StartupCafe

This week, one of our favourite blog followers (and previous guest blogger) Hilary Singer is in the hot seat for our latest 60 second interview.

Hilary is originally from Alaska (we normally try and not mention the Sarah Palin jokes …) She moved to Washington, D.C. for an International Relations degree at American University – but everything changed when she came to Edinburgh in 2006 on a study abroad programme and ended up transferring into Physics! For the last two years, she’s worked for Launch.ed and the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) to promote and support entrepreneurship at Edinburgh Uni. Recently, she was one of the award winners for SIE’s New Ideas competition – for her new startup – Bullfrog Labs.

Whats your Startup/Business? A new sound-based safety device for commuter cyclists. I got the idea after reading that electric cars are being outfitted with artificial sounds. Their engines are so quiet that pedestrians and cyclists don’t hear them coming. I read that and thought, “Hey! Nobody hears cyclists either, do you think we can fix that?”

Give us your company culture in 3 words: Make life better.

Whats the next big challenge or hurdle that the company has to overcome? We’ve done a proof-of-concept with a very basic prototype. The big challenge now is building a much sexier version that I could hand to potential customers to test.

In one sentence, what’s the personal dream? Be James Dyson.

What do you do for stress relief? Run as fast as I can.

Your favourite ‘skint’ meal? Monster mash (mix everything in your fridge into mashed potatoes). Don’t forget the ketchup.

How do you celebrate milestones or awards? Eat fish. I’m otherwise vegetarian, so fish is the bigtime. Current recommendation: Maison Bleue on Victoria Street.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure? Rapping, Flight-of-the-Conchords style.

And the coolest event you’ve been to? The 2009 MIT Global Startup Workshop in Cape Town (courtesy of Informatics Ventures). Great vibe, inspiring student-entrepreneurs and amazing speakers. Plus, we had breakfast every morning on the pier in the brilliant sunshine, with fur seals barking all around. I’ve never had a better morning.

Name a Quirky fact about yourself: I was born and raised in Alaska. In school, we were trained in earthquake safety, bear safety, edible plant recognition, animal track and poop recognition, orienteering, and winter survival techniques. Unfortunately, only a few have turned out to be really transferable skills.

Give the choice, would you prefer …

i) Truth or Dare? Dare

ii) Carrot or Stick? Carrot stick?

iii) Tea or Coffee? Coffee