June Entrepreneurship Social Photos
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About the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center
The Knapp Center was designed to support a swift and significant
expansion of entrepreneurial activity at and around IIT. By leveraging
the Center's resources, client companies can solidify their business structure,
develop a sound launch strategy, reduce risk,
prepare for and take on smart investment, scale their enterprise, and
benefit from the Center's and IIT's established networks.
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Technology Commercialization a Success for Two IIT Students
MagDrive
LLC, a clean tech start-up with IIT PhD candidates Igor Stamenkovic and Nikola
Milivojevic as partners, won second place at the MIT Enterprise Forum Whiteboard Challenge on June 17, 2008.
Igor
delivered a presentation on MagDrive at the competition. He
was coached by Nik Rokop, director of the Knapp Center, and Anthony Baroud,
MagDrive's founding partner and angel investor.
MagDrive
uses a different design and control for electric motor/generators, making them
more efficient than existing ones in various applications.
According
to Nikola, "For the past 120 years, machines have been made the same way with
no new design developments. Due to software developments over the past 10
years, as well as new material and manufacturing technologies, they can now be
made to operate more efficiently."
MagDrive's
design is modular and can scale up or down depending on size and power
requirements. Also MagDrive components retrofit easily into existing equipment.
Furthermore
MagDrive follows sustainable practices in manufacturing. It uses less or no
iron and less copper. In addition, MagDrive motor/generators may be
manufactured out of aluminum only, or even plastics. It also produces a smaller
carbon footprint in the manufacturing phase.
The
concept behind MagDrive was patented a couple of years ago, but the practical
possibilities for its use in emerging industries was introduced only after Igor
and Nikola's recent research work in the Electric Power and Power Electronics Center
at IIT. They noticed a viable market application, and started the
company to speed up commercialization of the technology.
Before
coming to IIT, Igor and Nikola worked with renewable resources in Serbia, their
home country. According to Igor, "There is a gap between Europe and the US in
developing renewable energy. Europe is in the lead, and we were able to bring
this experience with us."
The
entrepreneurship community in Chicago, however, is much bigger than in Serbia
according to Igor. He stated, "Here people think broadly and are open to
possibilities. Even if they don't know much about motor/generators, they want
to understand our business idea."
The
Whiteboard Challenge is an example of how active the Chicago entrepreneurship community is. The competition, which was open to the general public, received
more than 67 applications. Thirteen finalists were chosen, and each was given 5
minutes and a whiteboard to describe their business idea. In addition to being
reviewed by a panel of judges, a popular vote was held among more than 150 audience members.
Igor
appreciated the format of the Whiteboard Challenge. "It made me think about how
to describe my invention in layman's terms," he said, "and how to communicate
my idea in a very short time."
Over
the next two to four years, Igor and Nikola plan to develop MagDrive into a
stable company while finishing their PhD research.
Photo: Igor Stamenkovic delivering an elevator pitch on behalf of MagDrive at the June Knapp Entrepreneurship Social. On his left is Nik Rokop, director of the Knapp Center.
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Knapp Center Lecture: Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Join the Knapp Center for its July lecture, which will focus on how to make efficient and
effective marketing decisions and use simple low or no-cost
techniques to market a business on a 'shoestring' budget.
In order to motivate people to buy,
it is essential to understand a target audience and how a particular product
or service solves a problem for that group. The lecture's instructor, Marci Chapman, will give you methods for focusing your marketing strategy and show you a variety of creative "guerrilla" marketing tools
that can be used to obtain new clients or get existing ones to buy again.
Refreshments will be served during the lecture. There is absolutely no charge for this event, but RSVPs are required and should be made to keplinger@iit.edu.
Event Info
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
July 29, 2008
Technology Business Center Atrium
University Technology Park at IIT
3440 South Dearborn
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July Monthly Entrepreneurship Social
Please join the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center, the University Technology Park at
IIT, and Wexford Science + Technology for our monthly networking event on Thursday, July 31st!
The
monthly social brings together the
entrepreneurship community both within IIT and the greater Chicagoland
area and provides them with the opportunity to network and share
experiences with fellow entrepreneurs. Whether you are currently an
entrepreneur or are considering starting a business, this event can help you make the connections you need to get your new venture started
or grow your existing business. Come explore what the Knapp Center, University Tech Park, Wexford and
IIT have to offer!
Refreshments will be served. There is absolutely no charge for this event, but RSVPs are requested and should be made to keplinger@iit.edu.
Event Info
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
July 31, 2008
Technology Business Center Atrium
University Technology Park at IIT
3440 South Dearborn
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The Role of Public Relations in Growing Your Business
Have you ever wanted to create great PR without paying big firm fees or large retainers for unaccountable performance? If so, this highly interactive workshop and PR planning system will help your company build a successful program that can dramatically increase awareness of your firm and fuel your business for growth.
Join moderator Kevin Gross, President of KMG Enterprises, a nationally recognized expert on entrepreneurial development and business growth, and Kellee Johnson, Principal of The Ballast Group, a leading national innovator of marketing strategies and PR programs to entrepreneurial and Fortune 500 companies.
This event includes two-for-one registration ($500 per company), lunch, materials and pre-and post-workshop consultations. The registration deadline is July 11th. Reserve your spot and schedule a pre-workshop consultation with Kellee Johnson at 312-751-3959 or kjohnson@ballastgroup.com.
Event Info
8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
July 18, 2008
Transwestern
200 West Madison
11th floor
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IIT MMAE Symposium on Sustainability and Product Development
 Today's manufacturers face many challenges: product development has
become a global competition, consumers and legislators are calling for
more sustainable manufacturing processes, and the digital solutions
that can help address both these issues are evolving at an ever-faster
pace. Small and medium-sized companies can be overwhelmed by the impact
these factors can have on even day-to-day operations.
The
Symposium on Sustainability & Product Development - organized by the Illinois Institute of
Technology's Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Department, in
partnership with Argonne National Laboratory, Chicagoland Chamber of
Commerce and the Chicago Manufacturing Center - will offer ideas
and networking opportunities to help small and mid-sized manufacturers
in the Midwest find new solutions
to these issues. For more information, please click here.
Event Info
August 7-8, 2008
McCormick-Tribune Campus Center
Illinois Institute of Technology
3201 South State Street
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SBIR/STTR Grant Writing Workshop
This two-day workshop combines the
SBIR/STTR 101, Proposal Preparation, and NIH Electronic Submission Workshops
into a two-day intensive workshop. This is targeted to life science companies,
covering Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
If you plan to submit an SBIR or
STTR proposal in 2008, you are highly encouraged to attend this workshop. For more information and to register online, click here.
Event Info
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
September 15-16, 2008
University Technology Park at IIT
10 West 35th Street
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