Demonstration Fund awards Torsion Mobile $50K for stealthy Mojaba

Torsion Mobile today divulged new details on a project it has kept under wraps for months, most notably that the project will benefit from $50,000 in state funding. Torsion, a Des Moines-based mobile solutions provider co-founded by Christian Gurney and Richard Kirsner, received $50,000 from the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) …

Torsion Mobile today divulged new details on a project it has kept under wraps for months, most notably that the project will benefit from $50,000 in state funding.

Torsion, a Des Moines-based mobile solutions provider co-founded by Christian Gurney and Richard Kirsner, received $50,000 from the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) for Mojaba, which is scheduled to launch in the fall. Referred to previously as “Project M,” Mojaba is a web-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution designed for use by advertising agencies, marketing organizations and other creative professionals that enables users to create and publish mobile phone-optimized websites for their clients.

The money awarded to Torsion was part of $529,000 in Demonstration Fund money doled out to six companies today by IDED. (For more on the other recipients of demonstration fund awards, see IDED’s press release.)

“We’re very grateful that our project received the Demo Fund’s support,” Gurney (left, photo from torsionmobile.com) said in a press release. “The additional seed money is wonderful but even more valuable to us is the feedback from the selection committee that reviewed our business plan. We’re looking forward to introducing Mojaba to the world.”

Mobile-optimized websites created with Mojaba will enable consumers to find the information they are seeking and to use the unique features of their mobile phones to make a call and find hours of operation, directions or an email address for a business or organization. According to the Torsion press release, studies have shown that nearly 80 percent of websites today are not optimized for mobile phones but a growing number of consumers rely on their mobile phones as their primary source of internet access. Mojaba aims to help bridge that gap between the dearth of mobile-enabled websites and growing number of mobile-reliant consumers.

Demonstration Fund

The Demonstration Fund provides seed money to encourage commercialization activities by small and medium-sized Iowa companies in advanced manufacturing, biosciences and information technology. The fund is designed to encourage product refinements, market planning and market entry activities of unique products to foster competitive, profitable companies that create high paying jobs and wealth in Iowa. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that the product is ready for commercialization and market entry. Applicants must also show their ability to develop and commercialize products and manage successful ventures.

Companies seeking awards go through a rigorous due diligence process and are judged in terms of marketability, return on investment and economic development impact. Companies must match the award with at least one dollar of non-state funding for every two dollars of state funding. Funding is approved by the IDED Board of Directors.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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