The News Call was a proposed audio and video delivery service that repurposes and expands the reach of local newscasts produced by television stations. The innovative idea and prototype was developed to help news managers keep viewers engaged in hyper-local news. The solution provided by The News Call would give consumers the power to customize existing content through audio and video on their smartphone. While working through the Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurial (AIME)’s Crimson Startup Program and after winning 3rd place and $10,000 in the NAB Pilot’s Innovation Challenge, I networked with numerous industry executives and did presentations on the concept. My entrepreneurial team made it to the second round of interviews with the National Science Foundation ICorps Innovation Program. After discussions with my department chair and committee and my business mentor, I decided it would not be possible to stop teaching and give up my creative productions to do the amount of customer discovery required to receive the $50,000 development grant. My business mentor was Jim Zeanah who has several patents and developed much of the technology for the ATM’s we all use today. Zeanah and I met almost weekly for six months as we worked through the grant and business proposals.

 

Role: Inventor and Developer