Scott Hasbrouck and his wife, Lisa Hasbrouck, moved to Ann Arbor for Georgia last spring to launch Ginkgotree from the
Tech Brewery. Today, the start-up has adjusted its business plan and launched its higher-education technology.
Ginkgotree got its start creating a note-taking app built for the education industry. A few months into building the company, the Hasbrouck's shifted the firm's focus to creating a software platform that enables professors to create a digital curriculum that combines copy righted materials and open-educational resources.
"Essentially it's a tool for faculty to create a curriculum that would replace the text book in the course," says Scott Hasbrouck, CEO of
Ginkgotree. "It would be much cheaper than a textbook."
Think of the cost of a text book's price in the $100-200 range and compare it to Ginkgotree's curriculum price point of $30. The four-person team at Ginkgotree launched the product over the holidays and has several hundred faculty members from across the country signed up to use it. Spring Arbor University is running a pilot program and Scott Hasbrouck expects a few more universities will sign up to run their own pilot programs later this year.
"Next fall is shaping up to be a pretty good time for us," Scott Hasbrouck says.
Source: Scott Hasbrouck, CEO of Ginkgotree
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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