entrepreneurship : Innovation + Job News

Flying Bytes is innovation nuggets from around the region:

CALLING ALL FRANCOPHILE JETSETTERS
Get your beret and cafe au lait. This summer, US Airways starts direct flights from Philadelphia to Quebec City. The daily, year round service begins June 2 and offers three nonstop round trip flights. The quick trip to the Quebec capital is under 2 hours each way.

THE LONG AND $HORT OF IT
Turner Investments of Berwyn announced the launch this week of three alternative mutual funds that employ hedge fund strategies. The Medical Sciences Long/Short, the Market Neutral and the Titan Fund all rely on diversified long and short investments. Matt Glaser, who manages the Market Neutral, says the funds seek to deliver superior risk adjustment return for clients. "Post financial crisis investors are looking for ways to mitigate risk and lower volatility, so hedge funds, and mutual fund vehicles are here to stay."

EARLY TAKEOFF
Drexel University engineering students will be working on Boeing projects, thanks to a long term agreement signed this week between CDI-Aerospace and Boeing. Through the school's co-operative education program, students will be working on structural designs, software conversions and stress analysis for the CH-47 military helicopter, the V-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and the Boeing 787 commercial transport aircraft.

STEAMPUNK ACTION
The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby is back for its 5th year, and organizers have put out a call for entries. Last year, participants crafted a bicycle powered steam engine, a conveyance that catapulted paint filled balloons onto a canvas, pirate ships and dragons, all foot powered. If your passion lives at the intersection of biking and art, visit the Sculpture Derby's home page for guidelines and registration forms. The event takes place May 21, and submit your entry form by April 15 to get free T-shirts for your team.

Source: USAirways; Henry Pyatt, Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby; Matt Glaser, Turner Investments, CDI
Writer: Sue Spolan

JJ Tiziou wants to share. And he wants you to share too. "You have to give people a voice," says Tiziou, a Philadelphia photographer and all around activist for the arts. "Everyone has a voice, but TV and billboards have such louder voices." Tiziou is the force behind the massive public art project How Philly Moves, the 50,000 square foot Mural Arts Program gateway project for the Philadelphia International Airport, scheduled for completion this June. Philadelphia's dancers are the subject, and everyone gets involved.

Tiziou is all about the crowd. As a community photographer, he's taken tens of thousands of pictures of Philadelphia residents. Some will end up in the airport mural, and some will grace the facade of the Kimmel Center as part of a projection project that will run during the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.

Tiziou's passion is crowdsourcing: getting lots of citizens to contribute a little bit of time and and a little bit of money. People still want to express themselves as artists, and for that matter, says Tiziou, as investigative journalists, but these days major funding is scarce on all creative fronts. Who will pay for materials, or for the electric bill at the studio? "It used to be that there were gatekeepers," says Tiziou. Magazine editors did the selection, but also paid contributors. With the web, explains Tiziou, there is no formal exchange. A photographer can self-publish thousands of images, and people have come to expect all kinds of content without the price tag. "I want good stuff to be out there," says Tiziou. "That's the challenge. And an audience can be a powerful thing. The crowdsourcing component is key to the new paradigm. People need to be paid for their time in a sustainable way."

Tiziou cites Kickstarter and spot.us, two thriving examples of crowdsourced funding for creative projects. If each person contributes just a few dollars, the collective can provide money for major endeavors in both the arts and journalism. Tiziou also runs community supported house concerts out of his rowhome in University City. He asks the audience to make a donation to support the musicians as well as the venue.

Right now, you can stop by temporary studios set up in empty retail space on the top floor of The Gallery at Market East to see the How Philly Moves project in progress. And you can join the project's final Community Paint Day at The Gallery on Saturday, March 12.

Source: JJ Tiziou
Writer: Sue Spolan
Photo by Danilo Balladares

Love to love ya, baby, when we're talking about Philadelphia. The official LOVE gift shop is now open seven days a week at the Visitors Center on JFK Boulevard at 16th. On offer are 3 kinds of Valentine's gift baskets, plus miniature replicas of the famous LOVE sculpture, mugs, umbrellas, coasters, T-shirts and more. All items are gift wrapped free. There's also an online gift shop if you want LOVE delivered to your door.

Here's a look at other Valentine's Day finds around town:

VOWS, NOT VOWELS
Urban Outfitters launches a much anticipated wedding line this Valentine's Day, but what's up with the brand name? BHLDN does not trip easily off the tongue, or the page. Jennifer D'Aponte, BHLDN's marketing manager, explains that it's pronounced 'beholden.' Heirloom quality wedding gowns, bridesmaid ensembles, party dresses, jewelry, headpieces, footwear, and lingerie are curated to reflect the whimsy of Anthropologie with the modern styling of the Urban brand. Pop the question or say yes on Feb. 14, then head over to BHLDN and pick your entire outfit. The brand's first physical store opens in August. No word yet on where.

IT'S ONLY A LITTLE KINKY
Rittenhouse Square's Terra Mia bills itself as "the nation's only true organic nail spa," and offers reasonably priced thrills with the Blindfolded Manicure for Two. Or pedicure, or both, if you're nasty. The salon, which was built with recycled and sustainable materials, uses water based polish, so there's no unpleasant odor. Terra Mia is also offering half off taking it all off: from Feb. 11-14, get 50 percent off Brazilian or bikini waxing.

DEFLOWERED
Love the earth and love your lady with organic, sustainably grown blooms. Hana & Posy is Philadelphia's "eco-friendly florist" and won Philadelphia Magazine's Best of Philly 2010. The Old City shop is run by Kayo Higashimura, a former veterinarian who infuses bouquets with the style of her native Japan. Hana & Posy also sells gifts. You can shop for flowers and more online, and be sure to order early for the best selection. For last-minute shopping, call the store to arrange same-day delivery.

Source: LOVE Gift Shop, BHLDN, Terra Mia, Hana & Posy
Writer: Sue Spolan

Take a big bite out of that Hippo. Nibble on the Panda, and save some Ladybugs for later. Andrea Kyan has named her PureSweets product line for all the animals she loves. "I turned vegan in 2007. I'd been vegetarian since I was a kid, but a visit to an organic dairy farm opened my eyes. Organic is not necessarily humane." Kyan says she developed PureSweets to satisfy her own sweet tooth.

She found existing vegan treats lacking in depth, with no butter, cream, or eggs to carry flavor. Kyan solved the problem by using nut flours, which provide "protein content, a nutritional boost, and are gluten free." The second main ingredient is coconut butter, and Kyan also relies on coconut oils as well as nut butters made from cashews and almonds. The sweetening comes not from refined cane sugar but from maple syrup, date sugar, palm sugar, and organic brown rice syrup. "Everything else is flavored with dried fruit and nuts, espresso, and organic dark chocolate."

Kyan was on her way to medical school with a goal of practicing preventative medicine, and she was working as a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, studying the way mindfulness meditation affects weight loss, when she decided to go for a career in sustainable baking. Last fall, she got an account with Whole Foods, and they are currently piloting her products at their Center City location. She's in talks with the seven regional stores, and her goal is to place products in all 250 Whole Foods. "The only way this will work is through volume," says Kyan. "Some of the ingredients are so expensive." Items have eco-friendly packaging. PureSweets operates out of an old church in East Falls, and there's no storefront at that location, so Kyan delivers all online orders to Philadelphia area homes and offices for a reasonable fee.

About that Dingo: it's the name of PureSweets' chocolate-dipped almond butter cookie. All PureSweets' products bear animal names, and Kyan donates five percent of sales to animal rescue organizations, including PAWS and the Camden County Animal Shelter.

Source: Andrea Kyan, PureSweets
Writer: Sue Spolan

Forty eight pitches. That's how StartUp Weekend Philadelphia began this past Friday. The majority were riffs on already popular sites: Groupon plus GPS. Craigslist for skill bartering. Priceline for retail shoppers. From the start, there were a few standouts. The top prize, sponsored by the Philadelphia law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, was $2,500 in legal resources, and second and third place were in line for $1,000 in credit at the firm. StartUp Weekends happen all over the globe and Clint Nelsen, one of the directors of the Seattle-based nonprofit that bears their name, says that up to 20 StartUp events might happen simultaneously worldwide. The entrepreneurial incubator approach is gaining momentum. This week, President Obama announced the launch of the StartUp America Initiative, "a core component of President Obama's national innovation strategy for achieving sustainable growth and quality jobs."

While the most compelling ideas at StartUp Philly would make mincemeat out of an average person's brains, the gathered crowd of developers, MBAs, designers, coders and hackers went wild. A couple of pitches received laughs but were nonstarters, like 8sOrBetter, a dating website for highly rated singles.

You never saw so many tabs open on browsers. Laptops and caffeine: check, check. The soaring three story Solmssen Court at the University of the Arts held clusters of coders, some working straight through to dawn. From the initial 48 pitches, participants voted to continue with 13. Two projects garnered much peer praise: Git Hacking, a service designed to add a social layer to GitHub, a popular website which pairs developers with projects, helmed by Chris Baglieri with team members Josiah Kiehl, John Bunting and Aaron Feng; and LaunchRock, a simple "coming soon" web page design with a viral twist, asking for user email as well as social media participation, from Jameson Detweiler and Stephen Gill.

Sunday afternoon, just 48 hours later, it was pitch time. In a room crowded to capacity with startup teams and venture capitalists, most pitches followed standard protocol: identify the need; provide industry stats; and offer the solution. In the case of both Git Hacking and LaunchRock, which were designed and went live over the weekend, presenters were able to produce impressive real time stats: within a matter of hours, both sites had drawn hundreds of participants, and Git Hacking made the top of Hacker News headlines.

Judges deliberated briefly and the crowd-pleasing Git Hacking won first prize, followed by LaunchRock. Coming in third was Artwork Evolution, a collaborative iPhone/iPad app to create art without advanced skills. StartUp Weekend judge Stephen Goodman, an attorney at Morgan Lewis and Penn Law professor, said that the top two were clear winners, and there were five or six others vying for third place. Paul Solt's Artwork Evolution clinched the title because it offered a clear profit structure, according to Goodman. All three of the winning projects are now live, and you can follow their progress on Twitter: @githacking, @getlaunchrock and @artworkevolve.

Source: Clint Nelsen, StartUp Weekend, Stephen Goodman, Morgan Lewis
Writer: Sue Spolan

Philadelphia's Duross & Langel turns a bar of soap into a work of art. This week, D&L opens a second location on King's Highway in Haddonfield, N.J. Owner Steve Duross says expansion has always been the plan for the Washington Square West business, but he's been waiting for the right fit. D&L has been approached by malls, but in order to build on the original Midtown Village concept developed on 13th Street, Duross and partner James Langel were on the lookout for a location that offered "all the charm of Everywhere USA, Main Street."

Duross was impressed with Haddonfield's vibrant downtown community, and active neighborhood and business associations. D&L regularly hosts special events for the community, and Duross sees a perfect match with the Haddonfield community, which sponsors events similar to "things we already do in our store, like first Fridays in the summer, and live performances at the local bandstand."

Duross and Langel's product is minimally packaged, letting the ingredients do the talking. "When crafting the soap, I really wanted to take what was on the market and turn it on its head," says Steve Duross, who explains that some of the best french milled soaps are quite alkaline, while his product is a much lower pH, close to the natural acidity of skin. Duross says it's the way customers feel after using his products that brings them back for more.

D&L's colorful and flavorful line of soaps, moisturizers, deodorants and bath add-ins are made with high quality essential oils and include scents that appeal to both men and women, including Moroccan cedar, sandalwood, lavender, black pepper and green tea, along with scent free options.

Duross says continued expansion is in the works, with shops planned for two nearby towns with a thriving main street culture, and the shop's online retail option remains popular with locals and out-of-towners alike.

Source: Steve Duross, Duross & Langel
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is innovation nuggets from around Greater Philadelphia:

RIDING AROUND IN YOUR OLD BLUE JEANS:: there's been a huge increase in eco-friendly automotive offerings, all on display at the 2011 Philadelphia International Auto Show, but Ford goes one better, offering recycled denim seat cloth on some 2012 models, according to Violet Marley, who represents the car maker at the convention, which runs through Feb. 11. Also, this just in from The Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia: 2011 show attendance jumped 28.4 percent from last year's opening weekend. That translates to 65,984 attendees in just two days, the third largest tally in the show's history.

DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION: This is the last week you can catch Beyond Abstraction at the Center For Emerging Visual Artists at 1521 Locust Street, Philadelphia. Curated by Katrin Elia, the group show gathers the work of eight contemporary artists working in a range of media from canvas to video. While most shows begin with a subject in search of an artist, says Elia, Beyond Abstraction gathered artists first and came up with the umbrella concept later.

CAR POOL EQUITY: LLR Partners, a private equity mezzanine finance company, continues to grow, announcing four new hires this week. Jack Slye is the firm's new Vice President; Irene Lisyansky and Brian Berkin are LLR's newest Senior Associates, and Scott Williams takes the lead as Senior Analyst. LLR manages over $1.4 billion, providing interim and secondary financing to middle market companies in the 'financial, health care and business services, information technology, and education." Recently, LLR invested in Avenues: The World School, a private K-12 to open its flagship in Manhattan, with schools planned for major cities around the world.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE EXPANSION: Pulsar Informatics, a research facility that specializes in the "assessment of cognitive performance and fatigue risk management," has outgrown its original space in the University Science Center Port Business Incubator and is moving to quarters that are triple the size on the Science Center's campus. Pulsar's fatigue assessment tools are now in use by the Department of Defense, The Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA, among others.

Source: Violet Marley, Ford; Katrin Elia, Beyond Abstraction; LLR Partners, Pulsar Informatics
Writer: Sue Spolan

There will be no screenings of Signal 30 at StreetSafe Driving Academy, a Main Line-based startup that aims to bring driver's ed into the future. Meg Kramer, CEO of StreetSafe, says teen driver education hadn't changed in the decades since the shock documentary was made, even though the world of the open road has undergone dramatic transformations. Kramer says the level of distraction is just getting worse, with cell phone conversations, texting while driving, and increased road rage.

"Ninety percent of people rate themselves as good or above average drivers, but that can't be right," says Kramer, citing "horrible national statistics. For example, we lose about 5,000 teen and 40,000 adult drivers every year, and the cost of teen accidents alone to the the insurance industry is estimated at $34 billion."

StreetSafe offers a comprehensive approach to teaching the lifelong skill of driving. Field trips, guest speakers, off-duty police officers as trainers, and a fleet of clean and safe vehicles round out a curriculum that does not come cheap, but, says Kramer, "When you think about driving as a skill our kids are going to rely on every day of their lives, shouldn't driver's ed be more effective and a positive experience?"

The StreetSafe basic training package includes 30 hours of accredited classroom training and three private coaching sessions out on the streets. Four new teen classes begin this week at its Bryn Mawr headquarters, The Shipley School, Episcopal Academy and Germantown Academy, and registration at all locations is open to all teens, regardless of school affiliation. StreetSafe provides students with DriveSquare, a virtual reality driving simulator and also offers adult driver training and packages for commercial and fleet drivers.

Source: Meg Kramer, StreetSafe Driving Academy
Writer: Sue Spolan

You've got to give attorney David Orphanides a lot of credit. He's come up with an alternative to "artisanal," one of the more awkward-sounding terms in the English language. Jettisoning the word, but not the concept, Orphanides uses the more classic "crafted" when describing the four tenets that make up the philosophy of Fairmount's soon-to-open Fare restaurant, which also relies on local, organic and sustainable practices.

Orphanides eats organic and shops sustainably at home, so it makes total sense, he says, that Fare mirrors that lifestyle. "It's second nature for us. We couldn't see doing it any other way." Also on board are Savvas Navrosidis, who owns Fairmount Pizza, and attorney Andy Siegel.

Fare, which opens to the public in "early spring," eschews heavy creams and sauces for "food that's still very satisfying and filling." The projected 85-seat bar and restaurant located at 2028 Fairmount Avenue, across from Eastern State Penitentiary, is fit out with completely green, locally sourced furnishings. The black walnut bar comes from Pennsylvania trees. Wine, beer, and liquor served on that lovely expanse of local wood aims to be "biodynamic and organic, from local vineyards and distilleries," according to Orphanides.

Fare's menu evolved from an original concept of smaller snacks to include dishes for all appetites. Small plates and snacks range in price from $2-$8; salads are $6-$9, and main dishes range from $11-$18. Fare "started out more as a place for people to have a drink and socialize, more of a lounge" for Fairmount locals, but when chef Tim Bellew signed on, the menu expanded. Bellew's previous engagements include Fire in Cherry Hill, Black Eyed Susan in Long Beach Island, and MANNA catering in New York.

Source: David Orphanides, Fare Restaurant
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is a weekly roundup of innovation news nuggets:

TGIVF: Miss Rachel's Lunch Pantry announces The Downtown Lunch Club, a new uber-healthy weekly lunch delivery service for Center City. Choose from three vegan options, pay just $10 via PayPal, order by Thursday, and get delivery to home or office on Friday. Coming soon: The Navy Yard Lunch Club.

Penn Players: The University of Pennsylvania plays a significant role in the growth of Philadelphia and the region, according to an upcoming report. This week's Penn Current newsletter highlights the statewide economic impact of Penn in 2010, Philadelphia's largest private employer, which "translates into $14.1 billion, and that number reflects a 46.5 percent increase since 2005," when the last report was issued.

Back to Basecamp: Basecamp Business has released the Business Calendar Network app for Android. Joining recent mobile app releases for iPhone and iPad, the Android app allows entrepreneurs to search for upcoming networking events by location and type, and lets users know if they can get their grub on.

Nutter for the Arts: Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has long been a proud supporter of the city's art scene, with strong ties to the Mural Arts Program and Philly's music community. This week Nutter received the 2011 Public Leadership in the Arts Award, hosted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Americans for the Arts. Mayor James Brainard of Carmel, Indiana and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson also received the award.

Cultural Cash Flow: The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance announced 40 winners of Project Stream seed grants, totaling more than $95,000. Local nonprofit arts groups and performers include Crossroads Music, Delaware County Community College and The Youth Orchestra of Bucks County. Recipients receive up to $3,000 each, and the initiative is funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts' (PCA) Partners in the Arts program, with additional support from PECO.

Writer: Sue Spolan

In addition to its catchy name, Philadelphia's SUMO Heavy Industries also has a catchy concept: Select just one vital piece of web development and turn that expertise into a whole company. Bart Mroz and associates Robert Brodie and John Suder focus strictly on digital commerce. In just eight months, SUMO is doing brisk business, marketing through word of mouth, relying on social networks, skype and blogging instead of office furniture and overhead.

There's a little bit of bad boy in the ring, as evidenced by a recent blog post titled "Why We Choose Not to Be a Certified Magento Partner," giving the company a line in the sand quality reminiscent of a certain local jeweler's hateful billboard ads.

Chat with Bart Mroz, founder and partner of SUMO Heavy, and find that indeed Magento, boasting $25 billion in transactions, is SUMO's primary eCommerce platform. The line of independence is drawn like this: "Magento is a framework. If you become a partner, you are obligated to sell a certain number of licenses," says Mroz. "Sometimes we don't use Magento."

SUMO Heavy wants the flexibility of customizing client solutions via service providers including Rackspace, hosting.com, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). That way, says Mroz, "If a framework or technology changes, we can change with it."

To sell the full service eCommerce package, the trio provides branding, design, development and marketing. Their latest projects include a total redesign for Robinson Luggage, and they've just signed with a "huge automotive products distributor;" details of the deal to be divulged upon launch.

Source: Bart Mroz, SUMO Heavy Industries
Writer: Sue Spolan

Financial services developer and Main Line resident Bipin Shah has big plans for the future of the industry. Shah is raising $72 million as outlined in a preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the very end of 2010. Shah's Universal Business Payment Solutions Acquisitions Corporation (UBPS) of Radnor is now awaiting SEC response to the filing of a public offering of 12 million shares. The proposed blank check corporation has a stated mission, according to the prospectus, of "acquiring one or more 'platform' companies in the payment processing industry," although no specific company has been identified for takeover.

Shah, Chairman and CEO of UBPS, has been an innovator in the financial services sector. He spent his entire career in the financial transaction business. At CoreStates Financial Corporation in the 1980s, he was the architect of the Money Access Center (MAC) ATM system. Other technologies to his credit include PIN-protected point-of-sale technology, pay-at-the-pump for gas stations, and a surcharge-free ATM network.

Now, Shah and partner Peter Davidson have turned their industry experience to the acquisition and combination of three subdivisions of financial services companies: payroll processing; debit and credit card transaction processing; and prepaid plastic. According to the UBPS prospectus, while three major companies control 85 percent of the payroll market, the remainder is comprised of 1,800 small companies with an aggregate market capitalization in excess of $39 billion. Shah and Davidson "believe that these 1,800 smaller payroll companies are primed for consolidation." Next, Shah et al turn the high beam on the "approximately 1,000 different organizations that sell and service the credit and debit card needs" of merchants, of which "the smaller processors are primed for consolidation," as well. Finally, UBPS aims to capture some of the profit associated with a projected $200 billion in purchases by prepaid debit, gift, payroll and government benefit cards. Davidson, reached by phone, says, "We have quite a bit of interest from what we call the initial investors, but we cannot start to raise funds until the SEC approves UBPS." While Davidson agrees that UBPS is a speculative investment, he cites his 30 years and Shah's 40 years in the payment space.

Shah and Davidson met while both were at CoreStates; Davidson joined Shah at Genpass until its acquisition in 2005, and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Brooks FI Solutions, LLC, in addition to his post as Chief Administrative Officer for UPBS. EarlyBird Capital, Inc. is UBPS Acquisitions Corporation's underwriter, and is hoping to sell the anticipated 12 million share offering to raise first-stage money for this startup.

Source: Universal Business Payment Solutions Acquisitions Corp. Prospectus
Writer: Sue Spolan