How A Class Project Became Digsby, Messaging Software That’s Been Downloaded 2.5 Mil Times – with Steve Shapiro
As an business student at Rochester Institute of Technology, Steve Shapiro was required to put together a business plan. Once he had the plan, he decided to give it a go and make a real business out of it.
After dialing around, he found investors through a friend of a friend. Since he decided to start his company near his school, he found affordable office space and developers who were used to coding because they did it for their classes. Two years later, he launched Digsby, software that let users connect with their contacts on multiple platforms, including Gmail, Google Talk, AIM, and Facebook.
This is the story of how he did it.
Steve Shapiro is the founder of dotSyntax, makers of Digsby, an application that combines instant messaging, email and social networks. You can learn about the platforms it supports on the Digsby feature page.
Before we get started, have you seen articles like this on TechCrunch about companies that were launched by startups who joined the Founder Institute? Well, the Founder Institute is accepting applications right now, and I want to encourage you to apply right now before it’s too late on FounderInstitute.com. The Founder Institute is a technology startup accelerator and entrepreneur training program that launches companies in 13 cities worldwide. What do you get if you’re in the Founder Institute? Training, mentorship, help getting investors, and just about everything else you need to get a startup launched properly. Go apply right now before it’s too late, FounderInstitute.com.
And do you remember Patrick Buckley who I interviewed? He came up with an idea for an iPad case. Then, he built the store to sell it, and in a few months he generated about a million dollars in sales. Well, the platform he used is Shopify. If you have an idea to sell anything, set...
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