The days of endlessly driving around parking lots and streets looking for a parking spot may soon be over.
Jonathan Philip and Alex Wakefield, seniors in mechanical engineering, created a parking management business to fix this problem.
Their business, Parking Grid Technologies, is app-based and operates through sensors and data analytics to help drivers find the closest vacant parking spots.
Philip and Wakefield got their start last April when they won Auburn’s Tiger Cage, a competition for student entrepreneurs, which provided them with resources, including a grand prize of $10,000.
Wakefield, chief operating officer of Parking Grid Technologies, said winning the Tiger Cage competition helped launch their business.
“That’s really when the ball started rolling really fast for us,” Wakefield said.
After the competition, they added Brandon Eidson, visiting professor in electrical and computer engineering and chief technology officer of Parking Grid Technologies, to their team.
Philip said he has enjoyed seeing an idea he had freshman year turn into a real system, but it has required each member of the team to step up to the plate.
“Every person on the team is required to wear multiple hats and become proficient in things that they may not have had any prior knowledge on,” Philip said.
Since January, Philip, Wakefield and Eidson have had a pilot program of one parking lot, the one by the McWhorter Center for Women’s Athletics, which has 69 spots.
They also created their own app, PGT SmartSpot, which is available for iOS devices in the App Store.
The app is devised to show drivers where available parking spots are located, but right now it is only being used for the pilot program, according to Wakefield.
In addition to the pilot program at Auburn, they are also expanding their business to other universities.
Wakefield said although now they are specifically targeting universities in the Southeast, he could see Parking Grid Technologies eventually expand to malls, retail areas and downtowns.
“We do have hopes and dreams of making this a much bigger thing than just here at Auburn,” Wakefield said.
For people with hopes of creating their own businesses, Eidson said he would tell people not to give up, because college students have more freedom than they will the rest of their lives.
“You have the best chance to try to get something moving, to take the initial steps,” Eidson said. “The main thing you need in being a successful entrepreneur is being able to tolerate risk and to be able to delay gratification.”
Wakefield said he recommends people seek help locally.
“I think when other people think of entrepreneurships and cool startups, they think of Silicon Valley and out in San Francisco,” Wakefield said. “But the thing that people, especially at Auburn, need to realize is there are lots of great resources here locally at Auburn and Opelika.”
Wakefield said he, Philip and Eidson are always open to visitors if they want to come to their office space in the Round House, which is a business startup incubator in Opelika.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
