Sweb In the News

Today The Social Revolución, the official Latino event at the 2013 SXSW Interactive Festival celebrating online Latino trendsetters, is announcing the winners of the 2013 Revolucionario Awards. Seven award recipients from the United States and Latin America will be recognized at the Revolucionario Awards at The Social Revolución on March 12, 2013 at Ballet Austin.

Now in its second year at the SXSW Interactive Festival, The Social Revolución continues to recognize Latinos utilizing social media as a platform to create and inspire change. After over 23,000 online community votes and the evaluation of a panel of industry leaders serving as judges, seven winners were selected from the 170 nominations received in the following three categories. The New Americano recognizes trendsetting individuals and organizations impacting the Latino market online. The Mobilizer salutes Latinos using social media as a strategy to mobilize their audience behind local or international causes. Individuals redefining how Latinos are reached online, whether through a new app, website, or other digital tool, are celebrated in The Innovator category. The Líder of the Social Revolución is awarded to a recipient who embodies all three categories.

Today The Social Revolución, the official Latino event at the 2013 SXSW Interactive Festival celebrating online Latino trendsetters, is announcing the winners of the 2013 Revolucionario Awards. Seven award recipients from the United States and Latin America will be recognized at the Revolucionario Awards at The Social Revolución on March 12, 2013 at Ballet Austin.

Now in its second year at the SXSW Interactive Festival, The Social Revolución continues to recognize Latinos utilizing social media as a platform to create and inspire change. After over 23,000 online community votes and the evaluation of a panel of industry leaders serving as judges, seven winners were selected from the 170 nominations received in the following three categories. The New Americano recognizes trendsetting individuals and organizations impacting the Latino market online. The Mobilizer salutes Latinos using social media as a strategy to mobilize their audience behind local or international causes. Individuals redefining how Latinos are reached online, whether through a new app, website, or other digital tool, are celebrated in The Innovator category. The Líder of the Social Revolución is awarded to a recipient who embodies all three categories.

Microlender Accion Texas Inc. is sporting a groovy new online look thanks to a website designed by San Antonio’s Sweb Development.

Accion Texas Inc. provides loans and entrepreneurial assistance to small businesses that can’t get capital from traditional banks and lenders. Loans range from $500 to $250,000, and its SBA 504 program offers loans up to $5 million. The nonprofit operates in eight states.

Since applying for a loan and understanding credit is complicated, the site specifically works to simplify the education, application and online payment process.

A few highlights of the new website include individual sections tailored to entrepreneurs, customers, donors, and employees and a live chat for customer service. The site is also integrated with Eventbrite, an events creation and reservations system.

Looking for the future of San Antonio’s business community? Look no further than the San Antonio Business Journal’s annual 40Under40 publication.

There you’ll find 40 young, dynamic community and business leaders — who already are taking responsibility for the city in which they work and live.

Last Friday, as a couple hundred people descended upon the world-famous Cowboys Stadium (referred to by many as Jerry World, after famed owner and innovator Jerry Jones), the anticipation was palpable. They were about to witness a pitch contest featuring Texas-based startups, but no one had ever held a “pitch contest” in such a large and extraordinary space. Normally the home to 108,000 football fans on Sundays, on Friday the Stadium was to be a hub for innovation, ideas, and dreams. All played out on a 600 ton JumboTron hanging 90 feet above the field.

Attendees weren’t quite sure what to expect, only that like all good things in Texas, it would be BIG. Hosted by Startup Texas, a region of the Startup America Partnership, this pitch contest, affectionately titled the “Startup Texas: 2 Minute Drill” was created to feature some of the brightest startups from across the state. With eight young companies from Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, the event was an opportunity to showcase the amazing innovation taking place all over our huge state.

Forget the typical two-minute drills you’d find at Cowboys Stadium. On Friday, another kind took over the arena.

Entrepreneurs around Texas delivered rapid-fire two-minute business pitches before well-known business leaders and supporters at a competition organized by Startup Texas, one of the many regional and state chapters under Startup America Partnership, a national umbrella group promoting entrepreneurship.

So instead of the faces of Tony Romo and Dez Bryant on the stadium’s mega Jumbotron, the screen featured the presentations of eight startups representing different parts of the state: HeyRide and LDEngine in Austin; iLumi, Pay Tap and Socialyzer in the Dallas area; Sweb Development in San Antonio; and Recycle Match and Hurl in Houston.

“It seems like there is tremendous momentum across Texas and certainly in Dallas in supporting the next generation of startups,” said Steve Case, founder of AOL and chairman of Startup America Partnership, whose board members met with local leaders and entrepreneurs in Dallas.