MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition

Entrepreneurs Cash in on Promising Ideas at MIT $100K Business Plan Contest

May 16, 2010 - Author: Anne Wang - MIT $100K

Insulin chewing gum…Solar power generation using what looks like a satellite dish…A silent alarm clock that vibrates to wake you up while letting your partner sleep in. These were just a few of the finalists in the MIT $100K Business Plan Contest held on May 12^th.

The Business Plan Contest (BPC) is the capstone event and competition namesake of the student-run MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, where one promising team of entrepreneurs is awarded $100,000 cash along with a host of in-kind services. The competition serves as a platform for communicating innovative business ideas, developing skills through mentorship and networking, and presenting prize money to jump-start businesses.

The MIT $100K embodies the entrepreneurial culture at the university as a whole, which has made a significant impact on the world. In a study released by the Kauffman Foundation last year, it cited that the combined revenues of all the active companies founded by MIT alumni could be the seventeenth-largest economy in the world, just ahead of Turkey.

The MIT $100K kicked off its Finale event with a declaration of “MIT Entrepreneurial Day” by Gregory Bialecki, the Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. This year’s theme, “Before and After,” reflects on MIT $100K companies from years past including Harmonix, creators of Rock Band, and internet hosting company Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM). It also highlights the road ahead and future, game-changing ideas that will emerge from the MIT $100K. Reebok founder and former CEO Paul Fireman served as the key note speaker, encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to use communication as the key tool in starting and growing a successful venture.

C-Crete Wins MIT $100K Grand Prize

This year’s grand prize winner highlights the emphasis placed on eco-friendly, energy efficient solutions. The 2010 MIT $100K Grand Prize was awarded to MIT graduate student Rouzbeh Shahsavari for C-Crete Technologies, maker of a nanoengineered cement that reduces CO2 emissions and is stronger than any currently existing cement

C-Crete is no stranger to MIT $100K success. Back in October, C-Crete won the MIT $100K elevator pitch contest, taking home $5,000. They then participated in the Executive Summary Contest where they went on to become a finalist. In total, C-Crete has won $106,000 this academic year through the MIT $100K.

Using MIT $100K alumni company PollEverywhere, the audience was asked to pick a favorite team after listening to 3-minute pitches from all six finalists. The audience chose Aukera Therapeutics, which is developing a novel protein therapy to treat ALS. Aukera Therapeutics took home $10,000 as the Audience Choice winner.

MIT $100K Goes Viral with Twitch Contest

Perhaps one of the most entertaining moments of the night was the award of the first Twitch (or Twitter pitch) contest winner. Contestants were challenged to communicate their business idea via Twitter and solicit as many re-tweets which served as votes. This contest explored the notion of virality in social media and reached almost 300,000 people.

The $500 prize went to Jia Ji and his company, couchange.org (pronounced Couch-Change). Couchange’s business, which focuses on donating unused gift card balances to charities, had been eliminated in previous rounds but the team was determined to get stage time at the Business Plan Contest. Their tactic during the contest was to ask the Twitter community to include a “vote” for their favorite charity as they re-tweeted the Couchange “Twitch”. The winning charity would then receive the full $500 prize if Couchange won. When approaching the stage, Jia immediately asserted that he is personally matching their winnings and donating a total of $1,000 to the charity that received the most votes, DreamCorps. This act alone will keep a school library in rural China operating for one year.

Jia then challenged the high net-worth individuals to also contribute, quipping, “I’m looking at you, Mr. Billionaire,” directed towards Fireman. He accepted the challenge when returning to the stage to present C-Crete with their grand prize and announced to the crowd that he would personally donate $19K to Dreamcorps, an act that will keep the library running for 20 years.

Track Finalists Honored

In addition to the $100K grand prize, finalists were awarded $20,000 in seed money. They are:

Life Sciences – Aukera Therapeutics- ALS is a rare but devastating neurodegenerative disease that is rapidly progressive and invariably fatal. There is only one FDA approved drug for ALS which extends life only 2-3 months. ALS patients are deficient in Angiogenin, a naturally occurring protein, and mouse studies have shown statistically significant efficacy with systemic delivery.

Mobile – Lark Technologies- By combining sophisticated user-centric product design, applying cutting edge sleep science, and harnessing the power of smart phones, Lark Technologies provides compelling nonmedical solutions around optimizing sleep to make both people wake refreshed. The company’s flagship product, Lark, is a silent waking system for busy professionals with different sleep schedules.
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Web/IT- KarDo- Computer users regularly run into a task they don’t know how to perform. For each of these tasks, there are many users on the Internet who know how to perform it. With KarDo, the knowledgeable user performs the task, and KarDo records this and uploads it to a website. Later, another user can just download and replay this to perform the task.

Energy- C-Crete Technologies- a nanoengineered formula for creating concrete stronger and cheaper than existing concrete while also decreasing carbon emissions.

Development- SolSource Energies. SolSource Energies is a novel device that harnesses solar energy for portable cooking, heating and electricity generation. In addition to meeting more energy needs, it combats indoor air pollution and is designed specifically for the practical considerations of life in regions of the world where polluting fuels are currently the only feasible option.

Product and Services – Privo Technologies - Nanotechnology based chewing gums for controlled delivery of insulin. We have the ability to control the release of agents mixed in to our formulations. Whether the agent is an energy supplement, pain killer, or mint flavored gel, it will be accurately released using our innovative delivery system.

Looking Ahead

The MIT $100K organizing committee is beginning its search for a select number of corporate-level partner sponsors, relevant competition judges and team mentors, and spirited entrepreneurs who would like to join the greatest business plan competition in the world.

The MIT $100K thanks its current sponsors for their support: Brown Rudnick LLP; Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendelton PC; AngeLab Ventures; Citrix Systems; Foley Hoag LLP; KPMG; Mintz Levin; Polaris; WilmerHale; Wolf Greenfield; Faber Daeufer & Rosenberg PC; Google Ventures; The Gary Karlin Michelson MD Charitable Foundation; Reliance Venture Asset Management; Lemelson-MIT program; Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; Novaris Venture Funds; Phillips Lifestyle Incubators; Microsoft; Cambridge Innovation Center; Version 2.0 Communications; Fresh-Tilled Soil and the Wall Street Journal.

For more information, please visit http://www.mit100k.org or contact:

Anne Wang, MIT $100K Marketing Director

aawang@mit.edu