DEMO: GageIn looks to redefine how businesses collect data

GageIn is one of 53 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Spring 2011 event taking place this week in Palm Desert, Calif. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.

Increasing competition makes keeping up with companies in your network more important than ever. Yet this can be difficult to do with the overwhelming amount of information we receive every day. GageIn, which is launching today at the DEMO conference in Palm Desert, Calif., wants to solve this problem by redefining how users collect data on businesses in their networks.

Founded on the belief that if businesses are provided the right information at the right time they will make smarter decisions, GageIn allows users to follow companies and receive real-time information on them from press releases, media coverage, blogs, and more. The company uses a proprietary algorithm to aggregate and categorize business information, which it then allows users to easily filter through.

In addition to aggregating content, GageIn allows employees to collaborate by sending notifications when colleagues comment on URLs.

Although the company does not have any direct competitors, on some levels it does compete with LinkedIn, Jive/Yammer/Chatter, and Hoovers, which is a data service provider that aggregates and sells company information.

The company brought in over 200 business users in a trial period, and its goal is to increase its user base to 100K by the end of 2012. The company will provide its existing features for free and will launch a premium model with additional features.

GageIn, which was founded in 2009, has 21 employees and is headquartered in the Bay Area. The company is led by Chief Executive Luosheng Peng (pictured), who is a serial entrepreneur and previous founder of InnoPath Software, a company for which he raised over $50M and grew to over 200 employees. GageIn has raised over $1 million in angel funding.