Startup Roundup: There’s the talent

Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup parses 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. Follow along with a weekly email newsletter by clicking here and selecting the Startup Roundup button or follow Startup Roundup’s RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.
MUST READS
After last week’s Inky report on a lack software development talent in the city, we’re hearing some back-and-forth.
A chat with Monetate spokesperson Stephen Cobb yesterday morning came with surprise about the grim report. Check out CEO David Brussin’s VentureBeat column about doing business outside of the Valley, he said. As Brussin put it:

But if you’ve started your company somewhere else – such as Philadelphia, where there is a thriving local VC community, a good supply of talent from good schools, and mentors accessible through social networks – then your chances of success are a lot better than they were five years ago.

But, the talent’s in the city, some say, not the ‘burbs. Monetate’s Cobb says that no one’s ever turned them down because of the train ride. But he agreed that there’s a divide between the mentors that have emerged in the surburbs and the younger city startups.
Alex Hillman, Co-founder of Indy Hall, is feeling out his place in it all, too: “I want to put the focus on bringing people who could love Philadelphia together with people who already do.” So, with that, the organization has announced Indy Study Hall, an initiative to bring students into the mix and address the college retention issue.
Heck, DreamIt and Ben Franklin Technology Partners are doing their best on the company retention side after announcing DreamIt Plus last week. Hillman’s got thoughts on that, too.
So, who’s going to address that suburb and city divide? Maybe that’s a mission of the Startup Leaders fishbowl in October.
Moral of the story, this morning? Moves are being made. Take a deep breath, kid.

GIVE A GLANCE
Holy check out Laan Labs’ 3D augmented reality treat. A hundred thousand views can’t be wrong.
Peter Key has more on that ThingWorx acquisition last week of Palantiri Systems. The company is closing in on 70 potential customers who are interested in its service, the Business Journal reports.
Cliff Stevens, known locally as MyOwnITGuy, launched this weekend the new startup Lokadot (a mix of “local” and “anecdote”) in Center City. As users approach landmarks — so far, in Philadelphia — audio clips automatically describe what they’re seeing. It’s useful as an audio tour in and of itself, but there’s opportunity there to tap into the commercial audio advertising market.
MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME
TicketLeap announced four new features for its ticket selling platform last week, including the ability for event promoters to embed a TicketLeap widget that includes all upcoming events, automated email notifications when tickets are sold, sales receipt functionality and a flexible fee refund system, according to an email newsletter.
Attention ladies, Geek Girl Dinner members get a $20 discount to attend Startup Weekend Delaware. We’ll hope to see that when Startup Weekend returns to Philadelphia in October.
Check a lengthy Q&A with Jamestown creators Final Form Games at Press X or Die. According to the interview, the team spent their personal savings in order to make the indie game, thus far a critical success, a reality.
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, or sign-up for its email newsletter.