Pittsburgh Innovates

Several new Pittsburgh-developed apps are out, connecting local sportfans, assisting with the household budget and bringing up-to-the-minute reports on the security line and shuttles at the Pittsburgh airport.
 
Cheer with fellow fans for any Pittsburgh team with Steel City Buzz, an app that works like Twitter but is Pittsburgh sports all the time. Co-founders Bill Hinchley (billwhiteshoes) and Rob Phillips (yinzandyang), buddies who go back to first grade in Elizabeth Township, love social media but found most platforms weren’t capturing the thrill when it came to game time.
 
We decided to build something for ourselves and make it a more personal experience, says Hinchley. Steel City Buzz is way more than Twitter for Yinzers. It’s also gathering a national following (although they won’t disclose figures).
 
“It’s a virtual stadium where you get to pick whom you sit with, 12 times faster than Facebook and Twitter (it refreshes every three seconds),” he says. “It gives people out of town a way to connect and feel a part of Steeler nation.”
 
Want up-to-the-minute news on how long the security line is running, or where to find parking, at the Pittsburgh International Airport? FlyPittsburgh.mobi is a tool (not quite an app) that puts flight and line information at your fingertips.
 
It’s also a portal for any flight coming in and out of Pittsburgh. It can also tell you when the next parking shuttle is coming whatever parking lot you may be standing in and what the weather looks like over the airport. Most of the information is fed to the site by FlyPittsburgh and Flight Tracker, says Dave Paga of Grant Oliver, the private company that manages the parking lot.
 
Budget Simple is a cool new tool that helps users to manage the household budget, from mortgage to monthly bills. Developed by Phil Anderson, formerly of AlphaLab company Levlr, the site has more than 75,000 users so far.
 
“We are building a automated personal financial advisor,” Anderson explains. “It’s going beyond simple income and expenses and helping you to understand how you can best spend your money, whether debt or savings and investing.
 
South Side-based Jibbigo has announced the launch of a new translation app, which combines all the features and languages offered in its stand alone apps, in one handy app. Unlike other translation apps, it works on your mobile without an internet connection.
 
This new version is free, adds 20+ languages for unlimited online use and allows you to keep all of your offline translators in the same app. Users can download them for offline use and as an in-app purchase instead of buying a whole new app.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Steel City Buzz, Dave Paga, Phil Anderson and Jibbigo
 

Some of the hottest new tech startups in the region were unveiled at the New Hazlett Theatre Thursday, tackling everything from learning the guitar online to autonomous boats that monitor water quality.
 
The companies included the current class of AlphaLab startups and technologies coming out of the region’s universities and the i6 Agile Innovation program.
 
In its fifth year, Alpha Lab has drawn entrepreneurs to the region from across the country and around the world, Rich Lunak, CEO of Innovation Works, told the more than 200 in attendance.
 
Going forward, several new programs are on the horizon, Lunak said. Alpha Law will provide legal assistance to entrepreneurs and startups. The Agile Hardware Design Center will be for hardware and manufacturing what AlphaLab is to software company development.
 
More on that later. In the meantime, check out some of the latest technologies that were rolled out:
 
Tunnessence draws on advanced studio processing technologies to provide personalized guitar lessons to aspiring musicians. The startup will charge a fee for online lessons.
 
Fitwits is a learning tool that is helping doctors to approach the delicate discussion around childhood obesity. The tool assists with in-office consultations with children and families during a well-child checkup.
 
Platypus is a autonomous robotic boat that motors on waterways with sensors that monitor the heath of local waters at a far lower cost than systems that require continuous human oversight.
 
My CE Manager streamlines and monitors the continuing education process required for all licensed individuals.
 
Other companies, many of which have been featured in recent issues of
Pop City, included FutureDerm, Aurochs (wheat-free beer), CollegeZen (former College People), treatspace, autoref, Neon, ExpressionBlast, Quant MD, and Panther Learning.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Innovation Works

Just a quick note to say that while our November 5th social innovation eXchange, Connecting our City is sold out, you can still stay connected through Engage! Pittsburgh and follow the conversation the night of the event through Twitter at @PopCityPgh.

In the meantime, please read the blog posted from our last event here and stay tuned for more in Pop City following the next event.

Got ideas for better connecting or city? Let us know! Email us at info@popcitymedia.com.

The SiX events are brought to you by the Pittsburgh Foundation in concert with Pop City and the Sprout Fund, with additional support from the Benedum Foundation, the Buhl Foundation and an anonymous foundation.

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

Aquion Energy is hiring 28 people for a variety of jobs at both their Pittsburgh office and Mt. Pleasant manufacturing center. The company, behind a revolutionary and sustainable battery storage technology, is scaling up a manufacturing center in the old Sony plant in West Moreland county. The jobs are based in their Lawrenceville R&D center as well as the plant, which is expected to be in production mid-late next year. 

Openings are in engineering, business management, electricians, logistics and manufacturing. 

Dick’s Sporting Goods in Findlay is poised for major hiring and a company expansion. The company is posting jobs in buying, web design, vendor relations, product management, operations management and many, many more.

Design and development studio, Deeplocal, is on the move to exciting new digs in the Strip District. The company is growing and reports four full-time and two internship openings for an account manager, junior creative director, part-time contract copywriter, software engineer, software engineering interns and mobile development intern.

The Mattress Factory on the North Side is looking for a full-time marketing manager for the Development Department, a person who will be responsible for developing, managing and implementing the art museum’s strategic marketing initiatives. Interested candidates should possess a passion for arts and culture. Experience with nonprofit organizations, particularly in the arts, is preferred. Strong interpersonal, written communication, and presentations skills are a must. 

The Mt. Lebanon Magazine in Mt. Lebanon is looking for a “great salesperson,” an account executive to sell print and online advertising. The magazine, published monthly by the Mt. Lebanon Municipality, prefers a motivated self-starter with excellent verbal and computer skills. Reply to D. Cyphers, Mt. Lebanon Magazine, 710 Washington Road, Pittsburgh 15228 or dcyphers@mtlebanon.org.

Just Harvest, an anti-hunger/anti-poverty advocacy organization in Pittsburgh, seeks a skilled and committed professional to coordinate and implement communications and media activities to build awareness and visibility for our mission and programs. 

Writer: Deb Smit

Pittsburgh-based Dynamics Inc., the mega-award-winning CMU startup founded by Jeff Mullen, unveiled its first credit card this week, a battery-operated system that promises to change the way consumers, banks and vendors use thin plastic.
 
Called the Dynamic ePlate Visa, the card can multi-task like no other, offering consumers applications that award loyalty points for dozens of perks, everything from travel to games, restaurant meals, groceries and charity donations.
 
The ePlate provides a revolutionary level of service as a credit card, explains Mullen, Dynamics CEO. Until now, banks have been unable to partner with certain companies and brands—such as seasonal products or artists—on loyalty awards. With ePlate, the consumer can select rewards, at the point-of-purchase, simply by flicking a lighted switch.
 
The card initially comes with 35 apps for travel, games, entertainment and retail, but many, many more will follow, says Mullen. The system awards points almost instantaneously.
 
“You can eat dinner and, by the time you get home, you could be watching that movie through that reward,” says Mullen. “That’s the power of the ePlay system.”
 
With each purchase, the reward data feeds into Dynamics’ data center ln Cheswick. Dynamics' has a nine-acre, 125,000 square-foot office, in a former torpedo factory and Westinghouse site.
 
“We are going to run out of room fast,” Mullen says.
 
The company currently employs 71 full-time and 20 part-time employees and plans continued hiring as applications are rolled out. The company is hiring extreme engineers, software developers, administrators, skilled labors and operators.
 
“ePlate’s integration into the payment systems is so fast the apps will be implemented before you can even put your card back in your wallet,” says Mullen.
 
The company has raised $40 million in venture funding to date, from Bain Capital Ventures in Boston and Adams Capital Management in Sewickley.
 
The story of Dynamics began back in 2007 when Mullen was attending the Tepper School of Business at CMU. Dynamics went on to win the $1 million DEMOgod prize as well as several other prestigious competitions.
 
Pittsburgh gaming company Evil Genius Designs is among the companies partnering with Dynamics. Evil Genius’ game Black Friday utilizes consumer approved purchase data to provide in-game bonuses and power ups to enhance and empower the guests' gaming experience through the Dynamics ePlate.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Jeff Mullen, Dynamics Inc.

The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse celebrates 10 years of building the region into a growing hub for biotechnology tools, diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics and healthcare IT.

The 10-year-mark is a time for marking the milestones, notes CEO John Manzetti who has been pushing the sector forward since 2006. 

Since opening its doors in 2002, PLSG has worked with 384 companies and invested $18.1 million in its 73 portfolio companies. Eight of those portfolio companies have exited for $278 million. The lifesciences incubator has also helped to create 5,000 jobs in the region, directly or indirectly, including university faculty and facilities.

“Overall we’ve achieved more visability and notoriety in the venture world,” says Manzetti. “In the beginning, nobody knew us. Now we can pick up the phone with venture capitalists and many of them will come to Pittsburgh.”

Among other developments of note was the creation of the PLSG Accelerator Fund, an $8.1 million fund that provides life science companies with VC financing beyond that provided by economic development organizations and friends and family.

“With the VC world not willing to make early investments, the Accelerator Fund is a full profit fund that only supports companies in our region, making sure they succeed," says Manzetti.

Another key to growth is the strength of the angel sector, which continues to outpace venture capital investments two to one in the region.

“Angel funding used to be there for bridging, but today it is a significant market opportunity,” he says.

Health Care IT, therapeutics and drug discovery and female health care companies, such as Rinovum, which is gaining traction in the infertility market, is another growing sector. 

Women in Bio, a national organization that helps to connect and provide career and professional assistance to women entrepreneurs in the biosciences industry, is opening a Pittsburgh chapter. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Bridgeside Point on Technology Drive.

The PLSG will celebrate its birthday at an invitation-only reception this week.

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: John Manzetti, PLSG

AutoRef, a car-buying referee, is streamlining the car deal, helping buyers to sidestep the frustration that goes along with negotiating the sale of a new or used car.

The idea was hatched in LA by Mike Pena after he suffered through a sale with his brother. Together with CMU student Todd Medema Autoref was born. The company, which got a boost from CMU's Project Olympus and Greenlighting Startups, is currently in Alpha Lab where a team of seven is poised to expand the service nationwide through more than 5,200 participating car dealerships.

While there is no obvious shortage of car-buying websites out there, none of them actually seals the deal, explains Michael Bailey of Autoref. The website not only gives buyers a no-obligation final offer, guaranteed for 72 hours, but offers financing through the dealership. 

And AutoRef is free. AutoRef customers report spending an average of 45 minutes at dealerships compared to three hours without the site, says Bailey. Customers who have purchased vehicles through the Autoref report saving an average of 11 percent off the sticker price. 

And dealerships and car salesman love it.

“One of the biggest annoyances in the car industry is to have a customer come in, shop around, test drive, and then leave and never come back,” says Bailey. “Salespeople work on commission. Often they’ll waste half their day and have nothing to show for it.”

Here's how it works. Buyers select the make and model of the car and provide their zip code. The site then offers a list of available vehicles at participating dealers in the region. Buyers can compare models, view a Carfax report, view images and ask questions. 

Selected cars then go into your “garage” and up to three cars may be submitted for an offer, with or without dealership financing. AutoRef currently isn’t able to negotiate with a trade-in, but that feature is coming soon, Bailey says.  

When offers are received, usually within a day, buyers have 72 hours to visit the dealers, test drive the cars and respond. In this writer’s experience, the prices on the new cars dropped at by at least $2000 while a used car, which was priced fairly to begin with, stayed the same. 

One of the keys behind the pricing is dealers have the ability to see what other dealers are offering on the same deal. Autoref receives a commission on every car sold.  

“Dealers are used to people coming in and saying ‘the guy down the street can give me a better price,’” says Bailey. “This way dealers can see exactly what the other dealers are offering.”

The company plans to expand significantly this fall and is looking for five to 15 people for its sales and tech team.

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Michael Bailey, Autoref

You Can Get There From Here:  Public Support for Public Transport

In Pittsburgh, public transportation needs to be a priority for everyone. Based on the last social innovation eXchange, and to  provide catalytic funding for projects that engage with, celebrate, and promote public transportation in Pittsburgh, Sprout will make one award of up to $20,000.
 
“Over the past few years, the Port Authority has guided plans to make transportation in Pittsburgh more efficient, transparent, accountable, and reliable,” says Tim Frank, Director of Marketing and Creative Services Port Authority of Allegheny County. “By harnessing the collaborative efforts of organizations and individuals, we may optimize those existing plans and take them one step further.”
 
Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend an information session at The Sprout Fund offices in Garfield/Friendship at noon on Friday, October 19, 2012. RSVP to connect@sproutfund.org if you plan to attend.
 
Proposals are due Friday, November 30, 2012 and decisions will be announced in January 2013. Read more about the opportunity and download application materials at sproutfund.org/apply.

Yinzclusion: Multicultural Collaboration Initiatives

A truly vibrant region requires diversity and inclusion, as discussed at the last social innovation eXchange.  In order to establish the Pittsburgh region as welcoming to newcomers and long-term residents alike, the region must elevate the public profile and programmatic capacity of its many ethnic and cultural agencies.  By building connections between organizations serving diverse populations, collaborators can begin to build a comprehensive network of community-based cultural support agencies.  To provide catalytic funding for projects that encourage collaboration between diverse cultural agencies, Sprout will make multiple awards of up to $5,000 each to support projects that help raise the profile of multicultural communities and increase cultural awareness and diversity in the region.
 
The Multicultural Collaboration Initiative comes on the heels of Vibrant Pittsburgh’s recently announced Affinity Groups Mini-Grants Initiative to attract and retain diverse talent to the Pittsburgh region.
 
“A major part of our goal with our own mini-grants Initiative is to increase the visibility of the diverse talent and communities currently working and living in the region.  Therefore, we are pleased to work with and support Sprout’s announcement of its Multicultural Collaboration Initiative," says Melanie Harrington, CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh, who participated in the last SiX event. “Through our two grant initiatives, we are expanding support for the innovativeness of the region’s diverse communities and leveraging the hopes and aspirations of more people who call the Pittsburgh region their home.”
 
Interested? Come to the information session at The Sprout Fund offices in Garfield/Friendship at noon on Friday, November 9, 2012 to learn more.
 
Proposals are due Friday, November 30, 2012 and decisions will be announced in January 2013. Read more about the opportunity and download application materials at sproutfund.org/apply.

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

Sierra w/o Wires is hiring five people for IT and engineering positions. The company is an IT services provider specializing in remote systems monitoring and remote systems management, cloud/virtual systems hosting, software development and hardware and software reselling.
 
Positions include Server Operations Engineer, Senior Server Operations Engineer, Network Operations Engineer, Application Development Engineer, and Entry Level Project Manager.
 
Robotic toy and baby product company 4moms, makers of innovative solutions for parents, is hiring eight or more in Pittsburgh including a Director of Marketing, Brand Manager, Mechanical Engineers, Sales Assistant, Software Engineers and a Supply Chair buyer.
 
Family House in Pittsburgh provides an affordable home away from home for patients and their families seeking medical treatment for serious or life-threatening illnesses.
 
The nonprofit is seeking a full time Director of Finance.  The ideal candidate requires a talented professional who will be the CFO of the organization and a member of the strategic leadership team.
 
Maya Design is seeking a staff accountant for their downtown office, a full time position that requires experience in budgeting, forecasting, collections, invoicing and working on financial statements. A bachelor’s degree in accounting and two to four years of experience are preferred.

Have hiring news? Email Pop City! 

Writer: Deb Smit
 

Wanna kick an annoying habit? Meet your accountability partner.
 
University of Pittsburgh undergrad James Lomuscio is co-founder of Ludo Mechanica, an Oakland-based startup that is helping professional life coaches assist their clients in quitting unhealthy habits.
 
LM’s first Android product is called DropKicker, a text message delivery system designed to bring an end to unwanted, habitual behaviors. Dropkicker works as a mobile app, assisting coaches in keeping tabs on clients who want to stop behaviors like eating too many sweets. Or smoking. Or drinking soda.
 
While the technology is customized to an individual’s needs, it works through gentle (and often humorous) text messages sent throughout the day, missives that try to determine if temptation or denial is winning out. 
 
People are habitually driven to respond to a text message rather than a push notification, explains Lomuscio. “(A life coach) can’t call to check in on every client several times a day or during the week. DropKicker is an intermediary, a proxy coach.”
 
Lomuscio, a neurosciences major, has based the system on psychological studies of habit-forming behavior and the effectiveness of certain methods like going cold turkey. A soda junkie himself, he was approaching day 46 without a carbonated beverage during this interview.
 
As goals are met, the number of text messages may decline. Sneak a smoke, and your proxy coach will buzz you with plenty of feedback. Family and friends are an important part of one’s support team.
 
For example, turn off the technology during therapy and everyone you know and love will be notified.
 
“The important thing is to make sure the process feels like fun. We quantify achievement in a funny, fun way,” he says.
 
Ludo Mechanica has a team of six part-timers and works out of Idea Foundry on Craig Street.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: James Lomuscio, DropKicker
 
 

 
The long-held belief that Pittsburgh's younger workforce is declining was shattered this week with the official news that the exact opposite is true.  

A report released by the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Social and Urban Research and local think tank, Pittsburgh TODAY, confirmed what many have been saying for awhile: Pittsburgh is not only attracting more young people to the region but it is successfully retaining its own.

And they are a highly educated bunch.

Pittsburgh leaders came together on Pitt's campus on Tuesday to celebrate the news in "Young Adults Report 2012," one of the most comprehensive studies to date on youth and the region.
 
Among the highlights:
 
The population of adults ages 20-34 rose by 7 percent in the past five years and is on track to grow another 8 percent by 2020.
 
The region has a young adult workforce that is among the best educated in the country. Pittsburgh ranks fifth in the U.S. for workers aged 25-34 with at least a four-year degree and is one of only three regions where more than 20 percent of young workers hold advanced degrees.
 
Nearly half of young adults earn at least $50,000 or more and 22% earn $75,000 or more.
 
“It’s a great time to be a young person coming out of school in your twenties and living in Pittsburgh,” said Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald, who vividly recalled the dark state of the local economy when he graduated in 1984. “We need more policies that will continue to attract the kind of talent that will move this region forward.”
 
Young people today aren't buying cars at the level of previous generations, he noted. They want better public transportation. They ride their bikes. They enjoy the arts.
 
Bike Pittsburgh advocate Scott Bricker agreed. Pittsburgh is attractive to many young people as a place where they can get involved and make a difference, he noted. 
 
There’s a lot of buzz about the health of the arts community in Pittsburgh outside of the region, both nationally and internationally, added Jon Rubin, CMU art professor and the director of Conflict Kitchen. Rubin recently returned from China where Pittsburgh was among three American cities recognized, alongside Los Angeles and New York.
 
Work remains to be done, others said. The region must continue to attract and welcome diverse talent, said Melanie Harrington of Vibrant Pittsburgh.
 
Young adults have the lowest rates of voter participation of any age group, others noted. One in four young adults reports never voting, even in presidential elections.

The report was released to coincide with the arrival of the One Young World conference in Pittsburgh this week, bringing some 1,200 young delegates from around the world here to learn more about what's working in the region and discuss a wide of range of pressing global concerns.

Read the report.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: PittsburghTODAY

So you’re a wannabe blogger or social media type. You’re tweeting interesting posts, but you need more. Or you’re a hip professional looking for a bigger digital toolbox.

PodCamp Pittsburgh is for everyone. Beginners. Nerds. Bloggers. Designers. Social Media Rock Stars. The two-day retreat in the blogosphere features some of the region’s leading social media experts who happily (and often dramatically) teach others, on any level, how to grow a social media presence through voice, video, pictures, text, content marketing, podcasting and other whatnot.  

“If I had to say Pittsburgh is doing social media right, I would have to agree with myself,” says Justin Kownacki, who founded PodCamp Pittsburgh back in 2006. “The Pittsburgh social media scene is different than a lot of other (cities) I’ve been to because it still feels like a community.”

More important than what you wear is the tech you bring with you. Carry along your laptop, camera, mobile, iPad, any device. Pen and paper works too. There’s WiFi a-plenty.  Tweet with #pcpgh7. 

This year's event is aimed at helping small business owners, in-house communications professionals and those interested in polishing their skills and staying on top of the modern web, says Norm Huelsman.
 
“PodCamp attendees always leave our event energized with an expanded knowledge of social media as well as a list of new contacts and friends.”
 
PodCamp 7 takes place Oct. 27-28 on the campus of Point Park University. Registration is required. You can attend part or all of the weekend.

And walk away with a cool t-shirt too. 

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Norm Huelsman, PodCamp Pittsburgh
 
 

This week’s Pop City hiring report highlights a slew of jobs, from 12 positions at Cardinal Resources to 18+ at Ansaldo, three at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and another at Point Park University.
 
South Side-based Cardinal Resources is bringing cleaner water to the world through its patented Red Bird System, a solar powered, community-sized water purifying system. The company recently won a $9 million contract to install 12 of its water purification systems in Nigeria, which will create 12 jobs, primarily for engineers and technicians.
 
The company is also opening a manufacturing center next door, the former Hall Industries property, where it will begin building the filters for the Red Bird units later this month, reports Kevin Jones, president.  
 
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust reports three openings in its marketing and communications department. The arts nonprofit is looking for a Director of Public Relations, Show Marketing Manager and Digital Designer. 
 
The Director of Public Relations is responsible for developing public relations campaigns for Trust presentations and oversees the overall marketing strategy to publicize all events, including the placement of advance features, reviews, and artist interviews. A degree in marketing or communications or related and three years experience is preferred.
 
The Show Marketing Manager will coordinate all aspects of marketing for the Trust. A degree in marketing or communications or related and three years experience is preferred.
 
The Digital Designer will be responsible for designing, writing, trafficking and gaining approval
for all organizational e-marketing messages. The Digital Designer works on a number of print,
video and multimedia projects.
 
Ansaldo, a supplier of high-speed railway and urban transportation technology, has 18 openings in its Pittsburgh office, most of them in the engineering field. Jobs include software and project engineers, sales and telecommunications engineers. Ansaldo emerged from Union Switch & Signal in 2009, a company originally founded by George Westinghouse in 1881.
 
Point Park University is hiring a Director of Recruitment for its School of Business who will be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive recruitment plan in collaboration with the Admissions offices and the Dean of the School of Communication.

Have hiring news? Email Pop City!

Writer: Deb Smit

Industrial design majors Jonathan Ota and Ethan Frier, both avid bikers, understand the need for bikers to be more visable at night.
 
Studies show that 36% of all accidents occur at intersections, between the hours of 5 and 9 p.m., they say. So when they got a class assignment that asked them put their industrial design know-how to use, they came up with bike lights that can be seen on the road from almost any angle.
 
Called Aura (formerly Project Aura), the system uses LED lights, glowing white orbs that are rim-mounted to the bike to illuminate the wheels, alerting drivers and pedestrians to the presence of a moving vehicle.
 
Aura is a new way for cyclists to not only broadcast where they are, but convey how fast they are traveling, they explain. Unlike wheel tape or gimmicky products like lighted shoes, Aura is intended to make bikes pop out at night amid the urban chaos.
 
“The real innovation is the color changing aspect of the system,” says Ona, who regularly commutes to the Oakland campus. “It offers another level of information to drivers who can recognize more easily what a cyclist is doing.”
 
The LEDs illuminate red when the biker is moving slowly and white as a biker gains speed.
 
The pair are developing the prototype through CMU’s Project Olympus with help from a Student Undergraduate Research Grant (SURG) and support from CMU’s Greenlighting Startups. The plan is to raise money to take the design to the next level and commercialization.

In other CMU news, Astrobotic unveiled its prototype lunar rover, the solar-powered Polaris, yet another step in pursuit of the Google Lunar X $20 million prize. Polaris is equipped to search and drill for water on the Moon’s poles, in addition to other sources of potential energy.
 
This is the first lunar rover developed specifically to drill for water, a feature that was added as a result of scientific research that suggest that water exists on the moon in some form, says Red Whittaker, CEO of Astrobotic and director of the Field Robotics Center at CMU.
 
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Jonathan Ona and Ethan Frier, Aura; CMU

Image of Jonathan Ona and Ethan Frier courtesy of CMU

What began as a backyard BBQ to raise money for local startups has expanded into a new organization and incubator for entrepreneurs.
 
Thrill Mill was founded to build on the momentum of the first Pittsburgh Business Bout, a competition that awarded $5,000 last year to a young group of entrepreneurs who created an online legal notice search engine called FindNotice.  
 
This year’s Business Bout, currently underway, is upping the stakes with $25,000 in prize money for the best business plan. The winnings were made possibly through sponsors Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Submissions are due Oct. 31^st. 
 
Thrill Mill consists of an annual cycle that begins with a large-scale music festival – Baller BBQ – that will not only showcase national music talent, but local music, art, entertainment and business talent.  Revenues generated by the festival will be awarded to the winner of a Business Bout.

Lucky applicants in the Business Bout may then gain admission to an early stage business incubator, the Hustle Den, opening early in 2013, where entreprenuers will receive free office space, mentorship, programming and investor relationships, for one full year. 

“The security blanket of corporate America is not what it use to be,” explains Bobby Zappala, Thrill Mill CEO. “Startups will become more a part of mainstream growth and certainly this is happening in Pittsburgh. We have all the elements. We just need to encourage those in Pittsburgh to stay here.”
 
The 5,000 square-foot space was secured with the help of a $750,000 investment from an anonymous donor, says Luke Skurman, of College Prowler and an original founder of Business Bout.
 
“We want hungry entrepreneurs who are going to go for it,” says Skurman. “All industries are welcome.”
 
At the conclusion of the cycle, the Hustle Den participants will have an opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors at the next year’s BBQ, and the cycle continues says Skurman.

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Bobby Zappala, Luke Skurman, Thrill Mill and Business Bout