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BumpTop - bringing order to the virtual desktop

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Apr 26, 2010 12:49 EDT

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/biz-categories-technology/bringing-order-to-the-virtual-desktop/article1535656/

"Bringing order to the virtual desktop"
By Diane Jermyn, The Globe and Mail
April 19, 2010

BumpTop makes organizing your computer desktop a three-dimensional experience. Things can bump together and be stacked in piles just like on a real desk. The software can be integrated with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to simplify such tasks as uploading and sharing photos.

The idea of things “bumping and colliding” came to Anand Agarawala when he was falling asleep in a computer animation class at the University of Toronto. He found “throwing stuff around” on a touch screen engaging, so he decided to make it his thesis for a master's in computer science.

The result? Mr. Agarawala was named one of Business Week's top 20 young tech entrepreneurs of 2009. BumpTop was released for Windows in April of that year, and the company recently launched a version for Mac.

“The creation part is fun,” says Mr. Agarawala, now 28 and founder and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Bump Technologies Inc. “You have this idea in your head and you just start doing it.”

When he started his master's, he initially thought of creating a video program – the user would be able to slice up a video and reassemble it in blocks. But it evolved into the desktop organizer it is now. “You just throw an idea out there, get your professor's feedback, then iterate on it. The hardest part was writing up the research paper to make it sound academic.”

The business side was a new challenge. He says he didn't have a clue about how to build a business.

“I'm flying by the seat of my pants,” says Mr. Agarawala. “We actually had some interest from some of the big tech companies early on, to hire me and bring the technology in. But I thought there's something bigger here. We got 3 million views on YouTube [when he posted a video of his master's thesis], so there's got to be something to it.”

Even before Mr. Agarawala decided to start a company, he patented his ideas “just in case” in 2006. Then he received an offer to present his invention in California at TED, an annual conference on technology, entertainment and design. Chris Anderson, curator of TED, had caught the YouTube video of BumpTop and was impressed. That gave Mr. Agarawala a chance to take BumpTop to another level.

“It opened tons of doors because I was standing on the stage with Bill Clinton and Sir Richard Branson,” says Mr. Agarawala. “It was a huge opportunity for me and the company.”

(Click on the above link to read the whole article)
 

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Details

Entrepreneur's goal: to make the computer screen look and function more like a real work surface

Relevant Subject and Topic
Goal Setting, Organization Skills, Choosing a Business, Starting a Business, Personal Organization, Business Equipment, Business Computing, Technology

Types
Article

Features
Informative, Inspirational, Tool to Use

Format
Video, Webpage, Software Application

Copyright Owner
TheGlobeandMail.com

Most Suitable For Use By
Learners
Entrepreneurs

Age Appropriateness
Adult(19+)

Grade Appropriateness
Adult General

Geographic Suitability
All or Non-Specific

Language
English

Education Standards Maps

Version History

Date Edited
Notes
Apr 26, 2010 12:49 EDT
kt
Apr 26, 2010 11:48 EDT
kt

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