A screenshot from NoWait's website shows how the app can be used for marketing
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web host Contegix (www.contegix.com) announced on Tuesday that it has selected NoWait (www.nowaitapp.com) as the winner of its Start-up, Boot-up competition. The cloud-based restaurant seating management service is one of the start-up companies that competed for more than $75,000 worth of tecnology and free office space in St. Louis.
Contegix says it started the competition out of its passion for entrepreneurship, and its own knowledge of the difficulties of getting a technology start-up off the ground.
Launched in 2010, NoWait is designed for casual dining restaurants. With the application, the host sends the customer a text when their table is free. This technology is more cost-effective and easier to maintain than the traditional pager system seen in many restaurants because it is a cloud solution, according to Contegix.
“NoWait’s application to the Start-up, Boot-up competition shows both the power of the cloud and how to solve a frustration most of us have dealt with, and do it in an innovative and simple way,” Matthew Porter, CEO of Contegix said in a statement. “As we have seen with many of our own customers, 100 percent uptime is critical to their business, and their business is managed entirely in the cloud. NoWait has already demonstrated a sound business concept, a growth strategy, superior developer skills and a passionate commitment to their business, so we are excited to help them on their entrepreneurial journey with our award package.”
The prize package includes Contegix managed web and managed database server, upgrades and unmanaged development tools, Digital Matters 3-month startup consulting package, Customware TrainingRocket professional cloud training application and Zimbra email and collaboration solution delivered as a VMware virtual appliance, and more.
“NoWait takes the frustration out of the seating process at casual dining restaurants by using text messages,” Robb Myer, CEO of NoWait stated. “We want to give guests a better experience and help restaurants manage their traffic so they stop losing customers when their wait list gets too long. To date, we have focused on product design and development. We need to update our back-end services to a professional grade solution as we get ready to scale for our next 100 clients, and winning this competition will help get us there.”
The entries were judged based on competitive differentiation, future growth plans, sales strategy, development platform, promise for commercial success or positive social change and dependence on cloud technology. Any US industry that has a business or concept that relies on an Internet infrastructure was eligible to qualify.
The judges included Alex Williams, editor of ReadWriteWeb, Jennifer Ehlen, the interim director of the Saint Louis University Center for Entrepreneurship and Jay De Long, vice president, new ventures and capital formation for the Saint Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson writes full-time for the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, and has been writing for the WHIR since September 2010. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
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