IvyMap & MidVentures

It has been usually hectic at DevBridge in the last couple of weeks and with good reason. Launching several new projects, beginning yet another several, juggling our own startup ideas and providing our customers with the solutions they need certainly requires a fair amount of time management skills. Since the last post we have launched IvyMap.com, participated in some industry shows, and picked out a new office to store all of our developers.

Launch of IvyMap.com

One of the more interesting consulting projects we’ve recently finished is called Ivymap. IvyMap promises “Great Application, On Track, and On Time” and, simply put, is a service that helps college applicants schedule, plan, and keep track of their college application process online.

I came to the states right after graduating from high school and did not have much information in terms of picking universities. Majority of students, however, go through a complex college picking process and apply to five or more schools, especially if they’re targeting Ivy league universities. This process, as we’ve learned during development, is rather complex and involves deadlines, sets of requirements, and parallel tasks that need to be coordinated.

IvyMap provides the students with an overview schedule calendar, email reminders for due dates on tasks, and college resources that students can utilize through their application process. In a way I wish we came up with this idea, as it really seems like something that people might use.

ConceptFeedback at MidVentures Launch

Through a mystical alignment of planets in our solar system or a short circuit on the organizers PC, ConceptFeedback got into MidVentures Launch Compete program. As participants we had a chance to compete with twenty four other start-ups for fame, glory, and cash. Our competitor exhibits ranged from custom built cookies that one could order online, to GPS lawnmower robots that I can totally see as something that a marine unit would utilize on the front lines.

I, however, was more impressed with the judges that were grading the start ups: VP of Engineering at Mint David K. Michaels, Chuck Templeton from OpenTable.com, and others. All of these guys have “made it”: birthed an idea, built it up, monetized it, and we had a chance to meet them and do some brain picking. Unlike the common earthworm, sadly, humans do not inherit intellect by eating the brains of other humans. So the event was a very exciting and eye-opening environment for our young Concept Feedback team and a pleasant experience overall. We did not win anything and my throat hurt after a fifteen hour day spent selling Concept Feedback, but we left with new ideas and a sober awareness of killer lawnmower robots coming to a neighborhood near you.

1700 W. Hubbard, Chicago

Is where we at. After an arduous process of elimination, dirty tactics, bribery, and coercion we have finalized our lease for a new two thousand square foot office in the city. And about time we did, too, as we’ve been driving out to the city to meet clients several times a week as of late. Our new space is a loft that’s been converted from an industrial building and we’re all very excited to decorate it with regular expressions, tomes of development books, and our trusty lava lamps. Business is bustling, and heightened anticipation can be felt at the DevBridge headquarters.