Total Communicator Solutions, Inc. receives MetroConnect Prize to assist with international growth

July 3, 2015 - San Diego, CA – Total Communicator Solutions, Inc.®, a leader in proximity mobile marketing systems and communication, is pleased to announce it has been awarded $10,000 as part of the MetroConnect Prize, an export assistance grant to help firms pursue foreign markets. This funding will allow Total Communicator Solutions to enter the European market. The award was announced today at a press conference featuring San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other key elected officials and business leaders.

"Part of the challenge with exporting is that in order for it to work, whatever works in the U.S. doesn't necessarily automatically work overseas, so you have to have some presence, you have to have some understanding of what's going on in the local area" said Erik Bjontegard, President and Founder of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc. "We are expanding into Europe and to help with those efforts, we have partnered with companies such as Worldline, Unacast, Nordialog to expand into other markets around the globe". "This prize will help cover some of our costs where we will train our channel partners in Oslo, Manchester, London and Barcelona and meet clients there in August."

Funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co., the MetroConnect Prize grants 15 San Diego companies $10,000 each in order to assist with access to foreign markets. The MetroConnect Prize is part of the Go Global San Diego Initiative, which aims to help San Diego maximize its economic competitiveness and prosperity through increased global engagement. MetroConnect is administered by San Diego Regional EDC. In March 2015, Mayor Faulconer, JPMorgan Chase and others gathered more than 300 key business leaders at the Go Global San Diego Summit to discuss San Diego's ability to grow jobs and opportunity in the region. The MetroConnect Prize was the first action item announced at the Summit, aimed at assisting small and medium-sized enterprises.

Companies in innovative industries throughout San Diego were encouraged to fill out an application. In total, 64 companies applied to receive the prize. Companies were selected based on a variety of criteria, including interest in new markets, interest in targeted metro markets, assessed impact of funds, current international plan and more. A panel of judges, including representatives from Biocom, CONNECT, Qualcomm Ventures, Quantum Designs, San Diego Regional EDC, Software San Diego and Wireless Life Sciences Alliance selected the winners.

"We applaud Total Communicator Solutions for taking the next step going global," said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of San Diego Regional EDC. "The MetroConnect Prize is essentially a business accelerator program for globally-minded companies. The funding and guidance provided by the prize will help Total Communicator Solutions explore new world markets, resulting in economic growth for San Diego."
Global engagement is essential if San Diego wants to catalyze its economy and workforce. The benefits of companies going global and engaging foreign markets are well-documented. According to the Brookings Institute, companies that are global pay their employees higher wages, are less likely to go out of business and spur more efficient development of technology and R&D.

Announced at the press conference today, MetroConnect Prize winners will also be eligible for the grand prize – an additional $50,000 to help one or two companies advance their global agendas. In late 2015, MetroConnect recipients – including Total Communicator Solutions, will be invited to share their stories for the judges and compete for the grand prize.

About Total Communicator Solutions
Founded in early 2012 by former Qualcomm executive Erik Bjontegard, Total Communicator Solutions Inc. develops innovative, fully integrated mobile marketing communication platforms and customized applications to help clients connect with users, customers and future users in meaningful and measurable ways on mobile devices. Its precision mobile marketing platform, Spark Compass™, integrates the Gimbal secure proximity beacons from Gimbal, Inc., enabling the delivery of customized and relevant content for real-time consumer engagement. With numerous beacon installations in locations across the U.S. incorporating thousands of proximity beacons, the Spark Compass Platform is placing beacon networks in numerous market leading locations such as hospitals, university facilities and convention centers. Total Communicator Solutions Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Tenerife, Mexico, Manchester, Oslo and New Zealand. Visit http://www.sparkcompass.com for more information.

About San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation's (EDC's) mission is to maximize the region's economic prosperity and global competitiveness. As an independently funded non-profit fueled by more than 160 companies and organizations. EDC works to attract, retain and expand companies and the talent pool across the region's three traded economies: military, tourism and innovation. sandiegobusiness.org