Startup heads for Silicon Valley
Encaptiv looks to raise profile at conference
STAMFORD — Presentation- software startup Encaptiv is heading next week to its first Silicon Valley conference as it looks to raise its national profile.
From a field of 4,000 applicants, Stamford- based Encaptivmade the cut to participate as one of 323 companies at Startup Grind Global 2020 summit for entrepreneurs in Redwood City, Calif. The company will exhibit on Tuesday, and co- founder and CEO Shannon Daniels will step on stage the same day to give a one- minute “rapidfire pitch” about the firm.
“We’ll get a lot of exposure to the opposite coast and to the tech hub of the country,” Daniels said. “We’ll get a lot of exposure to a lot of new people — investors, potential customers and potential partners. It’s a great opportunity to expand the name and brand of Encaptiv and really get it out there.”
Two other Encaptiv team members are joining Daniels on the trip to northern California: co- founder and chief financial officer Matt Daniels, who is Shannon Daniels’ husband; and the firm’s social media head, Jessica Thornbury.
Encaptiv’s software allows audience members to give feedback through their mobile devices during
presentations and enables presenters to use the input to customize their content.
There is no app involved. Presenters and audience members go to encaptiv. com to use their respective services.
The software rolled in a “beta” version in December 2018 and then made its official product launch last month. It is focusing on three “verticals:” sales; training and education; and conferences and other events.
To spur its development, Encaptiv spent one year as the first business in residence in Stamford intellectual- property law firm Whitmyer IP Group’s InventLab
initiative.
During the partnership from August 2018 to August 2019, the two firms worked on developing and safeguarding Encaptiv’s intellectual property.
“They’re in that stage of development where they need the intellectual- property protection,” WHIP founder Wesley Whitmyer Jr. said when Encaptiv started in the Invent Lab. “We felt we could add value, especially by helping with their patents.”
Today, Encaptiv has two pending patents for its technology. In addition, it has pending trademarks for its name — an amalgamation of “engage” and “captivate” — as well as its purple- hued logo.
After the stint at InventLab, Daniels now splits her time between two co- working centers: Office Evolution at 750 E. Main St. in Stamford, and Hayvn, a hub for professional women at 320 Boston Post Road in Darien. On Mondays, she serves as an expert- in- residence at Hayvn, helping members with their presentations and pitches.
“We have a lot of big things in the hopper — ( including) large companies we’ve been talking with, who’ve been piloting us and that are looking to potentially become users or ‘ incubate’ us,” Daniels said. “I’m really excited for the future trajectory of the company.”