The Creative Coast Alliance provides connections to key development, business resources

(Savannah, GA) November 13, 2007 – At the conclusion of the Savannah Economic Development Authority board meeting today, the executive team of Balaya LLC, a provider of advanced web applications that help members of any group communicate and collaborate more effectively from desktops and mobile devices, announced that they have chosen to headquarter in Savannah.

Balaya’s selection of Savannah is t…he direct result of efforts by The Creative Coast Initiative (TCCi), now TCCa, to introduce the young company to key resources as it approaches its initial product launch. Balaya’s founders had planned to headquarter in the Virginia-Maryland corridor, and were searching nationwide for a development firm to implement preliminary product designs. During that search, Balaya founder Bob Nunnally contacted TCCi’s Chris Miller, who introduced him to Savannah’s Smack Dab Studios, a web development and design company that TCCi helped to relocate from Atlanta in 2005.

“Far more than any other firm that bid on our project, Smack Dab understood our concept and direction, and provided the depth of services necessary to take us all the way to market” says Ian Bramson, Balaya co-founder and president. “We engaged Smack Dab, and because of the pivotal role they would play we began considering Savannah among our headquartering options. Very quickly, TCCi began introducing us to other highly capable, local resources that we needed then or would need soon. We realized that Savannah provides all the resources we need to succeed, so we decided to call it home.”

In addition to Smack Dab Studios, an award-winning, full-service web development and graphic design firm, Balaya is working with:

• Nathan Belzer of Belzer PC for legal representation
• Rob Cordasco of Cordasco, Sundem & Powell, PC as chief financial advisor
• Jennifer Abshire of Abshire Public Relations & Marketing and Bob Pritchard of Carabiner Communications for public relations and communications assistance

“We get validation of Savannah as the right location for us almost daily,” says Bob Nunnally, Balaya co-founder and COO. “It has a growing high-tech community and an abundance of talent. Key organizations like the Savannah Economic Development Authority, the Creative Coast Alliance, and the Advanced Technology Development Center are in place and interrelating extremely well. Add to that the great colleges and creative energy in the area, and this is clearly the place for us to be.”

Balaya will officially announce its initial product offering in December, when it will begin a pilot program with beta testing organizations. A national product launch is slated for the first quarter of 2008.

About Balaya

Balaya is social technology devoted to deepening the bonds between close-knit groups. Balaya provides applications, capabilities and tools to help families, friends and organizations better collaborate, interrelate, organize, share and communicate. With Balaya’s solutions, group members can bypass the clutter of email/Web services and interconnect directly from their desktops and mobile devices. For more information visit www.balaya.com.

About Smack Dab Studios

Formerly based in Atlanta, now headquartered in Savannah, Smack Dab Studios is an award-winning full-service Web development and graphic design firm. Under the leadership of chief creative officer Hannah L. Meurer and chief technical officer Blake Ellis, Smack Dab Studios develops logos, brochures, Web applications and other collateral materials to create cohesive, successful brands for a wide range of clients. The service-oriented firm also creates customized Web sites, providing a seamless array of design and marketing tools to help clients reach their target audience. For more information visit www.smackdabstudios.com.

About The Creative Coast Alliance

The Creative Coast Alliance (TCCa) is a 501©(6) organization dedicated to attracting and growing knowledge-based businesses to add to Savannah’s growing higher-wage economic capacity. TCCa was formed in 2007 in a merger of The Creative Coast Initiative (TCCi) and the Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance (cBETA). For more information, visit www.thecreativecoast.org.

About the Savannah Economic Development Authority

The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) works to improve the standard of living for all citizens of Chatham County by stimulating the economy through the attraction of new investment, the creation of jobs and the support of established businesses in the area. In 2006, SEDA was involved in the creation of 1,679 estimated new jobs at build out and the generation of $372,000,000 in new investment in Chatham County. For more information, visit www.seda.org.

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