Mymentalspace is gathering its strength after a recent growth streak, preparing for a big push to expand its user base this summer.
The
TechTown-based start-up recently added two people to its team, expanding the 2-year-old company's staff to five people. It has 800 users of its software today and hopes to grow that number to several thousand by the end of this summer.
"If we are at 10,000 users by the end of the summer, I would be really proud," says Mark Ostach, founder of
mymentalspace.
Mymentalspace's software helps Internet users maximize their time online by eliminating non-productive Web surfing. It has developed a web browser plug-in helps prevent people from falling down the proverbial Internet rat hole of wasted time, energy and physical well-being. The plug-in prompts everything from inspirational quotes to calming photos/videos to outside help from a friend when someone tries to click on a website they know they shouldn't visit when they're trying to get something done.
"What we're trying to do is promote disconnecting from the web so they can reconnect with themselves," Ostach says.
Ostach plans to launch a mymentalspace Facebook challenge this summer. The initiative wants to help users eliminate one hour of time spent on the social media site each day. The idea is that these people will use that time to be more productive at work, spend more time with their family or just simply reading a book.
Mymentalspace recently won one of Corp! Magazine's 2012 DiSciTech awards ceremony, which honors companies leading the way in science and technology through innovation, research and applied science.
Source: Mark Ostach, founder of mymentalspace
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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