students and entrepreneurship

Whirlscape’s team on Minuum, Indiegogo and crowdfunding a beta keyboard launch

Every six weeks, MaRS Innovation’s marketing and communications manager writes a guest post for the MaRS Discovery District blog profiling MI’s activities or one of our start-up companies. You can read the original post on the MaRS blog.

On Monday, June 17, Whirlscape Inc. released the beta version of its hotly anticipated, tiny, one-dimensional digital keyboard, Minuum: “the little keyboard for big fingers.”

If you follow tech gadget news, you’ve likely read about or even supported the company’s successful Indiegogo campaign, which raised more than US$87,000—over 870% above their modest initial goal of $10,000—from nearly 10,000 supporters who have now become beta users for the product.

The stats don’t end there. By number of funders, the Minuum Keyboard Project’s campaign is in Indiegogo’s top 10 of all time and is ranked No. 2 among all technology campaigns. Over 1.1 million people worldwide viewed Minuum’s original teaser video on YouTube, which the Whirlscape team edited and shot themselves.

Minuum to end battle between mobile screen space and virtual keyboards

Start-up launches Indiegogo campaign to change future of mobile typing

Minuum keyboard on an Android phone — The Minuum keyboard: “the little keyboard for big fingers.” Designed by Whirlscape Inc., this one-dimensional, tiny keyboard frees up mobile screen space while allowing fast, accurate typing.

TORONTO, March 18, 2013 — Whirlscape Inc., a Canadian tech start-up, has developed Minuum, “the little keyboard for big fingers.”

Updated: The company has now cleared its $60,000 stretch goal to build a wearable development kit. Read the Mobile Syrup follow-up story.

Minuum’s crowdfunding campaign was covered by the Financial Post, CBC News, CTV News, the Toronto Star and Metro Morning (radio interview). They also did a second spot on CTV News‘s Tech Tuesday report and were featured on Global TV’s The Morning Show.

The story was also picked up by Fast Company, Mashable, CNET, TechCrunch, TechCrunch Japan, TechVibes, Huffington Post, Toronto Standard, BlogTO and Mobile Syrup.

Minuum is a tiny, one-dimensional keyboard that frees up mobile screen space while allowing fast, accurate typing. Its specialized, patent-protected auto-correction algorithm corrects highly imprecise typing.

This algorithm, based on the touchscreen and wearable device research of company founders, Will Walmsley (researcher) and Khai Truong (associate professor) at the University of Toronto, configures the difference between what you type and what you mean, in real time, getting it right even if you miss every single letter.

Raphael Hofstein gives guest lecture on biotechnology commercialization at Stanford

Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation, delivered a guest lecture on February 1,2013 at the Revitalizing Medical BioTechnology Commercialization symposium, hosted by Stanford University‘s NIH Graduate Training Program in Biotechnology.

The one-day event brought academic, venture capital and industry thought leaders together to reflect on the challenges facing technology transfer processes across the biotech industry.

UTEST program: Giving U of T students a new way to become their own bosses

February 6, 2013
Susanne Staer
Media Coverage

The Varsity's coverage of the UTEST program — The Varsity’s coverage of the UTEST program. Photographed at the bottom left is **Will Walmsley**, founder of Whirlscape.

“There is a path somewhere between extended study and becoming an office worker,” wrote The Varsity‘s Angela Brock, in “Be Your Own Boss: Student entrepreneurs combine creativity and business to forge new career paths” (February 3, 2012). “As it turns out, there are plenty of opportunities for those looking to flex their entrepreneurial muscles without straying too far from the bosom of U of T.”

Brock’s article describes UTEST, the joint U of T-MaRS Innovation program that helps students, faculty and recent alumni commercialize software ideas.

It also profiles Will Walmsley, founder of Whirlscape, and Tyler Lu, co-founder of Granata Decision Systems, about their UTEST experience leading companies created through the program’s first cohort.

University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology Program (UTEST) opens applications for second start-up company cohort

January 30, 2013
Susanne Staer
CoursePeer

Students, faculty and recent alumni with software ideas must apply by Feb. 22

Got a killer software-based idea? Are you passionate about turning that idea into a start-up company?

If you’re a current student, faculty member or recent graduate of the University of Toronto, consider applying to the University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology (UTEST) program.

Applications are now closed. Stay tuned for the third UTEST application call.

Created as a pilot in 2012 to help the U of T community bring their software-based ideas to market, UTEST is part of a growing ecosystem of incubators and commercialization support services.

UTEST accepts companies in the very earliest stages of idea generation— before they’re ready for traditional incubators — and awards each company up to $30,000 in start-up funds.

It also provides nascent software companies with office space in the MaRS Discovery District, mentoring and business strategy support.

“From a results standpoint, we couldn’t be more satisfied with first cohort of companies,” says Kurtis Scissons, co-director of UTEST at U of T. “In six months, they secured over $650,000 in follow-on funding. Each has filed solid patent protection and some are already gaining customer traction. They have also collectively created 21 highly-skilled jobs (HQPs).”

Update May 2013: Those figures now stand at $1.2 million and 29 jobs; most of the companies have secured customers.

U of T, MaRS Innovation Collaborate to Launch Incubator for Student Software Companies

October 1, 2012
Susanne Staer
CoursePeer

Hadi Aladdin (left) and Marwan Aladdin, U of T graduates and the founders of CoursePeer. — **Hadi Aladdin** (left) and **Marwan Aladdin**, U of T graduates and the founders of **CoursePeer**, one of six UTEST companies.

TORONTO, ON – A new program that provides nascent software companies with start-up funds, work space, mentoring and business strategy support, was launched today by the University of Toronto and commercialization partner MaRS Innovation, with support from the MaRS Discovery District.

TechVibes has a profile page for UTEST and covered CoursePeer as part of their students start-ups series.

The new program, called University of Toronto Early Stage Technology (UTEST), is part of a growing ecosystem of incubators and commercialization support services at U of T, including the newly-launched Banting and Best Institute. UTEST is unique among campus incubators in that its companies receive start-up funds—$30,000 each in this inaugural year—and because it accepts companies in the very earliest stages of idea generation, before they’re ready for traditional incubators.

Hossein Rahnama, CEO of Flybits, on CBC’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange

August 29, 2012
Susanne Staer
Flybits

Hossein Rahnama on Lang & O'Leary — **Hossein Rahnama**, CEO of Flybits Inc., on CBC’s *Lang & O’Leary Exchange*. Rahnama is also a professor at Ryerson University.

Hossein Rahnama, CEO of Flybits, a MaRS Innovation spin-off company, appeared on CBC’s Lang and O’Leary Exchange on August 24, 2012.

Watch Rahnama’s interview on CBC’s Media Player. The interview begins at the 13:40 mark and runs to 19:30.

Rahnama, who is also a professor at Ryerson University and and research director at Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone, was recently named to the MIT Technology Review’s prestigious 35 Inventors Under 35 list for 2012 along with fellow MaRS Innovation inventor Joyce Poon.

He describes his context-aware mobile technology, the importance of adapting research to solve real-world problems, the advantages to running a start-up in Toronto, and growing Flybits while keeping the business in Canada.

Whirlscape’s team on Minuum, Indiegogo and crowdfunding a beta keyboard launch

Minuum to end battle between mobile screen space and virtual keyboards

Raphael Hofstein gives guest lecture on biotechnology commercialization at Stanford

UTEST program: Giving U of T students a new way to become their own bosses

University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology Program (UTEST) opens applications for second start-up company cohort

Students, faculty and recent alumni with software ideas must apply by Feb. 22

U of T, MaRS Innovation Collaborate to Launch Incubator for Student Software Companies

Hossein Rahnama, CEO of Flybits, on CBC’s Lang & O’Leary Exchange

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