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What every entrepreneur can learn from Toobla
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Toobla is an innovative new visual bookmarking tool
In late September in Columbus, Ohio an innovative new web application launched that promises to change the game for online bookmarking tools. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
If you follow startups then you know that the journey can be just as important as the destination. That’s because the path to most successful new businesses is through a desert that lacks transportation (ideas), cash (water), and guideposts (local resources and the press). For that reason too many never make it out alive. One company that has made it through is Toobla, and the rewards could be significant.
Toobla started with a great idea – a groundbreaking visual online bookmarking tool for collecting, playing and sharing web content. They then combined that idea with $1.2 million in angel backing from Ohio-based investors and a regional commercialization fund. Finally, they scouted their course using TechColumbus (a local incubator resource), industry events, and media to make sure they were going in the right direction.The end result is an innovative new service that allows people to collect their favorite content from the web in visual folders that are simple to use and easy to share. Just how innovative is Toobla? Although it is still small and privately held, it has already attracted the attention of TechCrunch (http://toob.la/be0) and The Wall Street Journal (http://toob.la/be1).
It may be no surprise that Toobla launched in Columbus, Ohio – a place that Forbes calls the #1 up-and-coming technology city in America (http://toob.la/be2). But more to the point, Toobla's successful launch is the product of a visionary idea that was properly capitalized and validated.
Was all of this accidental? The short answer is no. Toobla is led by CEO Brian Link, who was previously the technology executive at Digg.com and is someone who is aware of what it takes to launch a successful startup. “First and foremost we sought to reinvent the bookmarking space,” said Link. “Most of what we saw out there was boring, so we strove to create a bookmarking service that was beautiful and fun to browse -- like an iTunes for web content. Then we pushed the boundaries for sharing that content with others.”
Once the idea was in place, Toobla took on the critical task of acquiring the right amount of funding to bring the product to market. They were helped in this regard through their close association with TechColumbus, a leading business and technology incubator in the Midwest. Finally, they began socializing and validating their idea in a very public way outside of their local market by seeking the attention of outlets like TechCrunch and the Wall Street Journal, as well as exhibiting at industry events like Austin’s SXSW (South by Southwest Conference.)
The lesson here for any new entrepreneur is that what Toobla did is something that you can do as well. Seek to connect your idea with local funding sources and support resources to bring that idea to life. Then circulate that idea outside of your local community to gain important visibility and validation around your new product or service.
In the mean time, to start collecting and broadcasting your favorite stuff from the web, or to find out more information about Toobla, you can visit their site at http://www.toobla.com.
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