Startup Closeup: New Orleans-based DAWn Audio develops software for musicians
Listen to this article Photos courtesy DAWn Audio. DAWn Audio is currently led by Mandy Ortiz (Co-Founder and CSO), Pinzon (Co-Founder and CEO), and Leo Simanonok (Co-Founder and CTO). An idea launched by Tulane University engineers, including one passionate music enthusiast, has turned into a New Orleans startup that is impacting the creative music industry. […] New Orleans-based startup DAWn Audio, founded by Tulane University engineers, Diego Pinzon, a Colombian American, and his classmates, Kaitlyn Miller, Jake Gus, Leo Simanonok, and Sam Matluck, among others, have created a cloud-based application that combines digital audio workstations and allows for real-time collaborative collaboration. The company recently surpassed 500 accounts and users and won $100,000 at the Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week pitch competition, the top prize committed by Innovation Catalyst and Red Stick Angel Network. Currently, Pinzon counts 11 total employees, five of whom are student ambassadors from Loyola and Tulane universities. He anticipates a widespread product launch in Q1 2024, with the goal of having 17,000 paying musical artists by end of 2024.
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An idea launched by Tulane University engineers, including one passionate music enthusiast, has turned into a New Orleans startup that is impacting the creative music industry.
Diego Pinzon was always an avid drummer, but he would get frustrated when he would try to collaborate with artists when there was no digital network, or software, that would efficiently allow such real-time, co-creativity. “We could literally be sitting in the same room, and we would have to email the files because we were using different software. Music is communal. It needs to be shared real-time, anywhere, and by anyone in the world.”
In 2017, Pinzon, a Colombian American, chose to attend college in New Orleans for its culture of music and chose Tulane University to study computational engineering with a minor in music science and technology. In August 2020, as Pinzon’s engineering and music technology skills grew, but his collaborative production limitations mounted (especially as a student in the music production program), he thought of an idea to create a cloud-based application that tied together digital audio workstations. It would bridge incompatibilities, and produce a real-time application and online network that replicated a co-creative, collaborative experience among musical artists.
The idea started as a senior design project in Tulane University’s Engineering Capstone Class, and Pinzon’s classmates – Pinzon, Jake Gus, Leo Simanonok, Kaitlyn Miller, and Sam Matluck – loved the concept and wanted in on a possible business venture. One year later, Pinzon and his classmates formed an LLC, and was officially launched.
How’s the former class project doing in 2023? Drum roll please …
While still in beta testing, DAWn Audio recently surpassed 500 accounts and users of its software, and this summer, won $100,000 at the Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week pitch competition, the top prize committed by Innovation Catalyst and Red Stick Angel Network. The investment prize will help the startup transition to the revenue phase, build a subscriber base, and hire employees, said Pinzon, who serves as CEO. He anticipates a widespread, product launch in Q1 2024, charging $9.99 for a month subscription. The goal is to have 17,000 paying musical artists by end of 2024.
“We were five engineering students who had a technical solution to a problem in the music industry, and out of it grew a successful startup that we are very fortunate to launch in New Orleans with the help of many resources,” said Pinzon. “Anyone interested in making music and collaborating with others can download our app, sync their digital audio workstation, invite their friends, and start seamlessly, creating music together. We are excited about the future of our company and how it can impact the music industry.”
DAWn Audio is currently led by Pinzon (Co-Founder and CEO), Leo Simanonok (Co-Founder and CTO), and Mandy Ortiz (Co-Founder and CSO). Of the original classmates, Jake Gus is now a robotics engineer with PsychoGenics; Kaitlyn Miller is a technical solutions engineer at Epic; and Sam Matluck unexpectedly passed away in 2022.
Currently, Pinzon counts 11 total employees working for DAWn Audio – five of them student ambassadors from Loyola and Tulane universities. Fitting, considering how the company was started. Everyone works remotely, but Pinzon said he is considering leveraging shared workspace over the next year as the company grows, including adding developers and strategic marketing staff.
The early customer base consists of new artists exploring production software, audio engineers at recording studios, avid musicians who want to collaborate across the world, and potential partnerships with universities that are a hotbed for aspiring young professionals, Pinzon said.
“The next chapter of our company is really communicating and collaborating with our community of artists, finding out what they like about our software, and how we can continue to evolve the software to meet their needs,” Pinzon said.
“We are not the first ones to address collaboration, but all other existing tools either end up sacrificing the collaborative experience because they don’t allow for live synchronous collaboration, or they sacrifice compatibility with the software that artists are already familiar with. Whereas our tool is meant to sit in the middle and let you work with whatever tool you’re already comfortable with and you can collaborate live and remotely with anyone, sharing and producing music across the globe.”
Pinzon said his company has benefitted from a multitude of startup and entrepreneurial resources in the New Orleans community. DAWn Audio participated in – a four-month, accelerator program for a highly-selective cohort of startup founders who connect with executive level mentors, business professionals, and industry leaders across the Gulf South to help firms scale rapidly, and serve a new or niche market in an innovative way.
“Fundraising and growing your business model are the biggest challenges for any startup, and we are very grateful for all the resources in the New Orleans startup and entrepreneurial community, such as The Idea Village, that have coached us throughout our journey,” Pinzon said. “That critical network and ecosystem are beneficial to any startup’s success.”
Pinzon also connected with , , and the , gaining connections to investors from and , among others.
Pinzon said they have also participated in many startup competitions across the country, including in Chicago, Atlanta, and at home at the and Tulane Business Model Competition. In fact, DAWn Audio lost a pitch competition in Atlanta, the day before the company won in Baton Rouge, a competition they did not win the year prior.
“My biggest advice for any startup out there is to keep an open-mind and say “yes” to opportunities early on; you never know what doors will open,” Pinzon said. “Also, always gather feedback and ask for advice. Reach out to fellow investors, entrepreneurs, pitch competition judges, and ask them how we can continue to grow and evolve.”
Topik: Louisiana, New Orleans, Startups