Glyphr launches reality shopping

Glyph: A symbolic figure engraved or incised; a symbol that imparts information non-verbally. — American Heritage Dictionary

SYRACUSE — “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The quip is attributed to John Wanamaker, a department-store mogul considered to be the father of modern advertising and a pioneer in marketing.

Glyphr has the answer to Wanamaker’s dilemma: the half not spent on 3-D reality shopping is wasted. Glyphr is a d/b/a for Augmented Reality Concepts, Inc., a C-corporation created by high-school classmates Devin Dennis Daly and Michael Anthony Quigley. The firm, a startup located in the Technology Garden in downtown Syracuse, has developed a mobile application that uses three-dimensional, augmented technology to help advertisers engage their target audiences.

The shopping experience is simple. An individual, in any location, scans a printed piece with a smart phone or tablet. The application converts the image into a digital hologram that can be manipulated on screen. “This leads to higher levels of engagement,” says Quigley, a founder and chief operating officer of the company. “Research indicates that a shopper spends, on average, six minutes and 45 seconds with branded print content using augmented technology.”

“Our primary focus is on companies with strong brand [recognition], retailers, consumer-packaged goods [producers], [advertising] agencies, and publishers,” says Daly, Glyphr’s CEO. “The big three vertical markets include fashion, autos, and home goods … We launched our marketing in March [2013] at the MAGIC Project Show in Las Vegas [a show that attracts retailers and the press to explore relevant brands], demonstrating advertising for one of our customers — Weatherproof. Since the show, we have secured about a dozen clients, including names like Weatherproof, Keen Footwear, and OnCore Golf. We also are working with major advertising agency partners such as Eric Mower & Associates, The Richards Group, and Direct Agents.”

Daly projects a client list at year’s end that numbers 25, increasing to 75 in 2014, and 200 in 2015.

Glyphr uses a conventional business model for its revenue streams. “We charge our clients a fee to create the content,” says Quigley. “It’s based on the number of SKUs (stock-keeping units). We also charge based on customer engagement, which represents the number of views.” Daly adds that “the PPE (price per-engagement) is between $10 and $15 … In addition, Glyphr charges a hosting fee … Our clients have access to rich analytics which we provide as part of the bundled price.”

Daly and Quigley formed the company in March 2012. That spring, they raised seed capital from five investors. By October, Glyphr attracted two “angel” investors from the Washington, D.C. area in a venture-capital round, designed to complete the product development and to attract clients. The principals did not disclose the amount of either investment or the names of the investors. “At this point, I don’t think we’ll need a future round of capital [investment],” says Daly.

“We don’t have any real competition,” Quigley contends. “There are novelty marketing gimmicks, but no one has focused [on our niche] … “This gives us time to develop our client base and … [ramp up] new product development. We are considering an e-commerce plug-in to license to a big, online retailer … It can be viewed in your browser without having to use a scanner … [That way], the customer could browse organically on a site using our 3-D content.” Daly adds that “… new development could also let the customer plug into tablet magazines without the need to download an application.”

Principals’ Background

Daly, 23, and Quigley, 24, both attended Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. Upon graduation, Daly matriculated at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, majoring in finance and economics. He then worked for two years in the Washington, D.C. office of Cambridge Associates, conducting due-diligence. Quigley attended New York University, majoring in economics and interned with several online, interactive companies.

“While I was at Cambridge,” observes Daly, “I saw the huge growth in mobile advertising. Mike and I stayed in touch after graduation (2011) and talked about the potential [of tapping into this market by really engaging viewers] … We needed a chief technology officer and found Gabriel Thomas Wiley Marques, who is also a principal.” Marques, 25, graduated Rutgers with a major in computer science and worked for Halbred Match, a defense contractor, before joining Glyphr.

On May 28, Glyphr will join the StartFast accelerator, located at 499 S. Warren St. in Syracuse. “StartFast will be invaluable in helping our team take this company to the next level,” Daly says. The 12-week program is designed to help startup companies be successful by providing funding and mentoring. StartFast is backed by private capital and co-chaired by Charles Stormon and Nasir Ali. The program received 600 applications of which only 10 to 12 are selected.

In addition to the principals, Glyphr employs one person in sales and one in design. The business currently employs five total. Daly projects nine employees by 2015.

“We are at the intersection of business, media, and technology,” Quigley says. “It’s a very exciting time.” Daly adds that he and Quigley think that Syracuse is “… the perfect place to launch this company. “[We are surrounded] by talent from Syracuse University, Cornell, and RIT. Our foray into publishing is [bolstered] by the presence of the [Newhouse] communications school … People are very helpful [in this community] … They share their thoughts on how to run a company better… The Tech Garden has helped us to scale up quickly, … and we have relied on [other tenants like] Page 44 Studios (now owned by Zynga) to help us with 3-D development.”

Glyphr retains the services of Bousquet Holstein PLLC (Syracuse) for its legal work, including intellectual-property protection. The firm also retains Testone, Marshall & Discenza (Syracuse) for its accounting.

Glyphr has gone from an idea between friends to a company with a product and revenue in just 18 months. If John Wanamaker were here, he would be Glyphr’s first customer.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com