TeXchange hosted a Member Showcase event on Wednesday evening at the University of Texas at Dallas. Over 25 companies and sponsors exhibited, demonstrating how local North Texas companies are filled with the entrepreneurial spirit.

Awards were given in three categories.

The Coolest Product award went to Vignature, which was co-founded by CEO Matt Spradley, CMO Kelly Spradley, and CTO Scott Roberts. Vignature allows for individuals and businesses to bypass expensive (and slow) paper processes, in favor of signing documents electronically. Individuals can sign and send documents within seconds from an iPhone4, iPad2, Android OS, or computer (with a webcam). Businesses can request signatures from a computer, and receive signed documents in electronic format by email. Central to all of the products is the utilization of camera functionality to create a verifiable signature containing an image of the signer.

The Best Exhibit award went to VentureDocs, which was founded by CEO Bo Sartain. VentureDocs sells customized legal documents over the web to investors (angel and institutional), entrepreneurs and their attorneys for the formation and financing of startup technology companies. VentureDocs is an open system and offers products for those ranging from brand new startup companies to those seeking Series A institutional venture capital financing.

The Smartest Marketing award went to Encryptics, which is led by CEO Dennis Cagan. Encryptics (R) is an early-stage company specializing in cutting-edge, patent pending, technology for controlled data/content distribution with access control at the level of the specific recipients.  Encryptics enables secure distribution of content between individuals, within an organization, and across organizational boundaries, while limiting further distribution, and retaining control of the actions of the recipients of the content.  Encryptics’ intellectual property and user-friendly multi-platform products provide the highest required level of encryption, and Encryptics’ CSM (Content Security Management) (TM) products include solutions for desktop, portability, email and SMS, on all popular desktop, portable and mobile platforms.  Core IP encompasses Trusted Peer-to-Peer (R) transmission, non-infrastructure-dependent architecture, triple level standards-based encryption, and CSM – a unique robust multi-layered access control invention/technology.

Stay tuned for more of these types of events showcasing local talent and success in the coming months.

Tech Wildcatters hosted pitch day for their Spring 2011 class on Thursday. Seven companies presented their products and services to a packed crowd of investors, press, family & friends, and startup enthusiasts in the Magnolia Theater in Uptown Dallas. I don’t have an official estimate at this time, but I would guess the attendance was about 500-750. Following the pitches, the companies met privately with interested investors, while the rest of the crowd went next door to Lemon Bar to enjoy drinks sponsored by The Dallas Morning News.

I was going to write about each pitch. But I think the folks at Tech.Li (formerly FlyOverGeeks) did an excellent job at summarizing. See their review here. So instead, I’m going to mention the funding that each company is seeking, and give you my vote for best presentation.

• MemoryReel – 500k
• Nimbix – 1 million
• RentSavvy – 300k angel round
• Vignature – 500k
• mComm360 – 1 million
• Proxomo – 1.5 million
• SparkCrowd – 750k

Mike Yavonditte from Hashable also gave a keynote speech about the process of selling his former company Quigo. Some notable quotes he left us with are “Selling your company is
hard. It’s a very grueling process. It exposes a lot of warts.” After hearing the whole story, you might wonder why anyone would ever want to go through the selling process. But I guess that’s part of the challenge of being in a startup.

Of all the seven companies, I thought Nimbix gave the best presentation. They told the best story. It flowed very well, from one point to the next. It took me in, and made me forget I was listening to a presentation. Also, considering what their Nimbix Accelerated Cloud Computer platform is doing to assist with healthcare, medicine, bio-informatics, and visualization and modeling, it has the best chance to positively affect the most people. Dare I say, the most likely to change the world.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) May 09, 2011

Vignature announces the immediate availability of its image based electronic signature service. The service provides a way for businesses to get legally binding signatures online. Unlike conventional e-signature companies, Vignature captures a signature supported by a time-specific photographic image of the signer.

Vignature aims to reduce the $7.4 billion spent annually on overnighting documents for signatures by offering a secure internet solution. Electronic signatures have been legal since the enactment of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) in 2000; however, there has not been widespread adoption of e-signatures due to concerns regarding identification of parties involved.

A 2008 study published in Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal reports that with conventional electronic signatures “one does not know who actually affixed the electronic signature.” Vignature provides a solution to this problem by adding photographic verification.

Matt Spradley, CEO of Vignature, said “With conventional electronic signatures you don’t know who’s on the other end of the mouse click. Our electronic signatures retain a specific identifier, an image of the signer. The image provides an audit trail, in cases where the signature is questioned.”

With Vignature, anyone with a web browser can upload and email a document for signature. The recipient of the email can review the document, and “click to sign” from a computer, smart phone, or iPad. An image of the signer is captured in real time through a webcam, as he “clicks to sign.”

Information regarding Vignature’s electronic signature service is available at http://www.vignature.com

Vignature was founded in February 2011 by Matt Spradley, Scott Roberts, and Kelly Spradley. Based in Dallas, Texas the corporation serves businesses throughout the United States.

- via PRWeb

A familiar refrain that we hear in the startup world is that someone started a company because they thought it would give more freedom and be more fulfilling and rewarding. And this time it’s no different.

Matt Spradley and wife, Kelly Spradley, might be considered serial entrepreneurs. Here’s what I mean. Back in 1999 Matt founded Elinc, a company that provided software for the veterinarian community. A few years later Elinc was acquired by Eklin, and soon after, Matt made a profitable exit. Fast forward to 2009 — Matt and Kelly co-founded Impirus, which provides do-it-yourself website CMS creation for lawyers. While working on a new feature for Impirus, Matt and Kelly decided to create a separate company, Vignature, that would focus on this one feature.

Vignature, which is currently in the Tech Wildcatters spring program, provides a video-based electronic signature platform that aims to reduce time and paperwork while providing visual proof of a document signer’s identity. It can use either a webcam (or phone camera if you’re signing on your phone) to capture your image in a “click to sign” manner. Face recognition technology is used to make sure that a human face is what is being captured. And since “click to sign” forces a new picture at every signature line, a single photo cannot simply be duplicated.

In 2000, electronic/digital signatures became acceptable by law and legally binding. But one of Vignature’s biggest obstacles to overcome seems to be the public recognition of that fact. Many people still do not know about the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). Matt and Kelly are hoping their exposure from the Tech Wildcatters program will help combat this challenge.

If you think that Matt and Kelly might have been a little hesitant to dive into the TW program, with no guarantee of receiving funding at the end, think again. They maintain that TW actually provides a sense of security. In the program, even if an unforeseen or particular vexing challenge confronts them, there is the local community of other teams and mentors to support them and offer solutions. They wouldn’t have it any other way. They love what they’re doing.

Just recently, another co-founder, Scott Roberts, has joined the Vignature team and will focus on developing the technology further.