Purdue student startup is designed to help other startups achieve success
November 12, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University student Web design and development company plans to expand into a full-service consultancy specializing in startups to help entrepreneurs achieve success.
Purdue undergraduate Conlin Durbin and Purdue alumnus Mike Asem established the startup, Frosty LLC, to further develop and commercialize their consultancy business. Durbin is a junior who plans to graduate from the Krannert School of Management, and Asem graduated from the Purdue College of Liberal Arts.
"So far what we've done is design and develop websites for companies. We hope to get into a full-brand and product approach, so when someone comes to us with an idea we can help them develop and design it and turn it into a real product," Durbin said.
One of Frosty's clients is Tymora Analytical, a life sciences company located in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette.
"We built an e-commerce platform for Tymora Analytical by redesigning their website to include the e-commerce applications," said Durbin. "It took about six months to get the finished product completed, and we still work with them on a support basis."
Durbin said the company name, Frosty, developed meaning from the phrase "stay frosty," which means "stay cool" or "cooler than cool."
"Not many consultancy companies focus on full idea generation. The companies that do tend to specialize in a certain type of end product," said Durbin. "We are quick and provide a good balance of skills because I have startup development experience and Mike brings a marketing background to the table."
Frosty is based out of the Anvil, a co-working space at 320 North St. in West Lafayette and close to the Purdue campus. The Anvil was co-founded by Asem. The startup also is receiving assistance through the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.
"We do our work out of the Anvil and, because of Mike's networking capabilities through there, he found one of our first clients," said Durbin. "Also, I am going through the Launchbox program at the Purdue Foundry to further develop our value proposition and business plan."
Frosty is in the process of making some company changes, including bringing on another owner, Jeremy Meyer, a senior in Purdue’s College of Science.
Frosty participated in the Schurz Innovation Challenge through the Purdue Foundry and placed first receiving $5,000 in funding. The startup also participated in the Silicon Valley Boilermaker Innovation Group program through the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship under its former name of Tebogo.
About Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org
About Frosty LLC
Frosty is a startup development company. The company builds products both in-house and for clients, moving them from an idea to reality. Frosty specializes in web and mobile application design and development. For more information on Frosty visit http://frosty.co
Writer: Hillary Henry, 765-588-3586, HKHenry@prf.org
Purdue Research Foundation contact: Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Source: Conlin Durbin, 812-614-2061, conlin@frosty.co
