Grad News Roundup: January 31st, 2012

Below is a roundup of Founder Institute Graduate news over the past week:   

• @iRewardChart Won Best Parenting App Award (Best App Ever Awards): iRewardChart, an iPhone app for parents who want to reward their children for good behavior and keep them motivated, won the Best Parenting App for the second year in a row in the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. The company, and its Founder Satyajit Sahu, are Graduates of the Silicon Valley Founder Institute.  
• FI Grad @spinnakr Wins the 9th Founder Showcase (Spinnakr): Spinnakr, a service for displaying targeted messaging on your website based on the specific audience segments, won the grand prize at the 9th Founder Showcase pitch competition. Spinnakr and its Co-Founder Michael Mayernick graduated from the Washington D.C. Founder Institute, and is also in the current 500 Startups class. 
• Focus on Cultivating Persistence (Zirtual): In a story posted to her blog Escaping the 9 to 5, Maren Kate, Founder of Zirtual, details her first year experience as the Founder of a new startup.
• FI Grad @udemy Mentioned in Annual Letter From Bill Gates (Udemy): Udemy, a crowdsourced learning platform, was mentioned in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation annual letter from Bill Gates referencing innovation in education. The company,and it's Co-Founders Gagan Biyani and Eren Bali, are Graduates of the Silicon Valley Founder Institute.