EyeGen is developing biomarker technology that renders biomolecules visible to the naked eye without exposing scientists to radiation and other health risks. EyeGen's scientists have found a way to use color to mark biomolecules, which the company says works better than accepted methods of radioactivity and fluorescent dyes. According to company officials, the markers could have multiple uses, such as tracking DNA damage during drug delivery. Since launching, the cofounders have refined their business plan, filed for patents and talked with potential customers. They're seeking seed financing to hire additional scientists and executives and to move into an office.
Contest: New York University Stern School of Business' $50K PLUS Business Plan Competition
Winner: Paperlink.com
Team: Maria Defino, Linda Dumas, Kevin Groff, Linda Lupold, Jeffrey Sander
Contact: kgroff@paperlink.com or www.paperlink.com
Prize: $35,000
Funding: Received $500,000 in seed money from individual investors and industry insiders. Currently raising first round of venture funding.
Description: The e-commerce infrastructure builder wants to help manufacturers and distributors of industrial supplies and branded and commodity paper products go online to compete with dot-coms invading the paper industry. The company, based in Somerset, N.J., and established in early 1999, has a slew of paper and technology industry veterans on staff, including Chairman Pike Peterson, former president of Unisource Worldwide, the country's top paper distributor, and Jeff Sanders, former CIO of Lucent's consumer products division. The company has two beta customers and expects to go live in the third quarter of this year.
Contest: UniversityAngels.com's $50,000 Business Plan Contest
Winner: InMeeting.com [from MIT]
Team: Kareem Benjamin, Kiran Choudary, Gregorio Cruz, Luke Fu, Joon Hor, Karim Hussein, Gregoire Landel, Christian Manasseh, Jaime Solari, Sanjeev Vadhavkar, Padmanabha Vedam
Contact: vada@mit.edu or www.inmeeting.com
Prize: $25,000
Funding: Received seed round and looking for first-round financing.
Description: InMeeting.com is a technology and services company that makes software to help automotive, aerospace, construction, defense and software firms create virtual design teams that function efficiently in multiple locations. InMeeting.com will offer products and consulting services for these collaborative virtual teams. The startup says these services and products will improve communication and reduce project length and cost, in comparison with what is currently available on the market.
Contest: UCLA's Anderson School of Management, Knapp Venture Plan Competition
Winner: Tergum Therapeutics
Team: Carrie Caulkins, Peter Nicholson
Contact: peter.nicholson.2000@anderson.ucla.edu
Prize: $10,000
Funding: Negotiating angel funding.
Description: Tergum Therapeutics is a research-stage company put together by Caulkins, a UCLA Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering, and Nicholson, a part-time Anderson MBA student and employee at Amgen. The startup is developing a nonsurgical treatment for degenerative disc diseases of the back.
Contest: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, New Venture Challenge
Winner: The winner of the New Venture Challenge wasn't announced before press time. Competition finalists included: Sarvega Wireless, which proposes building customized wireless applications that companies can manage from existing wired applications; BoxDirect.com, an online exchange for the packaging industry; TheWireExchange.com, an online exchange for the wire and cable industry; UniverCite.com, a provider of supplementary online education for European and Latin American elementary and high school students; and Brightroom.com, a Web site for amateur athletes to buy and display photos from triathlons, marathons, bike races and other competitions.
Contact: Sarvega Wireless - John Chirapurath, mjchirap@gsb.uchicago.edu; BoxDirect.com - Brett Holland, brett@boxdirect.com; TheWireExchange.com - David Cole, mdcole2@gsb.uchicago.edu; UniverCite.com - Jose Dinis, j-dinis@uchicago.edu; Brightroom.com - Sol Kanthack, mskantha@gsb.uchicago.edu
Prize: A total of $50,000 to first, second and third-place teams.
