Pittsburgh Innovates

Fiks: Reflective bike tape for rims that pop at night. HIRING

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

East-Ender Nick Drombosky wanted a simple solution to keep bicyclists safe at night. Something aesthetically stylish. No zip-ties, batteries or bulky electronics.

A successful Kickstarter campaign later (he hit $1000 within 30 hours and ended last December with $8,000 and 281 backers), Drombosky opened his home business, Fiks: Reflective Rim Stripes, retroflective adhesives for bike wheel rims.

The reflective self-adhesive rim stripes attach directly to the rims of a bike, he explains. Made from a high-grade commercial retro-reflective film, they are designed specifically for bicycle wheels to ensure a precise fit. They also can be easily removed.

“What is great about Fiks: Reflective is they dramatically increase the nighttime visibility of bicycle riders without adding weight, affecting aerodynamics, or needing batteries," he explains. "The wheels pop out in the dark."

With the help of bloggers and social media spreading the word, Drombosky has distributed more than 300 sets of reflective rim stripes to 15 countries and across the U.S. He has also opened an online store and is talking with several potential distributors, including a deal that could put Fiks: Reflective in more than 600 retail stores in the EU.

The product, which starts at $14 a wheel, is cost effective, easy to install, and can't be stolen. It also comes in a variety of colors so it can be integrated into the style and color scheme of a bike, he notes.

"The film reflects light back from the same source," he explains. "It's the similar to the material used on traffic control signs and police cars."

Drombosky, formerly a partner in a company specializing in high-end car detailing and home décor products, sources all his materials locally. Production is moving production to Point Breeze where he expects to hire four to six full and part-time employees this spring.

He is also launching a line of reflective street clothes with wicking and moisture resistance properties for urban dwellers who are out and about at night.

"I'm having trouble keeping up with demand," he admits. "It's way bigger than I expected. The potential market is huge."

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Nick Drombosky

Hey Hollywood! The future of film technology lives in Pittsburgh. Companies on the radar.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Pittsburgh's growing reputation as a major motion picture production location is beginning to rub off on our entrepreneurial community.

The Pittsburgh Film Office and Idea Foundry are collaborating to raise the visibility of talent and technologies in our own emerging entertainment tech sector. The effort isn't new; it dovetails with Pittsburgh Technology Council's and Steeltown Entertainment Project's ongoing work to bring jobs and opportunities to the region.

"We saw this as a chance to push these companies out so production companies know who is here and what they can use. Special and visual effects is the future in this industry," says Dawn Keezer of the Pittsburgh Film Office.

Walt Disney Animation Studios' Andy Hendrickson, Chief Technical Officer, was in Pittsburgh last week to discuss opportunities with the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association. While the event was closed to the press, the message was clear: Pittsburgh is on the radar.

"Andy gave validity to what we are doing," says Mike Matesic of Idea Foundry. "Disney wants to engage talent and capabilities here that offer a virtual expansion of their organizations. Our young companies have this unique blend."

The talk was directed to investors at PVCA who write checks and support these companies, Matesic adds. "We wanted them (investors) to hear the message; there's value in what's going on here."

Small success stories are beginning to emerge. Among the wins to date:

+Pittsburgh-based V-teractive created an app for Facebook to help promote a Pittsburgh independent film, It Came From Yesterday.

+Productions Masters Inc. and Garrison Hughes worked with David Conrad, star of The Ghost Whisperer, to create a cool video introducing local entertainment technology companies to filmmakers and producers outside the region. Watch!

+Lightwave International projected the Bat Signal onto the Highmark building in downtown Pittsburgh to welcome The Dark Knight Rises. The signal attracted national press and led to further discussions with director Christopher Nolan about Lightwave's capabilities and experience in other film productions.

+Evil Genius Designs was recently tapped for a pilot to deploy its technology platform in one of Cedar Fair's amusement parks following conversations between the Screen Actor's Guild and Yellow Submarine Marketing Communications, the local ad agency servicing Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.

+GenevaMars, Electric Owl Studios and Interbots are collaborating to digitally relaunch the Pittsburgh-born Cappelli & Company children's brand and TV show.

+Animal is creating computer animated characters for On the Rocks, a television script by Howard March in pre-production.

"The program is successful, we just need to make it bigger and better. Finally, it's being understood that the tax credit affects our creative economy," says Keezer.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Dawn Keezer, The Pittsburgh Film Office and Mike Matesic, Idea Foundry

Beyond March Madness, Bracketz for business innovation

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Move over March Madness, Bracketz is not just for sports fans.

Cynthia and Alen Knapic are developing online tournament-style promotion business tools they hope will be as effective and fun as game play, helping marketers engage online audience while collecting data and generating revenue.

A business-to-business tool, Bracketz offers a full-service platform that helps clients upload and create their own bracket promotions, she explains. For example, say a company like ModCloth wants feedback on their spring line; Bracketz can engage with customers on a deeper social and viral level.

"We believe that creating beautiful, interactive marketing promotions should be as easy as setting up a blog on wordpress," says Cynthia, co-founder and CEO. "People are seeing traffic to a site but they need to engage them with the brand and need our tool to engage at a deeper level."

Bracketz is targeting the 1.4 million advertisers who use Google Words, she adds, brands that have an online presence and audiences that send traffic to the websites. Once traffic gets to a site, tools need to be there to assist in engaging consumers.

It's also offers an alternative to Facebook's push toward offering social engagement for businesses. It gives customers an ability to engage with audiences faster, more easily and is less expensive than other options.

The couple moved here from Washington State. Alen, originally from New York, received his masters in Information Systems Management from Carnegie Mellon. They are working on the platform with the help of AlphaLab on the South Side.

Our goal is to finish AlphaLab with a self-service platform where clients can create an entire bracket promotion on their own, easily and quickly, she says.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Cynthia Knapic

Birchmere Labs launches new "community driven" venture fund

Friday, March 16, 2012

A new venture capital fund arrives with Birchmere Labs, a “community driven” approach led by Sean Ammirati, formerly the CEO of mSpoke and COO of ReadWriteWeb.

The rapid evolution of software and mobile platforms, coupled with the “always on” of the mobile economy, has given rise to new investment opportunities, explains Ammirati, who has long envisioned bringing the new venture model to the region.

It’s both a seed and a studio fund, he says. The seed fund will invest $100,000 to $200,000 in promising companies. The studio is a growing trend he sees working in other cities, working with companies in a lab setting using an “agile and lean” startup approach. The focus is on viral growth and commerce with a transaction-based revenue model.

“It’s not like Alpha Lab, despite the name,” he adds. “It’s totally unique. It’s much easier than ever to create a startup in the mobile space today. The capital cost is really different. You can stand on the giants and use their mobile platforms to accelerate the speed with which you develop these companies.”

Ammirati joins the investment team of Pittsburgh-based Birchmere Ventures as the lead partner for Birchmere Labs. He will continue to remain active in the local entrepreneurial community, advising Alpha Lab companies on the South Side and organizing Innovations Happens for Innovation Works.

He is also an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

While Birchmere Labs will be looking to fund deals nationally, Pittsburgh companies will also be in the running, a win for the region says Rich Lunak of Innovation Works.

“I think having an innovative fund like Birchmere Labs located in Pittsburgh continues to reinforce our strengths in these technology sectors,” says Lunak. “And, it creates another funding source to potentially help fuel the region’s high-potential startups.”

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Sean Ammirati, Birchmere Labs

ActivAided Orthotics: a rehabilitative body suit for lower back pain

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Watching an injured friend struggle for months with a restrictive back brace got Kelly Collier thinking. A competitive swimmer and no stranger to sports injuries and back pain, Collier began looking for a better way to help lower back pain sufferers.

A graduate of CMU, with a double degree in Material Science and Biomedical Engineering, she put her plans for a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at John Hopkins on hold and started ActivAided Orthotics, currently in Alpha Lab on the South Side.

Teaming up with Dr. Gary Chimes, assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the two designed a brace for healing, comfort and convenience. The custom rehabilitative body suit uses biofeedback to teach self-corrective habits to ease lower back pain, allowing users to recover while encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle.

The system is not only lighter and more comfortable than braces now on the market, it provides back support that maintains neutral spine positioning with compression to unload pressure on discs, minimize pain and aid in recovery, explains Collier.

"Instead of forcibly locking you upright, its postural training that teaches you how to move," she says. "By working with the body’s own natural abilities, we can help people to pursue their passions without limitations."

Suffering from lower back pain or spine disorders? The company is currently looking for local beta testers who have had little success with other methods such as pain injections and physical therapy. Click here for more information.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Kelly Collier, ActivAided Orthotics

Take ideas from talk to action at Startup Weekend Pittsburgh

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What do you get when you channel the creative energy of entrepreneurs for 54-hours straight?

New companies and innovative products through Startup Weekend Pittsburgh, an international venue that will be held on March 23-25 at the Carnegie Lecture Hall, bringing together designers, marketers and developers to brainstorm ideas, form teams and build products.

The weekend is hands-on, bringing entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs together to learn how good their ideas really are. The forum begins with open mic pitches on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas and building a viable product.

By Sunday evening, teams are ready to demo their prototypes and receive feedback from a panel of experts and mentors, including Carnegie Melloin's Luis Von Ahn, Sean McDonald of Precision Therapeutics, Sean Ammirati, Audrey Russo of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and Krishna Pendyala, and Tom Jones.

The idea is to build the best business case or solve the best business problem with a web or mobile application, explains Kit Mueller, co-organizer. It's about cultivating fertile ground for the next great idea.

"You'll be rubbing shoulders with people who could be your next co-founder or co-worker," Mueller says. "It could spark the next great idea."

Last year more than 260 Startup Weekend events were held in 202 cities all over the world. The startups formed went on to raise more than $30 million in the course of a year, among them LaunchRock, Cloudbot, Zaarly, Foodspotting, Scanadu, Keepstream.

Startup Weekends are sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest entrepreneurship-focused foundation.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Kit Mueller, Startup Weekend Pittsburgh

Deeplocal takes mind-controlled cycling to the next level and SXSW

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

A bike that reads your mind?

When the Toyota Pruis Project and Saatchi & Saatchi asked East Liberty-based Deeplocal to take a bike and build "thought-sensitive" technology, DeepLocal did a little thought-sensitive thinking of its own.

Using the lightweight, carbon-fiber frame built by Parlee Cycles in the spirit of Pruis, a smartphone dock and off-the-shelf headgear, Deeplocal programmed the helmet with a Neuro Headset for hands-free, thought-control gear-shifting.

Of course, it’s all a little trickier than you might think.

The Neuro Headset reads EEG signals and patterns in the brain, relays them to a microcontroller on the front of the frame which, in turn, communicates with the gear-shifting mechanism, explains Patrick Miller, creative engineer at Deeplocal, a company on the forefront of the emerging technology frontier. It also takes readings on the rider's heart rate, speed and cadence.

"It's kind of a mash up of technology that's already available," explains Miller. "It's an experiment more than anything else. We're creating a new experience."

Once the gears receive a signal, they can also be controlled by an iPhone or computer, although it wasn't quite clear how a cyclist might manipulate these devices while riding a bike.

The bike, a prototype and not for mass market release, will be unveiled at SXSW later this month in Austin, Texas. Deeplocal's Nathan Martin is among a large continent of local companies and people who will will be participating during the Interactive sessions.

As this kind of technology improves, and more people become accustomed thinking thoughts that shift the bike into gear, all sorts of mind-sensitive technologies may evolve. Perhaps one day this is how we'll all ride bikes, he says.

"I don't see brakes being controlled by your mind, but the technology is getting to the point where 100 years from now people may say, wow, remember when we used to use our hands?" Miller says.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Patrick Miller, Deeplocal

Image of Patrick Miller courtesy of Deeplocal

Goodbye spinning? Cycling Fusion trains cyclists for the real deal virtually, anywhere

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Gene Nacey, an avid cyclist, wanted to push the technology of training to the next level.

A successful entrepreneur, Nacey was the founder of Pittsburgh-based TeleTracking Technologies. a company he started in his basement in 1989 and grew to 300 people. TeleTracking's patient flow system, the "electronic bed board," is the air traffic control of the hospital admissions process.

With 20 years of hospital operations behind him, Nacey began taking a hard look at cycling fitness. Many studios aren't efficiently teaching people how to train on bikes, he says. They may attract people interested in an indoor aerobic workout, but it doesn't prepare them for the fitness required for outdoor cycling.

So Nacey invested in a small broadcast business in Oakmont and opened Cycling Fusion, a unique in-studio and subscriber-based virtual training program that can be accessed by anyone of any ability from anywhere, including the comfort of their bike at home.

"The Road Map" offers a graduated way to ramp into riding, he says. "We have stratification where we take it easy and build fitness as we go. It never fails; we've haven't lost anybody yet."

The studio broadcasts live streams of virtual cycling footage, which was filmed by Nacey and his team on location in Hawaii, France, and Italy. Riders can stream the programs virtually from any location or work out in Cycling Fusion's Oakmont studio. Cycling studios can also subscribe to the feeds, which feature celebrity-cyclists and Cycling Fusion trainers.

"I was preaching to a choir of people who understand indoor and outdoor cycling," explains Nacey. "I realized that I could provide better training for riders of all abilities. Indoor Cycling can not only be fun, but it can make us better, more fit cyclists.

"It also gives clubs a way to offer cycling specific training without the expense of an instructor. "It's hard to find people with that knowledge or skill. We have some of the best on board and can teach principles with our instructors."

Cycling Fusion employs six, including three developers, a sound engineer and video director.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Gene Nacey, Cycling Fusion

Image of Gene Nacey courtesy of Cycling Fusion.

InsuranceZebra wants to be the Kayak of the online insurance search

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Shopping for insurance online can be frustrating, especially if it results in a long chain of email solicitations from companies.

InsuranceZebra hopes to offer a more transparent approach, explains Adam Lyons, co-founder of the startup. As the name implies, the process of shopping for insurance should be "black and white."

Insurance is the most expensive word on the Internet. Google made $33 billion on ad words last year, 24% of which came directly from insurance companies.

InsuranceZebra will allow users to instantly compare accurate and unbiased quotes from all major insurance carriers, turning it into a more streamlined process.

"We'd really like to be the Kayak for insurance, a web-based application and one-stop source for insurance quotes from all the major carriers," he says. InsuranceZebra also promises that a customer's information will remain confidential.

Lyons and his partner Cal Leeming are working together on the idea through Innovation Work's Alpha Lab on the South Side. The working arrangement is fairly unique. Leeming lives in Great Britain and is developing the software side; he previously worked on the technology behind Newstand, the iPad and iPhone app.

Lyons, who attended Allderdice High School and graduated from Temple University, is handling the business and insurance side. The two communicate regularly through Skype from Alpha Lab office.

Revenues will come from advertising. The startup plans to add three developers and roll out the website next month.

"People will see we really want to be innovative and improve the insurance market," says Adam. "For us it's about building credibility in an area where trust is very important."

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Adam Lyons, InsuranceZebra

Image of Adam Lyons copyright Pop City

East End Brewing expanding operations in Larimer and releases Illustration Ale

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

East End Brewing Company is raising the bar on craftsman beer artistry.

The microbrewery has teamed up with Pittsburgh's Toonseum for the release of Illustration Ale, six 1-liter bottles filled with a hearty Belgian Dark Beer and original artwork on the outside. (Click here for more on the local craft brew scene.)

The labels were designed by six local artists: Mark Bender of Mt. Lebanon, Vince Dorse of Green Tree, Jasen Lex of Chartiers City, Nathan Mazur of Holiday Park, Ed Piskor of Munhall, and Dave Wachter of Mt. Lebanon.

The microbrewery's business is booming as well. The business is expanding with a move to Larimer to satisfy local demand. The new brewery's 17,000 square-feet is four times larger than the present space in the East End, says Scott Smith, owner and founder.

For the last seven years of our operation, our business has grown 40-60% year to year," says Smith. The highly productive, lean staff of four will also grow in time.

"It's a great problem to have in a down economy. Beer seems to fly in the face of all economic despair. Unfortunately, when a brewery is operating at full capacity you can't just unplug it and go down the street. We have to start from scratch."

This marks the second year for Illustration Ale, an idea that came from the painstaking process of hand-bottling the beer. We wanted a label that was worthy of the effort, says Smith.

"A ToonBrew is the perfect answer."

A hearty one liter of Illustration Ale sells for $17 at both locations with $2 going to the ToonSeum. The price also includes a $3 deposit. Smith is finding, however, that the bottles don't often make it back to the store.

"People like the artwork," he says.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Scott Smith, East End Brewing Company

zoetifex sees a major animation studio in Pittsburgh's future. HIRING

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Pittsburgh has established itself as a great location for film production. Could a major animation studio be next?

z oetifex (zo-et-effects) has sealed several major project deals and is gearing up to hire and establish an animation studio here, staffed with world-class artists and animators, says Michael Kadrie, founder and president of the animation studio. (For the record, the name is a blend of the Greek word for "life" as in animation and effects.)

"I'm a hometown boy," says Kadrie, who is currently running the company virtually from his home office. Kadrie graduated from Baldwin High School and Duquesne University where he studied multimedia technologies. "We're not talking about a little boutique studio here.

"Look at all the entertainment tech companies we have. We think we can match the quality of Pixar and Dreamworks and do it right here, doing the same quality of work for a fraction of the cost."

zoetifex recently secured the rights for several major projects going forward. The biggest coup is an adult-themed animated movie based on "Operation Mindcrime," a rock opera recorded by Seattle-based progressive metal band Queensrÿche in 1988.

It's a story of revolution and mind control, which has resonance today. It also has a phenomenal cult following, says Kadrie. The rights include permission to record the "Mindcrime" soundtrack with several popular rocks bands; discussions are underway with Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Linkin Park and Black Label Society.

The movie will include an accompanying video game package, he adds.

In addition, zoetifex has gotten a green light to create two animated projects for children: "Icarus Swinebuckle," based on the award-winning book by Michael Garland, and "Christmas Magic." These projects will provide a perfect opportunity to show potential investors what we can do, Kadrie says.

zoetifex is building a team from the ground up to begin work. Kadrie is in negotations with an executive producer from Pixar. Another potential hire, a former writer/director for Disney, is being finalized. Kadrie says 20 to 30 have committed to relocate here. He hopes to secure a studio space and hire more than 100 people for all the projects.

"I've got the pipeline for talent, the right ideas and now I've got the right projects," he says. "All we need now is investors. I'd like to see people from Pittsburgh profit from this."

Check out zoetifex's first video short, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Birds."

Writer: Debra Smit

Source: Michael Kadrie, zoetifex

Picture of Michael Kadrie courtesy of Zoetifex

Drop your iPhone lately? You might consider a helmet from Cellpig.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

What began as a phone accessory and skins business on eBay has morphed into a solution that ensures iPhones against breaking. Meet the cellhelmet.

The entrepreneurial venture got underway in 2008 when two Greensburg friends, Michael Kane and Bryan McHenry, started selling colorful plastic mobile covers and accessories from China on eBay.

In March of 2011, they launched their own online company, Cellpig.com. David Artuso joined the team and together they began work on a tough mobile case for the iPhone 4/4S, which isn't covered for accidental breakage under the manufacturer's warranty.

The cellhelmet will go on sale this March through online and several retail options.

"There are lots of cell phone cases out there, but this is the only one that comes with an insurance policy," explains Brooke Bartolomeo, chief editor of the startup, which employs six. "It's not an indestructible case; it offers more protection than the average case and provides a safety net if you have an accident."

The safety net is a $44.00 insurance policy provided through the Global Warranty Group, which has partnered with Cellpig to repair and replace broken phones. The one-year guarantee ensures any type of accident breakage except water damage.

In addition to the policy, there is a $50 handling fee on claims, which is still less than the cost of a new iPhone, says Bartolomeo. The policy covers one break per phone.

The cellhelmet is constructed of polyurethane rubber with an interchangeable high-impact plastic backplate for glass protection. The team considered trying to create a truly indestructible case, but it was a little ridiculous as a phone.

"It would have been extremely bulky, more of a brick," she says.

A K ickstarter campaign is assisting the company in raising funds for the first production run in Latrobe. So far the Kickstarter has raised $14,000. A private investor has kicked in another $10,000.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Brooke Bartolomeo, Cellpig.com

Allpoint Systems makes 3D easy. The Igloo lives on.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Pittsburgh-based Allpoint is making 3D mapping easy, using laser scanners to bounce beams of light off objects and help surveyors and engineers measure difficult spaces like tunnels, bridges and pipelines.

The workflow software was inspired by CMU's Robotics Institute, an idea born from a conversation Aaron Morris, founder and CEO, had 10 years ago as a graduate student with Red Whittaker, a force behind all things robotic.

Whittaker has long envisioned using robots and robotic tools to solve the problem of aging urban infrastructure.

"Red came into my office one day and said let's build a model for this," recalls Morris. "A light bulb went off for me. I saw a future where all these scanning systems would make their way into surveying and engineering and realized there would one day be a need to take the data and turn it into tools that could be consumed. "

After earning his Ph.D., Morris went on to found Allpoint Systems and create the world's first commercially viable robotic sensor measuring technology that allows large volumes of data to be processed efficiently. The company has offices in Startup Town and employs six full-time as well as a steady stream of interns and part-time consultants.

Allpoint provides a toolkit, based on a set of automated processing algorithms, that helps surveyors and engineers process a large volume of files and data more quickly and on an unprecedented scale. What was once a painfully slow process akin to moving a mountain of dirt with a shovel is now a faster and easier measurement, such as the clearance of a bridge or under pass.

Most of the company’s work to date has been in California where the state has embarked on a massive inventory of bridges. A second product in development will provide a rapid visualization of interior spaces.

"What used to take days, even weeks or months, now happens 40% faster than the way it was done before. It's so fast, those in the field know immediately exactly what they have collected," Morris says.

You might be asking yourself why Pittsburgh isn't taking advantage of this? While Allpoint hasn't tackled any local jobs to date, the startup created a virtual tour of Mellon Arena during its beta phase, mapping views and angles of the slowly vanishing structure.

There are no plans for the information yet, though one might imagine a virtual museum or interactive video or game of the Igloo.

"It might be useful one day," says Morris.

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Aaron Morris, Allpoint Systems

Writer: Debra Smit

Source: Aaron Morris, Allpoint Systems

Image is a 3D photo of the Allpoint staff, courtesy of Allpoint

The boomerang brings HeadRight Games back to Pittsburgh

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Pittsburgh native Matt Rodgers is back, launching his first game through HeadRight Games with the help of Alpha Lab on the South Side.

A graduate of Woodland Hills High School, Rodgers earned a degree from University of Maryland and moved on to Seattle, a land of opportunity for game developers.

For the next eight years, he worked for gaming companies like Nintendo, Microsoft and WildTangent on titles that included Super Mario Pinball, Gameboy Advance and Conker: Live and Reloaded.

It was his last job with Real Networks, where he was an external producer churning out seven game titles in two years, that got him thinking about the casual gaming space, a fast-paced, hit-driven business where games like Angry Birds and Words With Friends are rolled out quickly.

The casual industry has grown from $2 billion in 2002 to $6 billion in 2008 and is currently pushing upward of $20 billion, explains Rodgers. It's a less expensive way to develop a game, outsourcing aspects such as music and art.

With the model in mind, Rodgers returned to Pittsburgh and started HeadRight Games through Innovation Works' AlphaLab program. He hopes to launch the first game, tentatively called Amusement World, this May, a sort of Disney World meets Willy Wonka theme park with rides, hidden object puzzles and quests.

"The mentorship, networking and talent pool in the Pittsburgh business community has been huge for me," says Rodgers. "This is the best place to get a company off the ground and grow a business."

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Matt Rodgers, HeadRight Games

RoommateFit--be gone the misery of terrible freshman-year pairings

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ever hear the story of the horrible roommate freshman year? Chances are you told it.

"My roommate and I had nothing in common except we played hockey in high school," recalls Justin Mares, a senior at University of Pittsburgh. "It was so bad I almost applied to another university. Fortunately, I had such a good time my sophomore year I ended up staying."

Mares and his partner Donald Huh, a Carnegie Mellon undergrad, are AlphaLab partners who hope to abolish those freshman year nightmares. Their company RoommateFit is an eHarmony for the roommate search, using a research-based matching questionnaire to create more compatible roommate pairings.

The company is among the latest class of Alpha Lab startups working on the South Side.

Bad roommate pairings are a major factor in freshman dropouts and low first semester GPAs, explains Mares. Freshman misery also impacts thousands of universities across the country financially.

Here's how it works. Incoming college freshman are sent a link to the site where they're asked to fill out a carefully researched questionnaire. The system uses a Ph.D. developed personality-based matching test to measure a student's level of social consciousness, which is determined by factors such as extroversion and personal verbal aggressiveness.

Far less important to the process is one's sleeping hours, music preferences and whether or not one smokes, says Mares.

RoommateFit recently formed a partnership with Resident Management Systems (RMS), a leading provider of web-based university housing solutions, a promising first step for the young company.

Mares, a finance and business major from Arlington, Va., is handling the sales and business side while Huh, who grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., is developing the technology.

"AlphaLab has been fantastic in helping to mentor us in a very structured way, helping us to think through what we should be building into the product," says Mares. "If all goes well, we hope to run with this after graduation."

Writer: Deb Smit

Source: Justin Mares

entrepreneurs : Pittsburgh Innovates