In a world where you’re able to download and listen to music instantly, it’s easy to forget about the days of turntables and records. But talk to any fan of vinyl and you’ll hear that the experience of record playing is by no means dead, and just can’t be replaced by listening to an mp3. U-Turn Audio, a venture that works with IDEA, is aiming to bring turntables back into the music spotlight. Peter Maltzan, Bob Hertig and Ben Carter, the founders of U-Turn, have loved vinyl for years and wanted to make listening to records a more accessible and valuable experience. The trio has created the Orbit, an innovative turntable that bridges the gap between quality and affordability. U-Turn describes the Orbit as a “back to basics” turntable that “outperforms any similarly-priced offering.” What makes the Orbit different is its superior listening experience that you would find with a high-end turntable, but for an affordable price and with options for customization.

U-Turn recently completed a Kickstarter campaign, hoping to raise $60,000 in financial backing for the Orbit. While U-Turn was confident it would reach its goal, it was completely unprecedented that their venture would pledge nearly four times that. Their campaign raised nearly $234,000 and landed U-Turn on Kickstarter’s top 40 Most Funded List By Design. U-Turn co-founder Peter Maltzan found the the campaign process very rewarding, saying it was “great getting all kinds of support and gratitude from the vinyl lovers out there.” The Kickstarter campaign was more of a relief than a stressor for U-Turn, especially after working for over a year on the Orbit. While the Kickstarter enabled the online audiophile community to watch U-Turn’s every move, the team feels that they have grown very positively from participating in the campaign.

U-Turn first became involved with IDEA in the spring of 2012, when the venture was awarded a prototype grant through IDEA. Peter said that this helped U-Turn adequately prepare for the Kickstarter campaign: “The prototype grant was what allowed us to get any traction at all in developing the Orbit. Soon after that, IDEA steered press coverage our way, which was very helpful. We were given exposure with which we could build a small fan base, and this was necessary during the first crucial days of our Kickstarter campaign.” U-Turn sees 2013 as a make or break year and is looking forward to setting up their online store and producing the orders they procured through Kickstarter.

IDEA is very excited to have been a part of U-Turn’s success so far, and is looking forward to helping the venture continue to grow!

Is there a better way to practice business pitches than presenting to potential investors? On Wednesday, January 30, IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator (IDEA) held Pitch-a-thon, an event that offers IDEA’s ventures the opportunity to pitch their up-and-coming companies to a panel of investors. While the 19 ventures had very different business plans and models, each relayed the same message: they are dedicated, serious and could be very successful with the help of external investment.

The five-minute pitches spanned a variety of industries, including medical innovations such asBiolom, Inc. and Akrivis Technologies, LLC and mobile technology platforms like Presskit.toand PreApps, LLC. Each venture took a different approach to their pitch, and all were engaging and creative.

While Pitch-a-thon is a valuable event for IDEA’s ventures as practice for future business pitches, it is also a very rewarding event for investors and other members of the Northeastern and IDEA communities. The investors were asked to rate the Quality of Pitch and Quality of Concept for each venture, which provided all with beneficial feedback. Presskit.to was ranked highest for Quality of Pitch with a 4.2 out of 5, and Biolom, Inc was the winner for Quality of Concept, also with a 4.2 out of 5.

Northeastern’s President Aoun stopped by and was impressed by the quality of the pitches he heard. While it is well-known that Northeastern values its innovative and experiential learning environment, President Aoun appreciated the extra value that IDEA provides, and urged ventures to “keep doing what you’re doing.”

Chris Wolfel, the CEO of IDEA, was very pleased with the event’s outcome: “The turnout at Pitch-a-thon shows exactly how far IDEA has come over our three-year existence. It was great to see 25 investors come out to see the 19 incredible pitches of our ventures.  We look forward to seeing where these ventures and the IDEA program will go in the future.”

If you would like any information regarding the ventures involved with Pitch-a-thon or IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Wolfel.