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June 18, 2013 at 4:33 pm

Razor Dynamics: A Richer Answer to ‘Where am I?’

Gary Grant and Rico Sagardia, Razor Dynamics co-founders

Gary Grant and Rico Sagardia, Razor Dynamics co-founders

Gary Grant is putting his computer science and philosophy studies together in search for a richer answer to the timeless question, “Where am I?”

The Ohio University student has teamed up with ChristianRico” Sagardia, a master’s student in electrical engineering, to form a startup company to improve existing navigation for mobile devices.

The two have co-founded Razor Dynamics, one of six startup projects selected by the Innovation Engine Accelerator for an intensive 12-week summer program designed to advance entrepreneurship in Ohio. The program began May 28 and runs through Aug. 16 at Ohio University’s Innovation Center in Athens. The selected startups are eligible to receive up to $20,000 in funding from the program. Participants will refine their business models and products, receive expert entrepreneurial coaching and advice and have the opportunity to pitch their startups to investors at the end of the summer.

Razor Dynamics provides a method to improve existing navigation for mobile devices. Utilizing an augmented reality interface, Razor Dynamics will present a richer representation of location. In a society that is becoming more reliant on location-dependent services, Razor Dynamics seeks to improve the individual experience by creating context-aware, highly accurate navigation solutions for current and future consumer devices. Razor Dynamics seeks to not just answer the question “what’s my location?” but to answer the more important inquiry, “where am I?”

Sagardia, co-founder, is originally from Fort Lauderdale, FL, and is currently earning his master’s in electrical engineering at Ohio University. Grant, co-founder, is from Nelsonville, OH, and studies computer science and philosophy at Ohio University. After the program this summer, the two have the confidence their work can complement existing platforms such as Google Glass and bring something substantial to military and civilian geographic tracking market.

Four of this summer’s six Innovation Engine Accelerator startups involve students and alumni of Ohio University’s College of Arts & Sciences.

Ohio University’s Center for Entrepreneurship—administered by the College of Business and the Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs—is providing intense Lean Launch curriculum, based on Stanford University’s successful model for startups, as well as experienced venture capital advisers to participants. Startups may use 1,000 square feet of creative shared space with pods for each business and can access conference rooms, equipment and software.

Dozens of mentors—startup entrepreneurs; seed, angel and  venture investors; C-level industry executives; technical specialists; professional service providers and venture development executives—will provide intensive business coaching to the startups. The program offers no or low-cost legal assistance through its attorney-in-residence partner Bricker & Eckler for easy company formation.

The Innovation Engine Accelerator is part of a series of initiatives designed to address the surge of digital media entrepreneurs emerging from Ohio University and throughout Ohio. More details about the program are available at www.innovationengineaccelerator.com.

Program sponsors include TechGROWTH Ohio (a public/private partnership administered by Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs), WesBanco, Athenian Ventures, CreMedia, IMGUR, Ohio University’s Innovation Center, Vice President for Research and Creative Activity, Center for Entrepreneurship, Scripps College of Communication, Russ College of Engineering and Technology and College of Arts & Sciences.

 

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