At this time of giving thanks, Brand Thunder has much to celebrate.

• A vibrant and supportive community in central Ohio with organizations like TechColumbus and TechLifeOhio.
• A great channel partners like Adevia Software and Mackey Marketing, to name a few.
• Supportive business partners like Bing.
• An amazing client list that still includes those premiere brands that took a chance on us when we were just starting out like the Washington Capitals and NASCAR Nationwide Series to those who are joining now like CBSSports.com College Network and the Buffalo Bills.
• A pipeline of partners and prospects that promise a great upcoming year.

And reflecting over the past year shows the huge strides we’ve made from both a business and technology standpoint.  Thanks to an outstanding team.

• First dynamically updating browser theme with The Daily Beast news browser theme.  The featured exclusive story photo automatically appeared within the browser theme when the web site updated the content and prompting users to return 10 times more frequently than their average user.
  
• First browser theme to include an automatic theme switch after a time-based event.  Daytona International Speedway browser theme included a change of theme after one of its four prominent races, a countdown ticker to the next race start and alerts to ticket availability for its races.
• Most dynamic theme available in the market. Weather browser theme powered by WeatherBug changes to reflect the users current weather conditions.  The users location is set either through the browser’s geo-location feature or user data.  The theme also features up to a three-day forecast in the browser. 
• First Internet Explorer themes to premiere on Microsoft’s IE Add-ons Gallery.  Subsequently, Microsoft secured approval to feature a dozen of Brand Thunder’s themes in IE8 Optimized Browsers showcasing the theme capabilities that had previously not existed for IE.
  
• Personas Interactive Firefox extension launched as a new Firefox theme platform that the industry experts at TechCrunch declared “Personas Interactive… Leapfrogged Mozilla.“ 
• Brand Thunder’s progress and promise in the technology space qualified it for $1 million from the Ohio Innovation Loan Fund, a program to help groundbreaking small companies grow and create jobs that remain in Ohio.
  

We’ve still got a lot to do, but reflecting on the accomplishments manages to show the progress that gets made over time even if it’s sometimes missed in the moment.

Tonight, Brand Thunder shares the stage with a great community of entrepreneurs, start ups, technologists, thought leaders and more. The best part is they are all our part of the local technology scene in central Ohio.

Our friends at Toobla have re-envisioned the way we share and collect our information on the web. It’s visual, a break-through experience and is getting lots of great attention in the media.

Likewise, VacationTrade is reinventing timeshare vacationing and making it easy to trade your timeshare. It’s a great service to get where you need to be to unwind.

TasteCasting is an imaginative way of bringing social media into the offline world and then broadcasting back to online. The TasteCasting team is invited into dining establishments for complimentary tastings and then broadcast their experience to their network. It’s great exposure for the establishment and a great time for the team.

As cool as these products and services are, they are in categories most would expect to emerge from one of the coasts and not central Ohio. To see some of the innovators in central Ohio’s “area of expertise” will really blow you away. Some of the advances in medical and health technology is simply amazing.

It’s fun stuff and the best of will be honored at the TechColumbus Innovation Awards. We’re happy to be in such distinguished company.

My career experience is diverse, with a great deal of expertise in Internet marketing, commerce and product development. Branded browsers were a natural fit to my skill set. Nothing like joining a start up for the sudden exposure to the breadth of what is unknown or needs to be relearned.

Fortunately, the local community is flush with people who can help and there are organizations active in getting those people together. Through these connections the knowledge gaps have closed and the company’s reach has expanded. Columbus OH is a medium-sized city, so I’d be surprised if similar organizations don’t exist elsewhere. Here are the ones that have been most beneficial to me and to the company.

TechColumbus

An early supporter of Brand Thunder, TechColumbus has provided funding, leads, direction, guidance, media support, marketing support, lunch & learns, networking events, counsel and the list goes on. Find your local organization focused on launching and growing early-stage companies and join. There are a lot of benefits here.

Ohio TechAngels

Ohio TechAngels and TechColumbus. The two organizations remind me of a saying I heard while traveling overseas – “same, same but different.” The benefits are similar, but each organization is involved at different stages of the company’s evolution. Central Ohio is fortunate to have this asset.

Columbus State Community College – Small Business Development Centers

This CSCC program is a partnership between the college, the state’s development arm and the SBA. Not only did it offer free programs to solidify the business plan and our company foundation, it was the first to connect us to TechColumbus and which became our first source of funding. Find those free sources in your town.

TechLife Columbus

Hard to say if groups like TechLife exist everywhere. It started with a group of people that wanted to engage their community and connect the deep but dispersed tech community of central Ohio. The result has been an amazing birth of gatherings and events that are forging new relationships.

Meetup.com

Meetup.com is a great and free tool to either find groups near you or easily start your own. Explore it.

LinkedIn.com

Build your network and knowledge by joining some of LinkedIn’s groups. There’s more value here than just staying connected to your co-workers.

We’ll be discussing how to present your business idea to investors. I have the good fortune of being one of the panelists and Dan Casey, our advisor, is the moderator. It should be a good and lively discussion .

Patrick

COLUMBUS OH (June 11, 2008) — Brand Thunder LLC, specialists in internet browser customizations, announced today it received an investment from the TechColumbus Regional Commercialization Fund. The $250,000 investment will allow Brand Thunder to build out its technology platform and develop its client base.

Brand Thunder creates a more persistent presence between corporate brands and their internet consumer through its browser customization which leads to increased web site visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or internet site. The customized browsers feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the The Huffington Post, NCAA, NHL, Starpulse and Universal Music.

The TechColumbus Regional Commercialization Fund is designed to invest services and money in companies that exhibit the best opportunities to build a scalable, high-growth company that can attract follow-on capital. This investment is part of a $22.5 million initiative – known as TechStart – that will drive the launch of new technology-based companies in Central Ohio over the next three years.

“It’s a great endorsement,” says founder Patrick Murphy. “I’ve believed browser customizations are a tremendous asset to brands and their consumers, and now I’ve received material validation of that vision.”

“Our goal is to identify and assist companies that have high-growth potential to be very successful, to generate substantial revenue, to attract further investment, and to create high-wage jobs throughout the region,” said TechColumbus. “Brand Thunder has a unique product in a market that continues to reveal new opportunity.”

About Brand Thunder

Formed in April, 2007, Brand Thunder creates a more persistent presence between corporate brands and their internet consumer through its browser customization which leads to increased web site visits and revenue. Through a software installation, end users change the look and feel of their internet browser into an immersive experience from their favorite sports team, entertainment franchise or internet site. The customized browsers feature official logos, colors, content and functionality, but can also extend capabilities including video, music players or other internet widgets. Current business partners and clients include the The Huffington Post, NCAA, NHL, Starpulse.com, Universal Music and Yahoo!. Samples found at http://brandthunder.com/gallery/.

Contact

Patrick Murphy, CEO
Brand Thunder, LLC
614-408-8202

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