Two Vanderbilt-related ventures – PinPtr and Spot – are among 10 teams selected for the 2014 business accelerator summer program offered by Nashville’s Jumpstart Foundry.
More than 200 companies applied for the 10 spots, according to Jumpstart Foundry co-founder Marcus Whitney. The program began May 19 and companies pitch their business models to investors Aug. 21.
The 14-week startup bootcamp offers teams business advice and technical assistance to refine a product or service, strengthen business models, begin marketing efforts and determine market viability of the business.
PinPtr is a cloud-based positioning system using patent-pending localization methodology and a network of stationary base stations
Founders are:
- Will Hedgecock, (Ph.D.’14) electrical engineering, is a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS).
- Peter Volgyesi is a research scientist at ISIS.
- Zsolt Lattman is a staff engineer at Vanderbilt.
- Akos Ledeczi is an ISIS senior research scientist and associate professor of computer engineering.
- Miklos Maroti is a visiting professor at ISIS from the University of Szeged, Hungary.
Spot is a collection of technologies to be deployed to better guide residents and visitors to parking spots. By using a combination of in-ground sensors, solar-powered cameras and data integration technology, Spot can help reduce time spent in traffic, metro road congestion and fuel consumption.
Founders are:
- Zach McCormick, (BS’13) mathematics and computer science, Vanderbilt University
- James Crater, (BA’13) philosophy and political science, Vanderbilt University
- Chase Merlin, (BA’13) cognitive Science, University of Pennsylvania
- Trevor McCormick, (BA’14) philosophy and economics, Xavier University
JumpStart Foundry, Nashville’s first and longest running tech product accelerator program, is a microfund that supports seed-stage ventures and entrepreneurs with $15,000 investments and access to a network of 100 mentors. The 20 founders of JumpStart Foundry are entrepreneurs who have successfully launched or built a vast array of businesses, products and services.
So far, 28 companies have gone through the program and at least 15 companies have together raised nearly $10 million in capital.