BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Startup in the TechCrunch Disrupt Finals!

Louisiana startup Invoice ASAP is in the finals at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, and will compete this afternoon against five rivals such as San Francisco-based Ccloop.

Invoice ASAP, the cloud-based invoice app that allows you to easily create and send professional invoices, estimates, sales orders and receipts, was voted as Tuesday’s favorite from the Startup Alley at TechCrunch Disrupt, and successfully made it through the first round of competitions last night, competing in a field of 30 startups.

Startup Alley is a special exposition floor at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that gives young startups (less than 2 years old and with less than $2 million raised) the opportunity to demo their products and vie for a chance at the TechCrunch Battlefield.

In a conversation this morning with Paul Hoeper, the Founder and CEO of Invoice ASAP, he said his team’s experience at TechCrunch Disrupt has already gone beyond the goals they set for the event.  This afternoon’s competition puts his company in front of potential users, partners, and investors, and is a fantastic opportunity for his young company.

Paul is no stranger to startups.  He has been involved in angel and venture capital-backed startups for 10 years.  Invoice ASAP is launching live at TechCrunch Disrupt, so he has a plan for what’s next for his company, regardless of the outcome of this afternoon’s competition. Plans include developing the product and inking deals with distribution parties, finding the right investor or investors to participate in the next funding round, and building the fulltime development, sales, and marketing teams to support the growing customer base.

When asked what advice he would give to fledgling startups, he was quick to provide pointed advice, born from hard-earned lessons.

1.       Stay on top of project management. Use tools such as Basecamp or Unsuddle to keep things on track.

2.       Keep the team engaged constantly, and require them to respond within 24 hours. Unresponsive subcontractors or part time workers can crater a project.

3.       Fire quickly. If the subcontractor or employee isn’t up to snuff, move on.  Being slow to fire can cost a startup dearly in time and money.

Stay tuned for more on Paul Hoeperand the Invoice ASAP team. The TechCrunch Disrupt finals are this afternoon at 2:30 CST.

Invoice ASAP is headquartered in New Orleans, LA.