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Bra Strap Inspires Newest DC Tech App

National Tech

We share 1.1 billion photos online and half of us give those photos a little color splash or other enhancement. A new app developed by a DC tech startup goes a little beyond that though. (Ever wanted six-pack abs?)

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On the day her daughter was born, Louisa Imperiale (left), here at a recent Capital Call with Interfolio's Julie Lundy, asked her husband to take a picture. It was a beautiful photo, except for one annoying thing: a bra strap poking out of her shirt. She wanted to put the photo on Facebook but had no way of taking out the intruder. That’s when the idea for Photox was born. The iPhone app, which launched this week, connects users with professional graphic designers for on-demand photo editing. Louisa, who bootstrapped the company, says the editing can include everything from teeth whitening and removing eye glass glare to adding six-pack abs and bulking up arms.

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The app has a pull-down menu of 32 editing options. Then, the photo is sent to a team of graphic designers. The turnaround can be within 15 minutes or longer for more complex requests, with fees ranging from 99 cents to $9. The initial target will be women, but Louisa thinks it will appeal to people who are more deliberate about what they put online. (Teens don’t care.) Louisa, who worked as a political fundraiser for 12 years, worked with Alexandria, Va.-based NJI Media to build the app and eventually brought them on as business partners. She expects to have an Android and web version by fall.