Author Archives: Votigo

Instant-Win Games: 

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Engage, Excite, and Reward Your Audience Instantly

Looking to add a thrill to your promotions? Our Instant-Win Games are the perfect way to gamify your marketing campaigns and keep your audience coming back for more. Whether it’s a Spin-the-Wheel, a Scratch-off game, or a quick win with instant prizes, our solutions ensure every interaction is fun and rewarding.

Why Choose Instant-Win Games?

1. Spin-the-Wheel:  Give your audience the excitement of a chance to win with our customizable Spin-the-Wheel games. Easy to set up and play, it’s a fun way to engage customers and offer instant rewards.

2. Scratch-off Games:  Bring the thrill of winning to life with digital scratch-off cards. Whether it’s a small discount or a big prize, every scratch reveals a chance to win, keeping participants engaged and eager to play.

3. Instant Prizes:  Instantly reward your customers with prizes, discounts, or exclusive offers. Create a sense of urgency and excitement by allowing them to win something on the spot.

4. Gamify Your Promotions:  Turn your marketing campaigns into interactive experiences. Gamification not only entertains your audience but also increases engagement and boosts customer loyalty. Whether it’s an online store, social media campaign, or in-app promotion, our Instant-Win Games make your brand stand out.

How It Works:

1. Customize Your Game: We work with you to design and create a branded game that matches your campaign’s objectives.

2. Engage Your Audience: Launch your Instant-Win Game across your digital platforms and watch the excitement unfold.

3. Reward Your Winners: Automatically award prizes to winners, driving immediate gratification and encouraging repeat participation.

Examples:

– Retail Brands: Boost customer engagement with a holiday-themed Spin-the-Wheel game.

– Restaurants: Increase foot traffic with a Scratch-off promotion offering instant meal discounts.

– Media Companies: Drive higher viewer participation with a series of Instant-Win trivia games during a live event.

Ready to Get Started?

Transform your next campaign with the power of Instant-Win Games. Contact us today to learn how we can help you engage your audience, drive conversions, and create unforgettable brand experiences.

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Boost Your CPG Brand: 4 Game-Changing Sweepstakes and Contest Ideas

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In the fiercely competitive world of consumer packaged goods (CPG), making a lasting impression is crucial. Sweepstakes and contests are powerful strategies to engage your audience, amplify brand awareness, and drive sales. Ready to create a buzz around your brand? Here are four innovative ideas designed to elevate your CPG promotions.

 🍳 1. Stir Up Creativity with Recipe Creation Contests

Engage your audience by putting your products in their hands—and on their plates.

What better way to showcase your food or beverage products than by inviting customers to create unique recipes? A recipe creation contest not only drives product usage but also generates rich user-generated content (UGC) that can be shared across your marketing channels.

Example: Host a contest asking participants to submit their best breakfast recipes featuring your cereal brand. The most creative and delicious entry wins a grand prize and gets featured on your website and social media. This approach not only highlights your product’s versatility but also taps into the community’s love for cooking.

Why It Works: Consumers love to experiment in the kitchen, especially when they can show off their creations. This contest encourages ongoing engagement and provides your brand with a treasure trove of shareable content.

 🎉 2. Create Instant Excitement with Instant-Win Sweepstakes

Immediate gratification leads to immediate engagement.

Instant-win sweepstakes are a surefire way to create excitement and drive rapid participation. The allure of instant prizes motivates customers to engage with your brand and spread the word, expanding your reach exponentially.

Example: Launch an instant-win promotion where customers can enter by purchasing your product and uploading their receipt online. Prizes can range from branded merchandise to larger rewards like kitchen gadgets or a year’s supply of your product.

Why It Works: The chance to win something instantly is a powerful motivator. This type of sweepstakes not only drives product sales but also creates a sense of urgency that encourages immediate participation.

 📲 3. Amplify Engagement with Social Media Hashtag Contests

Leverage social media to turn customers into brand ambassadors.

Hashtag contests are an effective way to harness the power of social media. Encourage participants to share their experiences with your product, generating a wave of organic, user-generated content that boosts your brand’s visibility on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Example: Create a contest where participants post a photo or video using your product with a specific branded hashtag. The most creative or popular posts win a prize, giving your brand valuable social proof and enhancing its social media presence.

Why It Works: Hashtag contests are easy to enter and highly shareable, making them perfect for driving engagement and increasing brand visibility. Plus, they provide an ongoing stream of authentic content that resonates with your audience.

 💎 4. Reward Loyalty with Exclusive Sweepstakes

Turn your most loyal customers into lifelong brand advocates.

Loyalty-based sweepstakes are a fantastic way to reward your repeat customers and deepen their connection to your brand. By offering exclusive sweepstakes entries based on purchase history or participation in a loyalty program, you incentivize continued engagement and drive sales.

Example: Offer loyalty program members a chance to win a grand prize for every certain amount they spend on your products. The more they purchase, the more entries they earn, creating a win-win scenario that boosts both sales and customer loyalty.

Why It Works: Loyalty programs foster a sense of belonging, encouraging customers to keep coming back for more. By linking loyalty with the excitement of a sweepstakes, you enhance the value of your program and strengthen customer relationships.

 Ready to Elevate Your CPG Brand?

These four contest ideas are more than just promotions—they’re strategic tools for creating unforgettable experiences that resonate with your customers. Whether you’re looking to run a photo contest, social media giveaway, or instant-win sweepstakes, Votigo has the expertise to ensure your campaign runs smoothly and achieves its goals.

Let’s bring your next sweepstakes or contest to life. Contact us today and let’s get started!

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Why Social Media Promotions Are More Relevant Than Ever

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In today’s digital age, customers expect more than just a product—they want an experience. Back in 2008, when MySpace was the dominant social media platform, we at Votigo recognized the immense potential of social media for brand engagement. That’s why we coined the term ‘Social Media Promotions‘—to capture the idea that brands could create meaningful, interactive experiences through these emerging platforms.

As Facebook opened its doors to the public and businesses began leveraging Facebook Pages, we were one of only 20 Facebook Preferred Developers, helping brands harness this new opportunity. When Twitter opened its APIs for sweepstakes, we were there with a solution. We then expanded our offerings to include Pinterest, Instagram, and now TikTok, always staying ahead of the curve as social media evolved.

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with world-class brands like Sharpie, Corona, Michelin, KFC, KraftHeinz, NBCUniversal, and State Farm.

Social media promotions have provided these brands with numerous benefits, including increased brand awareness, deeper customer engagement, and valuable user-generated content. These promotions drive customer loyalty, amplify reach through social sharing, and provide measurable results that tie directly into broader marketing strategies.

These social media platforms have transformed the way brands interact with their audiences, making social media promotions more relevant than ever. It’s not just about driving sales; it’s about building lasting relationships through interactive, value-driven experiences that resonate with consumers long after the campaign ends.

The big question now is: What’s the next big social media platform? While the landscape is constantly changing, one thing remains certain—social media promotions will continue to play a crucial role in how brands connect with their customers. And at Votigo, we’re ready to embrace whatever comes next.

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How to Run an Instagram Giveaway, Sweepstakes, Contest

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Looking to run a giveaway on Instagram? We’ve got you covered!

Let Votigo be your one-stop show for your next Instagram Sweepstakes or Contest.

1. Define Your Goals: Determine what you want to achieve with your Instagram Giveaway, such as increasing followers, engagement, or brand awareness.

2. Choose a Relevant Prize: Select a prize that resonates with your audience and is relevant to your brand.

3. Set the Rules:

  – Eligibility: Specify who can enter (e.g., age, location). Make sure to comply with local laws and Instagram’s promotion guidelines.

   – Entry Requirements:

     – Follow: Participants must follow your Instagram account.

     – Like: Ask participants to like the giveaway post.

     – Comment: Require participants to comment on the Instagram post, such as by answering a question or tagging friends. Specify how many friends they should tag.

     – Tagging Friends: Encourage participants to tag friends in the comments to increase reach. Clarify if there are limits to the number of tags.

Find our about running a Sweepstakes on Instagram

     – Hashtag: Create a unique and memorable hashtag for the Instagram giveaway. Participants must use this hashtag in their posts or stories.

     – Share: Optionally, ask participants to share the Instagram post to their stories for additional entries.

   – UGC Content Submission: If applicable, participants may need to submit original content, such as photos or videos, using the giveaway hashtag.

   – Privacy: Inform participants that their profiles need to be public for the duration of the giveaway for their entries to be visible.

   – Duration: Clearly state the start and end dates and times for the giveaway.

4. Create a Post: Design an eye-catching giveaway post that clearly outlines the prize, entry rules, and duration of the giveaway.

5. Promote the Intagram Giveaway: Share the sweepstakes on your Instagram feed, stories, and other social media channels. Consider collaborating with influencers or partners to reach a wider audience.

6. Monitor Entries: Keep track of the entries using the chosen hashtag, comments, or any other method specified in the rules.

7. Select and Announce the Winner: Let Votigo handle the winner selection to ensure you choose the winner fairly. Announce the winner on your Instagram account and contact them directly.

8. Follow Up: Thank all participants and encourage them to stay engaged with your brand. Share the winner’s post if appropriate.

9. Analyze the Results: Evaluate the success of the giveaway by analyzing metrics like follower growth, engagement rate, and any new leads or sales generated.

10. Learn and Improve: Use the insights gained to refine your strategy for future giveaways.

Votigo Instagram Giveaways

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How to Run a TikTok Giveaway: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Running a successful TikTok giveaway can significantly boost your brand’s visibility, engagement, and follower count. At Votigo, we specialize in creating and managing engaging TikTok sweepstakes and contests for our clients. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you run an effective TikTok promotion, illustrated by a recent successful campaign we executed.

Define Your Goals

Before launching your promotion, clearly define your objectives. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, gain followers, or promote a new product? Having a clear goal will guide your strategy and help measure success.

See what Votigo offers for your next TikTok Giveaway

Plan the Giveaway Structure

Planning is crucial to ensure your giveaway runs smoothly. Decide on the type of sweepstakes or contest, entry methods, duration, and prizes. For our recent campaign, we collaborated with six influencers who each posted on their Instagram and TikTok pages. Participants entered by commenting on these posts.

Choose the Right Influencers

Influencers play a vital role in the success of your sweepstakes or contest. Select influencers whose followers align with your target audience. For our campaign, we chose influencers who resonated well with the target demographic of the product.

Create Compelling Content

Engaging and visually appealing content is key to attracting participants. Work with your influencers to create content that highlights the giveaway and encourages participation. Our influencers created vibrant posts and videos showcasing the product and the sweepstakes details.

Set Clear Rules and Guidelines

Transparency is essential in maintaining trust. Clearly outline the rules, entry methods, eligibility criteria, and prize details. Our company handled the rules and administration for the giveaway, ensuring everything was transparent and compliant with relevant regulations.

Promote the TikTok Giveaway (Sweepstakes or Contest)

Maximize the reach of your giveaway through strategic promotion. Utilize your influencers’ platforms, your own social media channels, and any other available marketing avenues. Our influencers promoted the giveaway on both Instagram and TikTok, driving engagement across both platforms.

Collect and Manage Entries

Efficiently collecting and managing entries is crucial for a smooth process. Our company collected comments from each influencer’s Instagram and TikTok pages, using advanced tools to ensure accuracy and fairness.

Draw and Notify Winners

Once the promotion ends, conduct the drawing and notify the winners promptly. We used custom scripts to randomly draw winners from the collected entries, awarding one prize per influencer. We then notified the winners and managed the prize distribution.

Analyze and Report

After the giveaway, analyze the results to measure success and gather insights for future campaigns. Look at metrics such as engagement, follower growth, and participant feedback. Reporting these findings helps refine future strategies and improve overall effectiveness.

Our Recent Success Story

In our recent campaign, we executed a giveaway for a popular breakfast product. Six influencers posted on their Instagram and TikTok pages, collecting comments as entries. Our company handled everything from rule-setting and entry collection to drawing winners and notifying them. Each influencer awarded a relevant prizes to a lucky participant, creating excitement and engagement among their followers.

Conclusion

Running a successful TikTok giveaway involves careful planning, strategic promotion, and efficient management. By partnering with experienced professionals like Votigo, you can ensure your giveaway is engaging, fair, and achieves your marketing goals. Ready to launch your own TikTok giveaway? Contact us today to get started!

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Safeguarding Your Sweepstakes and Contests

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Safeguarding Your Sweepstakes: How the Votigo Engineering Team Combats Bots, Fraud, and Bad Actors

In the dynamic landscape of online promotions, ensuring the integrity and fairness of sweepstakes is paramount. At Votigo, we understand the critical importance of protecting our clients’ promotions from malicious activities. That’s why our dedicated software engineering team is taking proactive measures to ensure that bots, fraud, and bad actors are kept at bay. Here’s a closer look at how we’re fortifying our defenses:

Implementing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and One-Time Passwords (OTP)

Two of the most effective tools in our arsenal are Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and One-Time Passwords (OTP). By adding an additional layer of security, these methods significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and fraudulent activities. They ensure that only genuine participants can enter and engage with your sweepstakes.

Reach out to Learn More about Votigo

Utilizing Amazon Web Application Firewall (WAF) Features

Our team leverages the powerful features of Amazon Web Application Firewall (WAF) to bolster security:

– Flagging VPNs, Proxies, and Hosting Provider IPs: We actively flag IP addresses associated with VPNs, proxies, and hosting providers, ensuring they are scrutinized more closely.

– Rate Limiting: We have implemented a rate limit of 200 requests per IP every five minutes. This helps to prevent automated systems from bombarding our servers.

– Geo-Restriction: Upon request, we can restrict access based on geographical locations, further refining the scope of allowed participants.

– Captcha Implementation: For IPs identified as potential threats, we deploy Amazon’s human captcha to filter out automated submissions.

Advanced IP Monitoring and Custom Scripts

Our security measures extend beyond standard protocols:

– IP Subnet Abuse Detection: We utilize custom scripts to monitor specific IP subnets, identifying patterns of abuse. For instance, we recently detected multiple ranges being used by a suspicious entity known as Server Destroyers LLC.

– Manual Checks and Script-Based Analysis: Our team continuously develops and refines scripts based on our learnings. This includes identifying unusual patterns in First Name-Last Name-Date of Birth (FN-LN-DOB) combinations, detecting variations of similar addresses (e.g., Ave, Avenue, St, Street), and flagging rapid submissions from a single IP within a short time frame.

ReCaptcha: An Additional Layer

While traditional ReCaptcha might be less effective against sophisticated threats, it still serves as a valuable additional layer of security, deterring less advanced automated attacks.

Commitment to Ongoing Security Enhancements

At Votigo, our commitment to safeguarding your sweepstakes is unwavering. We continuously monitor, analyze, and adapt our strategies to stay ahead of emerging threats. Our engineering team works tirelessly to ensure that your promotions remain fair, secure, and enjoyable for all genuine participants.

By implementing these robust security measures, we aim to provide our clients with peace of mind, knowing that their sweepstakes are protected against bots, fraud, and bad actors. As the digital landscape evolves, so do our defenses, ensuring that your promotions remain a safe and rewarding experience for your audience.

For more information on how we can help secure your sweepstakes, feel free to reach out to us. Let’s work together to create a secure and engaging promotional experience!

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BREAKING: Wildfire Interactive Turns Off DIY Promotions

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Today, Wildfire Interactive Promotions by Google has announced that they are shutting down their DIY Basic, Standard, and Premium promotions primarily targeted to Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs).

Here is a link to their blog post http://blog.wildfireapp.com/2013/04/16/a-new-turn-for-wildfire-promotions/ with details on their decision.  We at Votigo understand how that negatively impacts all of their customers that will now have to find a new solution.  Thankfully we have a great offering that will do just that.

Votigo is pleased to announce that we are here for those tens of thousand of customers that need a new home.  Our Standard DIY Promotions for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Web, and Mobile https://www.votigo.com/products/DIY-contest-app.php are available as low as $30/week or $250/mo for unlimited promotions.  https://www.votigo.com/solutions/pricing-and-plans.php#

During this transition period we are going to offer a 20% discount on our $250 Subscription Plan to anyone who calls us and let’s us know they are coming over from Wildfire Promotions.  Simply visit http://www.votigo.com/register and enter the coupon code “wildfire” to enter.  1.800.519.1850 

And as always, please contact us or call us if you would like to discuss our Premium / Custom Promotions and our Complete Social Marketing Suite.

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Votigo Makes 2012 Inc. 500|5000 List!

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We couldn’t be more excited to announce that Votigo has made the Inc. 500|5000. With a three-year growth rate of 1,493.3% since 2008, Votigo is #242 overall, and is #21 in the software category.

“We’re incredibly proud to be in the Inc. 500|5000,” says co-CEO and Founder Mike La Rotonda. “Achieving such tremendous growth is a symbol of our innovative approach to the rapidly-evolving social media realm and a testament to relationships with our customers, hundreds of brands and businesses in the US and abroad. Above all, it’s great recognition for our team, who have worked with great energy and ingenuity to help us achieve this growth.”

Thank you to all of our customers for helping Votigo make the list. It’s truly an honor and we could not have gotten here without your support. We’re looking forward to continuing to innovate and grow as the social media space evolves. It’s been a great ride and it’s only just begun.

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Announcing Votigo’s Social Marketing Suite

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Today is an exciting day for Votigo. We’ve officially announced our full Social Marketing Suite, expanding the scope of our software and services beyond social promotions. This is a milestone day for us: as we celebrate our 6th anniversary as a company, it allows us to meet the needs of our existing customers while targeting new ones with an always-on subscription product for managing their customers and social conversation across all social channels.

We are very proud of what our team has developed in recent weeks and really since we launched Votigo in 2006. Major advances like this are a true team effort and we appreciate everyone’s hard work, from our California office to our Colorado to our Hyderabad office.

Our Software-as-a-Service platform enables marketers to run cross-channel promotions, manage conversations and social contacts and analyze metrics across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Web, and Mobile. Fortune 500 enterprises, mid-market companies, and growing small businesses alike are already using our flexible, proven software to manage social marketing at any scale, for single brands and users to complex international enterprises. Some of Votigo’s current SaaS customers include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Sony Online Entertainment, Kaiser-Permanente, NCM Fathom Events, Energizer, and GoPro.

Votigo is used to manage brand-consistent promotions across 1,000 unique Facebook Pages for Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide; to allow growing businesses of all sizes to run promotions and marketing apps for as low as $15 per month; and to execute international cross-channel promotions on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Web and Mobile for category-leading brands like Ford, Fox, JBL, Random House and many more. With the launch of our Social Marketing & CRM Suite, we now offer a full set of tools that our customers- the market’s leading social businesses- demand.

At the Enterprise level, Votigo’s platform allows for multiple administrators, user hierarchies and workflow management. Abbey Reider, Global Search & Social Media Strategy, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said, “With over 1,000 hotel Facebook pages Votigo’s Platform provides a scalable solution that satisfies our corporate and legal team needs, while allowing our individual hotels the autonomy to create unique and engaging promotions.”

“This is a very natural evolution for us,” says Jim Risner, CEO and Co-Founder. “For nearly six years we’ve been fortunate to work with world-class brands and agencies, and fulfill their social promotions needs with innovative campaigns for any channel and in any country. We’ve always been known for our strong technology platform and excellent service. We’ve listened to our clients who were looking for an always-on approach to promotions and the ability to manage the conversation and track and target social contacts. We’re very excited to be expanding our platform to be a single, comprehensive software solution that handles all their social marketing needs.”

Votigo’s Social Marketing & CRM Suite includes:

• Promotions Manager – A full-featured platform for publishing the cross-platform promotions that Votigo has been known for since 2007. Marketers can launch photo and video contests, sweepstakes, and other promotional apps to engage their audiences in multiple languages across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networks on mobile and the web. Promotions Manager powers the full promotion cycle, from creating the apps, to sharing and publicizing them to social audiences, to moderating submissions and fan commentary, making it simple and cost-effective to run promotional campaigns throughout the year. Promotions remain one of the most effective marketing tactics for engaging and activating social audiences and Promotions Manager makes it simpler than ever to run promotions of any scope.

• Conversation Manager – A powerful new interface for managing two-way conversations with fans on Facebook, Twitter and beyond. Marketers can use Votigo’s Conversation Manager to simultaneously schedule and publish posts, links, photos and video and promotional campaigns to multiple social channels and accounts, plus manage responses, user-generated content, comments and interactions with fans. By consolidating all social conversations and accounts into a single interface, Conversation Manager saves marketers time and provides actionable insight to effectively measure post engagement.

• Social CRM – A seamlessly-integrated Social CRM system for managing Social Contacts, tracking engagement and influence, and targeting special offers and communications. Votigo’s Social CRM makes it easy to cultivate and maintain a growing audience across social networks – from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn and beyond – within a single platform

• Engagement Apps – A set of rich engagement applications including photo and video galleries, fan exclusives, polls, coupons, and more, each with a clear marketing purpose designed to engage your customers on an ongoing basis.

• Analytics – Votigo analytics let social marketers quickly measure and assess social marketing efforts to understand how their audiences interact with their businesses, focus on what resonates and activates customers, and optimize social marketing resources.

We are still planning continuous updates to the Social Marketing & CRM Suite throughout the remainder of 2012. And we couldn’t be more excited about the expansion of our product offering and the continued growth of Votigo. We’ve had 1,400% revenue growth from 2008-2011 and 15% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth for the past year without having to raise more capital. Most importantly we’ve added 300 new customers in the last twelve months. We’re amazed at what our small team of talented people has been able to accomplish.”

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Boulder Startup Week & Social Marketing for Startups

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Boulder has a thriving tech scene, which is one of the many reasons Votigo opened a Boulder office – that,and the abundance of outdoor activities. Boulder’s tech scene is booming and Startup week is one of many opportunities to engage with some amazing entrepreneurs and thinkers that call Boulder home.

All week long there are events from coffee shop meetups to after hours get togethers, all aimed at helping startups be successful. Topics range from how to get funded, to how to market your brand and everything in between.

Votigo is always looking for ways to help brands be more successful with social, so we hosted a panel on Social Marketing for Startups. Panelists included some of Boulder’s most impressive startups: Anna Sawyer from Trada, Justin Segall from Simple Energy, Alex White from Next Big Sound and Chuck Lepley from Orbotix. Scrib, a co-working space in Downtown Boulder was kind enough to host the event at their location.

The panelists provided the packed house with insights about the challenges startups face with social as well as best practices and ideas for making the most of a lean marketing budget. It was an informative panel and a great chance to mingle with some like-minded tech people.

Make sure to check out the rest of the events this week for Boulder Startup Week. It’s great to be in Boulder.

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