neighborhood innovation : Innovation + Job News

South Philly Food Co-op preps for annual garden tour, is hiring

Carolyn Huckabay, South Philly Food Co-op Tuesday, July 30, 2013

They're popping up all over the neighborhood -- little stickers proclaiming "We Support South Philly Food Co-op."

The infant co-op is prepping for a big year. After an aggressive membership push earlier this spring, the ever-so-secretive real estate committee is scouting sites (they could tell you, but they'd have to kill you) and the organization continues to raise funds.

Next on the docket is the Third Annual South Philly Garden Tour on September 7 -- a chance to take a peak into the area's hidden backyard oases. As any resident could tell you, this neighborhood is filled with secret spaces, spotted through fences and from adjacent rooftops, decked out by dedicated gardeners and DIY designers.

Due to growing turn-out and participation, this year they're narrowing the geographic area, showcasing home gardens from Washington Avenue to Snyder Avenue, 11th to 17th Street. Consider it an inside look at the South Broad Street corridor. (Click here for details on how to participate.)

In another sign of their rapid growth, the Co-op is currently hiring a Capital Campaign Coordinator; it's a part-time contracted position in charge of fostering the organization's $500,000 capital campaign.

Source: Carolyn Huckabay, South Philly Food Co-op
Writer: Lee Stabert

Inventing the Future: Breadboard announces public art residency program, seeks applicants

David Clayton, Breadboard, Jeanne Mell, The University City Science Center Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Breadboard currently seeks applicants for its first Art Along the Avenue of Technology (AAAT) Artist
Residency program. The selected artist will collaborate with the University City Science Center and the surrounding West Philly community to create tech-based public art projects for the campus' Market Street corridor.

The program is part of Percent for Arts, a Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) initiative wherein building developers set aside funds for public art projects. Percent for Arts began in 1959 and has funded 400 projects, mostly large outdoor sculptures (including the clothespin at 15th and Market Streets). David Clayton, Breadboard's program manager, says AAAT will depart from that convention.

"With the traditional public art process, the artist really could be anywhere when they design the work," says Clayton. "A big part of the [AAAT] program is that the artist will really be here, working in the community and developing their work as an open process."

According to Clayton, AAAT projects -- funded through the recent construction of 3701 and 3711 Market Street -- could take a variety of forms, including video projections, electronic music installations, performance art, interactive sculpture or educational workshops. The Science Center will partner with PRA's Fine Arts Committee on the selection process.

With over $160,000 in funding set aside, Breadboard welcomes applications from candidates both in and outside the Philadelphia region. They are releasing a Request For Qualifications and don’t expect artists to submit proposals.

"We don't have a defined outcome in mind," explains Clayton. "We're putting the ball in their court in terms of creativity."

Source: David Clayton, Breadboard; Jeanne Mell, the University City Science Center
Writer: Dana Henry

Inventing the Future: Department of Making + Doing earns $150,000 grant

Dan Schimmel, Breadboard Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Thanks to a $150,000 grant from ArtPlace America, the Department of Making + Doing (DMD), located at the University City Science Center, is embarking on an 18-month "placemaking" project. They hope to transform the 37th street walkway in University City into a tech-arts hub. The $150,000 is part of $1.2 million given by ArtPlace to placemaking projects in Philadelphia.

DMD will engage surrounding universities and greater West Philly, including Mantua and Powelton Village, in a series of events aimed at developing the walkway. The space connects the Science Center, International House, several local businesses and Lancaster Avenue's commercial corridor.

"We want to get as many people involved as possible and mix a lot of different communities," says Dan Schimmel, director of Breadboard, a DMD partner.

The project's centerpiece is a "pod," a temporary structure located at the Market Street intersection that will serve as a space to spearhead art projects. Group work will continue at the DMD and Esther Klein Gallery spaces.

The engagement is part of the Science Center's larger efforts to encourage pedestrian-centric development. All four DMD partners -- Breadboard, The Hacktory, The Public Workshop and NextFab Studios -- have strong track records of engaging diverse communities in maker activities, often utilizing cutting-edge technologies. This will be their first opportunity to fuse those histories together.

"We're all loosely orbiting around the theme of 'placemaking,'" says Schimmel. "This grant gives us the opportunity to collaborate -- rather than coordinate what we already do -- and develop new programing."

Source: Dan Schimmel, Breadboard
Writer: Dana Henry

The University City Science Center has partnered with Flying Kite to showcase innovation in Greater Philadelphia through the "Inventing the Future" series.

CultureBlocks mapping tool catalogs and curates neighborhood arts

Moira Baylson, Office of Arts Culture and the Creative Economy Tuesday, May 14, 2013

In an innovative effort to help neighborhood arts thrive, the City of Philadelphia has launched CultureBlocks, a GIS-enabled mapping tool that helps agencies and grant providers link cultural assets to place.

CultureBlocks was created in partnership with the Social Impact of the Arts Project at Penn and the Reinvestment Fund, which provided PolicyMap, a GIS mapping tool that became the foundation for the site.

"We're trying to showcase what's happening in Philadelphia," says Moira Baylson, deputy cultural officer at the City's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. "It's not just about what's happening downtown -- it's exploring the ecosystem of arts and culture. We say on a neighborhood level, but we're really talking about Philadelphia in its entirety."

By typing in a zipcode, neighborhood or council district, users can identify cultural work, events, resources and related information. They can create a profile of an area or match their specific interests to locale. The tool includes more than formal institutions -- with over 50 data sets, it also features collectives, daycares and churches across all neighborhoods.

Ultimately, the app is intended to encourage longterm growth in the creative sector by helping funders and policymakers -- including Parks and Recreation, the Planning Commission, and the Commerce Department -- view arts and culture as an asset for neighborhood development.

The tool is free to the public and expected to serve relocating businesses, community development corporations, organizations looking to build an audience and residents who want to check out the arts in their neighborhood.

"A lot of people understand the role of arts and culture in economy and in creating vibrant neighborhoods," says Baylson. "CultureBlocks is how we demonstrate it."

Source: Moira Baylson, Deputy Cultural Officer at the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
Writer: Dana Henry

Temple University team launches alpha version of its urban farming site

Justin Shi, Temple University Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Justin Shi, a computer science professor at Temple University, wants to create up to 300 farming jobs in two years. If that weren’t ambitious enough, he plans to do so on Philadelphia's 40,000 vacant lots.

According to Shi, many university students have the will and passion for urban farming, but not the resources and information. GrowShare.net, an online resource he created with four Temple students, helps build the local urban farming economy by providing the essential data.

The project was funded by the Knight Foundation and earned runner-up status in Google's international Place API Developer Challenge in Feburary. The site recently launched in alpha and the team plans to incorporate as a nonprofit this summer.

By logging onto Growshare.net, users can locate urban farming projects in Google Maps, view crime statistics and assess resources in the surrounding area. They can also log into an auction platform and bid on gardening supplies, equipment and plants from other local farmers.

"What can public data do to help solve a problem?" asks Shi. "The Growshare project puts private and public data together in one place."

Assets like volunteer labor and knowledge -- which Shi calls "intangible resources" -- are advertised and claimed on the site. He expects to launch a separate currency called "Universal Resource Exchange" to facilitate the trade of volunteer hours.

"Those intangible resources have no place for trade," he says. "Growshare allows those intangible resources to be fairly traded on a platform that includes tangible resources."

GrowShare was developed through Temple's Computer and Information Systems Department (Shi is associate chair), and received support from the City, The National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates and Code for America of Philadelphia.

"If we quantify the volunteer work and use social networking power and people's goodwill, those vacant lots will be much more effectively utilized," says Shi.

Source: Justin Shi, Temple University
Writer: Dana Henry

Grand Opening: NextFab shows off its new digs

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

South Philly’s “light” industrial core—a.k.a. Washington Avenue West—just got a lot heavier. NextFab is expanding their stable of high-tech gear and community of inventors to a 21,000-square-foot warehouse at Washington Avenue and 21st Street. The grand opening party is scheduled for January 17.

The doors open wide enough for an onsite forklift. They guard cutting-edge equipment, including a five-axis waterjet cutter and a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine. Additional room allows for private member offices, a sizeable woodshop, conference and class rooms, and a walk-in booth for painting hefty objects. The new site also includes a television lounge and satellite Cafe L'Aube.

“There is enough space for all of us to think and work in comfort,” says founder and president Evan Malone.

Three years ago, NextFab made news, pioneering a space where emerging makers could access 3D printers, laser cutters, textile machines and other advanced technologies for a monthly fee. Their short legacy of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) achievement for Philadelphia at large includes work with Optofluidics, UE Life Sciences, Philadelphia Futures and Atomic Robotics.

Although an impressive list of creative enterprises—including Pocket Grill, Master of None and Maria Eife Jewelry & Design—has hatched under their roof, most do not come to NextFab with know-how. "We helped hundreds of people with no technical background understand and learn to use digital fabrication technology," says Malone.

He adds that anyone with an affinity for technology and creativity is welcome to check out the space. Co-making, after all, is about sharing. "[The grand opening party] is our chance to show off the amazing new capabilities our members and clients now have access to," says Malone, "and to entice other curious Philadelphians inside."

Source: Evan Malone, NextFab
Writer: Dana Henry

Comcast Internet Essentials, for low-income residents, enters year two with expanded program

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Comcast celebrates the first anniversary of its Internet Essentials Program, declaring it a great success, and is now moving into year two. "In less than a year we've signed up over 100,000 families," says Comcast Corporation Executive Vice President David L. Cohen, who multiplies that number to estimate the number of individuals accessing the low cost service at 400,000.

The average family pays upwards of $150 per month for Comcast's Triple Play package, making home internet access a luxury that's out of reach for the region's many low-income households. But Cohen notes that getting on the web is increasingly vital for employment, services and information. In sheer numbers, adoption for avagerage income Americans is somewhere around 75 to 80%, but for low-income families, the number drops dramatically to under 25%.

Comcast calls Internet Essentials the largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program anywhere in America, providing low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month, the option to purchase a full-service, Internet ready computer for under $150 and options for digital literacy training in print, online or in-person for eligible families.

New this year are expanded benefits for children enrolled in reduced school lunch programs. Also, says Cohen, Comcast is looking to create an echo chamber effect, getting out information through word of mouth at churches and schools, though neighbors, and via increased reliance on nonprofit partners like OIC.

Cohen adds that it's even easier to sign up this year, and Comcast will follow up with potential customers. "As a public policy matter, it's inconceivable that the ability to access internet should be determined by where you live or your parents' income. This program is designed to level access the playing field."

Interested families can call 855-8-INTERNET, or 855-846-8376, to get started.

Source: David L. Cohen, Comcast
Writer: Sue Spolan

Super stealth: Perceptual Newtorks scores $1M in seed round funding without the details, hiring

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 25, 2012

He's not going to talk about specific products. Cheyenne Ehrlich, CEO of Northern Liberties based Perceptual Networks, says, "We have not really gotten into much public detail about what we are doing."

Nonetheless, whatever he and partner Jim Young are planning is sufficient to have garnered $1 million in a seed funding round from some of tech's biggest players. At least 20 players, including First Round Capital, founders of YouTube, PayPal, Rackspace, Bebo, and Demand Media have put chips on the table.

But Ehrlich remains mum on specifics. "Jim has a track record of building products that consumers love. People fundamentally get excited by people who make products that people love." Ehrich is referring to Young's product hotornot.com, which skyrocketed in a matter of months from launch to being one a top 25 web property.

Perceptual Networks, says Ehrlich, is in the process of building a suite of products intended to connect people to one another for work, for love, and for community. That's all Ehrich is willing to divulge at this time to everyone but investors. "Apple is an example of a company that builds great products that people love. That's what the focus should be on," says Ehrlich.

Ehrlich was scouting cities for some time, considering New York, the San Francisco bay area, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and ultimately chose Philly for its combination of great educational institutions, regional access to capital, easy access to New York City, lower cost of living and better quality of life, with great restaurants and culture and the growing tech community as added benefits.

With five on staff, Ehrlich says Perceptual is aggressively hiring right now, particularly in engineering to create products that will live on iOS, Android and the web, with possible expansion to other platforms in the future.

Source: Cheyenne Ehrlich, Perceptual Networks
Writer: Sue Spolan

A reason to celebrate: Girl Develop It Philly approaches 600 members on first birthday

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Girl Develop It Philly turns one year old this month, and founder Yasmine Mustafa has been hard at work organizing a kick ass party on Thursday, Sept. 27 at SEER Interactive in Northern Liberties.

"We're going with a nerd theme and we'll have a photo booth, a tattoo artist making geeky temporary tattoos, a scavenger hunt, nerd glasses to give out at the door, candy, food, liquor and beer, of course," says Mustafa. The winner of the nerdiest costume gets a free GDI class. The event, says Mustafa, is not just a celebration of GDI, but also of the city's burgeoning female-centric tech community, with award winning organizations like TechGirlz and Girl Geek Dinners. TechGirlz, in fact, will share in the proceeds from the GDI raffle.

Mustafa is thrilled with the number of sponsors who have stepped forward to provide over $3,000 in prizes for the raffle, with a list that includes Rackspace, Treehouse, Wildbit, Indyhall, ThinkGeek, and O'Reilly Media all donating goods and services. "We already have enough sponsors, so we're asking companies that want to come on board to provide funding for an unemployed woman to take a class."

Girl Develop It Philly has grown enormously since inception, launching 12 classes and over 2 dozen Meetups with 400 members, with the goal of increasing technical literacy among women. The GDI Meetup counts over 560 members in its ranks. Mustafa won top prize for her presentation about GDI at ignite Philly 9.

Mustafa seeks to vanquish the intimidation factor in the developer community, which she cites as about 90% male. GDI's classes include both basic and advanced topics, like server side programming, the ins and outs of Wordpress, intro to HTML and JavaScript for non-programmers.

Girl Develop It Philly is part of a larger international organization with six chapters including New York, San Francisco, Ottawa and Sydney, and over a thousand participants.

Source: Yasmine Mustafa, Girl Develop It Philly
Writer: Sue Spolan

Coming round the mountain: Philly Startup Weekend 4.0

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Here comes the one of the Philly tech community's favorite events: Startup Weekend Philadelphia. Version 4.0 is back at the Univeristy of the Arts, and is being organized by tech twins Melissa Morris-Ivone and Chris Baglieri, who take the reins from Brad Oyler. "UArts has always been incredibly supportive of Startup Weekend," says Baglieri. "The space encourages collaboration, offers teams plenty of space to work, and is in the center of town, with ample nearby parking, so convenient to all."

Morris-Ivone looks forward to standouts from April's event, which hatched Yagglo, Tubelr and SeedInvest. Those companies, among others, are still moving forward. And taking a cue from the concept of leaving a good thing alone to flourish. Morris-Ivone reports there will not be any dramatic changes. "It's a recipe that works," she says.

Adds Baglieri, "Every Startup Weekend is different in terms of the backgrounds it attracts, that's part of what makes every event unique. 4.0 has reached capacity on non-technical tickets. We're strong on the designer front too. While there's a good showing of developers, that's the area that probably needs the greatest promotion. I met Melissa at Startup Weekend 2.0 and that pairing has made a world of difference for me. As a developer, there's nothing quite like finding a partner in crime designer that you can work with. If there was ever a Startup Weekend in this city where a developer can find their designer match, 4.0 seems to be the best so far."

As far as judges, Baglieri and Morris-Ivone say Chris Fralic of First Round Capital returns. "We set out to further diversify the judges panel a bit this time around, involving individuals outside the investor community." New faces on the panel are largely conversions from previous Startup Weekend coaches and include Bob Moul and Ted Mann, as well as Morris-Ivone's colleague Apu Gupta, CEO/Co-founder of Curalate.

You can register for Startup Weekend through Eventbrite.

Source: Chris Baglieri, Melissa Morris-Ivone, Startup Weekend Philly
Writer: Sue Spolan

AppRenaissance announces Artisan mobile platform

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 18, 2012

This is big. Old City based appRenaissance is changing the game in mobile app development with the release of its new platform Artisan. Now in private beta and due to roll out publicly by January 2013, Artisan allows non-developers to create, change and test mobile apps without having to learn to code. Relying on the cloud, Moul terms Artisan frontend as a service.

It's all about native mobile applications, which are the kind you download to your smartphone, as opposed to mobile web apps, which are websites optimized for phones and tablets. Until now, native mobile apps were static. You download them onto your phone and they pretty much stay as is until an update rolls out. Artisan allows these apps to become dynamic, opening up a whole world of possibilities.

"Today, if all you wanted to do is have the background of your app be green on St. Patty's Day and pink on Valentine's Day, you'd have to get a developer go in, change the code, recompile, and then put out an update in the app store," explains Bob Moul, CEO of appRen. "With Artisan, a publisher, retailer, or ecommerce professional can do it themselves. The change is instantaneous. You can deploy the revised app without putting it back in the app store."

This is all well and good for background color, but let's do a wide pan and consider the implications for advertising. Suddenly, instead of a static app on your phone, Artisan creates the option of an ever updated experience. A retailer can change advertisements or special offers on a mobile app at will. All this talk about advertising in the mobile space is now a reality with Artisan. And appRen is the first to create this technology.

You may recall that Michael Raber, grad of Dreamit Ventures Fall 2011 and inventor of UXFlip, joined appRen earlier this year . Turns out UXFlip is at the core of the Artisan platform, according to Moul.

Analytics and flexibility that have been available on websites for some time will now migrate to mobile. Artisan tracks every user interaction and gesture in the application to provide insight into app utilization and user behavior.

Regular people will have the power normally reserved for the geekiest, creating and testing multiple user interface designs and flows. Depending on audience response, Artisan can offer the best performing designs to all users instantaneously without the need to recompile or resubmit the application to app stores.

The reaction from businesses has been outstanding, says Moul, who plans a subscription model based on company size, number of apps, users and volume, and will run anywhere from $1K to 12K per month.

Source: Bob Moul, appRenaissance
Writer: Sue Spolan

Yellow Pages on steroids: Seva Call launches in Philadelphia

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Seva Call's Manpreet Singh is a prodigy. After founding a dot com in high school called Desi Vibes, a south Asian social network, he went on to work with Profit Investment Management, a DC based investment management firm, growing assets from $20 million to 2 billion. He got his MBA from Wharton in 2009, and now he and his brother Gurpreet have launched Seva Call, which went live two months ago in the DC area and is expanding to Philadelphia. Singh calls it "a free virtual concierge service for people in need of service assistance. It’s like the Yellow Pages on steroids."

When Gurpreet Singh came up with the idea a few years ago, Manpreet says he didn't take it seriously. Gurpreet was running a small IT repair business, and spent a lot on advertising. But in about 40% of incoming calls, Gupreet found he could not help the consumer. He was too far away, or already booked. He wondered why there couldn't be a system to address a specific problem at a specific time, and Seva Call was born.

Say you have a clogged toilet and you want it fixed Wednesday morning. You plug in your request and the Seva Call algorithm connects you to a contractor.

Ranking of contractors has two components: Seva Call scrapes sites like Yelp, Google reviews, Facebook and Twitter to get consumer ratings, and contractors bid on a pay per call basis, which runs anywhere from $8 to 42 per placement. The system is also reactive, and will change the priority based on customer feedback, so a contractor's higher bid is not a guarantee of top placement in the queue.

"Generating revenue is not our main focus," says Manpreet Singh, who raised a $1.3 million Series A angel and VC funding round last fall.

Seva Call is launching in Philadelphia with more than 12,000 local professionals in 50 different industry categories, including computer repair, plumbing, roofing, maid service, and auto glass repair.

Seva means service in a number of South Asian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi and Punjabi.

Source: Manpreet Singh, Seva Call
Writer: Sue Spolan

Pizza Brain's viral dream opens in glorious reality in East Kensington

Flying Kite Media Friday, September 07, 2012

Walking into Pizza Brain is like walking into a dream. In 19 months from conception to grand opening, the combination museum and slice shop went from an idea in Brian Dwyer's head to multifaceted reality. "We want people to come in and have an otherworldly experience," says Dwyer, who hopes patrons feel grateful and confused, or perhaps the other way around. "You can't walk in and say these guys just phoned it in."

The public grand opening is tonight (Friday, Sept. 7) and at least a thousand people are expected, but earlier this week, we were treated to an intimate press preview. Located in the East Kensington section of Philadelphia on Frankford Avenue, Dwyer insists he doesn't care about the hype. But the New York Times has already been down three times, and there's a dedicated Wikipedia page. Dwyer's pizza collection is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records. "The second we got attention, we knew we had to deliver," says Dwyer.

Both Dwyer and co-founder Mike Carter say that while the neighborhood has a lot on offer, good pizza has been sorely lacking until now. Joe Hunter and Ryan Anderson are also partners. Pizza Brain's toppings range from standard to unusual, and it is a sweet potato, apple and goat cheese variety that is both one of the most unusual combinations and the tastiest.

Dwyer, by nature an artist, says his collection of pizza memorabilia includes album covers, cartoons, comics, memorabilia and images. "When you look at the photos on the wall, you see America."

The custom built bar is fabricated from old pianos found on Craigslist. In the courtyard of what Dwyer describes as a weird hippie pizza commune, encompassing the pizza shop, Little Baby's Ice Cream and a number of residences, a large mural by Hawk Krall depicts famous Philadelphians like Ben Franklin and Tina Fey enjoying a slice.

Dwyer is a yarn spinner, a larger than life persona bursting with energy. The son of a schoolbus driver and a foreman at an air conditioning plant, he moved to Philadelphia from Syracuse to attend Temple University's film program.

"There's tremendous freedom in putting your roots down," says Dwyer, who attributes the rapid success of the business in part to Circle of Hope, a community based non-denominational church. Additionally, people have simply shown up to pitch in, out of the blue, driving from as far away as New Orleans.

"A dream is typically up here and it's safe," says Dwyer, pointing to a head of fiery red hair. This dream has gone viral. And it's coming to a mind near you.

Source: Brian Dwyer, Pizza Brain
Writer: Sue Spolan (with help from David Greenberg)

Philly Geek Awards 2012: Girls, tears and robot-on-robot action

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Philadelphia loves its geeky girls, as evidenced by the preponderance of female award winners at the 2012 Philadelphia Geek Awards. Geek of the Year went to Tristin Hightower, cofounder of Girl Geek Dinners, and Event of the Year went to Women in Tech Summit.

"Girls, if you are a little bit tech or geek curious, Philly is a good place to be," remarked Hightower. When CloudMine's Brendan McCorkle posted her quote on twitter, Nick Robalik quipped, "Maybe even binary-curious."

Geekadelphia's Eric Smith, co-organizer of the sold-out, black tie event with Tim Quirino, reports that an overflow audience of 500 attended at the Academy of Natural Sciences. "The museum was sold out last year, and was sold out again this year in record time," says Quirino. "It's incredible to see a packed house dressed to the nines just to support the local Geek community."

A sci-fi inspired, LED-enhanced podium glowed in an ever changing rainbow of color and video. The awards themselves, created by NextFab Studio, also glowed. The podium and visuals were created by Klip Collective. Quirino says of the awards, "NextFab took my robot illustration to a whole new level. Robotic lasers cut the form of the robot out of clear, thick, acrylic and etched the details in. Imagine that. A robot creating a robot! Then they built the base out of wood, which housed a simple electronic circuit that contained three LED lights that lit up the acrylic robot making it look like a hologram from afar."

"The passionate speeches by some of the winners were really quite moving. Scientist of the Year, Youngmoo Kim from Drexel University, and Geek of the Year, Tristin Hightower, gave particularly lovely speeches," says Smith. Adds Quirino, "Eric doesn't want to admit that he teared up a little bit. It's ok, Eric. I did too."

Kim says, "I was honored to be nominated alongside my Drexel colleague Andy Hicks, who does amazing things with light and mirrors using mathematics. And Paul Ehrlich is a giant in the field of population biology. Hopefully this award highlights the incredible work being done by scientists and researchers throughout the region.

"I met a bunch of people doing very cool things spanning all kinds of 'geek-doms.' I mentioned this during my acceptance speech, but I absolutely believe that within the auditorium, there's the collective intelligence, passion, and experience, in short the 'geekiness,' to address some really tough problems (education, unemployment, digital literacy) and transform Philadelphia. And I look forward to working together with everyone to make that happen. And whoever put together the podium (very cool trapezoidal obelisk with video projections on the surfaces) should receive a special award. That was awesome!"

Accepting the award for Startup of the Year, Curalate's Apu Gupta said, "We have to thank all the 13-year-old girls out there. Because they use Pinterest. Also, Brendan likes them."

Other winners included Zoe Strauss, for her Foursquare campaign associated with the citywide photography exhibit earlier this year; BlueCadet Interactive won for Web Development Team of the Year; the Viral Project of the Year went to the Opera Company of Philadelphia's Random Acts of Culture, and Hacker of the Year was Georgia Guthrie. A complete list of winners can be found here, and you can see pics of attendees taken by Photobot 3000 here.

How drunk did Smith get at the afterparty that went for hours at National Mechanics? "No comment. Though if anyone found a size 10 shoe (right) at National Mechanics, please email me at [email protected]." We heard you had a big shoe, Eric.

Source: Eric Smith, Tim Quirino, Youngmoo Kim, Apu Gupta, Tristin Hightower, Phillly Geek Awards
Writer: Sue Spolan

Drexel-rooted, Glenside-based Drakontas earns $500K in funding for police, rescue mobile solution

Flying Kite Media Tuesday, August 21, 2012

It's like the movies. Drakontas recently garnered a $250,000 investment by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania for its futuristic mobile solution DragonForce, designed to assist police, combat and rescue operations.

The Ben Franklin investment is matched by private contributions, adding up to about a half million dollars total for the funding round, according to James Sim, President and COO.

Drawing on the power of smartphones and other mobile platofrms, DragonForce provides a variety of real-time mission critical data to help locate targets, victims, and team members, including geo-tracking, a whiteboard, shared media and files, and secure text messaging.

Looking at police and rescue missions, Alan Kaplan, CTO, says, "Traditionally, radios have been the primary way to communicate. Police vehicles have laptops, known as Mobile Data Computers, but one of the problems has been that when they leave their trucks or cars they don't have information with them. One of the benefits with DragonForce is that we are able to push and capture information, and users can share information no matter where they are." When the operation is over, DragonForce makes reporting a snap, with all collected data at the ready.

James Sim says, "Our software was actually developed by living with the customer. Every member of our staff suits up and embeds with hazmat and SWAT teams." Drakontas employees also carry weapons as part of the experience.

So far, says Sim, DragonForce has two countywide deployments: York County's quick response team, and Gloucester County NJ's Department of Emergency Management. Drakontas also provides a white label product to other resellers.

Drakontas employs a total of nine, with Drexel University co-op students in addition. The technology originated at Drexel University, where the school mascot is a dragon. Sim says Drakontas, located in Glenside, will use the recent funding round for product development and marketing.

Source: James Sim, Alan Kaplan, Drakontas
Writer: Sue Spolan