After the break, CEO Brian Ziebart presented NavPrescience, a CMU spin-off. Brian says that current GPS systems are “stupid” in that they are, by definition, “slow to learn or understand”. NavPrescience is taking navigation to the next level by predicting and personalizing your routes. Their technology has roots in training automated military vehicles, and they eventually hope to “be the Intel Inside of GPS systems”.

I just experienced this problem myself: Every time I drive from my home in Brooklyn to Pittsburgh (or NJ), it wants to take me through Manhattan because it is technically shorter and faster. Anyone who has ever driven through the Holland Tunnel at all, let alone on a Friday or Saturday evening, knows full well that will never be the fastest route (and certainly not the least stressful).

NavPrescience has an exclusive license for patent-pending predictive and personalized navigation technology. The first part is predictive location-based services. If you’re currently on the highway but haven’t put your destination in, it will suggest locations such as coffee shops where you typically go from here, not where you are here. The personalization understands the types of routes you prefer such as avoiding highways or certain types of roads. It can weigh a route based on the stress, skill, cost and time. (And I’m sure everyone wants their GPS to remember their reference for not driving through the ghetto).

Obviously, if they can penetrate the market there is a big opportunity here. Brian says that they can achieve $36m in revenue by being adopted by just 2.5% of the current GPS-enabled mobile devices. Their model is to be a value-added part of the technology stack. They are hoping that users will be willing to pay a nominal fee on a monthly basis for these features, of which they will see $1. There are also opportunities to improve advertising relevancy based on the predictive features, thus opening up new revenue streams there.

I may not be the typical user here, but I’ve always preferred to pay a premium for features up-front as opposed to paying on a monthly basis. In fact, I recently purchased a GPS that was $40 more than the comparable model but included lifetime traffic services – and I’ve noticed that many of the new systems seem headed in this direction. Some psychology comes into play here – we’re prepared to spend money at the time of purchase, particularly for a consumer electronics purchase – but we’re perhaps becoming more reluctant to sign up for new recurring costs. If NavPrescience were to pursue this pricing model, it may hurt their long-term revenues somewhat but it might also bring in an influx of cash which would help them scale the business quicker and reduce the need for dilutive fundraising.

They are planning to enter the market with a two-phase strategy: to build a smaller scale, “proof of product” solution and then scale the technologies to a higher-level platform. For phase one, they are seeking $300k to build a freemium application which can be delivered to mobile phones and doesn’t necessarily require partnerships with the big GPS makers. They will use this money to hire two additional developers and to cover their infrastructural costs.

Phase two is about integrating the technology in consumer products. They are in the process of bringing in former GPS executives to help them build the partnerships necessary to gain market share. They may need a Series A round at that point to help scale the business, but based on currently revenue projections that will not be required.

Before the break, Geraldine Yong presented LeftRight Studios. LeftRight falls into the category of advergaming and are building a network where brands can engage consumers in a more meaningful and engaging way. They previously launched SmackBots, which broke into the top 100 for action and kids games, and are launching their second game, Katch-Up, today.

Like Zynga, they are a game studio – but rather than trying to sell the game itself or rewards points to the customer, they are partnering with consumer brands to use this as a marketing vehicle. They are building a library of games which brands can use as a baseline and apply their own skins and tweaks to game play, as well as standalone games which have sponsorship and affiliate revenue opportunities.

In order to make these compelling to consumers, Geraldine said these games must be fun and multiplayer but also must reward users for playing them. She also said that leaderboards are an important element in their success. Scores and leaderboards have an uncanny way to incentivize usage, even when they are not tied to any actual “reward” – but when you can win, for example, a free year of Heinz Ketchup for playing or discounts for reaching a certain level, it can be even more compelling.

They have 2 games live today and will be launching several more by Fall 2010. The next game to be released is Boutique Star, a sort of “fashion tycoon” game which will integrate coupons, followed by Parcel Toss. 

Revenue comes from three primary sources: 1) building individual branded games, 2) recurring promotions, coupons and affiliate sales in their existing games and 3) building and running a white-label network as part of a consumer marketing campaign. They expect to break to break even next year and are projecting $12m of revenue by 2014. .

My only concern is whether they will be able to scale the business well. My suggestion would be to focus on the second revenue stream and enable a self-service model and perhaps de-emphasize the one-off marketing games. Geraldine says they are a good acquisition target by a media giant or current competitor; the focus of a short-term exit is perhaps indicative of the scalability challenges they will face.

LeftRight is currently seeking $300k which they will use to aggressively launch the branded network.

The best way I can describe Fooala, presented by CEO David Chen, is Facebook Connect meets OpenTable. They have built an open online ordering process where the order can happen contextually. I am a huge proponent of this distributed approach and inserting yourself contextually and have actually employed this in my own startup.

David says they are “selling food the right way on the Internet.” 58% of restaurant business is takeout and delivery, of which 10% comes from online orders – but only 5% of restaurants currently accept orders online. More importantly, existing closed solutions only allow orders to be taken in a single place, but traffic pales in comparison to social networks and review sites.

Fooala opens up the online ordering process, so a hungry consumer can order while on Yelp, from within the Serious Eats iPhone app, and so on. Their first partner, CollegeBite, is live today.

They are live with over 30 restaurants in Pittsburgh, and are launching pilots in Youngstown and Washington D.C. bringing the total to over 60 restaurants. They are planning to expand into specific markets with direct sales but also opening this up for online enrollment.

They will be cash flow positive by 2010 and are predicting $10m in revenue by 2011. Revenue comes from subscriptions and affiliate sales from the restaurants and are shared with the originating application who integrate the functionality through widgets or by using their API directly.

Fooala is currently looking for seed funding to expand the business.

Nick Pinkston opened the day speaking about CloudFab. Consumers are starting to demand customized experiences. Digital customization is everywhere, in part because it’s so easy, but there’s also been a trend towards customization of physical goods such as NikeID and Build-a-Bear. At the same time, many of these manufacturing machines are running at just 60% of their capacity. CloudFab hopes to solve this with a platform which will allow consumers take advantage of “cloud fabrication”.

In the future, we’ll all have 3D printers and will “build” our mobile phone instead of ordering it. While that may not happen all that soon, CloudFab can offer us effectively the same thing today – the opportunity to “print” a 3D model and letting a supplier with extra capacity bid on the order.

Nick cited the World of Warcraft example, where Blizzard wanted to sell branded toys from the game but had little success selling generic toys. What they realized is that one of the reason gamers were so passionate about the game was their ability to really customize their characters. Now, Blizzard is able to sell physical toys modeled after the actual characters created by the gamers instead of some generic model.

CloudFab has launched a private beta which it will expand to the public and add features to over time. They are planning on launching a full platform in Jan 2010. In June 2010, they are planning on launching a Software Development Kit which will allow others to create a World of Warcraft-like “creator” that can plug into the platform and generate the order request right there.

CloudFab’s competitive advantage in the market is that they do not have to maintain and upgrade the physical fabrication machines. This also allows them to offer a wider array of production capabilities and leverage the free capacity instead of having their own machines which may sit idle.

They expect to be cash-flow positive next year. They recently closed an angel round but are still looking to bring on additional investors who can help them accelerate growth.

As promised, I will be getting coverage up from each of the six companies presenting at today’s AlphaLab Demo Day, and will update links below as I get the stories up.

• CloudFab
• Fooala
• LeftRight Studios
• NavPrescience
• Vivo
• Zipano

All in all, I’ve been very impressed so far.

Also, just another reminder that you have one week left to apply for the next AlphaLab class!

AlphaLab, the early-stage incubator created by Innovation Works, has opened up applications for the fourth session that begins in January. AlphaLab runs a 20-week program that includes funding (up to $25,000 seed investment), free office space and business & strategy mentoring. 

The team over there (Jim, Meredith and Mike, among others) are doing great things and the program has really emerged as a central piece for early-stage entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh. Aside from working with 8-10 companies in a year-round cycle (other incubators often have one or possibly two sessions per year while AlphaLab runs three), they host various events for the community in their awesome South Side offices.

I’ve mentioned the third class briefly and hope to provide more coverage of next week’s demo day. The Resumator founder Don Charlton, a graduate of the second AlphaLab class and who I profiled previously, said his company “owes much of its success to the great mentorship [he] received at AlphaLab.”

If you have a dream and need guidance and a little money to get it off the ground, I would highly encourage you to consider applying for this Winter 2010 session. The deadline is October 20 – so you have a little over a week to get your applications in. If you have any questions about the process or other requirements, you can contact Meredith Benedict at mbenedict@alphalab.org or by phone at 412-535-8294.

When I was hiring a developer and a couple of interns last year, we received well over 100 resumes. Each of came in via email, and our workflow was basically to forward the resume to the rest of the team and then start a thread with our comments on each one. Needless to say, it quickly got unwieldy. 

It’s a problem that Don Charlton also recognized. As Don explained, “I have done hiring and we always used email. Resumes came to me in email, and I had to print and organize them. I hated it.” People used email to manage the process, he reasoned, only because nothing better existed. Don was determined to find that better way and set out to take the pain and paper out of resume management.

And thus, The Resumator was born.

I first came across The Resumator through TheFunded’s Founder Institute which we (Notches) are participating in. The Resumator partnered with TheFunded to offer six months free to program participants, and has since struck a similar sponsorship deal with TechStars. The Resumator was also a member of AlphaLab’s second class in the Winter/Spring 2009 class so Don appreciates the value of such incubators. “Knowing The Resumator owes much of its success to the great mentorship I received during AlphaLab, I made it my mission to reach out to other startup programs and offer our services.”

I was completely shocked to find out that Don built and designed the initial product entirely himself. Not only that, but he went live with his product on the first day of the AlphaLab program. Participating in the program, he said, was an opportunity to secure seed financing but more importantly to get advice from the best minds in the city and gain attention locally.

Don said his 10 years of experience in the design and marketing industry were invaluable in building his own business. “In that industry, you’re basically helping businesses solve business problems,” and as a result he learned the importance of interface and website copy to convert visitors to customers.

In part because of the low expenses afforded by the Pittsburgh area, The Resumator was cash flow positive after only one month, and still has a reasonable amount left from the $25,000 raised through Innovation Works. It helps, he says, that the business has a “East Coast mentality”, focusing on revenue over traffic.

Don’s goals now are to get more attention beyond the Pittsburgh area and further grow the team. To that end, he is considering raising an angel round of around $100,000. He intends to use this on a business development resource, contract with developers for enhancement to the site, and focus on marketing and awareness.

AlphaLab, the early-stage incubator created by Innovation Works, just welcomed six startups to their third class for the Summer/Fall 2009 session. AlphaLab runs a 20-week program that includes funding (up to $25,000 seed investment), free office space and business & strategy mentoring.

While Innovation Works hasn’t “officially” announced the companies, they were recently profiled on PopCity.

Fooala helps restaurants “to create their own online Web sites with applications that offer access to the menu, prices, reservations and delivery options.”  I’m personally interested in hearing more about their business model and product roadmap. In particular, while subscription revenue is great, there may be an opportunity to really tap into “affiliate marketing” in the local restaurant space.

GearHeadz is basically a market maker for idle time on digital manufacturing equipment. As founder Nick Pinkston told PopCity, someone who needs a part for a prototype can send them the specs and they will in turn find the best price. (I’m picturing an army of MakerBots…)

LeftRight Studios is an iPhone game studio. smackBOTS, their first game, is similar to that old Rock’em Sock’em game and recently broke into the top 100 on both the action and kids categories for games.

NavPrescience is developing “personalized and predictive navigation solutions to improve the experiences of drivers.” They are still in stealth mode so not too much information is available. There are navigation systems like the Dash Express that crowdsource traffic information – perhaps NavPrescience will take this a step further and predict traffic based on previous traffic patterns?

Vivo is a web-based video broadcasting service that provides users with a private, customizable environment for sharing events. They are somewhat similar to LiveStream, UStream and the like, but are focusing on private events such as weddings or conferences. Given the trouble that those other companies have found in terms of generating revenue, it seems like Vivo may have found a good niche. They were also recently covered by the Post-Gazette – on the front page of the business section and as a featured story online.

Finally, Zipano Technologies is attempting to give users more control of the personal information that we share through social networks and the like. You can define rules on who can see your location and when it it is made public – for example, you can choose to make your location public when you’re at, say, a bar or the CMU campus but when you’re meeting at a potential client’s office.

I’m hoping to get interviews and do a more detailed profile of each of the companies. If there’s anyone in particular you want me to follow up with, let me know in the comments.