Pittsburgh Innovates

Pittsburgh designer launches a line of luxury leather bags handmade in Colombia

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Beautiful leather tells its own story, Sandra Reiman explains.

Reiman is the founder and designer of Sandra Cadavid, a Pittsburgh-based startup that is making handcrafted leather satchels, clutches and handbags inspired by the 500 year-old fortress city of Cartagena, Colombia.

Reiman lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband and two daughters, but a part of her has always been with her beloved homeland of Colombia where she was born and lived until the age of seven.

Her interest in fashion began as a child when she would design concepts for luxury fashion products. Believing a career in the world of fashion to be a difficult and impractical undertaking, she worked at PNC for nine years. But her dream to design never waned.

With encouragement from her husband, and an MBA from Pitt's Katz School of Business, Sandra Cadavid was born.

All the handbags were designed in Pittsburgh and made by local artisans in Colombia, cut from custom-dyed alta gamma leather in shades of brown, black, cognac and white. She named two of the handbags for her daughters Sofia and Isabella.

Reiman is surprised by how quickly the bags have been selling. After meeting several celebrity stylists and posting a few pictures on Facebook earlier this year, she received 200 orders.

“Doors just started opening left and right and its been a whirlwind ever since,” says Reiman. “Friends kept sharing it with others and soon I was getting orders across the country. We haven’t had to do any marketing.”

The line will be sold in high-end boutiques across the country, as well as online on the website Boticca.com. The Asian market is next.

Reiman also hopes to hire several people in product design and web development—with an emphasis on social media—who preferably speak Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, Portuguese (Brazil) and French.

“I'm trying to build a global brand and feel strongly I can do that right here in Pittsburgh,” she says.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Sandra Reiman, Sandra Cadavid

Image of Sandra Reiman by Natalie Morris

CMU's Chris Harrison named a Top 35 Innovator Under 35 by MIT Review

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

CMU’s Chris Harrison, a creator of technologies that takes digital devices to unexpected places—like your forearm—was selected by MIT’s Technology Review as one of the world’s Top 35 Innovators Under 35.

Harrison has been finding new ways for humans to engage with technology for several years. In the beginning, there was Skinput, a project that challenged the way we use cellphones, allowing users to dial by tapping a projection of numbers on our skin or a table.

Then there's Lean and Zoom, a system that automatically adjusts the magnification of a computer monitor based on the distance you sit from the screen. This idea has already been commercialized by CMU’s QoLT Foundry.

Touché is a sensing technique Harrison helped to develop as part of a team at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, that enables objects to sense how they are being touched.

“I’m pretty stoked and honored,” says Harrison, who recently returned from a six-week honeymoon in Tanzania. “It’s one of the top awards young scientists can receive early in their careers. It’s a huge honor, as good as it gets.”

Harrison, 28, is a native of England and Ph.D. student in CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII). The idea is to take everyday devices—a computer mouse or a keyboard—and give it a nuance that makes it easier and more convenient to use, he says.

Harrison sees a future where desktops will become dinosaurs and play a waning role in everyday life. Mobile technologies will be found everywhere, from the workplace and hospitals to our kitchen appliances.

“The big high level tagline is empowering people to interact with small devices in big ways,” he says.

The list of the illustrious 35 was selected by a panel of experts and the editorial staff of Technology Review based on a evaluation of more than 250 nominations. The 35 winners for 2012 will be featured in the September/October issue of Technology Review.

Harrison will join other TR35 honorees in discussing their achievements at the EmTech MIT 2012 conference, at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge Oct. 24-26.

Writer: Debra Smit
Source: Chris Harrison, CMU

What's next for Yinztagram? The Pittsburgh parking chair perhaps?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Unless you’ve been under a wireless rock for the past week, you’ve probably snapped multiple pictures of yourself and friends heaving giant Primanti sandwiches over your head--or juggling Rick Sebak’s (like Mitt Romney).

The opportunities to add local color to your life are endless with Yinztagram.

“I really didn't see it becoming as popular as it has become, I thought it would remain an inside joke,” admits Colin Miller who created the app with Deeplocal colleague Matthew Pegula based on a funny idea suggested by friend Drew at Commonplace Coffee. “It’s nice to see that the community has a sense of humor when it comes to the Pittsburgh culture.”

Based on the reactions of friends to the beta version, I knew people would love it but didn't think it would be spread beyond my immediate friends, says Pegula.

The photo app that allows users to juxtapose iconic local images—from Green Belt signs to our own golden arches—on top of personal snapshots has taken Twitter and Facebook by storm. (See the best of pics in this weeks Buzz section.) The Primanti’s sandwich, in particular, has found its way into some rather hilarious situations.

Miller and Pegula sat they've enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame. Stay tuned. The duo has been taking requests and additional photo ops are in progress. Not wanting to give away too much, they revealed the possibility of the classic Pittsburgh parking chair, or perhaps an angle on the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

"We hope to release a version that lets us easily push out new content without having to go through the Apple review process,” Pegula says. “We’ve gotten lots of suggestions and additions and are always looking for more.”

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Colin Miller and Matt Pegula, Deeplocal

Image of Colin and Rick courtesy Deeplocal

Is natural always better? FutureDerm offers smart advice and products on skin care

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

FutureDerm is banking on intelligent women to take a more scientific approach to their cosmetic purchases.

Founded by Pitt graduate Nicki Zevola, the startup is two-fold: an online beauty product database that offers recommendations on a wide range of products, everything from boar-bristle hairbrushes to the latest in wrinkle creams. Zevola is also creating her own line of cosmetics that will be sold both online and to spas and salons across the country.

“No one is targeting smart women in the beauty field,” says Zevola, whose company is among the current class of Alpha Lab startups on the South Side. “I want to be the smart voice in the beauty sphere. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it's safer or more effective.”

Zevola isn’t shy about her aspirations to become the next Estee Lauder. A scientist and researcher in her own right, she believes that the best products stand up to scientific scrutiny. She also hopes to price her products reasonably below what similar products may cost.

Born in South Korea, Zevola grew up in Baldwin and graduated in 2008 from the University of Pittsburgh with degrees in Biological Sciences, Physics/Astronomy, and a minor in Chemistry from the B.S./M.D. program. She has received numerous research fellowships and awards, including one with the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Institute.

FutureDerm is not about “reinventing the wheel,” she says, but giving consumers the information and science they need to make informed choices about the products they buy. The company launched its first product this summer, a microencapsulated, time-released 0.5% retinol moisturizer.

A second product will roll out later this fall, a vitamin C and E serum. The product is highly stable because it is dispensed through a single dose pump which prevents it from oxidizing, she says.

Social media and blogging have proved key in the marketing of the products and education of her clients, she says. The blog, which gets about 200,000 hits a month, was highlighted in Shape magazine.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Nicki Zevola, FutureDerm

Thorley Industries rolls out The Breeze, the play yard that assembles itself; makes Inc 5000 again

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Bringing up baby seems to get easier every day, thanks to advances in mechanical technology. But this one takes infant gear to a new level of ease.

Pittsburgh-based Thorley Industries, also known as 4Moms, is rolling out a robotic, one-touch portable crib that pops open without breaking a sweat. If you’ve ever tried this at home with the older technology, you know that getting a portable crib to stand can be as confounding a Rubik’s Cube.

You know the joke, how many parents does it take to open a pack-and-play? All of them.

Dubbed “The Breeze,” Thorley’s latest entry on the baby gear market is as pretty to watch in action as their earlier products, the power-folding Origami stroller and the gently swaying mamaRoo. It also comes with a removable bassinet and a portable changing bag.

Thorley has raised $20 million led by Boston-based Bain Capital, the private investment firm founded by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, to expand company product development, invest in supply chain and logistics and initiate global expansion, says Thorley.

With headquarters in the Strip District, Thorley employs 52 and sells its product in retail stores across the country as well as 23 countries overseas. The company recently made the Inc 5000 list at #743 and was listed at #55 in the Consumer Products and Services category.

Watch it.

Writer: Debra Smit
Source: Emily Cappo, Thorley Industries

President Obama's plan to jumpstart the nation's manufacturing sector starts here

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

What will the creation of a TechBelt Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute mean for Southwestern Pennsylvania and the surrounding region?

Plenty. It will not only create a national model for the latest in manufacturing technologies, it has the potential to reinvigorate the local economy, bring federal resources to the region, create well-paying jobs and support local workforce development.

Last week the Obama Administration announced the creation of a new public-private institute, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), to be located in Youngstown, Ohio.

The institute represents a major win for the region and represents years of groundwork laid by the TechBelt Initiative, a multi-state organization that has been working to reinvigorate the regional economy through technology-based opportunities.

This is about accelerating product development and making manufacturing firms more efficient in a global economy, says DeWitt Peart, co-chair of the TechBelt Initiative representing the Allegheny Conference.

“This is our most significant win and why the tech belt was formed, to bring more federal resources into this mega region,” he says.

Selected through a competitive process, the award comes with $30 million in federal funding that will be matched by $40 million from a local consortium of businesses, universities, community colleges and nonprofits organizations from the TechBelt region of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

“Our proposal’s demonstration of an existing collaborative effort via the TechBelt Initiative is what set us apart from all of the other proposals in the nation,” says Gary Fedder, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “This institute will become a blueprint for how these institutes should be organized and run.”

Fedder is a member of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a group formed by President Obama several years ago and charged with exploring ways to stem the loss of manufacturing jobs in the country, support innovation and safeguard national security.

Obama’s plan calls for establishing a national network of 15 manufacturing innovation institutes (NNMI) around the country that will serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence and encourage more investment. Close proximity to colleges and universities, centers of innovation, is key to the plan.

The funding will support the innovation infrastructure needed to establish additive manufacturing technology throughout the region. Often called 3D printing, additive manufacturing creates components using digital blueprints, and involves a process of layering thin layers of materials on top of each other, a more energy efficient process.

The process is widely used for making goods composed of plastics, polymers and metals for the defense, aerospace, automotive and metals industries.

“This demonstrates that putting the parts together is greater than the whole,” says Peart. “That everyone is willing to share in this is the wave of the future.”

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: DeWitt Peart, TechBelt Initiative; Gary Fedder, CMU

StartUptown ignites the renewal of Uptown, expanding to the Paramount building this fall

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Can an urban campus that fosters the growth of technology and social innovation startups accelerate economic redevelopment in the rest of Uptown Pittsburgh?

Dale McNutt believes in the domino-effect beginning with StartUptown, an idea he envisioned more than five years ago with the purchase of a shuttered building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Jumonville Street.

McNutt, a graphic designer, and his wife remodeled the vacant, 100-year-old structure, converting the 12,700 square feet into a home for themselves and a cool space for some of the region’s most promising startups, many of them Alpha Lab companies graduating from the Innovation Works program.

By formalizing StartUptown as a nonprofit, McNutt hopes to attract further funding from public and private resources. The incubator has already received $250,000 from an Allegheny County CITF Grant.

This month, it was awarded 501c3 federal nonprofit status, a critical turning point, says McNutt.

Economic development happens through a culture of innovation, says McNutt. The best way to spark interest in the revitalization of Uptown is by attracting young companies who bring innovation, diversity and energy to the neighborhood—and maybe a few coffee shops and restaurants.

“It’s about developing Uptown through the creation of this campus, making it a destination, trying to bring in investors and raise public money,” McNutt explained during a BBQ last week that showcased "The Big Room" and the surrounding garden, an oasis of hope in a neighborhood that has struggled with urban blight.

With the help of UPSTART Collaborative, a loose group of people who are helping McNutt to enlarge the campus, StartUptown will expand its campus to the Paramount Pictures Film Exchange this fall. The Paramount addition will expand StartUptown’s footprint by 5,200 square feet, making room for up to 62 employees and a café.

Seventeen startups have worked over the past four years in StartUptown’s space, featuring high ceilings and below market-rate rent. Subsidized rents allow fledgling companies to get their footing. The model is proving successful and companies are growing.

A few, such as AllPoint and NoWait, may be ready for larger space soon. Career Imp, acquired in July by Professional Diversity Network, has moved to Chicago.

Instrumental to its success is the support of organizations like Urban Innovation21 and the Pittsburgh Central Keystone Innovation Zone (PCKIZ), Innovation Works, UPSTART Collaborative and Carnegie Mellon University.

"With Dale's visionary leadership, we are seeing entrepreneurs play a significant role in the transformation of Uptown,” says Bill Generett, president and CEO of Urban Innovation21.

“I’m excited that the companies in StartUptown are also concerned and working on solutions to connect the residents of that community to the transformation."

“The only problem is I’m a child of the 60s,” McNutt adds with a smile. “I want it to all happen now.”

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Dale McNutt, StartUptown; Bill Generett, Urban Innovation21

Who's hiring in Pittsburgh? ShowClix, DeepLocal, Pitt and Chorus Call post openings

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Each week Pop City provides the latest in company hiring news in Pittsburgh.

We’d like to note in doing so, we will only post jobs considered to be professional, life sustaining positions offered by many of the region's fastest growing companies.

Naturally, we don’t have room each week to tell you about every job out there. For example, the fact that the Fairmont Hotel is hiring 16 full and part-time positions, including bellman/doorman, cooks and business travel and sales managers.

Whoops. Okay, occasionally we’ll reserve the right to make exceptions.

And now the jobs. The following companies are hiring this week in Pittsburgh: ShowClix, Deeplocal, Chorus Call, Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, Gigapan, and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

ShowClix is hiring seven and is on the lookout for a software engineering intern.

Positions include mobile software engineer, front end software engineer, applications engineer, account manager, account executive and a customer care rep.

ShowClix is the region’s premiere online ticketing company, working with venues and performers to offer the latest software and apps for online ticket sales.

Deeplocal is hiring a programmer/software engineer and a creative to join their team, someone who can work with clients, engineers and designers and has excellent communication skills.

With Nathan Martin at the helm, the company has spent the last 10 years redefining the world of media through its “gutter technologies,” creating real world experiences that blur the boundary between technologies, digital space and the human spirit.

Chorus Call has three jobs in Pittsburgh for an audio conference specialist, video conference specialist and software engineer. The company, based in Monroeville, is raising the bar on video and audio teleconferencing technologies.

Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering is posting nine jobs for faculty positions. Jobs are in the Center for Energy, Center for Medical Improvement, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences.

Gigpan is hiring a web developer and QA engineer for its Pittsburgh satellite office at the CreateLab at CMU.

Gigapan Systems makes interactive high-resolution imaging, hardware and digital services products for creating and displaying images in large formats. The company is based in Portland and serves customers like National Geographic, Major League Baseball, the BBC, and the Discovery Channel.

And finally, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is looking for a full time marketing manager. Job seekers should Email info@pittsburghparks.org.

To post a job, shoot us an email.

Writer: Deb Smit

And from previous weeks...

Google is hiring for a variety of technical positions, engineers all, including software engineers, data scientists and evaluators, product managers, system engineers and technical program managers. Also a human resources business partner.

PNC is posting 340+ jobs across all sectors, everything from mortgage and technical specialists to business bankers and systems analysts.

Sierra w/o Wires reports this week the hiring of eight people, everything from experienced engineers to an entry level support analyst.

PNC is posting 340+ jobs across all sectors, everything from mortgage and technical specialists to business bankers and systems analysts.

Aquion Energy is hiring more than 20 people including a director of research and development. In fact, the company, which plans to establish a manufacturing center in Pittsburgh, is always on the lookout for intelligent, committed innovative thinkers to join their world-class team of scientists, engineers and business people.

Avere Systems, developers of high performance storage solutions for data enterprise centers, is at 75 and continues to grow. The company has 10 job openings including: product marketing manager, technical writer, regional sales manager, inside sales rep and various engineers.

The Pittsburgh headquarter of ANSYS in Canonsburg is always hiring, the company reports. Currently the developer of engineering simulation software has more than a dozen postings for its home office, including software developers, engineers and human resources.

Catch Pop City Innovation and Tech news on Essential Pittsburgh each week!

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Join Pop City innovation editor Deb Smit each week on Essential Pittsburgh and hear about the latest in tech and innovation news in the region.

Pop City will be partnering with Essential Pittsburgh on a regular basis to talk about Pittsburgh's emerging new economy. The show generally airs on Wednesdays during the noon hour on 90.5 FM. Find out more details behind the companies in the region who are hiring as well as the latest news from Carnegie Mellon, local startups and the region's tech giants.

CMU's new Pedo-Biometrics Lab--your feet say more about you than a fingerprint

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

When it comes to the science of identifying who we are, our feet are uniquely suited to the purpose.

Ottawa-based Autonomous ID has partnered with CMU and has invested $1.5 million a year to establish a Pedo-Biometrics Research and Identity Automation Lab here. The lab, to be located on campus, will expand the university’s research in the field of biometrics beyond the study of the iris to our feet.

Pedo-Biometrics represents a new frontier in the field, an area of research that has been developing scientific techniques over time to identify that we humans are, in fact, the people we say we are. Traditionally the identification has been done through fingerprinting or scans of the iris, explains Marios Savvides, Electrical and Computer Engineer at CMU.

Scientists have known for years that feet, as well as gait, are unique to each person. Sensors placed in the soles of shoes can check the pressure of the feet, monitor the gait and a create a master file that identifies each person. These changes can also be monitored as we age.

Monitoring aspects of the foot may also prevent or assist in the diagnosis diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s and dementia, says Savvides.

A sole insert can more easily facilitate the identification process in high security situations. Entering into a monitored and secure area, such as a military base or nuclear power plant, could be as easy as a car passing through an EZ-Pass exchange on the Turnpike, says Savvides.

The lab will develop a prototype for Autonomous ID, which has been working since 2009 to create an inexpensive ID system.

“This new frontier is very exciting,” says Savvides. “Looking at both the biometric side and the biomedical side and how they work together is the really exciting part.”

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Marios Savvides, CMU

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers raise the Barre on vegan snacks

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Who better to trust when choosing a healthy snack than two ballet dancers who have spent their whole lives maintaining their body?

For Julia Erickson and Aaron Ingley, their body is their career. Erickson is a full time principal dancer at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT). Ingley danced with PBT until 2008 and dances now as a freelancer.

The two have teamed up to create Barre, a nutritious, vegan snack for both the dance world and general consumers. Playing on the word barre, French for the ballet apparatus, Erickson cooked up the idea in her kitchen from whole, natural food ingredients.

“It had kind of the perfect goldilocks just-right combination,” says Erickson who eats it during rehearsals. “It gave me great energy.”

Fellow dancers gave Erickson positive feedback on the experiment, and, joined by Ingley, went to work making more bars to sell at farmers markets, bake sales, and to fellow dancers. The bars are now made in Ohio and the duo is selling it, with the help of two part-time employees, within stores and online.

Barre is currently selling at about 160 dance locations throughout the country, as well as in Whole Foods, and Giant Eagle Market District will begin carrying them in the fall. Erickson and Ingley plan to continue expanding to the general market.

“We’ve had incredible feedback from the dance world,” said Erickson. “They love the idea.”

The bar comes in 3 flavors. Each flavor's name is a play on a dance term or reference in pop culture. There’s pirouette cinnamon pecan, black swan chocolate berry, and ballerina spirulina.

A portion of Barre’s profits are given back to charity, including Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School.

“Pittsburgh has been an amazing place to start a business,” said Erickson. “It’s a great city I think for a businessman, because it’s small enough to have that community feel but large enough that--” “it has all the resources,” finished Ingley.

Writer: Kaija Nealon

Source: Julia Erickson and Aaron Ingley, Real Food Barre

Tiversa buys a building downtown and launches a music division. Hiring

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

When it comes to the business of security, owning the building you work in is critical, says Robert Boback.

The company's CEO is moving Tiversa, a homegrown P2P intelligence services company, downtown and doubling in size from 25 to 50 people this year.

It's just the beginning of exciting developments to come for the former Cranberry firm. Tiversa provides patented technologies to security-driven businesses and government entities--think Goldman Sachs and the FBI--keeping the most sensitive of online information secure.

The company purchased the 606 Liberty building, near PNC and the Fairmont, for $2.6 million and plans to use 25,000 square feet of the 48,000 square-feet of space to grow the four separate businesses: government, enterprise, consumer applications and identity theft protection and—a twist—a media relations business that is attracting famous artists in the recording industry.

The new business, called Dreya, will provide artists with information to help them identify their fan-base, pinpointing geographical areas where they are most popular, which will in turn help them market themselves and tour more efficiently. It’s information that has become unattainable in this age of digital downloading, says Boback.

“This is the most exciting side of the business,” says Boback. “We’re in ongoing discussions with multiple celebrities, very well known people. We can’t reveal anything yet.”

It won’t be the first time Tiversa has surfaced on the national radar. Just last year Tiversa was conducting investigative searches for U.S. agencies when it uncovered some key evidence on WikiLeaks. In March of 2009, Tiversa discovered a security breach involving compromised blueprints of President Obama’s helicopter.

Founded in 2003 by Boback, CEO, and partner Sam Hopkins, who recently retired, Tiversa has managed its growth with only one round of funding. The firm has additional consultants in DC and Los Angeles.

Hires will be in the area of engineers and administrative and finance.

In file sharing world, we don’t encounter competition, says Boback. We have 23 patents issued and 70 still pending, a patent strategy that gives us competition-proof positioning.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Robert Boback, Tiversa

Wildly innovative CMU researchers receive nod from Obama

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Two Carnegie Mellon University researchers received the highest honor in the land from President Barack Obama this week.

Luis Von Ahn, 33, associate professor of Computer Science, was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, bestowed upon professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. John Kitchin, an associate professor of chemical engineering, was also honored.

Von Ahn has been repeatedly feted for his innovative research in human computation as it relates to machine translation, which has set the standard for human-computer cooperation. Google acquired his online puzzle tool, reCAPTCHA, a ubiquitous presence online today. His most recent project, Duolingo, helps people to learn a second language through online text translation.

Kitchin and his team developed an electrochemical separation method for separating oxygen from air at ambient pressure and temperature, work that is advancing the future of clean energy through CO2 capture.

The duo were among 96 recipients announced by the White House. Von Ahn was among 20 nominated by the National Science Foundation. Kitchin was nominated by the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.

In other award news, William “Red” Whittaker, a professor in CMU’s Robotics Institute, received the 2012 Simon Ramo Medal this summer by IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization.

Whittaker, the force behind the Tartan racing team that developed a driverless SUV, and the lunar moon race, has developed more than 60 robots through the years, many that work in inhospitable environments, places such as contaminated nuclear plants, abandoned mines, active volcanoes.

The medal, sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation, recognizes Whittaker for his pioneering contributions to mobile autonomous robotics, field applications of robotics and systems engineering.

His current focus is Astrobotic Technology, a CMU spinoff firm that is developing space robotics technology to support planetary missions and organizing a commercial venture to land a robot on the moon in 2015. He also founded two other spinoffs--RedZone Robotics and Workhorse Technologies--and the Robotics Institute’s National Robotics Engineering Center.

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: CMU

Branding Brand sees the future and it looks mobile. Expanding and hiring.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The future is mobile. To survive we need an effective tool that connects us with the consumer revolution. In other words, a mobile phone, says Branding Brand CEO Chris Mason.

Founded in 2008, the South Side company has grown from three CMU friends and grads--Chris Mason, Joey Rahimi and Christina Koshzow--to 62 people today. The expansive growth is credited, in part, to the company's success in mobile app and website development.

It was Dicks Sporting Goods that gave Branding Brands an opportunity to show the world what it could do in the emerging social media and mobile space. Today clients are local, national and international, including Sephora, American Eagle and GNC.

Nearly 25% of all the commerce coming to a company’s website today is through the mobile phone. Our growth is a reflection of confidence in Branding Brand’s ability to successfully connect with an important segment of the buying population through mobile and social media, says Mason.

Branding Brand recently moved into a new space, 14,000 square feet near the Birmingham Bridge, below Schell Games, in a former pool hall. In addition to a soon-to-be-announced round of funding, the company is in hiring mode and plans to be up to 70 people soon.

There are job openings in several areas including software engineering, account managers, project managers and technical writing, says Mason.

In addition to retail, Branding Brand is talking with the transit sector about mobile needs for subway systems. A new billboard campaign is also driving growth.

Being in Pittsburgh gives us a competitive edge, Mason says. The local universities offer access to talented computer science graduates.

Retailers used to think of the consumer in a compartmentalized sense, says Mason. Business was seen as being generated by the store, catalogues and online store.

Mobile creates ubiquity. It has that Apple effect of just working, Mason says. This translates to billions of dollars going through mobile POS systems. These seamless experiences are part of what’s changing the world.

“Everyone who is slow to the gate will suffer,” he adds.

Writer: Debra Smit

Source: Chris Mason, Branding Brand

Chicago company serving diverse professionals buys Careerimp; CivicScience raises $2.86M

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Pittsburgh startup Careerimp was purchased by Chicago-based Professional Diversity Network (PDN), a major provider of networking websites and job boards for culturally diverse professionals.

The price was not disclosed.

A CMU spinout, Project Olympus and AlphaLab company, Careerimp developed the successful resume optimization tool, Resunate.com, used by both job seekers and career service providers.

The company’s Pittsburgh office will remain in Startuptown, staffed by four people; two staff members, including CEO Ayan Kishore, have moved to Chicago, reports Mona Abdel-Halim of CareerImp.

Careerimp products will be maintained under its current name and branding. Careerimp is hoping to find a strategic partner to take over the Regional Internship Center (RIC) of Southwestern, Pa., which it currently manages.

“They (PDN) were looking for something that would bolster their job board,” says Abdel-Halim. “They target different demographics and populations. There’s a lot of synergy between our companies.”

PDN’s goal is to impact access and opportunity for diverse professionals as they grow their careers. With more than 1.9 million members, PDN offers a free array of online resources for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women, veteran, gay, transgender and differently abled professionals.

“Careerimp is a great example of how students with a great idea can begin to create a successful business while still in school,” said Kit Needham of Project Olympus, CMU. “We are very proud of their success and hope our students follow their example.”

In other startup news, Strip District-based CivicScience has raised $2.86 million from Boston-based New Atlantic Ventures and Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises. The company has also doubled its staff to 12, including one in Detroit, as a result of the funding round.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Mona Abdel-Halim, Careerimp; John Dick, CivicScience

Entrepreneurs : Pittsburgh Innovates