Carleton Grad Student Helps Cities Give the People a Voice
Cities face tough decisions when trying to encourage economic development, whether it’s deciding how best to develop an old stadium site or weighing strategies to encourage new businesses on a declining main street. To make matters worse, decision-makers often hear too much from special interest groups and not enough from individual citizens, according to Robert Poole, an entrepreneur and graduate student at Carleton University.
Poole’s company, Freebird Connect, has developed an innovative online tool designed to help municipalities cut through conflicting data and give a voice to ordinary citizens.
Freebird Connect brings together the data and documents about a particular issue and gives everyone a chance to share their own interpretations and opinions in a social networking environment. As described by Poole: “We enable cities to build a conversation that is grounded on hard facts, where data can be scrutinized by many people. It’s a level playing field – influence is based on how well you can openly present your views, not on how deep your pockets are or how much media attention you can attract. This moves everyone closer to a ‘single version of the truth’.”
While he’s no stranger to entrepreneurship – this is Poole’s fourth company – he enrolled in the Technology Innovation Management program at Carleton University to give him and his business a distinct advantage.
“Through the TIM program, we gain a comprehensive understanding of new business models and strategies for creating successful technology businesses, quickly and with little money,” says Poole, “And because of the program’s strong links to the business community, it gives our company a much better chance of success.”
In addition to providing valuable theoretical knowledge and innovative solutions to real-world problems, the TIM program has opened doors to other sources of support, including Ottawa Young Entrepreneurs (OYE), a new program that recently received $1 million from the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
As a Carleton student, Poole was eligible to pitch his opportunity to OYE for funding, mentorship, office space, and other forms of support from Carleton’s initiatives within the OYE program. In September, a Dragon’s Den-style panel of assessors from the OYE program interrogated Poole, who emerged as only one of two presenters to obtain top marks from the panel. A triumphant Poole explains: “The money helps – there’s no question – but it’s also the rigorous process and the mentorship that comes with it that gives us a real advantage.”
Freebird Connect has already landed its first customer, which is the City of Ottawa, and discussions are now underway with another half-dozen interested municipalities across Ontario.
(This story was written by Chris McPhee.)
