Motion recognition software business receives Venture Acceleration Funds

Ideum accelerates international software launch as a result of VAF award and business coaching

Jim Spadaccini was first drawn to New Mexico by the beauty of Chaco Canyon. “I was working on a project with NASA and the National Park Service at the time, and I just kept coming back,” he says. “I didn’t know then that New Mexico would also be a great place to start a business.”

Fast-forward six years, and Spadaccini’s company, Ideum, is exploding.  The company has grown from two to fourteen employees and is moving into larger studio and production space in Corrales.  Ideum originally specialized in custom software and websites. As the company customized interactive exhibits and multi-touch tables for museums, it saw the necessity of developing its own multi-touch and multi-user authoring environment. “Most multi-touch software is limited,” says Spadaccini. “We saw the need to create something from the ground up that enables developers to explore new modes of human computer interaction and motion recognition.” 

So Spadaccini and his team at Ideum developed the first version of a gesture-based software platform called GestureWorks. LANS Venture Acceleration Fund (VAF) award enabled the company to develop a third version for international release. Ideum has also taken advantage of expert coaching to help the company grow. “GestureWorks would have been sidelined without Northern New Mexico Connect,” says Spadaccini. “The VAF award allowed us to accelerate our progress to eight months, instead of sixteen. This has huge implications for getting into the marketplace quickly.”

Spadaccini credits New Mexico’s economic development support for Ideum’s success. “We’ve found great local talent and a business-friendly environment in New Mexico. Both Northern New Mexico Connect and the New Mexico Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) have really helped to move us forward,” he says.