Q&A: Howard Tullman talks up 'gee whiz' tech
Posted by Ann D. on Chicago Business
The inaugural Chicago TechExpo at the UIC Forum is designed to help small businesses learn how they can better implement technology to attract new customers and run their operations more effectively.
The technologies on display will range from the very basic (simple Web sites for businesses currently without a Web presence) to the very advanced — a demonstration of Augmented Reality technology, which overlays computer-generated imagery onto what you see in the real world. (Point your cell phone at a nearby building, for example, and the building’s address and a list of businesses inside pop onto your screen. Or point a webcam at a specially marked paper and a 3-D image will emerge.)
The Augmented Reality exhibit is hosted by Flashpoint Academy, a Chicago media arts college run by serial entrepreneur Howard Tullman, whose most recent projects — Kendall College and Experiencia Inc. — are also education-focused. Mr. Tullman tells Crain’s contributor Steve Hendershot why he’s excited about the prospects of both Flashpoint and the TechExpo.
Crain’s: Tell me more about this Augmented Reality demonstration. What’s the potential takeaway for a small business?
Howard Tullman: We’re demonstrating how it’s pretty easy for a business to take its logo on a business card and turn it into a 3-D object using Augmented Reality. It’s a low-cost way to make your business look a lot more high-tech.
The city approached us about demonstrating a "gee whiz" technology, and as you can imagine, being able to manipulate an object like that in 3-D space is quite interesting.
The iPhone alone has created another generation of entrepreneurs that are in position now to build a business in their basement or their bedroom. We’re almost back to the earliest days of the Web, where if you had a great idea and got your Web site out there and got it rolling, you could do that. The gates and gatekeepers are constantly shrinking, and there are opportunities out there along those lines.
Crain’s: A lot of the small businesses at the TechExpo aren’t so cutting-edge. What’s in this for them?
HT: This whole TechExpo is designed to address entrepreneurs and small businesses who are at the lower end of Internet savvy and the tech spectrum, and we’re trying to show them a vision of the future as well as some tools they can use right now.
I’m also doing a talk about social networking, which is another area (in addition to a Web site) where small businesses have to be in touch with customers and prospects. Facebook now has over 300 million users, which is larger than a lot of countries.
Crain’s: Getting the word out about how technology can help a business also helps build a market for Flashpoint grads. Describe the Flashpoint model and how it differs from media arts programs at traditional colleges.
HT: The rest of the industry is in the dark ages compared to what we’re doing. There are no other schools that have figured it out. Flashpoint is a two-year high-end vocational program for kids to go directly into work, and we’re finding that employers can’t get enough of these kids.
Our graduates have had a terrific reception, and honestly, this is the way the world really works. Because we’re an advanced technology hub, our students are trained to use technology that’s just being introduced in the commercial sector. So instead of an employer paying to train somebody up, our students are already ready to go.
Everything we do is team-based and cross-disciplinary. All of our projects use all skill sets and the resources you might need in the real world. You can’t go out and be a specialist in just this or just that, so the fact that our students are trained up on the technology and understand workflow is a huge difference from other schools that are just teaching in a single silo — just film, or just recording, or whatever.
Crain’s: It seems like it could be challenging to sell parents on a two-year program in Game Development or Recording Arts. What’s your reception been like?
HT: One of the very striking things has been how many parents are starting to get it. They see that, If this is what my kid wants to do, then instead of sending them to a four-year liberal arts school that is going to cost me a fortune and my kid doesn’t want to go there anyway, this is a huge opportunity.
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