International Entrepreneurs Visit Textura Corporation During 2014 GIST Entrepreneurship Journey

CHICAGO, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Textura Corporation (NYSE: TXTR), the leading provider of collaboration solutions for the construction industry, announced today that it welcomed entrepreneurs from 12 promising international technology startups, who met with Textura executives to learn about the company's journey from startup to its successful initial public offering. 

The entrepreneurs on June 12 visited Textura's Deerfield, Illinois, headquarters as part of the 2014 GIST Entrepreneurship Journey program. The program is part of the Global Innovation through Science & Technology (GIST) Initiative, which builds entrepreneurial ecosystems through startup competitions, training, networking, and interactive mentorship in 54 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The GIST Initiative is a partnership led by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global, an independent non-profit that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration. Partners for the Chicago portion of the Entrepreneurship Journey are the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition as well as 1871, which is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups.

The entrepreneurs, who traveled to Chicago and Washington, D.C., on the Entrepreneurship Journey, represent startup companies in Jordan, Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Tunisia. They were competitively selected to take part in the program as the GIST alumni with the most outstanding innovations and most successful operating businesses.

The GIST entrepreneurs joined Textura executives for a half-day workshop on the IPO process and managing the transition from private to public company. Textura went public last June in a successful IPO that saw its shares rise nearly 40% on their first day of trading.

"Meeting with Textura was an inspiring and exciting experience that has helped me better understand some of the key requirements to progress from startup to running a large and successful company. I found it especially helpful to learn about the evolution of Textura's business and to hear their perspective on navigating the IPO process," said Natali Ardianto, GIST entrepreneur and Co-Founder and CTO, Tiket.com in Indonesia.  Added Catherine Kiguru, Chief Innovator, Ukall Limited in Kenya, "It was fascinating to hear about all the work and planning that is required to IPO and the organizational and process changes that are needed to support being a public company."

Jillian Sheehan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Textura, said: "We were honored to host the GIST entrepreneurs and to share our own experiences in building and running a successful public company. The fact that the GIST program identified Textura as the company with whom they wanted to visit in Chicago made us proud and reinforces our achievements. Helping other technology innovators achieve their aspirations is one way we can give back. We're excited to continue our dialogue with the group in the hope that our experience in building a successful business will help them on their own journeys."

Yuritzi Acosta, Associate Manager, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, CRDF Global, commented, "It is people and companies like Textura that help strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging markets." In addition to visiting Textura, the GIST entrepreneurs participated in several days of mentorship and training in Chicago, and they had an opportunity to pitch their products to a panel of judges. Learn more about the 12 participants and their companies here.

About the GIST Initiative
The Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative empowers young science and technology entrepreneurs to realize their dreams to improve quality of life through economic prosperity. The GIST Initiative builds entrepreneurial ecosystems in over 54 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, by identifying and coaching promising entrepreneurs through its competitions, networking, training, online social media platform, and interactive mentorship.  The GIST Initiative is a partnership led by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global.

About CRDF Global 
CRDF Global is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1995 to promote international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, training, and services. CRDF Global has nearly 20 years of experience managing international research funding programs and supporting emerging science and technology infrastructure in more than 40 countries in Eurasia, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

About Textura
Textura is the leading provider of collaboration and productivity tools for the construction industry.  Our solutions serve all construction industry professionals across the project lifecycle - from takeoff, estimating, design, pre-qualification and bid management to submittals, field management, LEED^® management and payment. 

Textura's collaboration platform and online product suite represent the first time the industry has all the tools needed to manage their business in an integrated fashion to save time and money and reduce exposure to risks.  With award winning technology, world-class customer support and consistent growth, Textura is leading the construction industry's technology transformation.  www.texturacorp.com   

Contact:
Textura Corporation
866-839-8872
[email protected]

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SOURCE Textura Corporation