Syracuse Student Sandbox
Today’s college students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, financiers, executives and decision makers. There are 35 colleges and universities within an hour’s drive of Syracuse. Increasingly, these students interact and transact in a virtual world that is largely invisible to other segments of the population. Over the past few years, the Tech Garden has identified numerous student entrepreneurs with cutting edge ideas for businesses that target this highly desirable group of people. Although the capital investment needs of these businesses are generally modest, access to smart developers and a nearby test market is invaluable. The Tech Garden provides the environment and access to the resources needed by these early stage entrepreneurs
The Syracuse Student “Sandbox” at the Syracuse Technology Garden is a place for student entrepreneurs to gather and launch their new business ideas under the supervision of experienced business minds. It is a collaboration with Syracuse University that will ultimately involve two consecutive semester course of entrepreneurial studies, open to several colleges, followed in the summer by a business launch at the Syracuse Technology Garden. Besides physical space, the “Sandbox” provides IT equipment and services to these entrepreneurs and the opportunity for close interaction with other entrepreneurs and members of the local business/angel investment community. The Sandbox’s objective is to accelerate product/service development and facilitate deployment. Data gathered from this “testbed” will be used to refine the product/service and/or business model prior to creating a detailed business plan and seeking growth capital from angel, venture, or more traditional financial sources.
View video from August 12 Demo Day »
“Sandbox” Companies
Congruser
- One Line Pitch: Congruser is a pay-for service which allows users to have a consistent username across sites and allows for a portal of presence of user activity.
- Business Summary: There is a need for a user (whether they be a person, band, business, etc.) to have a consistent username on the Internet. This service allows users to be able to go from site to site by only signing in once. It also allows users to have a portal of presence as it will aggregate posts made on sites to allow other users to see all activity and verify that it is the actual user.
- View Presentation Video »
Brand-Yourself.com, LLC
One Line Pitch: Brand-Yourself.com is the world's first online reputation management platform for job applicants - to diagnose, manage and improve their web presence.- Business Summary: Our tools w ill first break down a job applicant’s web presence into quantifiable, graded components. It will then provide tailored recommendations of where users should participate online based on his or her area of expertise. It then allows users monitor changes to their web presence. The Company’s unique branding process, Diagnose > Establish > Strengthen > Surpass, will systematically transform users into more qualified applicants
- View Presentation Video »
Grafight
- One Line Pitch: Take your hand drawn characters online to battle anyone with a pencil. Web 2.0 meets Gaming meets your imagination.
- Business Summary: Grafighte is an web experience that allows users to upload hand drawn sketches of characters; turning these drawings into digital animations. These warriors can either battle the CPU's characters in 1 player story mode or challenge characters drawn by their friends.
Users watch these battles unfold putting em phasis on the sketch itself rather than pressing buttons. - View Presentation Video »
Open Quad
- One Line Pitch: OpenQuad's creating a network that will change the way college students get involved in their campus events and organizations; buy their textbooks; order their food; and lease their apartments.
- Business Summary: OpenQuad is an interactive website that aims to give college students relevant information, as it pertains to their everyday lives. The site will be split up into 6 distinct categories: Textbooks; Greek Life; School Clubs; Housing; Ca mpus Events; and Food. OpenQuad will launch with the textbook element in early June, 2009.
- View Presentation Video »
