


Audio Anywhere (Bixy): Audio Anywhere aims to increase ad revenues for online media platforms by a factor of 10.  Ads are created through Bixy, the company’s self-service ad platform. Bixy is like Google AdWords for personalized interactive ads. Businesses utilize the Bixy toolkit to create their own ads in less than 5 minutes for as little as $50.


Eyeverify: Eveverify brings to market a software authentication module that will leverage the onboard cameras on mobile devices to take images of the blood vessels in the whites of the eyes to use as a unique biometric identifier, ultimately answering the question: who is holding the phone?


Klink: KlinkMobile enables the transfer of cellular airtime minutes and currency via a proprietary, cloud-based financial transaction platform.


LockerDome: Backed by Square co-founder, Jim McKelvey, LockerDome is one of the hottest sports startups in the country. LockerDome aims to be a person’s sports identity. The bet we've made is that people have 3 big personas in their life: social, professional, and recreational. Facebook covers social. LinkedIn covers professional. LockerDome wants to cover sports/recreational - an area that we believe people are more passionate about than any of the others and the only one of the three areas that completely transcends international borders.


LiveOn: LiveOn aims to be the brand that consumers and businesses trust to preserve their digital legacy.


ABPathfinder: ABPathfinder brings technology to Autism therapy by providing tools for therapists to use in their everyday assessments.

InvenQuery: InvenQuery is a technology platform with mobile application that seamlessly integrates inventory management and point-of-sale, with the ability to administer and publish an e-commerce website. IQ software is agile, scalable and easy to use while maintaining sophisticated reporting mechanisms managers depend on to measure success.

RollSale: RollSale has created a technology that will disrupt the traditional ways in which automotive dealers conduct their wholesale trade. RollSale is a communications platform where dealers are able to connect with other dealers in an environment that mimics the function and usability of common social networks.

SEIN Analytics: SEIN is bringing to market an open cloud application and database for analyzing asset-backed securities (ABS). SEIN is leveraging its proprietary web scraping and data mining technology to rapidly standardize data across all ABS categories. With $2.7 trillion in ABS outstanding, SEIN is directly addressing the pain points of this large market, while taking advantage of new regulatory proposals for increased transparency.

Kauzu: Kauzu is a company that seeks to innovate and empower the U.S. employment industry by providing a dynamic, online environment with unique tools to create meaningful, timely connections. Kauzu is like eHarmony.com meets eBay for the employment industry, which will make job search and hiring timely, active, and satisfying.


Gremln: Gremln.com makes it easy for businesses to easily and effectively market themselves and their products on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. Gremln provides comprehensive messages management, success analytics and social media ROI analysis for businesses of every size. Engage, learn, and monitor return with Gremln.com. 

Best of luck to the Think Big Showcase startups! 

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Loud and Proud: Midwestern Startup Fans Cheer for AudioAnywhere

Don't get me wrong; I have always been and will always be a Kansas City Chiefs fan.  But this year, the Chiefs didn't give Kansas City much to cheer about.  Finishing the season with a 7-9 record crushed any dreams of reliving the long-lost Super Bowl Championship of 1970.  So, with football season put to rest, I was able to redirect my fanaticism from the football field to the Silicon Prairie startup scene where there are plenty of home-grown companies to cheer for.


Great Midwest startups like AudioAnywhere, Dwolla and Zaarly prove that great ideas can come from anywhere and you don't have to move your business to Silicon Valley to make your entrepreneurial dream come true.  In last month's blog poll, we asked you which Midwestern startup you were rootin' for and here are the results!

Silicon Prairie Startup Fan Favorites: 

1. AudioAnywhere
2. Dwolla & Zaarly 
3. Kauzu 
4. Front Flip, Kickanotch & VoterTide
5. LiveOn 

Congratulations to our first place winner, AudioAnywhere, for having FAN-tastic supporters cheering them on in their entrepreneurial endeavor! 

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AudioAnywhere Snags PIPELINE Innovator of the Year Award and Saves the Music Industry

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR

Kyle Johnson, CEO and founder of AudioAnywhere, walked away with the Innovator of the Year award at the PIPELINE event last week in Kansas City, Kansas.  Johnson was selected after a competition that included a refined business plan, a pitch to an expert panel and a score carried over from performance during the fellowship year.

AudioAnywhere was inducted into PIPELINE’s 2011 class where it underwent an intense startup curriculum that included pitch practice, mentorship and coaching.  The 2012 Innovator of the Year event was Johnson’s final milestone as a participant in the PIPELINE program.

“Winning is an honor,” said Johnson after the event.  “This gives us the opportunity to help out with the PIPELINE program.  With the announcement comes a great deal of expectation and I will continue to be a part of the program.  It’s an honor and an obligation, but I am excited to help out with it.”

According to audience members and judges, Johnson not only prepped to deliver his AudioAnywhere pitch, but he was also ready to engage in lively question-and-answer discussions with judges.

“It was fun being questioned by Lars Perkins,” commented Johnson.  “We had a lively exchange and it entertained the audience.  It was a good interaction.  But at the end, I thought to myself, ‘I’m either first or last!’”

AudioAnywhere, a client of Kansas City-based startup accelerator Think Big Partners, has built an advertising platform to more effectively monetize free media content, which in effect, could contribute to reviving the online music industry.  AudioAnywhere will provide online music sites with better advertisements that generate more revenue per song.  With AudioAnywhere’s solution, the music industry could yield 10 times the income of today’s online audio ads.  WithAudio Anywhere, online advertisements are produced to reach the right target market on sites such as Spotify and Pandora. 

With the Innovator of the Year title under his belt, Johnson hopes to effectively launch and grow AudioAnywhere this year.  Once AudioAnywhere has launched, it will begin to generate revenue and eventually, help online music companies like Pandora and Spotify improve their own financial situations.  Johnson also hopes to kick start his capital campaign and continue his venture capital push. 

“I wasn’t expecting this,” said Johnson of the win.  “A lot of folks believe in our company, but we had no idea we would win.  Now, we can help to save the music industry.”


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