Stall Talk - Go Where the People Go!

The Tennessean | Smart ideas try to attract smart money

Stall Talk, Inc. — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:04:30 +0000

Governor’s Innovation Conference casts spotlight on rising entrepreneurs

Go where the people go: Go where the people go

Written by

G. Chambers Williams III

The Tennessean

Matthew R. Tunstall, founder of Stall Talk, explains his concept. / JOHN PARTIPILO / THE TENNESSEAN

Giant advertisements pasted on port-a-potties at sporting events and concerts; free music downloads with embedded advertising; and an app that lets restaurant diners order and pay their tabs using smartphones.

These ideas were among 24 showcased at the 2012 Governor’s Innovation Conference in Nashville by startup companies hoping to advance their pet projects with a little (or a lot of) capital from outsiders. The event wrapped up Friday.

The theme of the annual conference, which drew venture capital investors from throughout the country, was that entrepreneurs willing to bring novel projects to market are welcome in Tennessee.

The 24 start-up companies were selected to make presentations and get feedback from a panel of judges in each of four different categories: life sciences/health care, technology/electronics, digital media/entertainment and alternative energy/sustainability.

The startups competed for prize money: $5,000 to the winner in each of the categories.

Here are some of the concepts on display at the governor’s showcase:

DineTouch: “Food at Your Fingertips” — This one would let diners download an app to their phones so they could order restaurant meals from their table without waiting for a server, then pay by smartphone.

Co-founder and chief executive Joey Natour said he came up with the idea one day while waiting to order dessert at a restaurant. The waiter didn’t come back to the table for more than 10 minutes, during which time Natour lost his appetite for the double-fudge cheesecake he initially wanted. Instead, he just paid his bill and left.

But with a smartphone app, he could have ordered the dessert when the mood struck, and the restaurant would have had an extra $5 in its coffers.

“Nobody offers in-restaurant mobile ordering now,” Natour said. “Mobile ordering is now limited to take-out food.”

Natour’s father owns Pete’s Coffee Shop in downtown Knoxville.

Besides being convenient for customers, the DineTouch system, he said, “could increase table turnover up to 25 percent in the average restaurant, and increase the average check total by 8 percent.”

That would translate into higher sales — and sweeter profits — all for a fee of 25 cents to 50 cents per table of diners, Natour said as he pitched his business plan. The company’s other founder is Seth Elliott, who serves as chief financial officer.

There’s a big market, with about 90,000 full-service, casual-dining restaurants nationwide.

On average, a restaurant would pay DineTouch about $2,000 a year for the tableside smartphone service but realize a $54,100 return on investment — at least that’s the way Natour’s projections have it figured.

“I think most businesspeople would jump at the chance to invest $2,000 to make $54,000,” he said.

Node: the “Swiss Army knife” smartphone companion — This, from Variable Technologies, is an electronic device about the size of a roll of quarters. It can be configured with a number of features connected wirelessly to a smartphone, ranging from a mini-weather station to a gas or radiation sensor or infrared thermometer, said George Yu, its creator.

Information gathered by the Node would be sent to the iPhone or Android device over a Bluetooth connection, and the data would be processed by an app on the phone. It’s similar in concept to the devices runners put in their shoes to send details of their exercise regimen to their phones.

Yu promotes the $150 Node as a great companion to the smartphone, and envisions a variety of functions that could be added to the core device by screwing attachments to either end, quickly changing the features.

Each attachment would be priced from $25 to $150, turning the Node into whatever the owner wants it to be, Yu said. Just like a Swiss Army knife, it could have myriad uses. The unit’s lithium-ion battery would need recharging only once a year.

Still hoping for investors and a manufacturer to produce the units, Yu said he already has pre-sold 200 of them.

“We are looking to sell directly to consumers and through distributors,” he said.

Knoco: “Creating an Atmosphere of Accidental Learning” — Kenn Gibbs’ idea would turn fourth-grade math homework into fun by creating video games that let kids play while also coming to grips with abstract concepts such as how to multiply fractions.

“There was more than

$4 billion spent by the government for computerized learning software last year that was not much more than electronic flash cards,” Gibbs said.

“Current math games are just not very good; they’re boring,” he said. “Our concept is to create visually and aesthetically pleasing video games that help teach fourth-grade math in a way that keeps the students engaged.”

He said the Knoco games won’t be the full-blown video productions that kids get at home on their game consoles, but will be “a whole lot more interesting than the ones they’re getting at school now.”

The company plans to offer the games in two formats — one for computers and the other for the iPad.

“When I was in middle school, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to … make video games,” Gibbs said. “This is a start.”

SponsorSeed: “Turns the iPad into a billboard” — This idea, from Nashville musician Chris Garmon, proposes to stem the loss of money from illegal music downloads by embedding advertising into the album art on songs, then letting people download the tracks free.

While the song is playing on the iPad, the album cover shows up on the color screen, complete with an ad for the sponsor.

And it is the sponsor — not the end user — who pays for the music, Garmon said. The musician would get 67 percent of the ad money for each download, and SponsorSeed would pocket a fee.

The startup has already tried the concept on a four-song collection by the group Hawkboy, which includes artists Cody Bonnette and Aaron Lunsford, Garmon said.

To demonstrate how the process might work, SponsorSeed used both iTunes, Apple’s pay-to-download music service, and the SponsorSeed free-download process to sell Hawkboy’s tunes.

During the trial run, there were 9,000 paid downloads on iTunes, and 36,000 free downloads on the group’s website with the ads imbedded, Garmon said.

SponsorSeed hopes to sign up indie artists initially, then add major record labels as the concept grows.

“The idea is to monetize piracy,” Garmon said.

Stall Talk: “Go Where People Go” — Perhaps the most novel idea presented at the conference came in a can — sort of. This one applies giant, full-color, paste-on advertisements to banks of outdoor porta-potties at such events as college football games and concerts.

The company, founded by CEO Matthew Tunstall, already has contracts to cover 143,000 port-a-johns in 62 markets in 25 states, he said.

“We produce high-quality, hyper-local advertising, using easily removable composite images on the portable restrooms,” he said.

Tunstall started Stall Talk seven months ago, using the port-a-johns at the University of Tennessee football stadium in Knoxville, and he signed up some key advertisers, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

“It’s a captive audience, with people often waiting in line 15 minutes or more to get to the restroom,” Tunstall said. “We thought we might as well give them something to look at while they’re waiting.”

Stall Talk hopes to integrate social media into its program, allowing advertisers to connect with potential customers through such services as Facebook and Twitter.

A possible downside is that some people might find the concept intrusive. The ads would urge viewers to text or call the advertisers and provide their names and email addresses. The program would then scan social media to find the Facebook and Twitter profiles using those names and email addresses, and pass along the data to the advertisers.

“The advertiser will be able to see the person’s profile, including age and other demographic information,” Tunstall said. “Our idea has the ‘cool’ factor,” he said.

Contact G. Chambers Williams III
at 615-259-8076 or cwilliams1@tennessean.com.

Stall Talk wins Digital Media & Entertainment track at the 2012 Governor’s Innovation Conference

Stall Talk, Inc. — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:34:21 +0000

Four of the eight winners from the four “Venture Showcase” pitch competitions on Thursday afternoon during the “Governor’s Innovation Conference” were from East Tennessee.

Three of the four received top awards from an experienced panel of judges who work regularly with start-up companies. The fourth received the “People’s Choice Award” as the best in its track. East Tennessee companies won in each of the four tracks – Digital Media/Entertainment, Life Sciences/Healthcare, Technology/Electronics and Alternative Energy/Sustainability.

The East Tennessee companies that won were:

Stall Talk (Digital Media/Entertainment) – “Judges Best”
NuMeta Sciences (Life Sciences/Healthcare) – “Judges Best”
Dine Touch (Technology/Electronics) – “People’s Choice Award”
LED North America (Alternative Energy/Sustainability) – “Judges Best”

Of the 24 start-up companies that participated in the competition – six per track, 12 had ties to East Tennessee.

At the same ceremony where the “Venture Showcase” winners were named, Governor Bill Haslam presented the inaugural “Governor’s Award for Innovation Excellence” to Dr. Jeffrey Conn, Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Discovery.

Venture Showcase presenting companies named for “Governor’s Innovation Conference”

Stall Talk, Inc. — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:19:34 +0000

Twenty-four start-up companies have been selected to make presentations during this week’s Venture Showcase that is part of the inaugural “Governor’s Innovation Conference.” The presentations will occur during concurrent track sessions on Thursday afternoon in Nashville, TN.

The companies by track are:

Digital Media and Entertainment:

Quickque
Sponsor Seed
Stall Talk
choomogo
knoco
Splother

Healthcare and Life Science:

NuMeta
490 Biotech
Regenome
FitU
Immunonet
Cellular Platforms

Technology and Electronics:

DineTouch
Variable Technologies
The Vendor Registry
Paytopia
Populr
iQuantify

Alternative Energy and Sustainability:

ReMaxCo Technologies
BioDimensions
LED North America
Genera Energy
Renewable Algal Energy
Simple Controls

More information about the conference, including registration details, can be found at http://www.tntechnology.org/conference.

East Tennessee Regional Accelerator Coalition (ETRAC) selects first two “platinum” start-ups

Stall Talk, Inc. — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:09:07 +0000

By Tom Ballard, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, P.C.

Two Knoxville-based start-ups have been selected as the initial “platinum” qualifiers for the intensive assistance available through the East Tennessee Regional Accelerator Coalition (ETRAC).

The companies are Stall Talk and The Vendor Registry, according to ETRAC Coordinator Lynn Youngs whose full-time job is Executive Director of the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Tennessee (UT).

Stall Talk, which was previously profiled on teknovation.biz, was launched by Matt Tunstall shortly before the first Tennessee home football game in 2011. Its business plan has been focused on wrapping portable toilets with marketing messages. The Vendor Registry is a newer company, founded by Brian Strong and focused on making it easier for both local governments and vendors to do business with each other. The concept calls for establishing a web-based, standardized approach that makes the government procurement process more efficient and less costly for all parties.

Youngs said that companies designated as “platinum can have a big splash in the market,” explaining that they are deemed to have a potentially large market, an ability to scale very quickly or both. “Platinum” is the highest ETRAC level followed by “gold” (companies that have either smaller markets or longer time to revenue) and “silver” (more likely entrepreneurs with an idea that needs further refinement to determine market potential and scalability).

“Silver, gold and platinum are somewhat subjective and are used as relative terms,” Youngs said, adding that all ETRAC applicants will be referred to the most appropriate resource to help the entrepreneur be successful. Resource providers include Tech 20/20, UT’s Center for Industrial Services, Tennessee Small Business Development Centers, and the Knoxville Chamber’s Propel program.

Youngs also noted that ETRAC’s mentoring assistance, a hallmark of the program, “cannot only accelerate the growth of platinum companies but also turn gold companies into platinum companies.”

Stall Talk and The Vendor Registry were selected from a pool of 22 companies or individuals that submitted applications. Another half-dozen were classified as “gold” and hopefully will move-up to “platinum” soon.

“The ETRAC management team will continue to accept applications at http://www.etrac.org/ and evaluate the submissions on a monthly basis,” Youngs said.

Stall Talk and The Vendor Registry have been assigned at least one mentor each and will participate in an intensive eight-week coaching and training process conducted by Tech 20/20’s Center for Entrepreneurial Growth. This effort is designed to help the companies develop their “pitch” to investors. Geoff Robson of 3-Degrees will help identify potential investors – from angels to venture funds – and help connect the two companies with them.

“Our goal is to get them funded and scaled-up quickly so that they can meet the objectives of the program – start successful companies that secure needed investment, grow quickly and create good jobs,” Youngs said.

He credited Chuck West, a seasoned Knoxville business executive, for the volunteer time that he has devoted to helping get ETRAC, which is a start-up itself, going quickly.

ETRAC is funded in part by grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and the Appalachian Regional Commission. This initiative is part of Governor Bill Haslam’s Jobs4TN program announced in 2011.

Stall Talk moving rapidly in mural advertising world

Stall Talk, Inc. — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:07:16 +0000

By Tom Ballard, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, P.C.

Local entrepreneur Matt Tunstall is a living example of the old saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” In his case, however, there appears to be only one follow-up “try.”

The University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information graduate (2011) was a successful entrepreneur from late 2008 to early 2010 in Columbus, OH, importing electronic cigarettes, branding them and selling them in shopping mall kiosks. The future seemed very bright until litigation problems with his supplier literally brought Tunstall to his knees.

The collapse of his business brought Tunstall back to Knoxville where he finished his degree, developed a new business idea and launched his new company called Stall Talk. In a recent interview with teknovation.biz, Tunstall talked about the whirlwind existence that he has lived in the six months that have elapsed since his slightly revised business was launched around the time he was graduating.

Tunstall said that he had been focused on a marketing strategy to post “18 x 24 inch print publication featuring inspirational, informational, educational, and entertaining” messages inside bathroom stall doors and other locations in bathrooms. About three weeks before last fall’s Tennessee football opener, Tunstall received a call from an individual who had learned about his unique approach to marketing and asked for a meeting to discuss wrapping 500 portable toilets with marketing messages.

Tunstall quickly developed a marketing strategy for the portable toilet supplier, closed the deal and launched the new product at the first University of Tennessee game. The new opportunity also allowed him to modify his business plan in a way that allowed for better scalability. Instead of having to market to multiple distributors in multiple locations with many messages, Tunstall was able to work with larger distributors and tailor his product more to national companies that wanted to deliver targeted messages at highly trafficked events.

Since the fall launch of the portable toilet product, it has been a whirlwind period for the young entrepreneur who has built his company on a strategy of “creating mural advertisements using a multitude of structures (such as portable restrooms, window panes, fences and trash cans) . . . for our strategic network of high-profile events, venues and construction sites.”

Tunstall, along with friends and family, produced a video of fans’ reactions to the marketing messages on the portable toilets. The video can be viewed at http://stalltalk.net/.

Tunstall has developed a new business plan based on more than 4,000 portable toilet operators with 9 million portable toilets in the United States.

In mid-November, he was a co-winner of Tech 20/20’s “Throttle-Up” competition that was part of the Entrepreneurial Imperative Conference. This provided $2,500 and free space for a year in the Tech 20/20 incubator in Oak Ridge. He later won another Tech 20/20 competition that produced another $5,000 award.

Tunstall literally hit the road the day after winning the “Throttle-Up” competition, visiting 11 other Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools in six days. As of the first of February, Tunstall has inked deals with portable toilet companies to provide marketing messages this fall. The institutions where the messages will appear are Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. He is pursuing other SEC schools and, for that matter, other conferences.

“I want to create a network of universities in each region, so that I can sell to national advertisers,” Tunstall said. He views this regional strategy with national companies as critical to his sustainability plans that also rely on controlling cost of goods and ensuring quality control.

He has also teamed-up with a company that provides nationwide installation of the adhesive vinyl advertisements.

Tunstall recently landed a deal with the largest portable toilet rental company in the Mid-West, growing his inventory to more than 18,000. Tunstall has also been meeting with the largest portable toilet distributor in the country and expects an agreement to be executed soon that would open-up 59 new markets in 19 states with 125,000 individual toilets.

As the portable toilet market at football games, concerts and other venues grows for Stall Talk, Tunstall also is exploring new approaches to “out of home advertising” such as school lockers and vehicles (like police cars) and new customers like not-for-profit fundraising organizations.

Through 2012 he will focus on building relationships with all of the portable toilet companies, targeting 122 universities and building a sales team in each region.

Tunstall thinks that he will have exited Stall Talk in five to 10 years, although he will probably retain a portion of company. This will leave him “fresh to do whatever I want to do,” he said.

For now, Tunstall is pleased that, unlike many entrepreneurs, “everything I seem to be trying to do is successful.” His greatest challenge for now is time.

Channel 6 (WATE) interview with Matt Tunstall, Founder & CEO of Stall Talk, Inc.

Stall Talk, Inc. — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:48:46 +0000

By HANA KIM
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – With the bad economy, a growing number of small businesses are sprouting up and many are working for themselves.

Matt Tunstall, a recent University of Tennessee graduate who was facing the weak economy, says he had a revelation about two months ago.

The idea was to charge businesses to place ads in and around the porta potties like the ones on the UT campus.

“We are actually expanding into Chicago right now,” said Tunstall.

With companies not adding jobs many are employing themselves. “We are seeing a great deal of those people,” said Rob Karpick, with Tennessee Small Business Development Centers.

Karpick works to guide and train aspiring small business owners.

He says if you want to open a business, do what you know and do what you love. “You have to eat, sleep and drink the business. You have to wake up and think about the business. Wake up in the middle of the night and think about it,” he said.

With many failing small businesses, Karpick says be smart about your money in the beginning. “You have to be very careful and not put too much investment,” he said.

“Most small businesses do fail,” said Tunstall. The 27 year old knows what’s at stake, but so far Tunstall says his business is thriving.

With no overhead and you could say a captive audience in his business, Tunstall says it’s a recipe for success. “You have no choice but to be in there so what else are they going to do right?” he said. “Exactly so we give them something to read.”

According to the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers, there was a 27% increase in small business start ups last year. Most of them are in Knox, Anderson and Blount counties.

Knoxville News Sentinel | Portable toilets transformed into ads

Stall Talk, Inc. — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:00:29 +0000

Blocks of portable toilets transformed to create mini-billboards

Matt Tunstall poses on top of portable toilets that have advertisements facilitated by his company, Stall Talk, on the G-10 parking garage at the University of Tennessee Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)

By Carly Harrington

Posted September 8, 2011 at 9 p.m.

When Dan Burks was approached about advertising on the outside of multiple portable toilets, the owner of HoundDogs admitted he was skeptical.

But once he saw the graphic design and layout, any concerns Burks may have had was gone.

“We jumped at the opportunity. It looks like a mini billboard,” he said. “It’s a chance for us to get our name on campus. It’s a unique way to do it and it’s working.”

From the University of Tennessee campus to the Tennessee Valley Fair, blocks of portable toilets are being transformed into mural-like ads.

Each portable unit is individually wrapped to create a picture, said Matt Tunstall, owner of Stall Talk Inc., a media company that sells indoor and outdoor advertising in bathrooms.

Tunstall collaborated with Butch Hawkins, owner of Five Star Portables, to sell advertising wraps on more than 500 portable toilets.

It was an idea that Hawkins said he had been wanting to do for years.

“No one else is doing this,” Hawkins said. “Considering we’ve only been at it for three weeks, there’s been a lot of interest.”

In addition to HoundDogs, other businesses that have taken an interest include South Central Media, Harley-Davidson of Knoxville, Century 21, Sugarbakers and Jim Cogdill Dodge.

The advertising integrates mobile marketing software that allows businesses to capture information about who their customers are by scanning various social networks.

For instance, the advertisements feature a local or toll-free “1-800″ number that allows users to receive a special offer via their mobile phone. Callers provide their name and email address. This gives the advertiser an opportunity to build a mobile marketing database, Tunstall said.

“I knew people had not figured out a good system for mass advertising on bathrooms,” said Tunstall, who plans to expand the concept into Chicago in the coming months.

Thame Johnson, who handles events and marketing at Knoxville Harley-Davidson, said the advertising medium is an effective way to capture the attention of passers-by from the large amount of foot traffic to the sheer size of the ad, which allows it to be viewed from a distance.

“It’s also appealing because you have a captive audience,” Johnson said. “It’s a great, fun way to brand your business.”

Channel 10 (WBIR) News | Portable toilets serve as new advertising medium

Stall Talk, Inc. — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:22:35 +0000

Written by
Steve Butera

Arguably, advertising can be seen nearly everywhere you go. Those who go to this year’s University of Tennessee’s season opener, will see messages appear in the most unlikely of places.

“What people are paying for in advertising is impressions,” said Matt Tunstall, Founder & CEO of Stall Talk, Inc. He’s working with Five Star Portables to get advertising on all portable bathrooms on and around the UT campus.

“We went from 1, to 2, to 3, to 4 and making a scene of Portajohns. And I know of, or aware of, there’s no one in the country that does this,” said Butch Hawkins with Five Star Portables.

Tunstall and Hawkins collaborated to put ads on multiple portable toilets, creating a panoramic picture.

“They never created murals all the way across. They only advertised on all four sides for the exact same cost that we can present an advertiser with a larger message,” Tunstall added.

Workers at Power T Graphics worked to get the first two advertiser’s portable toilets ready for Saturday’s game.

“Portajohns are not the most popular thing in the world,” said Doug Minter with the Knoxville Chamber. “We need them, you’ve got to use them. But using them for a medium for advertising makes it a little more attractive.”

However, this creation is still generating some buzz.

“We look to have (the portable toilets) all booked, and not only booked for this season, we’re already talking to people about next season,” Hawkins added.

Tunstall said his out-of-the-box idea is generating some big business.

“Once we saw the placement of where the advertising is, right here on the University of Tennessee campus, we knew we had something good,” Tunstall said

He added there are plans for this form of advertising at other Knoxville events, including Sundown in the City, in the future.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=182357

Knoxville News Sentinel | Matt Tunstall describes his business Stall Talk

Stall Talk, Inc. — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:22:08 +0000

Matt Tunstall, founder and CEO of Stall Talk, talks about how his business facilitates putting advertisements on port-a-johns Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011 at the University of Tennessee.