BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

 

Where Are They Now?

Updates From Past Participants

2008 Competition

results from 2008 Competition

2008 Competition Winner:
MicroTransponder, Inc., from University of Texas, Dallas

MicroTransponder Inc. has raised $7.4M in funding from grants and private capital to develop a wireless neurostimulation technology platform for the treatment of chronic pain and several other neurological indications. The minimally invasive device is able to deliver precise stimulation to the areas of pain around the peripheral nerves, with no implanted batteries or wires. The Company is finishing R&D on the device and accumulating data toward FDA clearance in addition to building out its management team with experienced executives from companies such as Cyberonics and Advanced Bionics. 

2008 Global Award Recipient:
EcoRegen from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

EcoRegen has received licensing payments on two projects signed using the EcoRegen technology for UNFCCC CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) Projects to reduce carbon emissions and production of bio-organic fertilizers. While the projects are in design development, EcoRegen has also seized upon spin-off opportunities to set up 2 separate enterprises. Team member Khai Yip Mun reports that he would not have recognized these possibilities of doing so without the valuable insights and knowledge exchange he gained at the LES Chicago 2008!

2007 Competition

results from 2007 Competition

2007 Competition Winner:
Optimal Vision Corporation from the University of Illinois, Chicago

Optimal Vision Corporation is preparing to submit an STTR grant application in December 2009. The company has purchased laser equipment for research purposes and is teaming with an Ophthalmologist from Cornell University in New York for some key experimentation. With the new data, the Optimal Vision hopes to attract alternate funding sources such as venture capital money.

Team member Jay Vijayan is a Technology Manager with the Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC). His UIC team won the 2007 LES Foundation Graduate Student Competition for Optimal Vision Corporation, a start-up formed around a newly patented procedure to correct presbyopia, an age-associated loss of near vision. In addition to his work at UIC, his ongoing graduate studies, cultivating Optimal Vision, and training for the occasional marathon, Jay is looking forward to participating in the 2009 LES Foundation International Graduate Student Business Plan Competition—this time from the opposite side of the judging table.

2006 Competition

results from 2006 Competition

2006 Competition Winner:
SanoGene Therapeutics, Inc., from the University of Illinois, Chicago

SanoGene exclusively licenses key intellectual property and forms strategic partnership with Cato Research. Read more…

2005 Competition

results from 2005 Competition

2005 Competition Winner:
MedGen from Stanford University

MedGen team member Pete Johnson is currently employed as a manager of solar boiler engineering at Ausra, a venture and industrial partner backed large scale solar thermal technology company.  He has helped to build and commissioned two large solar thermal plants since joining the company. Pete is listed as an inventor on three patents for Allux Medical, the company he joined after graduating from Stanford, and on four patents filed by current employer Ausra. The company is currently growing its engineering team and preparing for a new product release.

2004 Competition

results from 2004 Competition

2004 Competition Winner:
Tangam Systems from Waterloo University, Ontario, Canada

Tangam Gaming, Inc. has crossed the R&D phase and is now in the commercialization phase. The company continues to grow and the “Tangam Solution” is now installed in several casinos. The company has entered into a strategic partnership with NICE Systems for worldwide distribution of the “ Tangam Solution” by NICE and its channel partners. With a recent installation in Macau, China, their market and customer base has become global. With several patents pending and a significant product lead, the team feels Tangam is poised to capitalize on a growing demand for its unique solution.