Garager – A New Way to Sell Your Stuff

Note

This project now has a full team.

Clients

Ashley Binter '97 A&S, MBA '13 <aob1@cornell.edu>
Ian Roosma, MBA '14 (also CS undergrad major) <ir226@cornell.edu>

Ian will be the on-the-ground contact in Ithaca for this project. Ashley is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. For information about the project, please feel free to contact Ashley or Ian. Once the project has begun, Ian will be the lead contact in Ithaca for the group, with Ashley also serving as contact.

About Garager

Garager is a Cornellian-founded startup that is building a part e-commerce platform/part social site for garage/yard/estate sales. This is a billion-dollar market and network that is not currently served well virtually. Garager seeks to create a new way for buyers and sellers to interact online. Garager is eBay meets craigslist meets SoundCloud meets the traditional yard sale: a virtual marketplace where sellers can display their goods easily/attractively, while also interacting with buyers on a more personal level and making transactions not only online, but in person, as well.

Project

Garager seeks to develop a web site with a highly functional and user centric UI. The primary features of the site will be to allow users to buy and sell items, create personal profiles, and facilitate a social network between buyers and sellers. The site will be supported by a cloud-based database server, application server, and corresponding APIs, with possible integration into Facebook.

The client writes, "You would have a lot of creative freedom and play a key role in shaping our venture’s strategy, including development and prototyping of new ideas and features (your ideas are very welcome). We are looking for students who can join our team and contribute meaningfully to every part of the startup: from front end to back-office development to user experience."

Note

Ideally the client wants to have iOS, tablet, and Android mobile apps as well as the web interface. The feasibility study will examine whether it is reasonable to include these variants in the CS 5150 project.