By not allowing a proper measure of success for specific partnerships, there is no way to determine which partner is actually performing. The result of all this is wasted time, ineffective use of headcount, and no ability to glean partnership results. That’s why Uhlir decided to found Sideqik, a partnership platform for marketers. His platform allows marketers to connect directly with their partners, launch collaborative cross-promotions, and measure the effectiveness of their partnerships through a cloud-based system. The idea was born during his time at Flashpoint. Uhlir interviewed hundreds of marketers in the course of 10 weeks to really understand the intricacies of what it takes to make these marketing partnerships work, pairing his conversations with past field experience. Getting Sideqik up and out the door was no small feat either. Building a strong team was a big first hurdle, but Uhlir pushed further in an effort to understand his team and their unique communication styles: he wanted to foster a culture of communication. And taking the time to cultivate a culture of communications has led to some initial successes for Sideqik. Recently, Sideqik was featured by Website Magazine and then later selected to kick off Venture Atlanta. The response from their initial customers has been congruent with their press praise. KontrolFreek came on board early in Sideqik’s life, but Uhlir has also worked with the marketing teams from iTunes, Garmin, Microsoft Games, and Samsung. There seems to be a trend of strong tech startups coming out of Atlanta recently, and Sideqik is another major, local talent. The low cost of living, access to university students, and density of marketing are helping Sideqik thrive in a stout startup community. Sideqik was featured at our Tech Cocktail Atlanta Mixer and Startup Showcase in October.
