Five startup companies each received $20,000 grants from Tech Growth Ohio to participate in a new entrepreneurial development program this summer.
The five companies were funded to develop their businesses during the Innovation Engine Accelerator at Ohio University’s Innovation Center. One alternate program participated in the program but was not given the grant.
Affine Technologies, Flash Crop, Lightborne Lore, Tabalog.com, MyEventMetrics and unfunded alternate Grüvster worked together at the center for 10 weeks, meeting with executives in residence and other high-level entrepreneurs to hear advice about developing a business, said Jennifer Simon, director of the Innovation Center, in a previous interview.
Although some of the businesses had started developing or had participated in other entrepreneurial competitions prior to the IEA program, they agreed it had a positive effect on their startup.
“There were a lot of different helpful areas: immediately having a mentor in the game industry — he’s actually an (Ohio University) alum — (and) having his insight allowed us to really hone (Lightborne Lore) into something … that is pretty unique in the game market itself and pretty marketable,” said Kyle Perkins, a 2010 graduate of the Honors Tutorial College media arts and studies program.
Perkins is also a co-founder of Lightborne Lore, which is a digital, interactive story app for mobile devices. He described the app as a “digital choose-your-own adventure story.”
“It’s sort of a synthesis of literature and games and it really sits well with mobile phones because the gameplay is really simple,” Perkins said.
The IEA program focused on applications that concerned digital media, a theme evidenced by some of the startup concepts: Grüvster aims to create an app that listens and corrects music students while they’re playing; Tabalong.com is a shopping website modified in real-time by user recommendations; and Flash Crop will allow students to create and upload flashcards by taking photos of class notes.
Flash Crop had already participated in Athens Startup Weekend and the Center for Entrepreneurship Idea Pitch Competition when they decided to apply for the IEA program, said Richard Rodman, a senior studying entrepreneurship and business management.
“(The IEA program) was awesome,” Rodman said. “Flash Crop wouldn’t be where we are today without the accelerator program … Also, the $20,000 kind of helps with starting a company.”
Rodman added that the advising and executives in residence helped guide the program. Flash Crop will send their program to the Apple App Store Thursday.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
