Recently I sat down with some graduates of Malvern Prep who have started their own company, 5wize. 5wize is an innovative “21st century” company dedicated to discovering and developing innovation in technology.

I met with two members of Malvern’s class of ’03. K.C. Fordham III, graduate of Saint Joseph’s University, and Dave Moore, graduate of Loyola University Maryland, explained to me what 5wize is all about. They started the company in 2011 along with Jordan Rabidou, graduate of Loyola University Maryland, and two other Malvern alums also from the class of ’03, Dan Corcoran who attended the University of Delaware, and Mike Meehan who attended Princeton University. After talking to each other at reunions, the group of young entrepreneurs decided that they needed to do something together. Combining each of their individual skill sets, they created 5wize.

5wize’s first project, which has already become a success, is called foundkarma. Foundkarma is an online lost and found where users can tag real world valuables like cellphones and laptops with their unique foundkarma ID. When users lose their stuff, someone else can find it, enter the ID on foundkarma.com, return the item to the owner, and the owner can even reward them with an item from the website’s store, or anything else they want. Throughout this entire process, users can choose to remain anonymous and hide their personal data such as phone numbers and addresses. Foundkarma is free, safe, fun, and most importantly, it gets you your lost stuff back.

www.foundkarma.com

Foundkarma users can purchase inexpensive tags like these from the website, along with customized iphone cases and other merchandise.

The guys at 5wize have another project in development, an iPad app! Programmers, myself included, are always looking for the next best program for writing code. 5wize has already released a code editor for the iPad called MyCodeEditor, and although released less than 2 months ago, it is fully functional, and has over 2200 downloads! MyCodeEditor is unique in that it is simple and intuitive to use,  let’s the user write and edit code not just read it, and syncs your files on a cloud. The app is great for working on projects on the go, when you really don’t want to lug your bulky old laptop everywhere. The app is free for now, so don’t be afraid to check it out. The AP Computer Science class here at Malvern approves!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-code-editor/id567762437?mt=8

I asked Mr. Fordham and Mr. Moore some questions about their experiences at Malvern, how Malvern effected their career, and where they would like to see 5wize go.

Lanetti: How did Malvern prepare you for 5wize and the business world?

Fordam: Not only does Malvern give you the ability to think  for yourself, they challenge you with different projects. There’s something about working for yourself that Malvern teaches you. It’s one of those things that you get out of it what you put in.

Moore: The obvious thing is we all met here. Not only  were we able to stay friends, but we also became better friends after high school and going away to separate colleges. Having a lot of these discussions at  Malvern alumni events, and hanging out with each other around holidays, we wanted to do something together. That’s how 5wize was started.

Lanetti: What was your favorite class and which class prepared you the most for the business world?

Moore: Oh, probably 7th grade English!  (Mr. Wasson is in the room with us) I think it’s more of a cumulative effect here, I don’t know if there’s any one class in particular that really prepared me for the real world. I do know that there were some classes I loved, Mr. Ostick’s economics class, that was always interesting. It’s not really about exactly what you’re learning in each individual class from the texbook, it’s how to present yourself, and how to have a conversation with someone that isn’t your peer. Malvern gives you a lot of freedom, and when you get to college most people are used to it. They’re used to having a teacher being on their back and telling them exactly what to do. At Malvern you learn this years ahead of everyone else, and  think it translates over into the business world as well. There’s not really a lot of bosses that want to babysit you. They’r going to tell you what to do, and you’ll have to take it from there. In the entrepreneurial world it’s even magnified more because there is nobody that’s going to tell you what to do.

Fordham: The place I noticed it the most was when I went to college where I could study for a test for an hour and a half and get a C+ or a B, whereas other kids would go study 5 or 6 hours and get a C. You don’t even notice it but they’re teaching you how to study, how to do new things, and to be more effective with your work.

Dave and K.C. spend a few more minutes reminiscing over memories of their classes, and asking which teachers are still around. 

Lanetti: Do each of you have specific jobs withing 5wize?

Moore: We don’t necessarily have different jobs, we have different skill sets. There’s some obvious ones, Mike is a lawyer so not only does he bring a different business perspective but he handles any kind of contracts and everything like that. Jordan is our resident nerd, he’s the one that can really do anything that we’re not as comfortable with. I would say that between myself, K.C., and Dan it’s more the sales and marketing and building out business plans for specific projects, and I usually handle most of the management aspects of things.

Lanetti: How did you guys come up with foundkarma?

Moore: We started the company more because we wanted to start our own company rather than we had an idea, let’s go turn that into a company. So we used a technique called a “buglist”, which is something that I learned in graduate school and I shared with the guys. You can sit in a room and try to brainstorm up an idea and try to figure out what to do, or maybe have a pad of paper with you or a phone and as you go through your day you write down all the stuff that bugs you. Next thing you know, by Friday you have a list of 30 things for each 5 partners.

Lanetti: Can you elaborate on your new app a little bit?

Fordham: MyCodeEditor is only available on the Apple Store right now, and it’s for code writers so you can store your code within the application so that when you go on the road and you don’t have to bring your Lenovo with you (points to my laptop) you can just bring your tablet. So that you can make an adjustment and store the code within the app. It’s been out for around a month, only available for iPad, it’s free for now, and as of last week we have over 2200 downloads.

If anyone has a product or app idea, or needs help developing one, send an email to letting David Moore know:

[email protected]

The team is always ready to help anyone who is interested in becoming an entrepreneur and needs some guidance.

K.C. and Dave both told me several times that they made their bests friends here at Malvern. It’s no surprise that they started 5wize together. Apple, Microsoft, and HP were all started in garages and Dell was started in a college dorm. These companies were founded on the concept that everybody could own and easily use computers. The greatest entrepreneurs in the world founded companies on simple ideas. 5wize was founded in brotherhood. 5wize isn’t even 2 years old, yet they have already made a presence in the market. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if 5wize became the next big tech company. Malvern has a legacy of success and 5wize is no exception. It’s always good to talk to graduates of Malvern, especially if they have similar interests as you. I doubt this is the last we will hear from 5wize, and it will be interesting to see where the company goes.

www.5wize.com