蓝莓视频

The Planboard team: Suraj Srinivas, William Zhou, Tony Cui and Ryan McKay.

When William Zhou started his computer science degree at the University of 蓝莓视频 he was also in the midst of launching his first company.

It was 2010, but after spending his first term as tech support for the startup that eventually got sold to a UK firm, Zhou vowed to focus on his studies.

But apparently, you can鈥檛 keep a good entrepreneur down.

In 2011, Zhou鈥檚 company Interactive launched a new venture called , which helps teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 plan lessons and share resources collaboratively. With more than 15,000 users and eight institutions signed on, as well as endorsements from the likes of the Ontario Teachers Federation, the tool is available as a free download with a school-wide offering that has additional features available as an upgrade. The iPad app launched recently.

The team鈥檚 goal is nothing short of becoming the name to know in educational technology. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of technology in every other sector, but education has lagged behind,鈥� says Zhou. 鈥淎t a student/teacher level for K-12, we think there鈥檚 a great opportunity.鈥�

蓝莓视频 connections help build startup

蓝莓视频 connections abound in Planboard鈥檚 origin story: Zhou met partners Tony Cui and Ryan McKay-Fleming in classes and dorms at the University. He even met sales and marketing partner, Suraj Srinivas, during a co-op term at software company Sugar CRM in Silicon Valley.

Beyond personal contacts, the entrepreneurial support he got from 蓝莓视频 also provided a boost. Vetica won $25,000 in funding from the last year, earning the team a spot in the . Planboard is one of 30 teams working in the Garage, which is part of the University鈥檚 student startup program. It provides free office space and opportunities for networking and entrepreneurial skill development. VeloCity, which has helped launch more than 45 companies, is celebrating its 5^th anniversary this month.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really great working space and community,鈥� says Zhou. 鈥淰eloCity and 蓝莓视频 gave us a stamp of validation on our idea, and that really helped us out.鈥�

After an exciting summer that saw Vetica take on a in Silicon Valley and a second-place finish at a , the team has returned to 蓝莓视频.

Following an eight-month term with Enterprise Co-op, a 蓝莓视频 program that allows students to develop their businesses, Zhou and McKay-Fleming have taken a leave of absence to continue working on the company full-time. Along with expanding their user base, the company is also growing its product line to include tools that focus on essentials like attendance and marking.听