Congratulations to:

 

BU College of Engineering

2008-9 Entrepreneur Design Contest

 

 

1st Prize:

 

VCon

 

Ajay Bangla, Stephen Chao, Prakash Ishwar, Janusz Konrad

In the last decade, the security industry has seen huge improvements in its ability to amass surveillance information. But despite huge increases in security spending, there has been little to no reduction of fraud, theft, crime, and terror. Part of the reason is that even as surveillance systems have become more advanced, we human beings haven't gotten any faster at watching or reviewing all that video, understanding its contents, and finding critical information. This “Security Gap” between what we collect and what we can analyze is at the root of the most pressing problems in surveillance today. VCon Technologies will provide state-of-the-algorithms to help close this gap between information gathered and that analyzed.

 

Prize: $2,000 cash; full and expedited review by Boston University's New Ventures Division at the Office of Technology Development; 20 hours of legal consulting from Foley and Lardner, LLP.

 

 

 

2nd Prize:

 

Route Optimization System

 

Ashish Agarwal, Matt Wool, Lonn Drucker, Thomas Little, and Iain Cockburn

Route Optimization System will deliver a hardware and software technology innovation that significantly reduces the time wasted while stuck in traffic thereby increasing vehicle utility, driver productivity and business efficiency. Our vision is to cut-down the delay in real-time traffic updates and deliver intelligence to customers that lack the scale, know-how, or resources to enable smart transportation independently. An important part of the company vision is to concurrently help customers reduce their impact on the environment. As eliminating waste and lowering unintelligent use of transportation resources will reduce carbon emissions, our company gives its customers the tool to reach this goal.

 

Prize: $1,000 cash; full and expedited review by Boston University's New Ventures Division at the Office of Technology Development; 20 hours of legal consulting from Foley and Lardner, LLP.

EDC will be hosting Finals to judge and recognize the winners of the contest on April 23rd 2009 from 5-9PM. The details of the event are posted on Finals page of our website. 

 

Entrepreneur Design Contest

 

Do you have business idea that you want to discuss with others and yet protect it???

                             

Come and learn from Nicole Gage

 

WHAT TO CONCEAL….

               WHAT TO REVEAL?

RSVP: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cGg5WWktd0NRZEExWi1NaWF1MkFVVFE6MA..

 

Friday, March 27, 2009, 4-5PM

Photonics Building 210

Refreshments will be provided

 

        

Entrepreneur Design Contest Lecture Series

Peter Russo:

Marketing Strategy and Market Research Session

CONNECTING WITH THE CUSTOMER

Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, 4-5:00pm

Photonics Building, Room 203

Food will be provided.

 

No matter how innovative or elegant a new business idea is, it will not lead to a successful new venture without customers.  Every strong business plan has a marketing strategy, identifying and prioritizing target markets, outlining a coherent and compelling message and a plan for gaining access to these customers.  In this session we will discuss both the development of such a plan and tips for the market research that must be part of its development.

 

Prof. Peter Russo is an Executive in Residence and the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs for the Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (ITEC) at the Boston University School of Management. Professor Russo teaches courses at the MBA and Undergraduate level, directs entrepreneurship activities of ITEC, and serves as faculty advisor to the students concentrating in Entrepreneurship at the graduate and undergraduate level. Prior to joining the faculty at BU, Professor Russo served as the CEO of Data Instruments, a Massachusetts technology company (currently Honeywell Data Instruments). He also serves as advisor and board member for a number of commercial and not-for-profit organizations.

Please RSVP at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ph9Yi-wCQdA2hQGCw0s2HJA&hl=en

Entrepreneur Design Contest Lecture Series

Gunderson Dettmer, LLP Panel Discussion:

LEGAL ISSUES IN STARTUPS

Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, 4-5:00pm

Photonics Building, Room 203

Food will be provided.

 

Panelists:

-          Nicholas J. Guttilla is a partner in Tax, Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Formation Groups. His practice encompasses representation of emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs and venture capital and private equity funds. He has lectured and published articles on the tax aspects of organizing and operating LLCs, structuring mergers and acquisitions, and the pros and cons of using LLCs for start-ups.

-          Timothy H. Ehrlich is an intellectual property partner. He has extensive experience assisting clients in the information technology, biotech and medical device industries in developing, acquiring, licensing and commercializing intellectual property, products and technology.

-          Gary R. Schall is an associate in our Corporate and Securities group. His business law practice is focused on the representation of emerging growth companies, venture capital funds and private equity funds. 

-          Stefan J. Palmer Jr. is a Venture Finance Specialist. He specializes in venture capital and private equity transactions, including private placements of equity securities, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, recapitalizations, buy-outs, and convertible debt offerings.

 

Please RSVP at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ph9Yi-wCQdA2hQGCw0s2HJA&hl=en.

Entrepreneur Design Contest Lecture Series

Michael Pratt:

ASSESSING THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR INVENTION

Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, 4-5:00pm

Photonics Building, Room 203

Food will be provided.

 

This talk will provide you with six steps to assess the market opportunity for your inventions or discoveries.  It will help you describe the value of your idea to prospective business partners, investors, and/or non-scientific audiences. The overview will raise your awareness of how commercial entities will assess the value of your ideas and provide some initial steps that will help you to begin to address their areas of greatest interest.

 

Mr. Pratt joined Boston University’s Office of Technology Development in May 2000. He worked in Technology Transfer as Director of the Office of Corporate Business Development. Prior to OTD, Mr. Pratt was the Global Support Manager at NESLAB Instruments, Inc. of Portsmouth New Hampshire. His duties included management of the Application Engineering and Technical Support departments, P&L responsibility for the field service operation, and maintaining relationships with their International Dealer network.

The guidelines for Phase II of the EDC are available on the Resources page.

Please RSVP at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ph9Yi-wCQdA1HIDZBgSquTg

Do you want to…

Meet people with different ideas and skills?
Form a business team to help you kick-start your ideas?
Join a team in which you can develop entrepreneurship skills and make contributions?

If your answer is YES to any of the questions, you should come to:

Please RSVP: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pCiNbLdsLtmdpXPlf3oXmVA&hl=en

Entrepreneur Design Contest Lecture Series

Peter Russo:

THE STARTUP PROJECT

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, 4-5:00pm

Photonics Building, Room 203

Food will be provided.

 

Peter Russo is an Executive in Residence and the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs for the Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (ITEC) at the Boston University School of Management. Professor Russo teaches courses at the MBA and Undergraduate level, directs entrepreneurship activities of ITEC, and serves as faculty advisor to the students concentrating in Entrepreneurship at the graduate and undergraduate level. Prior to joining the faculty at BU, Professor Russo served as the CEO of Data Instruments, a Massachusetts technology company (currently Honeywell Data Instruments). He also serves as advisor and board member for a number of commercial and not-for-profit organizations.

Prof. Russo will discuss the startup process, including legal issues, raising money and tips for writing a business plan.  He will explore some strategies employed in successful startups, as well as some "do's and don'ts" for entrepreneurs.