Bergh Summer Accelerator 2021 Participants Update

By Michael Anzilotti

Over the past 7 weeks, we have made significant developments on our prototype, conducted extensive market research, and established relationships with potential consumers and partners. We have also begun the process of obtaining a patent for our system and have officially rebranded the name to VIMSIM. We plan on meeting with more schools, workforce development institutes, and manufacturing companies to further expand our network. We are also hoping to obtain additional funding through investors or grant opportunities so we can grow our team. The BSA has been extremely helpful to us throughout our journey. Their support and guidance for the past 7 weeks have been incredibly helpful and all of our accomplishments would not have been possible without them.

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By Neloy Kundu

As a technical startup founder, I stuck to what was most comfortable to me–the development of technology I saw as cutting edge and powerful. Before the summer, this was the focal point of all my efforts. The Dyer Center has been helpful in converting my feature-craving mindset into a refined customer-oriented approach.

Through the guidance of the Center, I have been exposed to a variety of texts that have been instrumental in shifting my perspective of what a business should be–a vessel to solve peoples’ real issues, not a playground for software development. From this, I began conducting user interviews with individuals from all facets of urban life (I live in New York), slowly narrowing my focus to a select group of customers I perceived to be “die-hard” fans of the software I developed. In marketing terms, these customers would be my “early-adopters”, users who would “get the ball rolling,” so to speak.

With further interviewing and the consideration of more books recommended by the Center, I learned that my target audience (the aforementioned early-adopters) was, in fact, not a suitable target market.

To summarize, the Dyer Center has allowed me to see problems from the user’s point of view, not the erroneous developer’s point of view. For this, I am extremely grateful.

Co-founder of Tune Dune