Originally launched as RedWire in 2008 and then rebranded to Sprouter in August 2009, announced on their blog earlier today the site will be shut down as of August 2011. Sprouter suffered from a lack strong brand identify, with many people not being able to describe exactly what the service offered, however they did provide a newsletter that included profiles of startups across North America, but most were from Toronto. They also offered a series of free events that attracted early-stage startups and provided networking among each other.
According to a blog post the site is shutting down due to “capital constraints” as Founder Sarah Prevette shares. I’m sure the team will go on to do other things as they were all warm and friendly, unfortunately this was an offering without a business model and unique offering that could command strong revenues.