Dayton dot-com helping students, growing

Website helps students organize their college campus visits.

Justin Bayer, owner of WelcomeToCollege.com, has added a 1973 GMC RV to his business. The vehicle is complete with a computer software package that interacts with students.

Lisa Powell/Staff photo Justin Bayer, owner of WelcomeToCollege.com, has added a 1973 GMC RV to his business. The vehicle is complete with a computer software package that interacts with students.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer 10:29 AM Saturday, January 28, 2012

CENTERVILLE — WelcomeToCollege, a rare home-grown Dayton-area dot-com, is finding itself increasingly welcome in high school halls and college campuses.

The brainchild of former University of Dayton athletic fundraiser (and UD grad) Justin Bayer, WelcomeToCollege.com seeks to connect colleges and high-school families searching for the best college.

The site focuses on preparing for visits to campuses and letting parents familiarize themselves with schools. Universities pay to be placed front and center on the site as “partners.”

The site ended 2011 on a high note, announcing that DePauw University, St. Mary’s College and High Point University were joining the site as partners.

WelcomeToCollege has signed 20 universities in 10 states, but the site lets users share their experiences exploring 300 different colleges.

For a business that’s less than two years old, Bayer thinks he’s headed in the right direction.

“We’ve generated a revenue stream, but we’re not in the black,” he said in an interview earlier this month at his office off Ohio 725.

Gilford Potter, a guidance counselor for Trotwood-Madison High School, likes WelcomeToCollege’s approach. He wants more of his students and their families to start taking college seriously earlier. He doesn’t think 8th or even 7th grade is too soon to start to ponder college options — and he believes actually visiting college campuses is an important part of the process.

Potter has had Bayer to his school to meet with students.

“We actually promote that,” Potter said. “A lot of kids, they send out information and they get accepted, but they never visit the (college) campuses.”

One element of the site’s appeal has nothing to do with the Internet. It’s a 1973 GMC motorhome with a computer system, Microsoft X-box and software suite designed to pull in easily distractible teens.

Approach the motorhome and a camera linked to software notices. Soon, a voice greets onlookers and a digital display on the RV’s rear plays videos and invites users to interact by pushing buttons just over the RV’s license plate.

Bayer said the vehicle — dubbed MARV for “Mobile Automated Research Vehicle” — has been known to inspire impromptu group dances.

The RV was modified with the guidance of Dayton-based design firm Real Art Design Group. Chris Wire, Real Art’s president, said the idea was to pull students in by adding “intrigue and value.”

“It’s not enough to have a sexy, interesting website,” Wire said.

This is the kind of technological flourish that helped WelcomeToCollege and Real Art draw the attention of organizers at the Austin, Texas youth/media festival South by Southwest, where Bayer will be part of a panel on “interactive machines” in March.

Bayer said he looked at 2011 as the year to build the company’s foundation. This year, he believes, will be the year when his business “breaks out.”

“I would not have wanted to start this company anywhere else in the world,” Bayer said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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