Startup Roundup: D.C.’s startup soul offers lessons, DreamIT-backed SCVNGR growing strong, TicketLeap redesigns

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Philly Startup Leader Founder Blake Jennelle writes long-form about Washington D.C.’s “startup soul,” after taking in the scene there earlier this month. There’s a lot for Philly to learn from it’s neighbor to the south, Jennelle says, and we’ve got much in common. Like Philly, growth comes from the grassroots, but D.C. lacks a central community of entrepreneurs. And our brethren know Philadelphia. “The reputation of [Philly’s] creative communities is strong,” he writes.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Mobile payment platform XIPWIRE is helping support the open source community by seeking donations for several nonprofit organizations, according to a blog post. Users can donate to the Apache Software Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Software Foundation, GNOME foundation and others. The company is also working with Cupcakes4Haiti, a charitable bake drive led by Temple University student Seth Heirzenrater.
Pittsburgh entrepreneur and self-described city cheerleader Michael Langley writes about his business reasons for wanting to stay in the Iron City. “Out next renaissance is rooted in research and development in advanced materials, life sciences, information technologies and energy … and business-services sector.”

GIVE A GLANCE

DreamIt-backed location-based mobile game platform SCVNGR, which graduated the incubator in 2008, has grown to over 350 corporate customers and $1 million in revenues in 2009. We wanna know why this group moved to Boston (aside from that Harvard partnership).
TicketLeap has redesigned its Web site, implementing a cleaner interface, multiple event categories, and advanced search functionality.
ProtoSphere is showing off features in its upcoming 1.4 release, which will allow live presentations for 250 virtual attendees, and which will bring Windows 7, IE8 and Firefox 3 support.
Startup Roundup will post weekly on Wednesdays until there’s not a Philly startup story left to link to on the Internet. See others here.