Page 27 - Kettering Magazine - Spring 2014

“Co-op was amazing, when I graduated and started working above an entry level position because of my co-op experience. Path to Entrepreneurship full-time, I was able to start for Graduate Started It definitely set me on the path to at Kettering entrepreneurship.” ince graduating from Kettering University in 2005, Andy Cronk has already founded Sthree companies. Cronk recently secured $3.2 million in Series A funding from Hyde Park Venture Partners, Chicago Ventures, Divergent Ventures and angel investors for his current company, TempoDB. The company, founded in 2011 by Cronk nk “Co-op was amazing,” Cronk and partners Justin DeLay and Mike Yagley, Yagley, said. “When I graduated and s is a time series database service for sensors ensors started working full-time, I was and measurement data. Their mission is is able to start above an entry a le to “make sense of the measured world.” .” level position because of my co-v op experience. It defi nitely set me The database stores billions of data op on t points from internet-connected sensors s on the path to entrepreneurship.” to serve clients in industries such as Cronk plans to use the funding on Cr energy, manufacturing, healthcare he’s he’s received to expand his team r and more. The database is intended with more software engineers and h wit to make time series data storage a technical sales team to reach tech a simple and powerful. TempoDB customers on a global scale. He also o cust was named a 2013 Smart Grid News Company to Watch and earned Techie. com’s Editor’s Choice award for “You don’t need to go to Silicon Valley to launch a d ’t d t t Sili V “Y emerging technology. successful startup. If you can provide something “It is a high-level database that helps make sense of the measured world,” that people need, there are resources to make it Cronk said. “So far, we’ve learned that the demand is huge as we’ve found happen anywhere.” –Andy Cronk many companies looking to transform their business with sensor data. We’ve also discovered noted that he’d like to potentially add co-op students from the technical challenges we’re tackling are pushing Kettering in the future. the boundaries of streaming analytics and distributed Cronk also noted that he hopes his success with startups helps computing. It’s a great time to be building our business in show that successful business ideas can come to life anywhere. this market.” “We did it right here in Chicago, here in the Midwest,” Cronk, a Computer Engineering graduate from Flushing, Cronk said. “You don’t need to go to Silicon Valley to Mich., who co-oped with UPS, credits Kettering’s co- launch a successful startup. If you can provide something op model for helping him get started on a fast track to that people need, there are resources to make it happen business success. anywhere.” SPRING 2014 27