Stephen Cook of InstrumentLife
Meet Stephen Cook, founder of Instrument Life, a social and music resource for people in the music industry.
How did you start your business?
InstrumentLife was spun from an idea created in my repair shop, Cook Instrument Repair, with the software development experience of co-owners Chris Sturm and Tom Vance. As a member of the inaugural class of
UpTech, a Northern Kentucky accelerator program, we were able to use the funds and resources we needed to create InstrumentLife.
How did you come up the idea for your business?
I have been in the music business for over 25 years as a working musician and owner of Cook Instrument Repair. In this time, I’ve worked directly with retailers, repair shops, manufacturers, wholesalers and musicians and discovered that communication is fragmented between these segments of the industry.
InstrumentLife solves this fragmentation by focusing on the instrument, providing a social and business resource for people who make, sell, service and play musical instruments.
What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
Primarily UpTech. We were able to take advantage of financial assistance along with learning opportunities and incredible mentors to develop our platform.
What inspires you?
Honest people, music and technology.
What’s next for you and your company?
We are currently developing InstrumentLife business apps and an InstrumentLife game app to help grow the company and create technology jobs here in Northern Kentucky.
Interview by Robin Donovan