Tony Duda. CEO of Talent Sprocket in Pinellas County, responded to a tweet from an investor at Southern Capital Ventures that resulted in Duda traveling to North Carolina to pitch his start-up company to a panel of investors.
Southern Capital Ventures announced they were looking for startups for their conference and would take submissions via Twitter. The contest tweet read, “Looking for a startup to pitch at Duke Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Conference on Sat. 11/5. Best 140 characters wins. ”
Duda responded with the following tweet, “Talent Sprocket is a self-funded ready to rock hiring analytics tool actively spreading corporate hiring bliss. Ask our clients. ”
Duda’s company,
Talent Sprocket, is an HR-focused web application that matches job candidates with specific positions through the use of data and analytics. The purpose of the application is to streamline the recruiting process. Duda credits the Tampa Bay Innovation Center with the success of his startup.
After receiving the news that he had won the contest, Duda traveled to Duke University to attend the Duke Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Conference. The conference, on Nov. 5, gave early-stage entrepreneurs the chance to present their ideas to investors.
“The conference was great, and my pitch was well-received,” Duda says. “We hit all of our main points, and had some good conversations. ”
In addition to hearing from investors and other entrepreneurs, Duda gained some valuable insight.
“Being in the Tampa area we hear all of the challenges in the startup community, such as getting funding, hiring developers and launching projects,” Duda says. “One of the things I took away from listening to other entrepreneurs and companies in the research triangle is that they are having all of the same challenges. ”
Writer:
Kimberly Patterson
Source: Tony Duda, Talent Sprocket
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