“Map out your future — but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.” — Jon Bon Jovi
Today’s issue:
June 1, 2021
A CHAT WITH AN INNOVATOR
Roadtrip tech that takes you off the beaten path 
Steve Hileman, TOGO Group
Get yer motor runnin'!
TOGO Group is a company that focuses on road-based travel. In 2018, they bought Cincinnati-based Roadtrippers, which makes a web app that helps travelers plan road trips. We spoke to Steve Hileman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Togo Group, about their travel tech.
Where are you located?
Hileman: We have home offices in both Cincinnati and Chicago. Most of my marketing team is located in Cincinnati, although our CEO is based in Chicago.
Our investors are very keen to have us stay in the road travel space, so Roadtrippers made a ton of sense as our first investment. That said, we continued to build a presence in Cincinnati, in part because the core Roadtrippers team was there but also because there’s a lot of great talent in Cincinnati.
In 2019 we launched TOGO RV, which is our dedicated app for RVers. We acquired a company called RVillage in 2020, which is a community platform solely for RVers. Just this year, we acquired a company called Overnight RV Parking, a subscription database for the “secret” places that allow RV parking. For example, there are specific Walmart stores that let you stay in the parking lot overnight. Some municipalities allow it; some don't.
Have you seen an increase in RV interest since COVID?
Hileman: Yes, RV interest is at an all-time high. Even though RV inventories at dealerships are at an all-time low, sales are at an all-time high. Prices for RVs are through the roof, but we saw that trend happen about a year ago. In May of last year, suddenly people realized that RVing and road travel in general offer pretty much the safest alternative compared to air travel. We expect this summer to be our all-time biggest year.
Where is your staff located?
Hileman: We were already a mostly remote workforce heading into the pandemic, but now we are even more so. As businesses realize they can function that way, you will see more folks in tech, marketing and other types of former ‘office roles’ living in lower cost areas like the Midwest.
“In May of last year, suddenly people realized that RVing and road travel in general offer pretty much the safest alternative compared to air travel."
— Steve Hileman, TOGO Group
Are your applications available via smart phone?
Hileman: Everything we build has a mobile app that you can download from the Apple store or Google Play store. We have a proprietary platform from which those apps operate. We work to make it easier for people to plan a trip on Roadtrippers and then access that trip on TOGO RV. So if they decide to take a big road trip and they decide to take it in an RV, then we have all the apps and all the technologies they need to do that.
The roads you can travel on by RV are different than the roads you can travel by car. You have height, weight and propane restrictions. It’s more like driving a commercial vehicle than a mini-van.
Where do you get the data for the apps?
Hileman: Most of our data is actually curated by our data team. We have a team that goes out and verifies particular items. We hire freelancers to go out and take better photos of popular locations to make it easier for people to understand what they can do there.
Roadtrippers focuses on offbeat and interesting places to see along your route. We’re not going to cover a bunch of in-depth information about Disney World. However, we do have great information on the future birthplace of James T. Kirk, the Jolly Green giant statue or the world’s largest ball of twine.
Hileman: Yes. For example, if you’re camping, you can turn the camping filter on so you don’t see hotels. You likely don’t need or want hotels if you’ve got an RV. Through that filter, you can look for attractions, offbeat locations, museums and a couple other categories.
What do you think is the attraction to road travel?
Hileman: RVing gives you a home away from home and is often associated with the outdoors. While, yes, you’re traveling in a relatively small vehicle, you are usually traveling to campgrounds or state parks with an abundance of open air and outdoor space. RVing was trending mildly, but the pandemic just turned the dial to ‘11’ in terms of interest in those areas.
Moreover, during COVID, international travel was restricted. This sort of forced people to leave their options open domestically. Now air travel is getting somewhat congested, as airlines are bringing flight volumes up. The prices are also pretty high, especially for a whole family who is traveling. People are starting to evaluate all of those things. Share this story!
FLYOVER TALENT A feature from Flyover Future
Looking to bust a move? Check out these regional opportunities. Union Hall (a Cintrifuse space) is hiring an Operations and Events Manager CINCINNATI: Play an essential role in the maintenance and success of Union Hall, a 38,000 square foot coworking and event space! The building is an entrepreneurial hub for dozens of startups and hundreds of events/meetings per year. This role includes leading the sales of coworking plans and meeting rooms, managing operating systems, distributing building communications, and ensuring optimal customer satisfaction. Click here for details and email zand@cintrifuse.com to apply. Creative Director - Social Media Content at Pap's Beef Jerky LOUISVILLE: This role will leverage your skill set to develop and produce on-brand, engaging video and marketing content for major social media platforms. Develop and produce content, develop calendar and implementation strategy, track and manage data. Contact Pap's Jerky here for additional details. New Indy Startup PAXAFE is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer INDIANAPOLIS: Join an inclusive startup team and play an instrumental role in taking new product initiatives from the white board to production. PAXAFE predicts adverse events through the supply chain to de-risk B2B shipments and enable dynamic cargo insurance. If you geek out on data and have 3+ years of ML experience, check out more details and apply here. Signal Advisors is hiring a Backend Engineer DETROIT/REMOTE: Play an essential role in building a fintech product with Signal Advisors. Based in Detroit, Signal Advisors is a venture-backed, tech-enabled insurance distributor helping independent financial advisors grow their business. While maintaining their Detroit HQ for anyone who wants it, Signal is a fully distributed remote team. The Backend Software Engineer will create and manage cutting edge APIs and serverless computing resources for the Signal Advisors platform. Click here for more details and to apply to Signal. Finite State is hiring a Software Engineer REMOTE: Be at the forefront of supply chain security. Finite State is growing their team of top engineers to help them provide comprehensive cybersecurity for modern networks. As a Software Engineer at Finite State, you'll work on building world class information security products with one or more agile development teams. If you are an experienced self-starter who enjoys working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, learn more about this role at Finite State and apply. Share these jobs!
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HOT COFFEE! 
Treatment for liver damage There’s a ton of research going on at Cincinnati Children’s. Researchers may have a potential treatment for obesity-driven liver damage, which is the primary cause for liver transplants in children and adults. The treatment involves blocking a molecular “pathway” of ihTh17 cells to the liver. Preventing obesity Cincinnati Children’s is also researching a set of inflammatory mediators that appear to prevent weight gain, a condition that increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The research involves the role of two proteins that regulate B-cell activity in the immune system. CincyTech raises another fund CincyTech has finished raising another fund, giving it nearly $20 million in new money to invest. The money will be used to invest in seed-stage health care and digital startups in Ohio, principally in Cincinnati. Join the TechOhio Startup Creativity Challenge TechOhio is calling on its network of startups, small businesses, tech companies and everyone in between to share their most creative problem-solving solution. Want to nominate your organization or someone else’s? Click here to learn more. Kaleidoscope Innovation's big growth Cincy-based Kaleidoscope Innovation has doubled its revenue since it was acquired by InfoSys. One of the biggest drivers behind that growth is the clinical video and data team, which uses AI and machine learning to generate insights from clinical data. Second cohort of Kroger Innovation Fund Kroger announced the second cohort of its Innovation Fund. The fund selected 10 startups, out of 145 applicants, to receive a total of $2.5 million in funding to launch innovative consumer products made with surplus food of food byproducts to advance the upcycled food industry. A new look at supercomputing Supercomputing is becoming increasingly common in the research landscape. The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), which provides a shared infrastructure in advanced modeling, simulation and analysis, is working with UC to provide instructional workshops to demystify and expand it at the university. This educates faculty, staff and students on how best to use resources available. Share these stories!
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AROUND THE REGION With 
We hope you enjoy these headlines from the latest issue of Flyover Future, chronicling innovation throughout the Midwest. If you'd like to subscribe to Flyover Future, click here. Stemming a public health crisis with tech
FUELING THE FUTURE: Coastal investors fund Midwest startups
PUDDLE HOPS: FlyOhio participates in NASA program | Tangoe moves to Indy HealthTech: Treating infants | robotic exoskeleton | virtual anatomy
Pandemic Report: Biometric facial recognition | Virtual hospitals | Wastewater researchers
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