Startup Companies find partnerships with local firms
and organizations

Pittsburgh August 1, 2008: The Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone supports local startups through the Kick Start Partnership Program. Each year the GO KIZ award grants three times a year for local startups to partner with established corporations or institutional partners. The grant program is competitive with about 50% of applications being accepted. Four local startups have just started up their new partnerships that they applied for in the spring.

Bossa Nova Concepts: Bossa Nova Concepts is about providing exciting interactive robotic toy experiences for children. While much of their effort has been on creating toys for the retail market, the team also has branched out to develop online software with a robot theme for children. This robotic toy company will work with the Carnegie Science Center for an online component of the CSC's planned Roboworld. Bossa Nova wants children to begin learning about and interacting with robots prior to the museum experience. In addition, this online component will provide the Museum with a way to continue the educational experience after the visit. The GO KIZ is providing the partnership with $15,000 to customize the Bossa Nova online experience with museum related materials. At the end of the partnership, Bossa Nova will benefit from having real children interact and provide feedback on the online software experience.

First Insight- First Insight's Virtual Customer Viewpoint adds quantitative, scientific data to the art of product selection and/or design. Their product is designed to improve sales of companies by improving the pricing and selection decision of merchants. Merchants receive on-demand decision support regarding ever-evolving customer tastes and preferences, it enables them to quickly identify merchandise attuned to tomorrow's hot trends and styles. First Insight plans is currently targeting mid-size retailers, so a partnership with Pittsburgh's Larrimor's department store was an excellent opportunity for the CEO Greg Petro to test the product further and ensure that it is meeting customer needs. The Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone has provided First Insight with a grant of 12,500 to fund the initial Larrimor's project.

MoGoes- MoGoes produces a local discovery and exploration application that users can access through their mobile phone. Users can create their own experience when visiting a city, checking out real estate, or strolling through a museum based on available time, location, and interests. This location aware mobile technology caught the attention of Visit Pittsburgh. VisitPittsburgh will be able to use the MoGoes content management system to create and update content so that Pittsburgh tourists can have a fuller experience. MoGoes will be able to get user statistics and feedback so that they can continue to adapt the interface to the mobile user's needs and the content provider's material. The Greater Oakland KIZ is providing a 15,000 grant to allow MoGoes to create 20 walking, driving, and biking tours of the Greater Pittsburgh area that will be promoted by VisitPittsburgh.

SimonShows- SimonShows is a technology company that provides a versatile web publishing and organization environment that can be used by the corporate and consumer markets to easily access, organize, and share multi-media assets for a variety of training and communication purposes. A $6450 grant from the Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone will allow SimonShows to launch their product by partnering with two very different established companies in the Pittsburgh region. TeleTracking Technologies, Inc. will use SimonShowsBusiness to build online training materials for their customers. The SimonShows tool will allow TeleTracking to combine screen recordings, text, documents, photos and other multimedia assets into online training courses or “shows." The web-delivered training shows will free-up staff from live 1:1 training and will provide more timely and robust support materials through the use of multimedia. Meanwhile Mascaro Construction Company, LP will use SimonShowsBusiness to create materials that will free up staff from some of their face-to-face training requirements and allow new and existing employees to train at their own pace and schedule. SimonShows will use the experience of both companies to create user testimonials and case studies to further penetrate their target market.