#update night

[peachyswirls]

Your Radiance has Arrived!

Inspired by her tch championship outfit :3.

Also y’all should totally check out the PV one I did as well hehe

Post by @peachyswirls · 4 images

💬 0  🔁 5  ❤️ 33 · Pure Vanilla art dump from the paintings in my “Welcome ‘Home’?” piece

[insectsims]

Gangs all here

[thebliznet]

Streaming Genshin Impact NOW!

Twitch

[startgarden]

$60,000 in Investments Dispersed at Last Nights Update Night

Start Garden Announces $60,000 in Investments at

Monthly Update Night Event

Future Tech Farm, G Raps and Thing Share Each Earn Second-Stage Investments

Grand Rapids, Mich., December 21, 2012 – Start Garden’s monthly Update Night event offers teams that have received an initial $5,000 investment from the $15,000,000 seed fund a chance to provide an update on their projects.  The goal of the event is to show how the money was used to complete an experiment to prove that their idea is desirable, feasible or viable with the goal of receiving additional funding.  At the December Update Night, three of the six teams that presented, ThingShare, G-Raps and Future Tech Farm, each received second stage funding of $20,000 each.

ThingShare (strt.gd/x4ws), a new web site that facilitates the borrowing and lending of video games and gear, is the brainchild of Joe Vanderstelt and Paul Kortman.  The goal of ThingShare is to help video gamers make and save money.  Users can rent out games that they are not currently using to other users allowing them to profit from an item that is currently just gathering dust.  Renters can try out games and gear before buying them.  Eventually, ThingShare hopes to expand its offering into other markets beyond just video games.

“During the past couple of years, collaborative use websites which allow people to share items have really grown in popularity,” said Mike Morin from Start Garden.  “People are renting out their couches and cars to total strangers via the internet. It’s a behavior that we’re still adopting and there’s a lot to learn.” 

G-Raps (strt.gd/x2Gt), presented by Calvin Beeke and Tyler Essenberg, is a new accessory to personalize eyewear with your favorite sports team, cause or brand. The idea is to fill the largest branding and personalization space to still remain unfilled. There are more pieces of eyewear in the U.S. than there are people. G-Raps are a patent-pending, flexible, durable silicone band that wraps 360 degrees around the “temple” area of eyeglasses. G-Raps fit 80 percent of existing eyewear on the market today including prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses.

“Calvin and Tyler used the initial $5,000 investment to test the market,” noted Rick DeVos.  “By quickly selling out of their initial run of product, these guys demonstrated there is desire. The next question is how big can that desire go?”

Future Tech Farm (strt.gd/x6qt) created by Brian Falther is a personal farming system using hydroponics which will allow users to grow fresh produce in their own home.  The system includes a variety of nodes connected through the internet that will allow the “farmer” to monitor growing conditions and compare variables collected by other Future Tech Farmers to improve efficiency. 

“Brian’s passion for this project is evident and his approach to rethinking the farming model is exciting,” said Benjamin Gott.  “There is a lot of work to do, but the new food economy is an emergent market with a lot of room for innovation.”

Start Garden announced earlier in the day two additional weekly $5,000 investments.  The Start Garden team selected The Sherpa (strt.gd/x0dw), a flat bike tire multitool that focuses on consolidation while maintaining functionality.  The idea selected by public endorsement was Gaspard Gallery (strt.gd/x20t), a contemporary art gallery on the S. Division Avenue for the Arts in Grand Rapids, MI.

About Start Garden

Start Garden is an unconventional venture capital fund that invests in over a hundred ideas a year in small increments. The program brings financial, intellectual and social capital to ideas at the earliest stage by connecting them to the resources of an entire region. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it is founded by Rick DeVos whose past projects include ArtPrize, 5x5 Night, Momentum and Spout.com.

[startgarden]

Two $20K Investments @ Update Night & Two Weekly $5K Investments

Start Garden Announces Two $20,000 Investments at

Monthly Update Night Event

Sitting In A Tree and Petsplore Each Earn Second-Stage Investments

  Grand Rapids, Mich., November 30, 2012 – Visitors to Start Garden’s Monthly Update Night event had an opportunity to experience presentations from nine teams hoping to earn second stage investments from the $15,000,000 seed fund project launched by Rick DeVos earlier this year.  At the end of the night, two ideas, Sitting in a Tree (strt.gd/x9Rp), which offers custom designed websites for wedding coordination, and Petsplore (strt.gd/x6rr), which offers starter kits for new pet owners, would immediately receive an additional $20,000 each in additional funding.  Strong Man Coffee (strt.gd/x7iq), a cold brewed coffee packaged for mainstream customers, received a “Not now” and will continue to work towards additional funding.  The remaining ideas will no longer be considered for additional Start Garden investment.

Sitting in a Tree offers brides-to-be a more dynamic, convenient method to communicate important wedding details to their guests. Their websites sync with the design of the wedding invites and save-the-dates to provide a seamless experience in wedding coordination.

According to the America Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) pet ownership is currently at its highest level with more than 72 million US households owning a pet and continues to grow each year.  Petsplore taps into this market through non-profit shelters to offer starter kits for families adopting a new pet. Not only is this convenient for the family that is adopting, it also creates a new source of revenue for the participating shelter.

“Sitting in a Tree and Petsplore made a lot of progress in very short time to prove their is a market for their offering,” said Rick DeVos.  “Both teams made some changes in the middle of their experiments and discovered opportunities in very big spaces, weddings and pet owners. That’s exactly what we designed the $5,000 investment to do.”

Start Garden announced earlier in the day two additional weekly $5,000 investments.  The Start Garden team selected Marcuski (strt.gd/x7zv), a new wake board design that allows for improved handling.  The idea selected by public endorsement was Cunable (strt.gd/x0Rr), a new way to allow individuals to transfer existing apps, music and ebooks among various devices.