“You can change the world, but it’s a lot of hard work”: Tech in Motion

Plenty of small businesses fail, so there’s plenty of interest to follow the success, even when early, for others.

“From Startup to Success” is an event from Tech in Motion, a series from tech recruitment firm Jobspring Partners, that featured last month for the second time a handful of such local examples at Center City coworking space Benjamin’s Desk.

As usual, the night kicked off with an hour of mixing and mingling with CTOs, founders and other technology enthusiasts. Once the attendees had a chance to meet and chat with the speakers, the educational portion of the evening began.

 The presenters of the evening were quite a successful lineup:

• Ted Mann, Founder and CEO of SnipSnap
• Ross Shanken, Founder and CEO of LeadiD
• Manny Wald, CTO of LeadiD
• Ryan Findley, Founder of Neomind Labs
• Tim Raybould, President of TicketLeap

Mann of SnipSnap kicked it off with the story of how real life circumstances inspired him to build his coupon aggregating mobile app — he kept forgetting to bring coupons to the store, which got him in trouble with his wife. He urged everyone to “download it so guys like me don’t get benched on the couch.”

Ross Shanken and Manny Wald presented for sales generation service LeadiD, giving the audience both the story behind the company and the technology that makes it tick. For Ross, the startup fantasy was a reality, however it wasn’t immediate: it took eleven months to get their first client.

“You can change the world,” he said, “but it’s a lot of hard work.”

Raybould of TicketLeap also recounted the story of his business, from the perspective of someone who took over a startup after it had reached success. Raybould talked tech and his guiding principles for Ticketleap: “Be likable, be innovative, hustle.”

The night wrapped up with a Q & A session directed at the speakers. Secrets were shared and private details were unveiled: who was TicketLeap’s first employee after founder Chris Stanchak? His mom, it turns out.