Bradenton native continues entrepreneurship dreams after ABC Family's StartUpU concludes

MANATEE -- John Frye, 19, didn't win ABC Family's Startup U, but the show never determined his future path.

"The filming ended five months ago or something like that," Frye said. "I've been going ever since." Frye, who grew up in Lakewood Ranch, was the youngest contestant on the show. He now lives and works in San Mateo, Calif., where Draper University is located.

He was one of 10 contestants working in Draper University's live-in seven-week entrepreneurship program designed for students between 18 and 28 years old. At the end, one contestant was selected and won investment funds from venture capitalist Tim Draper.

Tony Capasso, 30, won the $250,000 startup funds. His venture uses 3-D printing in the construction business with a goal of making affordable housing more accessible.

Frye's entrepreneurial idea has changed several times since participating in Startup U. In the beginning, his idea was StudyBetter, an app which used money to motivate students. In short, they'd get paid if they completed study goals and had to pay more than what they would've received if they did not.

He learned through networking that he wasn't solving a problem widespread enough for his idea to take off and secure investors. He changed directions and is now working on what he describes as a "Netflix for nonprofit grants."

"We have had to pivot many times and we want to do this because we can make nonprofits more impactful with this software," Frye said. "We can change how quickly nonprofits get money and help them do more things with more resources."

Granted, a web application built by Frye and his team, CTO Thomas Anthony, 24, and CIO Juanisa McCoy, 29, assembles a database of grants from the government and other entities such as GuideStar. Nonprofits start by taking a survey to help the algorithm narrow down grant options. After they're

matched with grants, the nonprofits can apply for the grants and sign up for notifications as deadlines approach or if a new matching grant becomes available.

Nonprofits often need funding to continue work on such goals as eliminating hunger and developing biomedical technologies. The application process for grants is a "pain point" Frye and his team hope to solve, Anthony said.

"We looked at the market and realized there are $40 billion in grants a year and it's very difficult for nonprofits and individuals and small businesses to acquire these grants and the application time is quite lengthy," Anthony said. "The average time is roughly six months."

"I personally feel that we need to look at ways we can help in these areas so we can improve our society," Anthony said.

Anthony was working with another start-up in Jacksonville before he embarked on the Granted project. The previous start-up work didn't get funding in time to succeed, but Anthony said it was a great learning experience. He does a lot of the back-end coding work for Granted.

McCoy is working on the front-end design and also helps with Granted's public relations and marketing. She wants to make sure what she designs for Granted last into the future.

"When you're building something you have to think not only about today but how it's going to work tomorrow and how to make the design and technology cohesive," McCoy said.

The Granted team is not yet looking for venture capitalists like Draper to invest in the project but angel investors, or former entrepreneurs in the enterprise or nonprofit industry.

And though he didn't win funding from being part of StartUp U, other benefits and opportunities have come Frye's way because of the show.

While he continues to build Granted, Frye works as a part-time marketing and administrations assistant at Draper University and will be employed in that position until Draper University's winter break begins this year. The part-time gig provides free housing which has allowed him to work on Granted without worrying about paying rent.

Frye said he's giving himself a year to get Granted off of the ground. If it doesn't launch in a year, "we'll shut it down and move on to something else," he said.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter@jayohday.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 12:18 AM with the headline "Bradenton native continues entrepreneurship dreams after ABC Family's StartUpU concludes ."