One of our very own is running in the Final 8 on an entrepreneurship competition website called IdeaBlob. Matt Allison (Senior, Economics with minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship) has come up with a way to improve exercise at home. He suggests a personal trainer device that syncs up with a social networking website. Matt describes his product by introducing the pain in the market,

Individuals begin fitness programs each year, but set unrealistic goals or improperly structure their fitness programs and eventually lose interest. I’m developing a portable touch-screen device equipped with a heart rate monitor, acting as a personal trainer. The device uploads workouts from our website, where based off an individual’s fitness goals, they can build their own workout or use one of ours. The device displays progress charts, advice for future workouts, and can incorporate daily nutrition information. The website also functions as a social networking website centered around device results for exercise gurus, athletes, and anyone who enjoys living a healthy lifestyle.

Matt Allison can use all the votes he can get to rise to the top of the IdeaBlob competition this month. Support a fellow Penn State student and vote for his idea today.

IdeaBlob awards $10k every month to a top voted startup idea. If Matt’s team wins the money, he says,

With $10,000, we will invest the first $3,500 into web development fees to get the website up and running. Most of the website is already built; however we need some assistance in making the website sync properly with the device we are using. We will be purchasing 4 devices for prototyping at about $140/unit. The remaining $ 5,940 will be used for programming fees for the device.

Of course, $10k is not enough to begin manufacturing units for this commercial product, but it will allows Matt’s team to build a prototype that can then be used to raise millions of dollars in venture capital funding.

Back in February, another Penn State team won the IdeaBlob competition for a laptop networking solution for the medical infrastructure in third world countries. Because IST students have a wide exposure to and understanding of technology, I bet many of us have killer ideas that can solve current problems. So why not capitalize on an idea? Don’t waste it in your head, and IdeaBlob is just one place to start!

Tags: Entrepreneurship, exercise, matt allison, workout

Categories: Entrepreneurship, News