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the voice of the abingtons abingtonsuburban.com | oct. 13, 2016
The concert season at First Presbyterian begins this weekend |PAGE 2
A local college student has completed a research fellowship |PAGE 4
Adam Ripon won bronze in a recent international competition |PAGE 9
A BiG idEA
Local college student becomes an entrepreneur by Tucker HoTTes
institutions, government agencies, event planners — really, just anybody,” said sTAFF WrITer Bamford. “We noticed that we solve probIn today’s always-connected world, one lems for these people in all these different spaces. That got us excited as well.” of the first things people do when arrivBamford said when the concept struck ing at a location is pull out a smartphone him, he couldn’t let it go. to find information about a location or “As an entrepreneur you kind of have event. South Abington Township native and 2013 Abington Heights graduate Ja- these ideas popping into your head all son Bamford’s new startup Geoswap aims the time, tons every day. It’s really hard to break through the noise and figure to make that process more organic and out which one you really want to pursue. seamless for users and businesses alike. This was one of those ideas I just couldn’t Bamford, a senior in biomedical enget out of my head. Every day I’d fall gineering at the University of Delaware, said the idea for Geoswap came to him as back to this, I’d think ‘ah, I could really a natural evolution of the way people and use this today.’” Scranton-based investment firm Group technology interact in the modern world. Capital provides funding opportunities “It happened just over a year ago, I for small businesses and startups like was going into my junior year when it Geoswap, and Bamford was lucky enough started,” he said. “I kind of just saw it as to present his brainchild. the way of the future, where people just “I worked for them going into my get the information they need when they walk into a location. If you can picture it, junior year,” he said. “That summer, I pitched them this idea and they liked it. it’s like everything you need just floatThey really saw the benefits of this aping in virtual bubbles above buildings or plication, and [Group Capital CEO] Doug parks. You just get what you need when Fink was generous enough to give a donayou arrive at a location.” tion on behalf of Group Capital as an iniBusinesses will be able to similarly tial seed investment into the company.” share information, offers and services After receiving initial funding, Bamdirectly to users who may be passing by. ford was able to gather enough resources “We’ve talked to a lot of people from to produce a proof-of-concept application different types of businesses: retail, with developers contracted overseas. restaurants, small businesses, large “A few months ago, we brought it back into the United Sates and we now have two developers as part of the team. We’ve rebuilt the front end and everything is almost working the way we want.” Support from the university also TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 10/12/16
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South Abington Township native and 2013 Abington Heights graduate Jason Bamford.
helped Bamford target the next level for Geoswap. “We participated in this program the University of Delaware did called the Summer Founders Program. It was a pre-accelerator for student startups. They brought in great mentors, investors, advisors — it was really an amazing program.” As Geoswap prepares for beta testing of the application, Bamford says he continues to look toward the future. “I really think we’re onto something. It’s going to be really interesting to see where it goes.” Biomedical engineering may not seem like a likely segue into application development, but Bamford said the engineer-
ing portion of his background has helped him create Geoswap. “There isn’t too much overlap as far as the biology goes, but in the ability to solve problems and the way you approach solutions, there’s some overlap.” Even with his eyes on the future and greater things, Bamford said it’s hard not to look back to his roots. “The hometown support has been amazing, I’ve been pretty limited in telling people back home, but I constantly get people reaching out to me asking what I’m doing,” he said. “There’s been a ton of love, it’s been amazing. We’re excited to bring it to Northeast Pa. Get ready, we’re coming for you soon!”