The company embarked on a second round of capital funding from investors to help bring two new products from prototype to certification and then to market, the A080-Mini (80 GHz) and the Integrated Small Cell (ISC). Both products are scheduled for completion in 2013, due in no small part to being awarded a grant of $250,000 as one of six Arizona companies to win the Arizona Innovation – Fall 2012 – Challenge Grant (AIC). Investment candidates that expressed interest in Athena Wireless, but were non-committal, suddenly became motivated by the awarded AIC grant. A mutually beneficial agreement was reached with the telecommunications company, Solutelia LLC, headquartered in Aurora, Colorado. Solutelia has committed to be a significant investor of capital as well as a provider of sales and marketing resources. Solutelia has a track record of more than 10 years and, more importantly, has a successful sales and marketing division with inroads into some of the world’s largest telecommunication companies. The synergy has proven to be a good match. Athena Wireless developed a unique product, but was in need of capital. Solutelia is a strong investor with an experienced and successful team who has the access to take our products to the next level of growth.

Athena Wireless learned of the AIC Challenge and submitted an initial application in the fall of 2012, along with more than 200 Arizona companies. Athena Wireless qualified as one of the 25 semi-finalists, then one of the 10 finalists. All 10 finalists were required to present a live “pitch” to a panel of nine judges. Team Athena was so thrilled to achieve this level of the competition that the company took its entire team to attend and support the presentation given by Eduardo Tinoco and Terry McManus. It was a day none of the employees will forget and it became monumental when it was announced shortly thereafter that Athena Wireless was one of six companies to win and become the recipients of $250,000, as part of the Arizona Commerce Authority‘s Arizona Innovation Challenge.

Athena Wireless is deploying the grant funds by hiring a manufacturing technician, an electrical engineer, an inventory logistics manager and a quality assurance technician. Three of the positions have been filled with new hires in the past month. In addition, the funds will allow Athena Wireless to purchase testing equipment, add an additional programming station, implement an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and purchase inventory parts to fill the Bill of Material and manufacture the A080-Mini (80GHz) point-to-point radio.

Athena Wireless would like to express its’ appreciation to the Arizona Commerce Authority and the team that runs the Innovation Challenge. The benefits go far beyond the financial aspect. The second round of capital investment may still be a work in progress without this significant award. Product recognition and sales volume have increased as has the stature of the AZ TechCelerator. We encourage all businesses taking the time to read this piece to apply for the AIC – Spring 2013 – Challenge.
To learn more about Athena Wireless Communications, visit athenawave.com or call Tom Gaston at (623) 242-7224, extension 224.

Post.Bid.Ship., Inc., launched in Tucson, Arizona by two 2010 MBA graduates from The University of Arizona, has spent the last 20 months building its online platform designed to help commercial shippers across North America buy empty trailer space on tractor trailers. Think of Post.Bid.Ship. as the Priceline.com of the commercial freight industry. Just as Priceline.com sells empty hotel rooms and airline seats, Post.Bid.Ship. helps the more than 1 million trucking firms operating across North America sell empty trailer space.

“We originally built our service for direct shippers and truckers, but after a few months of testing, freight brokers who are involved in 20-percent of all freight transactions were involved in more than 80-percent of our transactions,” said Micky Thompson, CEO for Post.Bid.Ship.  Freight brokers are the fastest-growing customer segment for Post.Bid.Ship., yet the company had not designed a product to fully meet their needs. Thompson continued, “After witnessing brokers’ fast adoption rate, we knew we needed to build a product designed specifically for them, and we needed to do it quickly.”

The company set out in late fall to raise capital from investors to help bring Post.Bid.Ship. Enterprise to market.   Post.Bid.Ship. Enterprise expands the company’s product offering beyond its existing product line.

“We needed $500,000 to do it,” said Micky Thompson, CEO for Post.Bid.Ship. “We had identified several potential investors, but because of the financial cliff facing the U.S. and the recent financial instability across the world, investors would not commit.”

Seeing first-hand the problems facing the private equity market, Post.Bid.Ship.’s management team set out to find alternative sources of capital. The goal was to find innovative ways to offset the need for investor capital, which could then motivate investors to participate.  It was then that Jarret Hamstreet, COO for Post.Bid.Ship., re-applied for the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Fall 2012 Innovation Challenge. Hamstreet had applied for the same grant in the spring of 2012, “Despite not winning the Challenge in the spring, judges offered valuable feedback. We took that feedback, applied it, and as a result, we came back with a much stronger application in the fall.  We also came back with the promise that we would leverage the grant to raise private equity from investors,”  Hamstreet said.

Post.Bid.Ship., with its improved application, new product line under development, and a working prototype, proved successful.  The company was selected a winner of the 2012 Fall Innovation Challenge and is using the grant money to hire additional staff members at its Arizona-based headquarters to help bring Post.Bid.Ship.’s new product, Post.Bid.Ship. Enterprise, to the market. It’s also using the money to leverage additional funding.

Thompson stated, “When we started writing our grant application, we had no investor commitments. However, we knew if we were selected, our investors would match the grant to help us reach our goal of $500,000.”

Investors exceeded their expectations. “By the time we were announced a top 25 finalist, we had several investors who felt becoming a finalist was enough credibility to invest,” stated Hamstreet. “When Post.Bid.Ship. was officially announced one of the six firms selected by the ACA for a grant, several investors called that day asking if they could invest.” Post.Bid.Ship. closed on an additional $286,000 in investor capital from around the country, matching the ACA grant by more than 123%.

When asked to offer advice to other entrepreneurs looking to apply for a future ACA grant, Thompson said, “Not winning the first time enabled us to take a hard look at our strategy, refine our product, and win the grant the next round.  Applying is a win-win.  If you’re not named a winner, take the advice the ACA offers and apply it to improve your company. If you are one of the firms selected, use the ACA’s endorsement as one the most promising technology ventures to leverage additional customers, vendors and investors.  This is what we did at Post.Bid.Ship., and we feel this will help us grow in one of the country’s most innovative states.”

To learn more about Post.Bid.Ship., visit www.postbidship.com or call (800) 530-2846.

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