According to a story at Richmond Biz Sense, Tom Borwick won a $3,500 investment at an annual business pitch competition at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business. Borwick, 22, is a senior at UR and a bassoon player.
A panel of eight judges selected Borwick’s concept — a Kindle-style tablet that its inventor hopes will display sheet music and also transcribe songs into musical notation — and has more uses than the young entrepreneur has even dreamed.
The London native dreamed up Vivo as a more tailored sort of Kindle or iPad specifically for musicians. Orchestra members would no longer need to take a hand off their instrument to turn a page (or have a dedicated page-turner), and students could better teach themselves with lessons downloaded online. Users would have complete access to every song written before 1923.
“This can be the Rosetta Stone for the musical instrument,” Borwick told the panel of mock investors.
Borwick said he has found a manufacturer in China and can build the device for about $100 a pop. He’s working 35 or 40 hours a week on the side of his normal class work at UR, he said.
Photo by yejunkim.