Design : Innovation + Job News

Social entrepreneurship agency Here's My Chance doubling staff, expanding to Chinatown

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, July 10, 2012

How about another new approach to fundraising? One that's exciting and fresh, with cool graphics and appealing content? That's the secret to the success of Here's My Chance, co-founded by David Gloss and Kevin Colahan. It's social entrepreneurship done right, without the guilt.

"Its a strange psychological trick," says Gloss, the CEO. "People pour their hearts and souls into the work they are doing and then feel awkward or unworthy when going out to seek financial support."

With a quickly growing team, now headquartered in Old City and expanding to offices in Chinatown, Here's My Chance removes all the negativity and creates a shining path to doing good. "We design custom campaigns for corporate brands and nonprofits that rally people around their cause." says Gloss, who brings a dual purpose background to the endeavor.

Prior to HMC, Gloss worked in venture capital and received his MBA from Temple University, but was raised by old school social entrepreneurs. Carelift International, the Philadelphia based medical relief charity, was founded by his parents in the 1970s.

While at a meditation retreat, Gloss says he was struck by the idea that he could do next generation fundraising, rallying massive digital communities using game mechanics, driving people to do good things. That was back in May 2011. Today, HMC has employees in DC, Boston and New York, with the core creative team here in Philly.

HMC is hiring, expecting to expand staff from 8 to 15 in the next year. "We're going on a hunt for graphic designers, developers, creative directors, and project managers," says Gloss. "We are building an agency with a unique philosophy."

Source: David Gloss, Here's My Chance
Writer: Sue Spolan

Chasing elusive healthcare innovation: IBX Game Changers Challenge applications due soon

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Independence Blue Cross Game Changers Challenge is now accepting applications, and the window to enter closes on July 10. The idea is to link the muscle and financial power of big health care with the energy of startups in an effort to drive change.

"This is a huge opportunity," says Tom Olenzak, who, as a full-time consultant, is helping to run the Game Changers Challenge, which draws on the partnership of IBX, Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, the Department of Public Health of the City of Philadelphia, Venturef0rth, and ?What If! Innovation Partners.

Applicants have until July to submit proposals aimed at improving the overall health and wellness of the Greater Philadelphia region. New companies, applications, technology, products, programs, and services that promote health and wellness are all welcome to enter. The prize is $50,000 for up to three winners, who will be notified by the end of July.

"Health care legislation has forced people to think about change," says Olenzak. "We've been stuck in an employer based sales model."

While most individuals consider themselves insured by a particular company, insurers are actually built on a B2B model, selling to employers, not employees. That's why customer service at an insurer can be quite frustrating. It's not a detail most people consider while on hold trying to get information about a claim.

Making change in healthcare is daunting, even to a seasoned professional like Olenzak, who's been in healthcare IT for 20 years, and reports that innovation in healthcare has always been the next big market.

Olenzak sees the regulatory process as a barrier to innovation. "There's been a ton of innovation on the care side," but not on the business side, adds Olenzak. "The challenge in health care is that open and transparent transactions are almost unheard of."

With an economy that continues to struggle, and cuts in reimbursement, Olenzak says healthcare focused acclerators are on the rise around the country, and points to Blueprint Health in New York, Rock Health in San Francisco, and Chicago Health Tech.

Here in Philadelphia, Venturef0rth hosted the first ever Startup Weekend Health at the beginning of this month, and there are plans in the works for a Philadelphia based health care accelerator, details of which cannot yet be disclosed.

"Once you start pulling on one thread, you find it's attached to 16 more," says Olenzak of the complicated field of health care innovation. "We're at a stage where we need a larger platform like an insurer or a health system to get involved to make a difference."

Source: Tom Olenzak, IBX Game Changers Challenge
Writer: Sue Spolan

Creative sector jobs, reputation for art growing in Philadelphia

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The whole starving artist cliche doesn't fly in Philadelphia. Two releases, one from the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, and another from The Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Board, point to arts as an area of serious growth, and a powerful financial force in the region.

According to the newly released Creative Sector Jobs Report, new research shows that 48,900 jobs exist in the creative sector, which represents 6.5% of the jobs in Philadelphia. Creative sector employment grew 6.3% from 2001 to 2011, yielding $5 billion in direct output and $2.7 billion in direct employee earnings.

The GPTMC just launched its new With Art Philadelphia campaign, as well as its annual report, titled "The Art of Collaboration." GPTMC CEO Meryl Levitz reports that the city welcomed a record 38 million visitors in 2011, and will likely see a dramatic increase with the lure of the Barnes. The GPTMC also unveiled its impressive new With Art site which allows visitors to curate their own Philadelphia experience by shopping through the city's arts and culture offerings to create an individualized tour.

"Culture and the creative sector are a critically important part of our city, and a critical creator of jobs," says Gary Steuer, head of the OACCE. "Creative assets are a core reason people visit Philadelphia."

The GPTMC also announced that it has a 75-page spread in the June 2012 US Airways Magazine, highlighting area museums, historical sites, music and public art. "Philly is a city in the throes of artistic revolution," reads one article.

According to the OACCE's Creative Sector report, In 2010 and 2011, research studies ranked Philadelphia 50-70% above the national standard in “creative vitality” using the Creative Vitality Index, a research tool developed by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) to measure the creative health of an area.

Source: Gary Steuer, OACCE, Meryl Levitz, GPTMC
Writer: Sue Spolan

Old City interactive shop I-SITE hiring four for new international projects

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I-SITE, the super groovy interactive agency with an international clientele, is hiring. "One project manager, one developer, one contract Drupal programmer, and also we need a contract designer for the summer. So there will be four new faces working with the team in the next few weeks," reports Ian Cross, President and CEO.

Cross, who also operates burlesque-a-go-go hot spot The Trestle Inn, says Project Manager Jessica Chappell is moving to the UK, and one of the company's programmers is going freelance. "That said, we are growing and taking on more projects. I-SITE is a seven person core team – all about open collaboration, problem solving, and coming up with innovative digital," explains Cross, who hails from the UK.

Offering graphic design, animation, app development and website management, I-SITE has several international projects in the works, including one in Iceland that deals with beverage development, and one in Africa aimed at animal conservation, according to Cross.

"We're doing more app development for smartphone and tablet," says Cross, who lists projects with Deloitte, Sprout, and the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. "It' a nice mix of corporate and social causes. We also just launched an iPad app highlighting the housing crisis in Northern Armenia."

The company, located in an expansive space on 3rd Street in Old City, even operates an online audio program and just released MUSIC MIX VOL.14 - I've Got a Bike (You can ride it if you like). Look for Volume 15: Whiskey and Go Go mix, to be released this Thursday.

"We’ve always been boutique," says Cross, who says he's created a great team of people who are cross trained and can communicate well directly with clients. While I-SITE has has a few more or less employees over time, it has never employed over 15. "These days we're lean and mean – the way I like it," says Cross, who reports that out of the four open positions, he's already got strong candidates in mind for two.

Source: Ian Cross, I-SITE
Writer: Sue Spolan

Educational strength in numbers: The School Collective connects teachers with good ideas, hiring

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 12, 2012

There's a lot of talk about technology and education, but most of the time, the conversation is about individual schools implementing technology. In the case of The School Collective, a social entrepreneurship startup based in Philadelphia, technology becomes a way to link and improve all schools at once.

Sebastian Stoddart, one of the co-founders, says "We originally came up with the idea at Oxford University. Alyson Goodner and I were both studying for our MBA. The education problem is bigger than just one issue. We identified an element of the education world where we can actually make a difference."

The School Collective joins teachers across schools through a website where educators can share best practices through lesson plans, materials, and instant communication. Currently there are over 1,700 members sharing nearly 21,000 documents and over 36 thousand lesson plans.

Stoddart, who remains in the UK but visits town 3 to 4 times a year, says it was Goodner's enthusiasm and energy that drew him into the project. "She's incredibly passionate. It's her one focus and one mission. From my standpoint, it's a real chance to use innovation to improve education. It's an opportunity to reshape an existing model that isn't working."

Coming from one of the most venerated learning institutions in the world doesn't hurt. "One thing you get from Oxford is a hands on teaching style," says Stoddard. "You work directly with a tutor, and there are 2 to 3 other people in the room. The difference of that model to Philadelphia education is huge. Oxford is an incredible education, and it gives you a massive desire to give that education as well."

Goodner adds, "I am not British. I was born here in Philly, and ended up at Oxford, a place where people gather to talk about global change. Here in Philadelphia we get a fairly bad rap. People say, education reform here in Philly? Good luck with that. But there has been movement. There are amazing people doing reform work in Philly."

The School Collective, says Goodner, gathers revenue via a freemium model. Teachers sign up for free or pay $5 per month to access the full functionality of the site. Organizations can also subscribe to the site using a tiered model.

"The School Collective is built to give benefit to every user on the site," says Stoddard, who compares traditional teaching tools that are brought in by the principal, but offer no benefit to the teacher, "From the beginning we wanted this to be something teachers would want to be on."

An essential key to The School Collective's success is Goodner and Stoddart's professional development package, their hands on approach to teaching teachers. During a 10-hour workshop, The School Collective shows educators take the time to visit schools in person and explain exactly how to use the tools, resulting in a 98% acceptance rate.

With this level of success, expansion is on the agenda, although it would be difficult to replicate an Oxford-educated team. "We are looking to bring on a person full time similar to what I am doing, and a full time developer on Sebastian's side to build a team in Philadelphia," says Goodner, who plans on tapping into former Teach For America participants to find the right fit.

Currently, The School Collective serves a diverse roster of Philadelphia schools, including The William Penn Charter School, Stepping Stones, and The School District of Philadelphia. The plan is to expand to include parents and students, and to extend The School Collective's reach to neighboring states.

Source: Alyson Goodner, Sebastian Stoddart, The School Collective
Writer: Sue Spolan

Philly as a model for social entrepreneurship examined as part of The New Capitalist Junto

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Getting paid for paying it forward is the future of social change. Last Wednesday (June 6), Good Company Ventures hosted The New Capitalist Junto.

In the high-rise offices at 1650 Arch, formerly known as The Green Village, around 220 attendees gathered to consider the task of making Philadelphia a center for new capitalism. Based on the book The New Capitalist Manifesto written by Umair Haque, the business philosophy embraces sustainability, non-violence, equity and improving quality of life.

"Philadelphia has all of the infrastructure, in institutions, talent and beyond, to be a global leader in social entrepreneurship," says Technically Philly's Christopher Wink, one of the night's top rated speakers. "The intractable legacy problems we have in our big, old, industrial city, mean that this is among the most meaningful places in the world to confront the challenges that we need to solve most -- education inequality, crime, violence, drugs, poverty, joblessness and the like."

Joined by Mayor Michael Nutter and 25 local organizations from all corners of business and civic life including Robin Hood Ventures, EEB Hub and NextFab Studio, the goal, says Wink, "is to get a broad coalition and conversation happening around the region being a relevant, sensible and powerful hub for mission-minded ventures."

Good Company's Zoe Seltzer says, "It was a nice mix of engaged, yet wanting more. Venture types curious about the social stuff and social types wanting us to reach further. As long as we have this diverse group talking, we've made a good start."

The idea of the Junto originated in Philadelphia in 1727, and was defined as a club for mutual improvement. P'unk Avenue, one of the evening's participants, has hosted a monthly junto for about 2 years.

Source: Christopher Wink, Zoe Seltzer, The New Capitalist Junto
Writer: Sue Spolan

'Twive and Receive' fundraiser for TechGirlz on June 14

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A one day only fundraiser for TechGirlz will take place June 14. The local nonprofit, dedicated to training middle and high school students for jobs in technology, is Philadelphia's entry in Give Across America through the Twive and Receive campaign.

Gloria Bell, who chose the organization for the competition, says, "TechGirlz gets all of the money we raise and if they are in the top three fundraising cities, they get an additional amount, $5,000 for third place, $10,000 for second place or $15,000 for first place, on top of what we raise."

Here's the setup: donate $10 and then encourage 10 friends to donate as well through social media. Bell has written suggested tweets, so it's a no-brainer to participate.

TechGirlz, with the mission of empowering girls to be future technology leaders, has a year round calendar, and is running a one week Entrepreneur Summer Camp for middle school girls the week of July 9, where each student has a chance to create a startup in a hackathon setting. The program is in conjunction with DreamIt Ventures and Startup Corps.

Tracey Welson-Rossman, a female tech star in her own right, founded TechGirlz, and has since welcomed Kerry Rupp, Yasmine Mustafa, Jane Frankel, Neelan Choski, Anita Garimella Andrews, Christian Kunkel, Karen Stellabotte, Skip Shuda and Joyce Akiko to the leadership team.

"Curiosity and research led me down the path to find where I hypothesize it begins - at high school, specifically 9th grade. Studies show that girls at that age self-select out of technology learning because they do not understand what a career in tech can be. They see the stereotypes in the media of nerdy white males who work in cubicles and are not creative or collaborative," says Welson-Rossman. "We know that is not the case. TechGirlz wants to show the depth and breadth of what technology can offer. We also want to represent what the folks in tech actually look like - men and women."

TechGirlz hosts regular workshops to teach girls a wide range of skills including programming, web design, podcasting,3D printing and animation. Welson-Rossman also reports that TechGirlz is at a point where it will soon be hiring staff to help the organization grow and to track participants' progress.

Source: Gloria Bell, Tracey Welson-Rossman, TechGirlz
Writer: Sue Spolan

Cadence knows what time it is: Center City watch company targets specific audiences, hiring

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 05, 2012

"With our 4:20 and 4-Bit watches," says Vanya Buvac, founder and General Manager of Philadelphia's Cadence Watch Company. "People light up when they see them."

And that's the key to marketing an analog timepiece in a digital age, according to Buvac. "We are developing watches for particular markets." Beginning with its reddit-branded product, which sports the reddit alien on a largely black face, Cadence has always put the customer at the center of its design. "We figure out whom to develop the watch for, how to reach that person, and market test it so that when the launch comes, it's easy to publicize and market."

In the case of the 4-Bit model, Buvac knew that the audience was the Tech Crunch/Engadget crowd, so it was not much of a stretch to market via those sites, giving Engadget a bit of an exclusive to help with promotion.

Similarly, the creation of 4:20 line was very deliberate, based on conversations with reddit about strong sub-communities of redditors, one of which is people who know why 4:20 is an important time of day. Getting coverage for that watch in High Times magazine was easier than filling a pipe. "We integrate publicity with design," explains Buvac. In the first week alone, there were 800 pre-orders for the stoner-friendly watch.

Traditionally, there are two ways that people market a commodity like a watch, says Buvac: through celebrity endorsements and sponsorship of sporting events. "We didn't want to do that. We want to do product development that's going to help our audience stand out in a sophisticated way. With the 4:20 line, the style of the watch is a very subtle manifestation of belonging to that group. For people who know, it's a signal."

The micro niching strategy also helps with Cadence's recent decision to shift all sales exclusively to the internet. Cutting out retail chain distribution saves 50 to 70% on the price to the consumer, and forgoing wholesalers and exporter clearinghouses saves another 10%. "The designs bring people in the door, but the value proposition seals the deal," says Buvac, who can afford to sell watches for $60 and still make enough money to pay staff. Cadence does its own e-commerce as well, using the Magento platform. Cadence is now seeking to hire an e-commerce buyer.

"Everyone says, why do you need a watch today? But the watch industry in 2010 was $43 billion, and grew by 4%. It's been growing 4% or more for last 5 years. It's a very exciting market to be in. The opportunities are enormous. There is a misperception in the tech community that it's a dying industry, but it's not," says Buvac, who works out of The Marketplace Design Center at 2400 Market Street with four employees, and also operates a fulfillment center in Horsham.

Source: Vanya Buvac, Cadence Watch Company
Writer: Sue Spolan

QuickSee MD wins Health Startup Weekend with on-demand care platform

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, June 05, 2012

The first-ever Startup Weekend Health yielded solid business ideas, most of which addressed the gap in communication between patients and care providers. The weekend's winner, QuickSee MD, was no exception.

Helping users choose appropriate on-demand medical care, the QuickSee team was an early pick by judge Kimberly Eberbach, VP of Wellness and Community Health at Independence Blue Cross. IBX, incidentally, was one of the sponsors of the weekend, held at Venturef0rth at 8th and Callowhill.

Also on the judging panel was Philly Startup Leaders President Bob Moul, a veteran of Startup Weekend judging, who reported that more so than normal, fledgling companies were very tightly clustered and the final debate to choose the winner got intense.

QuickSee MD is an obvious choice for IBX as a potential white label solution, and the startup will take part in the upcoming IBX Game Changers Challenge. QuickSee MD has many parallels to iTriage, a Denver-based startup formed in 2008, and purchased by Aetna. QuickSee also won the honor of audience favorite, as determined by the decibel level of cheers on an iPhone app. QuickSee has set up a twitter account but has not yet tweeted, and has no active website as of this writing.

"There is almost a religious feeling here," said Jarrett Bauer, CEO of Basic Health, a soon to be launched startup. This was Bauer's first Startup Weekend. While he ultimately decided to remain a spectator, he was impressed with the fervor of the teams.

Second place went to HealthHereNow, a smartphone app that sends health oriented location based alerts, and Food Mood, an easy way to log mood before and after eating, took third. A total of 85 attendees teamed up to present ideas for 12 health care-related startups.

Other standouts included Stump The MD, a social website to crowdsource medical education with parallels to the legal education platform ApprenNet (out of Drexel Law); Beverage Buddy, aimed at curbing sugary drink intake and obesity, and CareProsper, which incentivizes patient data sharing.

On a related note, Venturef0rth continues to increase its ranks, and will soon announce the arrival of several recently funded, high-profile startups.

Source: Bob Moul, Elliot Menschik, Jarrett Bauer, Startup Weekend Health Philadelphia
Writer: Sue Spolan

Largest show in festival history announced for 16th annual Live Arts celebration

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

With six world premieres and two U.S. premieres set for the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, which announced the lineup for its 16th annual edition on Monday, there will be plenty of cutting-edge dance, theater, music, visual and interdisciplinary works by renowned contemporary artists. It will also feature the largest work in Live Arts Festival history with Sylvain Emard Danse's Le Grand Continental, which will feature 200-plus dancers on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and go down as the largest presentation of its kind in the world.

The Parkway will also host interactive public art from Montreal-based new media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Montreal will also be represented by urban circus 7 Fingers. Philadelphia's leading contemporary art-makers are in the mix as well, including Pig Iron Theatre Company, Headlong Dance Theater, Brian Sanders' JUNK and Lucidity Suitacase Intercontinental.

"Our mission to present artistic voices from around the world alongside Philadelphia's best and brightest talent continues with our 2012 programming," says producing director Nick Stuccio in a news release.

Other noteworthy performances include the only American presentation of Australia-based Back to Back Theatre's FOOD COURT, a centerpiece production that confronts bullying and body image, and New York's Elevator Repair Service and Young Jean Lee Theater Company.

The Festival runs Sept. 7-22. Tickets go on sale in mid-June and are priced between $10-$30. Discounts available to those age 25 and under and for Festival Members. A full schedule with Festival events, and performance dates, times and locations will be released shortly. PNC Arts Alive is the presenting sponsor for the 2012 edition.

Source: Carolyn Huckabay, Canary Promotions
Writer: Joe Petrucci

311 mobile app, PublicStuff coming to Philly by summer's end

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Philadelphia's open data movement recently got stronger by a factor of 311. The city has announced that PublicStuff will produce the long-awaited 311 mobile app to allow citizens to make faster service requests without disrupting city operations.

"The product is already built," says Lily Liu, founder and CEO of PublicStuff. "It's a mobile and web app that integrates with how workers are already working. The staff does not have to change what it does every day. They will still manage work flow and work orders, but it will be a much better experience for the citizen."

Liu adds that the integration piece is essential, and the custom designed app will be fully scalable and integrate with backend solutions.

While PublicStuff is a based in New York with over coverage of over 100 cities nationwide, Liu says PublicStuff will soon be opening a satellite office in Philadelphia, where it got its start with Good Company Ventures.

"Our original goal was to create something that could be utilized in any city, not necessarily in Philly," she says. "A lot of our mentors and investors are located here."

It was an easy decision to apply for the project once PublicStuff heard about the opportunity, which was a bit of a wait-and-hurry-up situation. While the idea for a 311 mobile app has been kicked around for several years, it was only a matter of weeks from RFP to selection, says Liu, who reports that her company is still finalizing details around the local office.

PublicStuff, with an $18,000, one-year contract from the city, hopes to set up shop here in the fall, and expects to roll out the app by Labor Day 2012.

Source: Lily Liu, PublicStuff
Writer: Sue Spolan

Growing e-commerce firm O3 World hiring, moving to Fishtown

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, May 15, 2012

It's a three thing. "O3 stands for ozone," says Keith Scandone of the name of his e-commerce agency. "Ozone is made of three parts oxygen, and our company incorporates three aspects: marketing, design and technology." O3 World, founded by three partners, is now hiring both a front-end and a back-end web developer.

Currently located at the Piazza, O3 World is poised to move north to new headquarters in Fishtown this fall. Scandone reports that year over year growth is 45% from 2011 to 2012, which is the group's most dramatic gain since its 2005 inception.

Now with two owners and 12 full time employees, Scandone attributes the expansion to new business. He points to work with Comcast's Project Open Voice and referrals through relationships, some of which were developed through Scandone's participation in the Philly Ad Club.

"We specialize specifically in e-commerce, and it's a complicated process you can't fake," says Scandone, who will refer out any work that's out of O3's area of expertise. For example, clients with SEO and SEM needs are sent to NoLibs neighbor SEER Interactive. "We won't sell something to a client and then outsource it."

O3 is a full Magento partner, a deal they struck just a few months ago,and is positioned to provide the full package to clients, from design, through hosting, development, and integrations.

The firm's other clients include Grayhair Software, Pravda Vodka, Timberlane and Back on My Feet, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit begun that now operates in 11 cities nationwide.

Source: Keith Scandone, O3 World
Writer: Sue Spolan

Father's Day is every day with ManCaveKingdom

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, May 15, 2012

"There's no such thing as a typical man cave," says Joe Chiaccio, founder of ManCaveKingdom. The bootstrapped startup is in the business of creating safe havens for every man, no matter what his taste.

Maybe you're the kind of guy who's just waiting for beer o'clock. Or maybe you are more of a Super Street Fighter. Whatever your particular escape, ManCaveKingdom will help make it happen.

While Chiaccio, based in South Jersey, has full time designer Amanda Burke on staff, he explains it's more of a DIY thing. "Guys are traditionally not the decorators of the house. Typically women are the primary decorators. If a guy is lucky enough to get his own space, ManCaveKingdom makes it attainable for guys who have an idea of what they want," says Chiaccio, who adds that wives are often more than happy to hand over an area of the house where a guy can get as sloppy as he wants.

The target demographic for the fledgling company is pretty wide, ranging in age from men in their early 20s up to their 60s. "Younger guys live in apartments, and then there are guys who have been married 40 years and want a little bit of space," says Chiaccio. Most commonly, men are looking for a bar and a really nice TV viewing area. Add-ons include stand up arcade games, ping pong and pool tables.

How much is this going to set you back? "How much does a diamond ring cost?" jokes the recently married Chiaccio, citing a budget range from a few hundred dollars all the way up to the tens of thousands. In fact, it was Chiaccio's own experiences building out his man space that gave him the idea for the business.

Chiaccio reports that Philly Tech Week was great for business, and now counts among his clients a recently divorced local entrepreneur who does web analytics by day, but wants to get loose at night. We're not naming names, or even initials. What happens in the man cave stays in the man cave.

Source: Joseph Chiaccio, ManCaveKingdom
Writer: Sue Spolan

Pivot, flip and win: Michael Raber's journey to AppRenaissance

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Michael Raber was not taken completely by surprise when AppRenaissance made an acquisition offer on his startup UXFlip. While Raber will not disclose the specifics of the deal, he is now employed full time as a Senior Product Director at the Old City HQ of the mobile app developer, which is part art gallery and part workspace. The street level suite at 309 Cherry was previously home to lighting craftsman Warren Mueller, and it retains a creative sensibility absent in most tech shops.

The Fall 2011 DreamIt grad already had a relationship with AppRen CEO Bob Moul. "Bob was my mentor during DreamIt, from the early days," says Raber, who entered the incubator with the plan to develop a company called Feedback Trail.

But halfway through DreamIt, while attempting to validate the idea, a method for developers to get enhanced feedback on mobile apps, Raber realized there was a problem. "It was a product people liked, but there was no revenue model." Eight weeks into the 12-week program, Raber and his wife/partner Jessica pivoted and created UXFlip. "I decided to focus on things I'd heard all along, that mobile app development is really hard, and UXFlip makes native mobile app development a much richer and easier experience," says Raber, who recently won top prize for UXFlip at Phorum 2012.

Rather than an assembly line approach, where a designer creates static representations of what screens will look like, then passes it to a programmer who carves everything up, UXFlip offers a round table approach in which team members can work together building the app, collapsing the process to be far more collaborative. Raber says Moul recognized the value of such a disruption early on, and not long after joining AppRenaissance in February 2012, Moul inquired as to whether Raber was interested in joining forces, combining AppRen's proprietary Unifeed middleware with UXFlip technology. Living on savings, having bootstrapped since September 2011 after leaving his job at NAVTEQ, Raber couldn't be happier. "It's been very good for both sides."

Incidentally, Raber and teammate John Romanski also won last month's Lean Startup Machine competition for their HeartMe mobile app, which allows married couples to track favors, keeping relationships on even footing. The HeartMe team is planning a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.

Source: Michael Raber, UXFlip/AppRenaissance
Writer: Sue Spolan

GPIC gets more efficient as EEB Hub, which shifts focus and is hiring up to five

Flying Kite Media Thursday, May 03, 2012

The multi-partner organization GPICHub is now EEB Hub, which stands for Energy Efficient Buildings Hub. Same players, but a redesigned website, logo and tagline to reflect a change of focus. "From early on the name was made to speak to the Department of Energy, and be region focused," says Christine Knapp, Manager of Public and Client Relations for the EEB Hub, who feels that the shorter name says more in fewer words.

EEB Hub is more market focused as well, according to Knapp, with pages that break down content into four sections she calls "point-of-view" pages: Owners/Operators/Occupants, Architects/Engineers/Suppliers, Policy and Finance, and Education and Workforce. An even more granular approach is in the works, says Knapp, with some of the categories broken out further to address specific needs, say, of building owners.

The multi-stakeholder organization, which began life last February with temporary headquarters at the Navy Yard, is now in the process of constructing Building 661, a showplace for green building innovation. In what Knapp terms an entrepreneur's dream come true, even the current headquarters has become a lab.

"The temporary building we are in now is one of the most highly instrumented buildings in the country. It collects 1500 data points every minute," says Knapp, who looks forward to the ability to dashboard all that data, which will include energy, weather and occupancy data, to name just a few.

"ICon, our immersive construction lab, is up and running," reports Knapp. "It's a virtual 3D environment which allows design teams to put schematics into the system, put goggles on and walk around a building together." EEB Hub's Building 661 design team is using the technology now, and EEB Hub will soon make it available to regional architecture and design firms. "They can bring all their architects and engineers into the room together," says Knapp.

EEB Hub is seeking a full time manager for demonstration projects. Currently there are two, but up to five more are in the works, and will soon grow beyond the confines of the Navy Yard and into the larger region. Also available are ten paid summer internship positions for both undergrad and graduate students.

EEB Hub seeks to reduce energy use in the area's commercial building sector by 20 percent by 2020.

Source: Christine Knapp, EEB Hub
Writer: Sue Spolan