Philly founder proves the maxim ‘Your net worth is your network'
Ammons launched her company with funds she made from working as a technical writer. Still bootstrapped, Ammons mostly relies on her strong network to keep it growing. That goes hand in hand with her dedication to uplifting others along the way, she told reporter Sarah Huffman on Technical.ly Speaking, our monthly segment on WURD Radio's 'Reality Check' hosted by Tonya Pendleton.
'Everything about QuneUp … was partnered with somebody else in the community that looked like me,' Ammons said, referencing how she connected with the 'fraction of a percent' of other Black women in the business community.
Philly-based QuneUp, started in 2022, began with Ammon's personal frustration at work. As an engineer, every time equipment broke down, she got the call to fix it. The equipment often lacked vital information, like the vendor or when it was installed.
In response, she developed a QR code sticker that takes the technician to the equipment landing page with all the information needed for repairs.
Featured as an honorable mention in Technical.ly's 2025 RealLIST Startups, QuneUp has also been recognized with valuable support from other respected institutions, including at two pitch competitions supported by the Philadelphia Department of Commerce.
In 2024, QuneUp came in third place, taking home a $2,000 prize and the year prior, it was a finalist in Philly's Most Diverse Tech Hub Pitch Competition. It was also a member of the December 2023 Capital Readiness Program session run by the University City Science Center and, most recently, selected for the inaugural cohort of biotech accelerator HiveBio.
Those connections also gave her the platform to find new customers, Ammons said, crediting the Department of Commerce for helping her land two pilots.
Plus, it acted as a 'mini MBA' to learn how to run a business beyond just building the software, Ammons said.
'What I realized in business is that your net worth is your network,' Ammons said. Being a part of the community means she's just '10 conversations away from somebody who is interested in investing in a company like mine.'
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Technical.ly
5 days ago
- Technical.ly
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The 'university retirement community' seems like a bet on that the international reputation of American research universities — long an undisputed advantage — is under pressure. According to Nature's latest global university rankings, only two US institutions remain in the top 10 (Harvard and MIT), while Chinese universities dominate. This marks a profound shift from two decades ago, when American institutions filled most top slots. Victor Hwang points to outdated federal immigration policies and a lack of strategic thinking about global competitiveness as partly responsible for this decline. 'We trained up the best minds in the world and sent them back home again,' Hwang said. 'We haven't fundamentally redesigned our scientific-industrial complex since World War II. We need to intentionally focus on innovation and entrepreneurial activity.' Whether the Trump administration's attacks allow that to happen, or not, remains unclear. One analysis is tracking more than $3.5 billion of federal funding to colleges and universities that is in question. But amid the gloom, signs of change are emerging, particularly from regions and institutions experiencing a renaissance. The Midwest, notably, is experimenting with solutions. Ohio, for instance, implemented the 'Ohio IP Promise,' which streamlined intellectual property rules across all state universities to accelerate innovation. Marshall University in West Virginia, under former Intuit CEO Brad Smith, now mandates design thinkin g as part of its freshman experience — a practical move to foster problem-solving and resilience in first-generation college students. These examples may offer a blueprint for broader reforms. 'There is not a vibrant ecosystem in our country that is not situated in some form or way to a university. They're vital,' Brackeen said. 'But they need to get off the sidelines and actively invest in communities again.'
Technical.ly
07-08-2025
- Technical.ly
Robots that work with humans, rather than replacing them? Young people are lining up to join PA's Precision Cobotics
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After seeing over a thousand young people engage with his company's workforce development program, John Bridgen can't agree with a phrase he hears all the time: 'No one wants to work anymore.' As president of Lancaster-based robotics company Precision Cobotics, Bridgen says he sees proof of the opposite almost every day. His inbox is filled with inquiries from young people eager to join the company, drawn in by Robotics Worx, a program created to cultivate local talent. 'When you value people and it aligns with some of their interests, they're more than happy to be part of your workforce,' Bridgen told '[Companies] need to look inward as to why they're not somewhere people want to work.' Located next to the Lancaster airport, Precision is helping shape the county's emerging tech ecosystem. Once known primarily for its quiet farms and Amish communities, the region has recently seen a series of business wins. 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'It's ironic because people would say robots take jobs, but what we're finding is you need people to deploy robots,' Bridgen said. 'These young students get it, and it's kind of a great, timely solution to the needs of building out manufacturing in America.' Almost half of the participants in the Robotics Worx program are from demographics traditionally underrepresented in the workforce, according to Bridgen. The US manufacturing sector in 2020 was more than 70% male and nearly 80% white, according to the National Academy of Sciences. During this past year, more than 1,500 students participated in the program, with over 60 students landing internships and three students securing full-time positions in the industry, according to Precision Cobotics' most recent community impact report. Robotics as a 'sport' that captures student interest The company's mission to train the next generation of advanced manufacturing workers links to its roots as an intern-led endeavor at its inception. 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Technical.ly
06-08-2025
- Technical.ly
Founded by one of Pennsylvania's first Black veterinarians, this Germantown animal care center is still thriving
A Germantown animal care center founded almost 50 years ago by one of Pennsylvania's first Black veterinarians is still active in the community — thanks to dedication from its second-generation owner. Over the last eight years, Greene Street Animal Care has gone through shifts in business model and branding, but the core of the business has always been focused on making every animal and owner that comes through the door feel at home, CEO Kathleen Walls told 'Our motto is, we treat your pet like family,' Walls said. This philosophy is inspired by Walls' father, Orville R. Walls, who opened Greene Street Animal Clinic in Germantown in 1976 and provided community vet services for over 40 years. After he died in 2017, it made sense for Walls and her family to keep the business going, especially because the clinic had become a community staple in the neighborhood. 'It was, how do we maintain this animal care in our own way,' Walls said, 'yet continue the legacy that my father had set forth.' Now, the business offers things like doggy day care and monthly wellness checks from a traveling vet, but the main focus is on boarding services. The center prioritizes letting animals spend time outside their crates, with access to an enclosed dog park and the opportunity to roam around the building, Walls said. 'Normally there's three or four [pets], whether they're under the desk or behind,' she said. 'We wanted to create that same type of home away from home space for them.' Shifting the business model to meet neighborhood needs After taking over the business, the biggest challenge for Walls and her team was to figure out what their niche was. Walls, who is actually a clinical psychologist and not a veterinarian, decided to start by becoming a certified dog groomer. While the center no longer offers grooming, it helped introduce her to the world of animal care. Walls' father offered boarding services as part of his clinic, so it made sense for the business to continue that, she said. There's no shortage of pet care centers in Philadelphia, with 55 dog kennels in Philadelphia listed on and over 200 listed on Yelp. An average night of pet boarding in Philly can cost anywhere from $50 to $70 per night, according to Rover. However, Greene Street's prices are purposefully lower than average, $35 per night for dogs and $30 per night for cats, to make care more accessible for its customers, Walls said. They also had to figure out how to build their brand so they weren't only seeing business during summer break and the December holidays. The small business built on the community it already had in Germantown, a dedicated client base with most new business coming via word of mouth. But this new era of business also called for building relationships with other facilities, and getting referrals for animals that those other centers couldn't take. They also started tapping into other reasons people may need pet care, like if they experienced a medical event, traveled for work, or had an emergency and couldn't keep their pet in their home, she said. Some families have been with Greene Street since Walls' father first started his clinic, she said. 'We've had people who even have us in their wills,' Walls said. 'They're like, if anything happens to us, they know to bring our animals to you until the family comes to get them.'
