When the WageSpot app was launched in the fall of 2015, the three co-developers were pleased with the response but they ran into problems typical of startups. The Woodland Hills company’s server crashed and there were messages from unhappy users that the app was not working, said Marat Galperin, one of the co-founders. “We weren’t ready but saw a lot of potential in the app,” Galperin said. Wagespot is a free salary transparency app that allows users to anonymously add in their salary information and to search by profession, location and other criteria to see how much people are earning. The idea for the app came from Anatoly Vaisman, a dentist with a practice in San Fernando, who would have conversations with colleagues about how much other dentists were making. He brought the idea to Galperin, who admitted to rejecting many of Vaisman’s ideas but the one that became WageSpot was different. Galperin in turn got in touch with friend Raphael Morozov, who like Galperin, has a technical background. “This one stuck with me and I thought it was a really good one and really compelling,” Galperin said. WageSpot has been downloaded about 100,000 times since its launch across both the iOS and Android platforms. There are approximately 30,000 registered users who have put in their salary information. The database is supplemented with salaries that are in the public domain, such as professional athletes and government employees in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. The main interface with the user is through a map indicating the salary information. Mark Lindsey, an outside public relations professional with Cognito-tech PR, in Los Angeles, said the company’s value proposition was in its location specificity software using mobile GPS that competing sites Salary.com, Payscale.com and Glassdoor.com do not use. So far, the trio has not made any money off the app. It has been a business they have funded on their own although going for outside investors is on the horizon. There are plans to raise $500,000 in a funding round for a new publicity campaign to bring in additional users. The company’s goal is to hit 1 million downloads and 100,000 salary registrations to have a sizeable database of potential job seekers that could then be provided to headhunters and corporate recruiters to generate revenue. Tracking Road Signs Sada Systems Inc. has partnered with a Chicago engineering firm to offer a new service to manage regional transportation assets. Sada, in North Hollywood, and Collins Engineers Inc. collaborated on Atom, a cloud-based app that aggregates assets and resources such as bridges, signs, walkways, speed bumps and bike racks and also provides analytics and reporting tools. Sada Chief Executive Tony Safoian said Atom will help city and state transportation departments save money by streamlining processes and through risk-based prioritization of work orders. “There are a lot of inefficiencies in asset management and we saw an opportunity to help not only government agencies, but any related organization that needs to manage large volumes of dynamic assets and keep them well-maintained,” Safoian said in a prepared statement. The Atom app gives users a quick views of inventory items and allows them to create customizable inventory lists and filters. A schedule portal allows a search function for team members, inventory and work orders based on date and time. Founded in 2000, Sada Systems provides IT and consulting services through cloud-based applications. Testing Acquisition Targets The buying spree that PSI Services was on last year has continued into 2017. Earlier this month the Burbank professional testing firm acquired Software Secure Inc., a testing firm for grade and high schools and higher education. Terms of the deal between PSI and Software Secure, in Newton Upper Falls, Mass., were not disclosed. Chief Executive Steve Tapp said the acquisition supports PSI’s expansion in the academic market. “By combining PSI’s extensive testing platform and operational expertise with Software Secure’s patented proctoring solutions and services, PSI is well-positioned to deliver world-class solutions and provide more choice to educators and learners,” Tapp said in a prepared statement. It is the fourth acquisition in the past 12 months by PSI. Other companies acquired by PSI include Computer Assisted Testing Services, a San Mateo firm providing testing services for the aviation industry that was bought in December; Applied Measurement Professionals, a competitor providing assessment services to government agencies, professional associations and private industry, acquired last January; and EnlightKS, a Royston, England workplace testing firm that was rebranded as PSI International, bought in February. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].