Oct. 16, 2013
Three alumni from The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering officially launched Interngration, their new start-up, on Tuesday. Founded by Anirudh Ganti (ElecE 1T3), Hargun Suri (CompE 1T3) and Ian Xiao (ElecE 1T3), Interngration is a software service designed to help match students to employers for potential internships and employment opportunities. The company is the most recent success out of U of T Engineering’s Entrepreneurship Hatchery.
Their idea was inspired by shared frustration with long lines and chaotic crowds at job fairs, says Ganti. He and his two partners devised a strategy to alleviate that problem, and on the advice of a professor, took their plan to the Hatchery. There, they received advice and guidance on how to develop the idea into a business, and gained access to mentors who had started up businesses themselves share their experiences.
Int he past year, the three learned about business plans, testing the viability of the idea with metrics, tailoring the idea for the real world, and how to approach potential investors. Creating the framework for Interngration was particularly time-consuming. It was a steep learning curve, says Ganti.
The end product is a web application that is free for students on the job hunt, and supported by subscription from businesses seeking talent for their companies. Interngration is currently limited to small companies and start-ups – places that are often overshadowed at busy job fairs, says Ganti.
The project attracted the attention of the City of Toronto this September, when Suri was awarded its International Student Excellence Award in the entrepreneurship category.
“Interngration is a terrific example of what the Hatchery is all about,” said the Hatchery’s executive director, Joseph Orozco. He is also Adjunct Professor of the Centre for Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship (CMTE).
Interngration is one of two success stories to come out of the Hatchery in its first year of operation. The other is Cytospan, a new company based around a technology to better measure the life span of living cells. The Hatchery is open to students from all disciplines at the U of T, with a requirement that at least one engineering student be on each team. The Hatchery fosters multidisciplinary teamwork, Professor Orozco says.
“The Hatchery is about defining business models, creating viable products, finding opportunities that are real and hopefully generating revenue and jobs,” he says.
More information:
Marit Mitchell
Senior Communications Officer
The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
416-978-7997; marit.mitchell@utoronto.ca