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The City of Pittsburgh is looking for tech entrepreneurs who want to test their products and services with the city.
The PGH Lab has been going since 2016, but last year started offering companies a $25,000 stipend. The 9.0 cohort partnerships allowed the city to test installation of fiber-optic cables, improve vendor cost reports, increase alternative transit safety while mapping frequently used routes, and encouraged music literacy across the city.
Becky Billock, a Pittsburgh piano instructor and the CEO and founder of Noteful, an app that teaches note reading and music theory. The Noteful team worked with the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation to engage with Pittsburgh residents.
“The funding made a huge, huge difference,” Billock said. “Not only was I able to bring in this great musician that did these workshops. But we also were able to hire three full time interns this summer. We made a lot of progress with the company with their help.”
Billock’s husband Jonathan Aldrich is Noteful’s chief technology officer and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He said it was an overall positive experience working with the city. Both Aldrich and Billock hope to see PGH Lab continue to develop along with the companies that find support, and the community that benefits from encouraged innovation.
Applications for the next PGH Lab cohort will be accepted until September 27th.
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