Austin Entrepreneur Keeps Success “InView”
1st March 2013 · 0 Comments
InView Technology Corp Offers the Latest in Infrared Products
A new company is combining state-of-the-art infrared camera technology with unprecedented affordability. InView Technology Corp, founded by bob Bridge, has application including microscopy, life sciences, surveillance, military and maritime use.
The company, which incorporated as a C-Corp in mid-2009, manufactures infrared camera systems that feature a unique technology licensed from Rice University, where Bridge was a student (he also attended UT Austin). The technology, known as Compressive Sensing, allows cameras to capture and reproduce images far beyond the visible spectrum and into the Short-Wave Infrared or SWIR range. The InView SWIR cameras are available in 1024×768 or HD resolutions, and are designed to work “out of the box”. The cutting-edge technology used by these cameras actually reduces their cost by a factor of five compared to other infrared cameras, according to Bridge.
Bridge relied on outside investment instead of bootstrapping to fund the fledgling company. “Series A was led by InQTel. InView also received funding from the State of Texas Emerging Technology Fund, and angel investments from two general partners at Sevin Rosen Funds,” says the Austin entrepreneur, though he cites the building of a world-class technology team as the biggest challenge of the startup phase. He also credits The Emerging Technology Fund for providing funding when the company was still “too early” for other investors.
The team’s hard work has paid off handsomely so far. InView took in $180,000 in product sales and more than $400,000 in R&D revenue in 2012, with a projected $2.4 million in product revenue for 2013 and a focus on continuing to build a steady revenue stream. As for Bridge’s advice to would-be entrepreneurs who would like to replicate InView’s success, he can boil it down to a single word: “Persevere.”
