Workout technology startup wins 2nd annual Boiler Mini-Accelerator Competition
April 20, 2015
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Daniel Golant, left, and Christopher Price, students in Purdue's College of Technology, are founders of a startup called Spotter. The technology attaches to workout equipment to track the user's reps. Spotter won first place and $5,000 during Demo Day at the second annual Boiler Mini-Accelerator Competition. (Purdue Research Foundation photo) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Spotter, a startup founded by Purdue University students, took top honors and $5,000 during "Demo Day" at the second annual Boiler Mini-Accelerator Competition, or Boiler, on Friday (April 17) in the Discovery Learning Center.
The Boiler is a student-run business competition hosted by the Anvil, a community co-working space and business incubator in West Lafayette. It takes place over eight weeks, and participants receive mentoring from industry leaders and experts, office space, workshops and funding to enable their startups to reach the next level.
Spotter founders Daniel Golant and Christopher Price are students in the Purdue College of Technology. The company is commercializing technology that attaches to workout equipment and tracks the user's reps. Golant said the team received support during the Boiler that helped make Spotter a reality.
"The sheer cost of figuring out how to make the technology work wouldn't have been possible without the support and training we've received through the Boiler," he said. "In May, Chris and I will attend Disrupt NY 2015, a conference organized by TechCrunch. We are looking to connect with possible investors, to flesh out our technology and to get more users."
Placing second and receiving $3,000 is Dunmo, a startup that intelligently manages and tracks a user's schedule. Michael Goldman, a student in the College of Science, said competing in the Boiler encouraged the team to focus more energy into developing its technology.
"Our advisers guided us about how to avoid mistakes and provided suggestions of places to look for good ideas. They also provided very good initial user feedback," he said. "We're currently beta testing our technology and marketing it so we can grow our user base. We're looking to build the technology and make it even better through user feedback."
Placing third and receiving $1,500 is UPrint, a startup that provides a simple way for Purdue students to print on campus. Team member Rick Li, a student in the College of Health and Human Sciences, said participating in the Boiler helped UPrint discover the steps to be successful.
"The Boiler provided insight on how to promote and market ourselves. Our advisers provided information on how to start a business in the future, which is something we didn't know how to do by ourselves," he said. "In August, we will push out our premium model. We are expanding into different colleges to develop a user base to get to know our product. We are undergoing beta tests at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and we've been invited to the Harvard Business School."
Spotter and Dunmo also will receive free and discounted professional services through Purdue's entrepreneurial programs and resources.
Grant Gumina, director of the Anvil, said Purdue University students have become more aware that being a serial entrepreneur is a career choice.
"Two years ago, the status quo was that a person graduated from Purdue and got a corporate job. Now, there's more awareness that college students can start their own companies," he said. "They are seeing that just because a person is in college doesn't mean she doesn't have the intelligence to run a business. They understand that just because a person is at Purdue instead of Stanford of M.I.T. doesn't mean he doesn't have the ability to start a company."
Demo Day judges were Mikel Berger, partner at DelMar Software Development; Paroon Chadha, co-founder and CEO of Passageways; and Jason Tennenhouse, owner of 10 IN HOUSE Strategy & Design.
About the Anvil
The Anvil is a co-working space at Purdue University that serves the unique needs of students, acting as a center of creative culture in West Lafayette. The Anvil focuses on providing local and student run startups affordable office space.
About Purdue Research Foundation
The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship and strong business support system. For more information about investing in a Purdue startup or licensing a Purdue innovation, visit PurdueFoundry.com.
Purdue Research Foundation contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Source: Grant Gumina, 616-516-0561, grantgumina@gmail.com
