Ten months after his graduation, wiggio.com founder Dana Lampert returns to the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration next week to describe how his company is changing the way people interact with colleagues and friends. Lampert will speak Monday, March 30 from 4:15-5:30 p.m. in SR 198 in the Conversations with Entrepreneurs series sponsored by the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship. He will have dinner with selected students afterward and will meet with students and faculty members the following day.

Like so many entrepreneurs, Lampert conceived his business out of frustration. While a senior at Cornell he took part in an array of academic and social groups, all of which used different tools to interact. When Lampert realized how much time he was spending to keep pace with each group, he decided to pursue a better way.

"My goal was to give people the resources they would need to work well in groups," Lampert said. "I also wanted to make those resources easy to use, even for the least technically inclined."

The result is a website that allows users to:
. Keep a shared calendar
. Store and edit documents, spreadsheets, photos and video in one common folder
. Send mass emails, voice and text messages
. Host free group conference calls and chat rooms
. Poll group members in real time
. Create list-servs

Lampert's co-founders are Rob and Derek Doyle, sons of Bob Doyle, the creator of MacPublisher and the 1970s electronic game Merlin. Working from Bob Doyle's lab a block away from Harvard University, the team unveiled a beta version of the site last September, followed by the launch of the full version this January. Wiggio now claims 75,000 users, a number rising by about 1,000 per day. Most users are college students and faculty members, many of whom use the tool to manage activity across multiple groups to which they belong. The site is also drawing increased interest across many other entities including high schools, small businesses, youth sports leagues, non-profits and more.

Lampert is now working to recruit investors for the next stage of his firm's evolution. While the current service is available at no charge, he envisions numerous revenue streams such as targeted display advertising and subscriptions for customized features designed for corporate applications.

For more information about wiggio.com, please contact Lampert at [email protected].

About The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship

An operating unit of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, the institute advances the study and practice of entrepreneurship and innovation in the hospitality industry. Through our network of faculty, industry leaders and entrepreneurs, we give students the knowledge and skills they need to successfully pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. To learn more about the institute, visit: www.ihe.cornell.edu, or contact Tom Ward, managing director, at 607.255.1217 or at [email protected].

Lauren Benfante
607-255-0179
Cornell