PaperG

In general, I'm skeptical about companies who claim to have solved the local advertising problem. Okay -- I'm really skeptical. Like any other bottom-up business, local advertising is a volume game, and even worse, the customer profile for a local ad server has shallow pockets and isn't tech savvy in the slightest. In my opinion, companies like Yodle (will someone please tell this company it's a scam business!) and Merchant Circle are lucky to be alive right now (wouldn't be surprised if they weren't in 6 months).

However, when I stumbled upon PaperG, a startup out of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute that won the 2008 Harvard Innovation Challenge, I wasn't overwhelmed with cyncism. In fact, I was rather impressed. The company has made by far the best attempt I have seen yet at local advertising. The PaperG's flagship product, Flyerboard, is a virtual bulletin board with flyer ads. When site visitors hover over an enticing flyer, they are prompted to view a larger version. Clicking through brings up an overlay with a larger view of the flyer, a description, contact details and the ability to share the flyer with friends without leaving the page.Continue Reading...