Zirtual was CEO Tested and Approved and Piggybackr Continues to Help Kids Reach Fundraising Goals

The Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,000 new technology companies across 55 cities and six continents.

Below is a roundup of Founder Institute Graduate news over the past week. To get grad news in real time follow us on Twitter @founding and for more startup insights, subscribe to our weekly Founder Insight newsletter here.

• Cheryl Yeoh's Week With a Zirtual Virtual Assistant (VentureBeat); Silicon Valley grad, Zirtual, connects busy people with quality, long-term virtual assistants.

• Chicago grad, DigitalGroundUp, participated in The Challenge Cup Chicago (Challenge Cup); DigitalGroundUp is an interactive technology platform that teaches users how to build their digital marketing strategy from the ground up.

• Los Angeles graduate, Realty Mogul, Passes $8 Million in Funded Transactions and $500,000 Paid to Investors (Crowdsourcing.org); Realty Mogul is a crowdfunding platform for real estate.

• New York grad, Zipmark, was featured in the New York Times as a new option small businesses looking to go paperless (New York Times); Zipmark builds infrastructure that enables instant and secure mobile payments.

• Silicon Valley grad, Piggybackr, announces 1 Million Leaders Challenge (ABC 7 News); Piggybackr is a crowdfunding platform for kids.