MONEY

Geoswap inks deal with Delaware tourism, parks offices

Scott Goss

The News Journal

Jason Bamford shakes hands with Gov. John Carney after demonstrating the mobile app GeoSwap, that he and s classmates Jordan Gonzalez and Keith Doggett created at the University of Delaware's Horn Program in Entrepreneurship.

The founders of Geoswap won't receive their college diplomas for another three weeks.

But the location-based mobile app they developed at the University of Delaware already has graduated to the big leagues.

The startup recently inked a two-year, $19,000 deal with the state to help promote Delaware's parks system and other tourist destinations.

The relatively small contract represents a major coup for the young company, which lands its largest customer and its biggest chance yet for market exposure.

"This really gives us validation that what we have people want," co-founder Jason Bamford said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the new deal. "Now it's up to us to take that momentum and really make the app better based on their feedback."

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Geoswap uses the GPS system on mobile phones to show users nearby events, places of interest and local hot spots offering secret discounts and deals. The app relies on a relatively new technology called geofencing, which unlocks content based on the user's proximity to a given location, similar to the popular game Pokémon Go.

Only instead of unlocking digital creatures, Geoswap displays pins on a digital map that allows visitors to upload photos, learn the history of a given area and even plan their trip. Those features now will help the state's 16 parks and other tourist destinations enrich visitors' experiences through technology those guests carry with them every day, said Ray Bivens, director of the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation.

"There is a misconception out there that technology should be left at home when you're coming to parks," he said. "I can tell you that's not what our 5 million visitors a year want. ... They're looking to have technology enhance their visits."

Keith Doggett and Jordan Gonzalez stand up Tuesday during a press conference at the University of Delaware's Horn Program in Entrepreneurship office to announce the startups new deal with the Delaware Tourism Office and Division of Parks and Recreation.

Bamford and his business partners, Jordan Gonzalez and Keith Doggett, refined the tool with the help of UD's Horn Program in Entrepreneurship. So far, the app has attracted more than a thousand users and a few dozen paying customers, including businesses around Newark and a pair of SantaCons in New York and Florida.

The startup also has been a darling at college-level pitch competitions. Last month, Geoswap earned top honors at UD's Hen Hatch competition, where it landed $21,000 in prize money. The company also recently placed sixth among 25 teams of budding entrepreneurs invited to the final round of E-Fest, a contest sponsored by Best Buy founder Richard Shulze at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Linda Parkowski, director of the Delaware Tourism Office, said she first heard of Geoswap from her daughter-in-law Sue, the operations manager at the Horn Program, who saw its potential for the tourism industry.

"I was like, 'Come on, are we really going to invest in some 20-year-olds with a smartphone app?'" she said during Tuesday's announcement. "[But] I can't tell you how professional they were from beginning to end, and I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to be here with young men like this."

Linda Parkowski, director of the Delaware Tourism Office, applauds the three University of Delaware students who created GeoSwap, a mobile app that tells users what is happening around them. The startup recently signed a two-year deal with the tourism office and Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation.

Geoswap is not the first startup to get a boost from the state tourism office.

Carvertise, the Wilmington-based advertising company that turns private vehicles into rolling billboards, landed a three-month contract to promote Delaware as a tourist destination along Philadelphia's Main Line in 2015. Then a fledgling business, the company recently hit $1 million in annual revenue and now operates in 10 states.

"The state tourism office took a big chance on us very early on," Carvertise co-founder Greg Star said. "That was our biggest deal at that time and really started the ball rolling for us."

Like the Geoswap founders, Star and business partner Mac Nagaswami also launched their business while students at UD. The duo landed early seed funding by winning a top prize at the 2014 Hen Hatch competition, money that helped them move into the coIN Loft co-working space in Wilmington. Now, the company occupies an office next to 1313 Innovation, the co-working space in the Hercules Building.

With its state deal in hand, Geoswap is now looking to become Carvertise's neighbor at 1313 Innovation.

"This is exactly the prototype for the economic development we're trying to build for Delaware's future," Gov. John Carney said of the path from UD to Wilmington taken by both companies. "We want to help create an ecosystem where these entrepreneurs can set roots down and grow into a business that hires employees ... and this is everything we've talked about."

More than 400 state-sponsored pins branded with the "De" logo are now live on Geoswap. And as the app promotes Delaware parks, the tourism office and state park system also will be promoting Geoswap through print ads and social media.

"This is a big step for us," Bamford said. "Our hope is that this won't just be Delaware's app for long. We want to be nationwide and, hopefully, this is the just the start."

Contact business reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.