Company News

March 2010
Root Orange Announces Launch at the SXSW Accelerator, Revolutionizes Small Business Marketing with Location-Based Leasing of Highly Coveted, Generic Domain Names (March 15, 2010)

January 2010

Root Orange wins People’s Choice Award at DomainFest (January 28, 2010)

October 2009

Root Orange accepted into government incubator (October 2, 2009)

September 2009

Root Orange raises seed round (September 1, 2009)

May 2009

Root Orange wins the Princeton Business Plan Competition (May 29, 2009)

April 2009

Root Orange hires Tony Primerano away from AOL (April 6, 2009)


Start-up Launches With Attorney.com Domain-Splitting for Multiple Local And Regional Law Firms Nationwide

March 15, 2010 — Microsoft Bizspark Accelerator at SXSW, Austin, TX — Root Orange (www.rootorange.com), the pioneer in geographic domain-splitting , today announced the official launch of its service at the SXSW Interactive Festival with the number one legal domain name in the world, Attorney.com, now available for location-based leasing. Root Orange is the first and only company that allows multiple people or businesses to exclusively operate the same domain name in different geographic markets. Until today, a domain name could only be used for a single website – but Root Orange’s patent-pending technology changes that paradigm entirely.

Enabling localized leasing of domain names opens up new online marketing possibilities for small businesses. “We’re excited to launch our game-changing technology so small businesses can finally stand out from the crowded online marketplace and boost the return on their always limited marketing dollars,” said co-founder Camilo Acosta.

More than ever before, local businesses can create a big presence on the web and cash-in on major search engine traffic. In a Web-driven culture where 80% of Internet users search online for local goods and services, Root Orange’s domain-splitting technology gives every small business the ability to use generic domain names for their websites. Using generic names in ad campaigns can increase response rates by 40-60%. Some generic names also rank highly on search engine results and compete with bigger businesses for the same customer base.

As the top legal keyword worldwide, “Attorney” generates over 1.8 million monthly exact searches in the United States alone. Law firms and individual attorneys, in any metropolitan area, can now grab their share of exclusive localized traffic to and marketing power of the www.attorney.com domain – seizing an immediate and enormous competitive advantage in their regional marketplace.

The innovative technology behind Root Orange has recently caught the attention of the organizers of South by Southwest (SXSW), the renowned Austin-based conference and festival that showcases the convergence of original music, independent film, and emerging technology.  Root Orange was selected as one of eight Web Technology finalists for the Microsoft Bizspark Accelerator.  “Now in its second year, the Microsoft Bizspark Accelerator at SXSW is the ideal place to the see the most innovative, cutting-edge starts-ups on the web today,” said Chris Valentine, the Accelerator Event Producer.  “We’ve got an all-star cast of judges.  We’re very proud of the quality of both the applicants generally, and the finalists specifically.  It is going to be a great event.”

About Microsoft Bizspark Accelerator at SXSW
The 2010 Microsoft Bizspark Accelerator at SXSW scheduled March 15-16 in Austin, Texas showcases 32 of the hottest startups in a heated competition for most innovative in four categories: Entertainment, Innovative Web Technology, Personal Social Media, and Business Social Media.

The Accelerator winners will be selected by an experienced group of well-known industry experts. For an entire list of judges please see here: http://sxsw.com/interactive/accelerator/judges

Root Orange wins People’s Choice Award at DomainFest

(January 28, 2010)

LOS ANGELES, California -- Root Orange won the People’s Choice Award, the overall prize given at this year’s DomainFest conference to the most innovative service provider. Eight finalists competed for the top prize presented annually at the industry’s leading get together, which this year was held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

The companies each presented before a panel of industry veterans, bankers, and venture capitalists who peppered the presenters with questions. The conference attendees, which this year numbered around 600, then voted. “We’re very happy with the result, which truly speaks for itself,” said company co-founder Frank Langston.  Root Orange focuses on generic domain leasing for small businessses

Root Orange has also been selected to present at this year’s South by Southwest (SxSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. The company is one of eight finalists competing in the Web Technology category. More than 300 companies applied to compete this year.

Root Orange accepted into government incubator (October 2, 2009)

SILVER SPRING, MD — Maryland-based startup Root Orange was admitted today into the Silver Spring Innovation Center.  The county-run incubator is located in downtown Silver Spring, MD and provides office for 25 of the area’s most elite startups.  It is part of the Business Innovation Network in Montgomery County, Maryland.  “We’re grateful to be in the company of other great startups,” co-founder Frank Langston said.   Root Orange focuses on generic domain leasing to small businesses using its revolutionary domain-splitting technology.

The move is an easy one for the Root Orange team.  “Fortunately, it’s only a few blocks away from our previous office space in Silver Spring,” explained co-founder Camilo Acosta.  The company was previously sub-leasing office space at the headquarters of The Media Network, a government communications company.

The incubator does not take an equity stake in participating startups.

Root Orange raises seed round (September 1, 2009)

SILVER SPRING, MD -- Washington, DC-area start up Root Orange announced yesterday that it has raised a seed round. “Despite the tough economy we found investors were very interested in our business,” said co-founder Frank Langston. The company first garnered attention after winning the prestigious Princeton University Business Plan Competition in May.  Root Orange focuses on generic domain leasing to small businesses using its revolutionary domain-splitting technology which allows many companies to simultaneously use the same domain name.

The company raised the undisclosed amount in what has been a tough year for new companies. Angel investors and venture capitalists nationwide have tightened their wallets as the economy has worsened over the last year. The company, however, was picky about its new equity holders. “We wanted to make sure our investors added strategic value to our business, not just money,” added Mr. Langston.

The Internet technology company would not disclose who it’s new investors are, but did say it was offered more money than it took. “We think the best companies are run leanly. Too much money is a recipe for failure,” said Mr. Langston.

The company plans a soft launch for the end of the year.

Root Orange wins the Princeton Business Plan Competition

(May 29, 2009)

PRINCETON, NJ -- Root Orange was the winner of the prestigious, $35,000 Princeton University Business Plan Competition, held every year during the University’s Reunions Weekend. The Root Orange team was led by the two co-founders, Camilo Acosta and Frank Langston. Both are graduates of the University.  The company's core business is generic domain leasing to small businesses using its revolutionary domain-splitting technology.

The team beat out five larger finalist teams that were led by MBA students and MBA degree-holders. The panel of five judges was composed of venture capitalist alumni of Princeton. “It was incredibly exciting to win, especially since the competition was very talented and had great ideas as well,” said Mr. Acosta after the event.

The competition is organized by the Princeton Entrepreneur’s Network, an alumni organization. In all, over 60 teams submitted business plans, of which six were chosen to present before the panel of judges at the final event. Previous winners of the competition include widely noted startups such as TerraCycle, Zandigo, and SCVNGR.

The official press release from the Princeton Entrepreneur’s Network can be found here:
http://www.princetonen.org/content/root-orange-wins-princetonen-35000-competition

Root Orange hires Tony Primerano away from AOL (April 6, 2009)

SILVER SPRING, Maryland -- Tony Primerano, Lead System Architect at AOL, has left to join Silver Spring, MD-based start-up Root Orange. The move ends several months of searching at Root Orange. Mr. Primerano will be the company’s new Vice President of Technology.  The company focuses on generic domain leasing to small businesses using its patent-pending, domain-splitting technology.

At AOL, Mr. Primerano was the Lead System Architect for AOL’s Instant Messenger chat system, Buddy network, and Open Chat products. He also served as Principal Software Engineer and Technical Manager for several AOL web properties including Message Boards, Hometown, Address Book and AIM Pages.

Mr. Primerano had spent nine years working at the once mighty Internet giant. “After working at large companies I felt the time was right to make a big impact at a smaller company.” His previous experience includes stints at Lockheed Martin and IBM.

As is customary at start-ups, Mr. Primerano will have significant responsibility.
“He’ll be in charge of our entire tech development, overseeing all technical staff,” said Root Orange spokesman Camilo Acosta. “We searched long and hard and are very happy he is joining us.”