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The New Fuel, an animation, motion graphics and video production company, created by Kent State University students Brian Recktenwald, a senior managerial marketing major, and Alex Kurr, a junior visual communication design major, was started with the help of Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad.

“We produce animations and motion graphic for sports arena jumbotrons and ribbon boards,” Recktenwald says. “We also make corporate explainer videos, which are fun videos that describe how to use a website, service or product. Our first big client, AtNetPlus, is an IT company. They brought us in to create an animated video for their new disaster recovery services.”

Recktenwald and Kurr have been friends since elementary school, and began making videos together around fifth grade. Recktenwald started working at Kent State TeleProductions three years ago, and Kurr joined him this past summer. “We gained a lot of valuable experience while working at TeleProductions,” Recktenwald says.

“We had thrown around the idea to start The New Fuel for about a year,” Kurr says. “When we heard about Kent State’s Business Concept Competition, we finally decided to take action.”

With the help of Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad, The New Fuel took second place and won $750 in the competition. After the competition, the company landed its second client and has continued to grow. Recktenwald and Kurr hope to expand the company and hire staff by the end of 2013.

“Our goal is to become one of the big-name animation and motion graphics companies in the country,” Kurr says.

For more information about Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad, visit www.kent.edu/blackstonelaunchpad.