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Statpedia Launches Online Chart-Building Enterprise

A startup that offers a new way to build charts online has officially launched. Statpedia, based in incubator FastStart Studio in Irvine, enables users to create and share charts and search for statistics in multiple ways, including posting publicly to social media, embedding in blogs and on websites, and publishing on Statpedia’s website.

Founder Ian McLean came up with the idea when he encountered challenges searching for simple statistics online when he was in college, he said. He found a lot of charts, but they lacked the supporting data.

“Now every time a statistic is created on Statpedia, it generates an image for Google,” he said. “When a Statpedia chart is clicked on from Google Images, the person can see the interactive data visualization along with the underlying data used to create the chart.”

The startup has the long-term goal of creating an encyclopedia of statistics, and a short-term goal of making it easy and intuitive for neophytes to create charts, McLean said.

Statpedia hasn’t received official funding yet, McLean said. His co-founder, Kevin Bikhazi, who runs Newport Beach-based web design firm OC Web Kings, helps manage day-to-day operations.

Startup Branches Out

A manufacturer of accessories for drones and action cameras such as the GoPro has recently added accessories for smartphones.

Newport Beach-based PolarPro joined with Fort Collins, Colo.-based OtterBox as an inaugural partner on OtterBox’ new uniVERSE iPhone Case System. The system can expand the iPhone’s features with accessories from various manufacturers that can be swapped in and out using a slotted rail on the back of the case. PolarPro has created seven accessories for the system, including a wireless speaker, a small wallet for cards and cash, and a wide-angle lens.

“To have an opportunity to partner with such a great brand like OtterBox is one that we simply could not pass up!” PolarPro Chief Executive Jeff Overall said via email. “We’ve always had an eye on expanding to the mobile market, and when OtterBox asked us to create a single accessory for the uniVERSE case, my response was to ask if we were limited to (just) one.”

The partnership with OtterBox enabled Overall to fulfill a promise he made when appearing on the TV show “Shark Tank” this year that he would expand PolarPro’s offerings to the mobile market. “Shark Tank” netted him a $1 million deal with sharks Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec for a 20% stake in the company. Overall created PolarPro in 2011 while at the University of California-Santa Barbara.

The uniVERSE iPhone Case System is now available through BestBuy.com and is being rolled out into brick-and-mortar stores, Overall said.

Film Locations Connector

A new location scouting service company is looking to boost its stable of OC properties for cinematic shoots.

Playa Vista-based Wrapal.com recently launched with the goal of connecting property owners to filmmakers searching for locations. The startup was co-founded by Director/Producer Brian L. Tan, who goes by the nickname “BLT;” fellow Director/

Producer Melissa Nemcek; Chief Technology Officer and web developer Aaron Weiss; and Derek Sherwood, an OC native who’s worked in public affairs for the U.S. Army.

The challenge of trying to find easily accessible film locations motivated Tan to create the startup. Wrapal is a free platform that allows property owners and managers to list properties for free. The site is also free for filmmakers to search available locations.

It allows a property owner or manager to list any type of location, including apartments, retail storefronts and houses. The property owner or manager can set price ranges and availability for filming.

Wrapal.com has partnered with Lloyds of London to provide insurance to filmmakers, covering $100,000 in damages.

“Wrapal.com boasts a number of Orange County properties already and is looking to add many more,” Tan said. “I’ve personally seen many of the unique film locations that the OC has to offer, and with Wrapal.com, those properties can be shared with filmmakers around the world.”

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