[May 05, 2006]

Still a whiz kid: RPI senior sells HipCal online calendar innovation

(Eagle Times (Claremont, NH) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 4--PLAINFIELD --Karim Chichakly, a computer science teacher at Kimball Union Academy, remembers a student coming to him several years ago asking how to prepare for his class the following year.

Chichakly said he gave him some pointers for the summer, showed him the textbook they'd be using and suggested some readings.

It wasn't until Garret Heaton of Plainfield came to the first day of class several months later that Chichakly realized just how serious he was about that preparation.

"He came in knowing more than students who'd already taken my course," Chichakly said, recalling that time four years ago. "He was quoting straight out of the textbook." That eager attitude stayed with Heaton throughout high school, three years in college and will now travel with him to California when he goes to work for Plaxo, Inc., the company that just bought, for an undisclosed amount, Heaton's online innovation.

Heaton, now 21, and four of his fraternity brothers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York created the free online calendar service, called HipCal, last year as a way to manage their demanding social and school agendas.

HipCal users can synchronize their schedules with friends, receive alerts to cell phone or e-mail and create group calendars for projects or clubs.

When he arrived at RPI as a freshman in 2003, Heaton said he needed to find a new organizational tool. The paper calendars he'd used in high school no longer seemed relevant at a technology-centric college like RPI.

"It is very computer focused environment," Heaton said during a telephone interview on Tuesday. "It's very convenient organizing using a computer when you always have access to one." The format they spent a year and a half developing didn't take long to grow into a phenomena. HipCal has gained 10,000 registered users since launching publicly in September 2005.

Of course, online calendars exist now, but they don't make the best use of the technology, said Rikk Carey of Plaxo. Most simply operate like a paper calendar on the computer screen. Heaton's invention takes a whole new direction.

"There are all kinds of things you can do with an online calendar that you can't do with a paper calendar," Carey said. "The issue is just getting people to switch." Plaxo, an online address book service with 10 million users worldwide, will incorporate HipCal into the Plaxo software to strengthen its position in the online personal organizing market.

Carey said Plaxo was planning to develop its own calendar when, one day while searching around on the Internet, he came across HipCal. He placed a call to Heaton, discussions ensued and the marriage was made.

"After he talked to us, we were pretty shocked," Heaton said. A visit to the company's California offices convinced the young men they'd found the right home for their product.

The RPI fraternity brothers made it clear that they were a package deal -- if Plaxo wanted HipCal, the company would need to hire all five of its creators. Plaxo agreed.

Heaton's parents, Karen and Doug, still live in Plainfield and have consulted with their son regularly as he prepares to leave the East Coast.

As to be expected, both are excited their son is finding success so early in life. Karen said, however, this decision did not come without conditions.

"I would not have been in support of it if he couldn't have gotten his degree," she said.

Heaton, a junior at RPI, will finish his senior year remotely while working for Plaxo in California. The other men, all in their early twenties, are either seniors or recent graduates.

Like Heaton's parents, Chichakly is pleased but not surprised at the success his former student has achieved. He said Plaxo should consider themselves fortunate to have Heaton's talents on staff. And though Heaton is young, Chichakly is confident he knows what he is doing.

"This kid, he's brilliant. So I'm not surprised," Chichakly said. "He is motivated and he knows how to get where he wants to go

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