About the IIT-
Jules F. Knapp
Entrepreneurship Center
|
|
The
mission of the IIT Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center, part of the Stuart School of Business, is to be Chicago's Leading
Professional Support Services Center for IIT Entrepreneurs by providing effective,
affordable, and expert resources to help create and grow successful commercial
ventures. IIT KEC is a collaborative community of supporters of
entrepreneurial ventures.
|
Director's Corner
|
|
 Click here to hear Nik's thoughts on understanding venture capital.
|
Join Our List
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
The IIT Knapp Entrepreneurship Center has seen an
increasing amount of exciting activity in recent months. There are many
opportunities for you to get involved, and if something in this
newsletter strikes a chord, please feel free to email or call me. Below
are some highlights:
- since January, we have been managing the Kern Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, a multi-year partnership between the Stuart School of
Business and the Armour College of Engineering, providing
entrepreneurial experiences for undergraduate engineering students - we created the KnappLap, which teaches students to write mobile apps and has
resulted in several student hires by local companies - our student companies and teams have won awards in
several competitions, including Idea2Product and USF International
Business Plan Competition (see the
story below about The Lawyer Market) - our Tech
Park companies have receive significant grants and recognition ( ProOnGo) - we continue
to bring successful entrepreneurs and companies into our family ( School Town) - our Angel Network is now in
its second year and continues to bring rock star speakers and companies
to our network
We invite you to join our community and help us to
create a powerful platform for taking ideas to market!
|
Thank you,
Nik Rokop
IIT Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center
|
CLIENT INTERVIEW
The
Lawyer Market: Bringing Law into the 21st Century
|
|
When Richard Komaiko was twelve years old, he came
up with the idea of podcasts. Since then Komaiko went to school, graduated with
a double degree in Chinese and economics from University of Illinois, and
worked a as research fellow at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission in Washington, D.C.. Komaiko has also published extensively on
strategy, economics and law, in both popular and academic press.
Today, Komaiko is a second year law student at the
Chicago-Kent College of Law and the founder of Leximetrics, a firm that seeks
to revolutionize the legal industry. In autumn of 2009, Leximetrics launched
TheLawyerMarket.com, an innovative Web 2.0 platform that creates an effective,
real-time market for legal services. Komaiko describes it as a priceline.com for lawyers and
their clients. The company began generating revenue in early 2010. At the end
of March 2010, Komaiko traveled to Silicon Valley to participate in an international
business plan competition for startup companies run by graduate students. TheLawyerMarket.com won first place among all web technology companies.
Recently, I had
the pleasure of interviewing Komaiko over IIT radio, WIIT 88.9 FM. Click here to read more...
|
CLIENT NEWS
School
Town: Collaboration in Action
|
|
Based
on the feedback, it is no surprise that School Town is a success. It "empowers
students and helps them develop confidence, self-direction and time management
skills." Teachers say, "My students have never been so engaged." School Town, an
IIT Knapp Entrepreneurship Center client, is an innovative student-centric
learning platform. It was founded in 2007 and designed by K-12 teachers to keep
parents informed and students actively involved in learning beyond the classroom.
With
just a few clicks of a mouse, teachers can integrate any amount of digital
contact or URLs, from any publishers or vendor, into a rich and dynamic
learning experience. The platform enables teachers to collect data and monitor
individual and group learning with real-time progress reports and performance
graphs as well as give specific, timely, individual feedback to students.
School Town improves teacher efficiency by helping teachers focus on teaching,
rather than administration.
Indeed, "School Town lets me teach twice as much,"
said Tom Samorian, click here to read more...
|
CLIENT NEWS
ProOnGo Joins CAP 20 Circle
|
|
We would like to congratulate Phil Leslie, founder of the
Chicago-based software startup ProOnGo and IIT Knapp Entrepreneurship Center
client. ProOnGo has recently joined the "CAP 20" Circle of High-Growth Entrepreneurial
Ventures. The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center's (CEC) Cluster Acceleration Program (CAP) seeks to increase access to
key resources and relationships for Illinois entrepreneurs. Along with the
opportunity to receive up to $8,000 in grant dollars for a strategic growth
project, each CAP 20 client gets access to a matched CEC staff advisor, three
volunteer mentor matches: one seasoned entrepreneur, one industry expert and
one business development expert, as well as brand exposure opportunities.
ProOnGo develops and hosts expense management
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that streamlines expense reporting tasks for
mobile professionals. For more information, visit proongo.com.
|
CLIENT NEWS
Two IIT Start-ups Present at midVentures25
|
|
 Startup companies with an idea, enthusiasm and a
clear goal were invited to apply to midVentures25, the first Chicago-based
startup demo day and conference. On March 11th, 2010, 25 of the most
investor-ready early-stage startups presented their products in an open-floor
expo.
Two of the start-ups were founded
by IIT alumni: Intelligent Generation, LLC. and eMotion Group, Inc., an IIT
Knapp Entrepreneurship Center client.
Intelligent
Generation, LLC. has created an integrated hardware/software platform that
combines battery storage with renewable energy sources like solar energy to
triple a building owner's energy cost savings. The platform optimizes the smart
grid for renewable energy.
eMotion creates
and offers wireless devices that support communication between those that are
physically separated but emotionally together in a simple and safe manner. Their
first product, the BFF Gemz pendant is targeted towards girls aged between 7
and 12. The necklace acts as a secure gateway to an online social network, a
wireless communication device and a customizable fashion accessory.
Among the judges were Chuck Templeton, OpenTable founder and a recent IIT entrepreneur-in-residence, and Biju Kulathakal,
RedBox co-founder and IIT BS MMAE
graduate.
midVentures25 is supported by a number of corporate
and institutional sponsors, including the IIT Knapp Entrepreneurship Center.
|
STUDENT NEWS
IIT Students compete in I2P
|
|
Sixteen student teams have recently competed in the Missouri-Illinois Regional Idea to Product Competition (I2P) at St. Louis University on March 26th and
27th. I2P is a unique academic competition which seeks to find the next great
idea for a technology-based product, service or business.
Five of the sixteen teams are from IIT. The teams
are as follows:
· Little Artist Notepad (Stephanie Salem and Noah Spitler)
· Special Needs Stroller (Stephanie Salem and Noah Spitler)
· Smart Specs (Noah Spitler, Purvag Patel, Earl Fairall, Jason Stogner)
· I.C.E. - In Case of Emergency (Muhammed Fazeel, Emmanuel Marcha, Neil Gupta,
Akshay Vaddagere Naresh Kumar)
· Vehicular Fuel Efficiency Smart Kit (Muhammed Fazeel, Tanim Taher)
The Kern Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy (KIEA) program at IIT sponsors the students by not only
covering travel expenses, but also providing guidance. During a two-week boot
camp, students give daily presentations that are critiqued by faculty. With
hard work and preparation, the original one page submission grows into an
engaging, well-researched presentation.
Recent success suggests that the boot camp had its intended effect. The
results of the competition appear below.
Regional Final Presentations
Third Place $1,000 - Smart Specs
Regional Semi-Final Presentations
were:
Alternate for Finals $500 :
The Little
Artist Artpad
Semi-Finalists - $250:
I.C.E.-In
Case of Emergency
SAFE:
Smart-kit for Automobile Fuel Efficiency
Special
Needs Stroller
The judges were very impressed with
the high level of effort by all the teams. Congratulations to all!
|
KNAPP
CENTER APRIL LECTURE
Mobile Strategy Development
|
|
 Peter
Morano
CIO, KeyLime Tie
Click here for online registration.
As applications
continue to migrate toward the web, mobile devices are becoming
inextricably
linked with our everyday lives. According to The Mobile Internet
Report released
by Morgan Stanley in December
2009, within five years, more users will connect
to the web via mobile devices than desktop computers.
Adopting a mobile
strategy for your business is inevitable. Your mobile strategy must have
reaching your customers and your market as its central goal, and this
doesn't
necessarily mean you need to develop an application. To develop a
successful mobile strategy, there are several important elements to
consider, including methods for connecting with a mobile audience,
effective audience engagement, mobile platform differences and the
impact this
can have on market reach.
In his role as
KeyLime Tie's CIO, Peter implements management's
vision with an eye toward innovation, simplicity, and client value. With
15
years experience in the technology industry, Peter is responsible for
managing
KeyLimeTie's technology decisions and architecture. His team also leads
KeyLimeTie Labs, an in-house ideation facility. Passionate about
technology and
its possibilities, Peter supports open development models that stimulate
communication, creativity and innovation.
There is
absolutely no charge to attend this event, but
registration is required and is available here.
Refreshments
will
be served.
Event Info
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Technology Business
Center
Illinois
Institute of Technology
3440 South Dearborn Street
|
|
|
|
|
