Fli Digital, a company founded by two RIT alumni, recently launched their first major product, the Fresh Platform, a content management system designed to make selling cell phone content easier.

Scott Teger, the firm’s managing partner and a 2002 Computer Engineering graduate, said, “[The company] evolved into a digital ad agency. About two years ago, we came across a client selling ring tones and wallpaper [on cell phones.] We saw this as an opportunity. We didn’t see that much competition within the industry and thought we could do better.” “The key to our platform,” said Creative Director Thomas Massaro, a 1999 Industrial Design graduate, “is that it has to discover the right device and deliver the right content.”

Getting to this point was not without problems for the company. “For lack of a better term,” Teger said, “the carriers are animals.” Some issues the company faced included “specific rules being different for specific carriers and device delivery issues, like properly formatting a wallpaper or using the right format for a ring tone. It’s like Mac, PC, and Linux.” Additionally, he said, “There are obstacles [for a customer] in getting to third party mobile websites.”

Teger’s advice to potential entrepreneurs at RIT: “Don’t underestimate the work ethic you pick up at RIT. It’s the mentality and the work ethic.”