Get emailed StartupNation 2012 Home-Based 100 Competition Updates

Share this

About the Winner

MeetingWave.com helps members arrange targeted networking meetings with the exact type of people you want to meet... new clients, customers, business contacts or fellow alumni - while traveling or near home or work.

Meetings are only confirmed if everyone agrees to meet and your name and contact info are private until you are ready to exchange business cards.

Why useful? Allows members to meet nearby potential clients, customers, new business or social contacts or fellow alumni where ever they are.

I thought of the idea after traveling a lot and finding myself either eating alone in the hotel room or watching 20 other people eating alone in the hotel restaurant.

MeetingWave launched iPhone and Android apps for location-based business networking. Simply (1) download, (2) create profile with some background info, meeting interests and "verified emails" (described below); and (3) click "Available". We do not disclose specific location, name or contact info. Others will send "meeting requests" if interested in meeting. You can ignore, decline or say yes (and use double-blind messaging thereafter to arrange the meeting).

And, the app and website include a verification feature. Members can have their work or alumni email addresses "verified" by MeetingWave and display an indication of that verification (e.g., @ibm.com or @brown.edu) on their profile. This allows members to verify to other members where they work and went to school.

MeetingWave also launched private label versions for alumni networking, conference/trade show attendee networking and for other enterprises comprised of large number of affiliated individuals who would be interested in arranging networking meetings with each other.

MeetingWave’s technology is covered by U.S. Patent Nos. 6,963,900; 7,483,946; 7,716,285; 7,860,929 (granting Dec. 28, 2010), and US Application 12/883,301 (each with February 2000 effective filing dates). These patents were sold to Apple, Inc. in Nov. 2010 and MeetingWave retained a worldwide royalty-free license with the right to sublicense to “Affiliates” and transfer to third parties under certain conditions.

Patent applications have also filed for improvements in 2006 (US Application 12/376,730), 2008 (US Application 12/396,456), and 2010 (US Provisional Application 61/328,813) and are currently exclusive to MeetingWave and owned by TTB Technologies, LLC.