23 January 2013
Three weeks into the opening of the Propeller Incubator at 4035 Washington Ave. and collaborations are already in full swing. So was proven when two Incubator tenants entered the 2013 CodeMkrs Super Challenge to win the $1000 Innovation Award for their jointly designed web application Nolaparks.com.
With little more than two feet between their desks, it didn’t take long for Incubator tenants James Braendel, co-founder of RapJab, and Adam Mejerson, founder of Fit-Lot, to strike up conversation and explore collaborative possibilities. One such opportunity occurred at the 2013 CodeMkrs Super Challenge, an event created to entice New Orleans’ tech savvy programmers to build web apps in advance of Super Bowl XVII crowds.
It was at CodeMkrs that Braendel and Mejerson agreed to join forces and take on a project proposed by the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD). 48 consecutive hours later, the Incubator duo emerged with www.nolaparks.com, a web application that showcases all public parks and public recreation facilities in New Orleans.
“I’m most excited about the interface and functionality of the site,” said Braendel, while displaying the new website on his phone. Little green leaves dot a virtual map, marking every park available to community members and visitors. Users need only press a leaf to see the address, photos and what amenities can be found there—tennis, basketball, running, etc.
For Adam, nolaparks.com aligns well with Fit-Lot’s mission—to make New Orleans a mecca for public outdoor exercise parks using vacant lots. “Nolaparks.com is a legacy app that will continue to be improved by NORD over time. It has great potential for increasing the accessibility of parks in New Orleans,” explained Mejerson.
When asked what it means to be part of a socially conscious co-working space, Mejerson replied, “exciting things are happening extremely quickly here. It makes a difference that we all work among organizations with similar missions, traveling down the same avenues to achieve our goals of city-wide improvement.”
Co-working ($150/month) and Permanent Desks ($250/month) are still available at the Propeller Incubator. To join the spirit of innovation and teamwork, visit www.GoPropeller.org/incubator for more information, or contact Danielle Kraus, Propeller Incubator Associate at dkraus@GoPropeller.org.
You can follow NolaParks and Fit-Lot on Twitter: @nolaparksapp and @FitLotUSA