Pushing Up and Working in the “Lab” with Jan and Dan

Dan Lohman and Jan Andersen are two of the busiest guys within the St. Louis innovative startup movement.

Their latest project is a company called Pushup social – it’s a technology that allows users to add a social network to an existing website in a matter of minutes.

Suppose you run a website that caters to a very passionate community – say, a site that is dedicated to vintage, classic cars.   A traditional website is good, and of course a necessity these days, but think of how much better that website would be with a social networking component integrated into it:  a place where members could talk about their plans for an upcoming car show, or share thoughts about how to restore an engine.   With Pushup technology, websites gain more relevance, and give customers an incentive to stay on that website, with fewer “defectors” to social media sites such as Facebook.

Pushup is the latest joint venture for Lohman and Andersen, who have become well known players in the St. Louis innovation community in large part because of their founding – earlier this year – of Lab 1500, a collaborative innovation space located at 15^th and Washington in downtown St. Louis.   The Lab 1500 website touts the facility as, “an entrepreneurial center founded on the principle that collaboration drives innovation. It’s a cool, comfortable place where members can utilize co-working space; network with likeminded entrepreneurs; and attend classes, workshops and events.”

Lab 1500 is an outgrowth of yet another Andersen and Lohman collaboration:  Ignition Tank, a company that provides startups with foundational support.

And Lohman is playing an integral role in LaunchCode, the effort fronted by Square co-founder Jim McKelvey.  Lohman’s inability in finding enough qualified IT professionals in St. Louis to help him build his startups prompted him to partner with McKelvey, as LaunchCode seeks to pair 100 St. Louis companies with 100 budding coders in an effort to help each.

Lohman, a native St. Louisan, has started three other companies as well:  Warehouse of Fixtures, Refurbiture, and Cubicle.com.  He graduated from Cornell University in 2004 with degrees in Economics and Neurobiology and Behavior.

Andersen’s resume includes 15 years of experience in the areas of brand building, strategic communications, public affairs, political consulting and community relations.  He grew up in Denmark and has lived in Europe and Australia, and for the last dozen years, in St. Louis.   Andersen and Lohman were Charlie Brennan’s guests on KMOX Radio, 1120 AM in St. Louis, on Tuesday, September 3, part of the Innovation Tuesday segment facilitated each week by InnoVox STL.  Hear the interview here!