By: Deborah Johnson Wood
It started in 2006. Brian Rider sat in his Grand Valley State University dorm room “tinkering around” on his computer with software similar to that used to create Finding Nemo. Before he knew it, Rider, then a freshman, had created a 3-D virtual version of the room.
“Because of the entrepreneurial experience I had from taking a class in high school, and from helping my dad in his business, I recognized the business value in the rendering,” Rider says.
GVSU’s housing staff helped him create a business model, and Digital Wingman was created. The next summer he and a friend headed to North Carolina State University, took photos and measurements of every dorm room and created 30 3-D virtual rooms. He then brought in a buddy, Jake Powers, a Brown University student, to head up sales.
“We offer the 3-D floor plans to the university for their web site,” Rider says, “then offer an upgrade version so students can go online to rearrange the furniture within the dorm room and see what their residence halls will look like before they come to campus.”
Students can view the 3-D versions of specific rooms in specific halls. Depending on the software, they can locate their specific room, rotate it 360 degrees, and even arrange and add furniture so they know what will fit.
A short list of clients includes GVSU, University of California Berkley, University of Georgia, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, and Brown University.
Digital Wingman was recently named to MSN's Top 20 Dorm-based Businesses. View the results here.
Source: Brian Rider, Digital Wingman
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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