Story excerpt provided by Crain's Cleveland Business
Written by Jay Miller
A local startup is aiming to be an electronic rodent killer. Well, actually, its product, the Mycestro, is a computer input device that slips on your finger and can augment — and, perhaps someday, replace — the ubiquitous mouse.
It's the creation of a local engineering consultant, Nick Mastandrea. On a plane flight back to Cleveland several years ago, the Chardon resident watched a passenger in front of him try to maneuver his mouse on a corner of his tray table.
“I just thought to myself it would be a great idea to be able to control my PC with simple hand movements,” he said. “By the time I got off the plane, I had everything drawn out.”
Mr. Mastandrea developed proprietary and patentable technology and created Innovative Developments LLC. The company got its first outside investment in 2010 — $25,000, from the Innovation Ohio fund administered by Lorain County Community College.
Last month, to gauge interest in the idea and generate pre-production sales, the company posted a solicitation for funds on KickStarter, an online fundraising option that helps nurture artistic or technologically creative projects. The post attracted 2,966 backers as of March 14 who pledged a total of $255,000.
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