Critical Success Factors in Entrepreneurship:

What’s Hot and What’s Not

Bader-MIT Enterprise Forum
Arab Business Plan Competition

Beirut, 22 March 2009

Kenneth P. Morse, Senior Lecturer

and Managing Director
MIT Entrepreneurship Center
(and)

Chair in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Competitiveness

Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management
Delft Technical University

One Amherst Street, Room E40-196 Cambridge, MA 02142-1352 USA

phone: +1-617-253-8653 fax: +1-617-253-8633
e-mail: kenmorse@mit.edu http://entrepreneurship.mit.edu 1
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Desired Outcomes of this Meeting

1. Begin a productive dialogue about how our shared

commitment to entrepreneurship can make a
difference today.
2. Provide a context in which it makes good sense to get
enthusiastic about this Business Plan Competition.
3. Set the stage for serious, MIT-style networking.
4. End on time, so you can enjoy the next speeches.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 The Current Climate:
B2B = Back to Basics
 Entrepreneurs need to have an outstanding
ƒ Team
ƒ Technology
ƒ Value Proposition
ƒ Market
ƒ Customers

 Applies to investors as well…

ƒ Middle East
ƒ Europe
ƒ Canada
ƒ USA

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 “Blue” Money from Company Builders
 Selecting Your Financial Partner:
ƒ Seek True, Value Added, “Blue” Money
ƒ Operating Experience
ƒ Rolodex/Network
ƒ Awesome Portfolio (in your space)
ƒ Cool Limiteds (in your space)
ƒ Deep pockets/guts to stay the course
ƒ Realistic Expectations
ƒ Time to Market
ƒ Revenue Growth
ƒ Valuations

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 The Way it Always Was
 The superficial investors are dying or dead.
 A line of bull + .ppt is not enough. DAD >> MBBB.
 The number of MIT spin-offs and $100K teams
are steadily increasing.
 Serious entrepreneurs, business angels, and VCs are quietly
and carefully moving forward.

This is a great time to be starting a company:

 Expectations and time horizons are realistic.
 Recruiting top talent is easier.
 Office space is available, at more reasonable prices.
 Unprofessional competition and their VCs have retreated
to the sidelines. “Creative destruction” can be a good thing.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 The Entrepreneur: A Special Species?
 What do successful high tech entrepreneurs look like?
1. Integrity
2. Leadership
3. Impatient; bias toward action (with analysis).
4. Quick clockspeed
5. Modest ego. Seeks and accepts coaching. Recognizes,
and hires to overcome weaknesses.
6. Willing to be different, but knows it (not oblivious).
7. Pragmatic; willing to compromise (in order to move forward).
8. Rejoices in others’ victories (no petty jealousy).
9. Driven to solve a valuable problem for customers
(not driven by money or technology).
10. Able to attract world class talent.

Net: * With special thanks to

pH of Stomach = 1-2 σ > average Flagship Ventures

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Our Message to Entrepreneurs:
Building Your Company
 Need an “A” Team – “3K” experience
 Need Serious Technology – sustainable advantage
ƒ Solve an important, valuable problem…
ƒ For clients who have money…
ƒ Who want to pay well…
ƒ With a short sales cycle…
ƒ And will buy more, soon…

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION MUST BE COMPELLING,

QUANTIFIABLE, PROVEABLE, REFERENCEABLE, AND
EASILY EXPLAINABLE…
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 The Importance of
Sales and the Selling Process
We surveyed hundreds of high-tech CEOs:

ƒ “Achieving consistent sales results is the most difficult thing. Developing

world-beating technology has always been easier for us.”
ƒ “Marketing is something you imagine at home, alone, in the dark. Sales is
something real, that you do with other people.”
ƒ “Successful selling -- and building a customer-oriented, sales-driven culture --
is the single most important differentiator between highly successful start-up
firms and those that go sideways.”
ƒ “It all starts when somebody buys something from you… and gives you
money.”
ƒ “Good selling is like charm: without it, nothing else matters.”

“When you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in
numbers, you know something about it; When you can not measure it…
your knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory.”
-Lord Kelvin
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 8
 Business Plan Suggestions (1/2)
 Executive Summary:
ƒ Name your first ten customers.
ƒ Be brief.
 Business Plan:
ƒ Be optimistic, but realistic.
ƒ Know your competition’s numbers.
ƒ Be brief.
 Advisors:
ƒ Get good people with gray hair (or no hair) involved early.
ƒ Understand that investors will call them.
 Focus on how and why prospective customers will
buy from you, and pay you money. Think about
“who cares…”
 Focus on milestones (more than on calendar dates).

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Business Plan Suggestions (2/2)
 Plan how to build your company without any outside
investment (bootstrap). Then, maybe, you are ready
to speak to potential investors.
 Most investors focus on
ƒ Customer needs
ƒ Value proposition
ƒ Sustainability
ƒ Team
 Your investors should bring you both customers and
management talent (Akamai case).
 Realize that business plan competitions are an
educational process. It does not particularly matter
if you win.*
*It does not matter “that you won or lost, but how you played the
game.” - Grantland Rice
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Financing Case Study: Akamai (1/3)
 Akamai – A leading provider of outsourced e-
business infrastructure services and software.
 Founded by MIT students and faculty, in response
to businesses’ need to speed up access to their
web sites, for content and transactions.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Financing Case Study: Akamai (2/3)*
1. $50K entrepreneurship competition finalist,
not winner (1998)
2. “Value-add, not valuation” philosophy of funding
3. Financing brings:
ƒ Credibility
ƒ Customer/partner introductions
ƒ Management expertise
ƒ Faster growth
ƒ Cash
4. First round: angel investors
ƒ First customers
ƒ Network deployment
* Special thanks to Jonathan Seelig, Akamai Co-founder, and
frequent guest lecturer at the MIT Sloan School 12
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Financing Case Study: Akamai (3/3)*
5. Second round: VCs
ƒ Build operations & management
ƒ Battery Ventures & Polaris
6. Third round:
ƒ Broadband & International
ƒ Baker Communications
7. Fourth round:
ƒ Industry leadership, standards, & caché
ƒ Apple, Cisco, Microsoft
8. IPO:
ƒ Serious company
ƒ “Currency” for growth + acquisitions
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Traditional vs.
Entrepreneurial Career Paths
High School
High School
University

University
Practical Experience

Big Company Management Training

Well Managed, High Growth Firm

Startup Venture

Another Startup?

Retire Venture Capital or Angel Investor

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Never really retire
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Bringing University IP to Market

“It never works well with big companies.

They focus their energy on showing why the
new technology won’t work. I always prefer
to start a new company: it will deliver total
focus, energy, passion, and commitment.”
Professor Robert Langer, Langer Lab
Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Keynote Speaker, MIT Venture Capital Conference (07 December 2002)

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Critical Success Factors in
Entrepreneurship
1. Believe that Startup Ventures can Succeed:
ƒ Parent(s) who are entrepreneurs
ƒ Early contact with successful entrepreneurs
ƒ Exposure to success stories and case studies.
2. Gain practical, real world experience before, during and after
university studies.
3. Be willing to be Unusual/Unconventional.
4. Agree to Embrace Risk, and possibly failure.
5. Want to leave a large Company.
6. Live in a society that sees the above as normal, not a strange exception.
7. Ambitious Entrepreneurs ask : “What do we really want to do?”
ƒ We want to make a world class product whatever it is.
ƒ We want to have fun doing it.
ƒ We want to get involved in a business area or business
segment that is at its ground floor and in its infancy.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Mission Statement of the MIT
Entrepreneurship Center:
To educate and develop leaders who will make
high tech ventures successful
“I want you to be the premier
global center for entrepreneurship,
and to be recognized as such.”

“We must not only be the best. We

must also serve as a model for
others and ensure that, together,
we all make a significant global
impact in this vital field.”

MIT President Charles M. Vest,

July 1996
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Entrepreneurship at MIT
"The ideas that drive the economy
and improve our quality of life are
increasingly emerging from
inventive, interdisciplinary
collaborations -- across different
fields and with other institutions in
the public and private sectors.
This spirit of openness, invention
and teamwork are hallmarks of
MIT and, I believe, are the keys to
our future. MIT's intense creativity,
passion, intensity and playfulness
drive everything here -- the
entrepreneurial ideas, the
innovations, the discoveries.”

MIT President Susan Hockfield Photo by Donna Coveney/MIT

May 2005

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Working Definitions of Entrepreneurship
“Participation in the formation, development, and
growth of a new enterprise.”
Ed Roberts, Founder & Chairman
MIT Entrepreneurship Center

“The pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources

currently controlled.
Howard Stevenson, Founder
HBS Entrepreneurship Center

“The only problems worth solving are the impossible

ones.”
Ed Land, Inventor & Founder
Polaroid Corporation

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Examples of what CAN be taught (1)
(especially valuable for engineers, scientists, and business
people)

 Teamwork creates value and success:

Lone wolves build perpetually small companies.

 Appreciation and mutual respect for different types of

people guarantees better company performance:
ƒ Excellent sales people are essential
ƒ (not lower life forms).

 Customers need to feel they have a relationship with

your firm before they will buy from you.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Examples of what CAN be taught (2)
 Business Basics: CFIMITYM
ƒ Profit vs. cash flow
ƒ Risk is higher when you’re growing

 How to Write a Business Plan

ƒ Need to know how, but...
ƒ Recognize that VCs don’t read them

 Selling Products vs. Creating Businesses

ƒ The difference between cash and wealth

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Examples of what CAN be taught (3)
 Creative Thinking:
ƒ Generate alternatives
ƒ Challenge assumptions
ƒ Sacred cows = hamburger
 Failure is Acceptable in North America
ƒ No such thing as winners and losers
ƒ More like: winners and learners
This positive attitude is a U.S. national asset;
other cultures may be different.
 Academicians and Engineers:
ƒ Successful commercialization of your invention is
the most effective way to diffuse your innovation.
ƒ Don’t be embarrassed to make money.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Demand for Our Educational Program
Has Grown Steadily and Remains at
Peak Levels

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Students from Across Campus Enroll in
Entrepreneurship Courses

Science 1%

Eng 16%

Business 76%

Arts, Architecture &

Urban Planning 2%
Law , Economics &
Political Science 4%

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K

MIT $100K
Entrepreneurship Competition
(Final Awards each year in May)

 Designed to encourage students and researchers in the MIT

community to act on their talent, ideas, and energy to produce
tomorrow's leading firms.
 Business Plans are judged by a panel of experienced entrepreneurs,
venture capitalists, and legal professionals.

“Not all business-plan competitions on university campuses are equal…

[the MIT $100K] is more equal than all the others.”
- Inc. Magazine, March 1998
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K

Tomorrow’s Leading Firms

 In its twenty-year history, the MIT $100K has created:
ƒ Over 60 firms and over 1800 jobs
ƒ $175 Million in Venture Capital invested
ƒ Aggregate market capitalization has ranged from $2.2 – $20 Billion
 Teambuilding + Mentors + Education + Networking +
Capital
 Entrants include MIT graduate and undergraduate
students, as well as faculty.
 Students from every MIT School and 27 Departments
participate (Teams which include MBA students are
consistently the strongest entries….)

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K

Every MIT School participates in the MIT $100K Competition

Science Architecture
Humanities

Outside
Engineering

Management

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K

5
Normalized (N1995=1)

4 NASDAQ (2003)

# MIT $50K Entries

3

0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Year

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
A Few Success Stories…

•Next generation
•Software to improve customer support
•Rapid Internet Content •Internet business
Internet Searching software
Delivery
•1998 Co-Winner solutions delivery •1996 $50K Winner
•NASDAQ: AKAM
•$29M Funding •NASDAQ: CBIS •Acquired by Cisco for
•Market Cap of $3.6B
$325M in 1999
•Sold to AskJeeves for
$507 million in 2000

•Devices to transcribe •New Signal Processing

•Distributed Computing
writing to computer Semiconductors
•2000 MIT $50K Runner up
•1997 $50K Runner-Up •1995 $50K Participant
•Funded by Kleiner Perkins
•$13M Funding •Over $10M Funding
and Common Angels
•Product Launched •Acquired by Broadcom
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for $1.19B in 2000
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Student Organizations: MIT$100K
Global Startup Workshop
 A Workshop for Organizers of Business
Plan Competitions
http://100k.mit.edu/gsw/
 Topics include: Judging, Fund Raising, Next: Capetown
Recruiting Participants, Teambuilding, 25-27 March 2009
Marketing, IT Infrastructure
 Learn from experts from around the world, and
each other
1998 Boston: 50 organizers from 10 U.S. and European plan competitions
1999 Singapore: 150 participants from 10 countries in Asia and Europe
2000 Spain: >100 participants from 11 countries on 6 continents
2001 Australia: >100 participants from 39 organizations in 19 countries
2002 Italy: >100 participants, 42 organizations, 23 countries
2003 China
2004 Cambridge, UK
2005 Abu Dhabi, UAE
2006 Buenos Aires
2007 Trondheim
2008 Madrid 30
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$50K
2003 MIT $50K Finalists
 SmartCells (Winner $30K)
• Bio-nanotechnology platform company for stimuli-responsive drug
delivery. The first product, SmartInsulin, targets the $120 billion
diabetes market.
 Neurobionics (Runner Up $10K)
• Medical device company with a platform therapeutic
neuromodulation technology addressing several major markets in
the growing neurological disease industry.
 Brontes Technologies (Runner Up $10K)
• Brontes’ patented technology offers a low-cost, accurate, real-time
3D imaging module that can transform any 2D imaging device
(camera, microscope, endoscope, etc.) into a 3D imaging device.
Brontes was recently sold to 3M for $95 million.

 Other Finalists: Agrivida, Alsys, Hepatometrix, MolySym, Granular Ink

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$50K
2004 MIT $50K Finalists
 Active Joint Brace (Winner $30K)
• an electromechanical orthotic device that increases functional independence by
working in tandem with existing muscles. It is a portable, low-cost, non-invasive
device that helps an individual perform activities of daily living and can allow self-
therapy. The product is targeted for the 10 million Americans with disabilities that have
difficulty lifting light objects and need help with daily activities.
 Hyperscore(Runner Up $10K)
• software that allows the user to compose music by drawing lines and shapes of
various colors across a computer screen, unlocking musical creativity without needing
years of training. This software will be targeted for children, educators, and
professional musicians.
 LiquidPiston (Runner Up $10K)
• a combustion engine that doubles fuel efficiency and reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions by 90%, using patent pending LiquidPiston " technology. Their first market
will be the auxiliary power unit (APU) market which supplies long-haul trucks with
power during rest stops.
 Other finalists: Active Spectrum, Advanced Diamond Solutions,
Inc., LumArray, MicroLaser
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$50K
2005 MIT $50K Finalists
 Balico (Winner $30K)
• Balico will develop and commercialize a wearable vibrotactile balance aid that
accurately senses and displays body tilt in order to help prevent falls.
 Nanocell Power (Runner Up $10K)
• Nanocell Power’s technology enables the viability of fuel cells for portable electronics
today and paves the way for tomorrow’s automotive fuel cell market. Our patented
manufacturing process provides more efficient distribution of expensive catalyst and
carbon nanofibers in the fuel cell membrane. This can decrease the size of fuel cells
in portable electronics by 80%, increase the power output of military fuel cells by
400%, or cut the cost of automotive fuel cells to 20% that of today’s technology.

 Vacuum Excavation Technologies (Runner Up $10K)

• The top ten feet of soil are densely packed with utility wires, gas mains and sewer
pipes whose location is often poorly mapped. Excavation with traditional backhoes
damages utilities and puts operators at risk for catastrophic injury. Vacuum Excavation
Technologies offers a new excavation device that works with existing machinery to
enable efficient operation without risk to utilities or operators.

 Other finalists: HealRight, Previva, Inc., Renal Diagnostics, Inc.,

Tissue Vision 33
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2006 MIT $100K Finalists - Business Ventures
 SteriCoat (Winner $30K)
SteriCoat Inc. has developed a coating technology targeting the billion dollar medical catheter
market which significantly reduces the incident of catheter-associated infections by preventing
the formation of bacterial “biofilms” and killing bacterial invaders. SteriCoat’s application
technology allows coating of devices of virtually any size, shape, or material. Its initial target
market is central venous catheters (CVC) which access the patient’s bloodstream directly. For
providers, it minimizes expenses associated with treating catheter related bloodstream
infections, which cost $10K-50K per infection.
 Avanti Metal Company (Runner Up $10K)
MIT Prof. Donald Sadoway was funded by NASA to develop technology to produce oxygen on
the moon. He demonstrated that the most effective means to produce oxygen was with extreme
molten oxide electrolysis, a process that produces an important byproduct: liquid titanium. Since
this time, the “Sadoway Process,” allows Avanti Metal Company (AMC) to sell Titanium products
at 1/10th of their current price, use one-half of the current capital, and create only 1/100th of the
hazardous waste and pollution. This proprietary, one-step, “green” process is designed to
replace the multi-step, batch process currently used today.
 Terrafugia (Runner Up $10K)
Terrafugia is poised to spark the next major transportation revolution with its Transition Personal
Air Vehicle (PAV). The Transition is a multi-functional PAV that can drive on any surface road,
take to the air from most local airports, and park in a household garage. In addition to increasing
personal freedom and mobility, the Transition promises to be the most economical form of
transportation for trips between 100 and 500 miles. The Transition takes advantage of the new
Light Sport suite of FAA regulations, and is easier to fly.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2006 MIT $100K Finalists – Development Ventures
 CentroMigrante, Inc. (Winner $30K)
Impoverished people in developing countries leave their rural hometowns and flock to urban
areas to seek employment but are usually unable to afford decent lodging while searching for
jobs. In the Philippines, as many as 1 million Filipinos a year spend up to 3 months away from
their home provinces, most of them living in shanties. CentroMigrante Inc. combines
developmental architecture with a self-help business model to offer a sustainable solution that
provides clean, safe and affordable urban housing for indigent, transient job seekers.
 Kalpataru (Runner Up $10K)
The One Hundred Dollar Lap Top ($100) is specifically designed for use in Third World
economies. Kalpataru’s offering consists of an MIT $100 Laptop bundled with a suite of
microfinance software and services. Their initial focus will be serving rural India.
 OneWorld Medical (Runner Up $10K)
OneWorld Medical Devices is introducing The Vaccine Pac to help reduce the 4.3 million
vaccine-preventable deaths each year,. These deaths occur primarily in developing countries
during natural disasters or epidemics. The Vaccine Pac is a portable, self-contained, and strict
temperature-controlled transport and storage unit that counters the large vaccine wastage
problem that often results from improper temperature control. The technology and design was
implemented by a highly skilled team from the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department and has
been filed for both U.S. and Foreign PCT patents. The Program for Appropriate Technologies in
Health (PATH) is slated to promote the Vaccine Pac to United Nations agencies, NGOs, and aid
organizations.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2007 MIT $100K Finalists - Business Ventures
 Robopsy (Winner $30K)
Robopsy is a remote, telerobotic needle insertion system that assists radiologists in targeting potentially
cancerous lesions during Computed Tomography (CT) Image Guided tumor biopsy and ablation procedures.
Currently, lung biopsies and ablations are performed in a tedious manner involving multiple static CT images
and iterative manual needle/probe manipulations. By enabling remote needle insertion, Robopsy allows doctors
to perform procedures while simultaneously imaging the patient “live”, thus reducing the number of needle
insertions and scans required, thereby reducing procedure time and patient radiation dose, and increasing
procedural accuracy, facilitating earlier detection and treatment by enabling the targeting of smaller lesions than
would be possible by hand without live imaging. Early detection and treatment is especially important for lung
cancer because it spreads more rapidly than other cancers and is fatal unless treated treated early. Doctors and
patients will adopt Robopsy because it improves patient care and reduces potential morbidity (complications)
caused by repeated needle insertion into the chest cavity. Hospital administrators and insurance companies will
appreciate Robopsy because it reduces procedure time, thus increasing throughput on expensive imaging
equipment and decreasing the cost of each procedure.
 C3 BioEnergy (Runner Up $10K)
Through proprietary technology, C3 BioEnergy will manufacture propane from renewable feedstocks through a
process which will also produce a hydrogen by-product. These products will supply economical,
environmentally-friendly biofuels to the transport, farming, residential, and industrial markets. As a clean
burning, easily transported fuel, propane is a common heating fuel and is already the third largest transportation
fuel in the United States, with domestic demand totaling over 21 billion gallons per year.
 ImmuneXite (Runner Up $10K)
Microbes are winning the war against humans by becoming increasingly resistant to current antimicrobial agents
such as antibiotics, and antifungals. ImmuneXcite is exploiting a novel mechanism to generate a portfolio of
products to fight bacteria and fungi that are resistant to current treatments.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2007 MIT $100K Finalists – Development Ventures
Bagazo (Winner $30K)
2.4 billion people in the world rely on dung or wood-based products as their primary source of cooking fuel. These energy sources
account for more than 50% of the total energy production in most developing countries. The overuse of wood-based products increases
deforestation, leading to social and environmental problems. Smoke emitted by raw wood and dung cooking fuel is a primary causal
factor for respiratory infections in the developing world and kills more than 2 million people every year, particularly young children.
Deforestation is changing the natural topography of developing countries, increasing the probability of natural catastrophes (such as
flooding) and aggravating air and water pollution. Globally, 1.214 billion cubic meters of trees were cut down for fuel in 2005. As wood
supplies decrease, their price increases, and the costs associated with cooking become unaffordable for the poor, increasing malnutrition
and starvation. In order to address these problems, Bagazo - in collaboration with MIT’s Development Laboratory (D-Lab) -developed a
unique process to create a concentrated cooking fuel from agricultural waste products (in particular from the byproducts of sugar cane
processing and corn cobs).We will focus our pilot project in Haiti, where 98% of the forest has been destroyed. Bagazo will establish
small size charcoal production facilities and sell the product to the poor in a culturally sensitive, environmentally responsible and
economically sustainable way.

Promethean Power (Runner Up $10K)

Our solar micro-generator platform combines solar thermal concentration with a simple turbine made of car parts and plumbing supplies.
The system can generate the entire range of commercial and residential energy needs - heating, cooling and electricity, unlike a solar
photovoltaic (PV) panel that generates only electricity. This renewable and inexpensive source of energy is ideal for off-grid & partially
electrified communities and villages in the developing world where almost 2 billion people still lack access to modern energy sources.
Our initial market is India where 100,000 villages are still un-electrified and grid electricity, when available, is often unreliable. Our target
customers are small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Saafwater (Runner Up $10K)

Diarrheal disease caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation is a global problem causing the deaths of 2.2 million people each year.
SaafWater’s entry market is Karachi, a city of 14.5 million people of which 40% live in under-served squatter settlements. In these areas
5,000 newborns are dying from diarrheal disease each year. SaafWater’s mission is to provide clean affordable water to the urban poor.
SaafWater packages a daily dose of chlorine water treatment into a cartridge that treats a family’s water for a day. Daily chlorination is
proven to reduce diarrhea by up to 84%. Unlike existing solutions, SaafWater produces daily cartridges that, individually, are very low
cost and affordable each day.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2008 MIT $100K Winners
This year, the competition took on a new form, splitting into seven industry tracks:
aerospace/astronautics, biotech, development, energy, mobile, products and services, and Web 2.0/IT.
Last night, each of the seven track winners took home at least $10K for winning in their sector,
and vied for the grand prize.

 Aero/Astro: InAct Labs (Winner $10K)

IntAct Labs LLC is developing a proprietary waste-to-energy microbial fuel cell processes. Fuel Cells represent a novel
and disruptive option, promising faster treatment while reversing the energy balance and generating a high-value product
in the form of electricity. IntAct Labs has received funding from NASA and an SBIR from the USDA to optimize and
scale-up the technology in collaboration with partner firms and institutions.
 Biotech: Diagnostics-For-All (Winner $10K) ($100K Grand Prize Winner)
Diagnostics-For-All provides low-cost diagnostic tools to global health workers. Diagnostics-For-All, built around patent-
pending technology developed in the lab of Harvard professor George Whitesides—himself a highly successful serial
entrepreneur—is out to create a “new generation of diagnostic devices microfabricated and patterned in paper,”. The
technology is meant to enable tools for diagnosing ailments including liver, kidney, and metabolic diseases that are easy to
use, cheap, portable, and disposable—and therefore well suited for use in the developing world. Judges picking the venture
as the competition’s best included Desh Deshpande, co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks, and Bob Metcalfe of
Polaris Venture partners.
 Development: (Clickdiagnostics (Winner $10K)
ClickDiagnostics provides developing countries remote medical diagnostics services via a ubiquitous macro-lens camera
phone capable of taking close-up pictures. It is delivered by local entrepreneurs serving as Click-Health-Workers (CHWs),
who profit from offering diagnostics services as well as selling talk time and other phone-based services. One of the
founders was subsequently featured on Fox Business News.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2008 MIT $100K Winners (continued)
 Energy: Covalent Solar (Winner $20K) (Audience Judging $10K)
Covalent Solar's product is an MIT-invented solar concentrator photovoltaic (PV) technology, based on the redirection of light
using dyes. The technology is cheaper and simpler than existing methods, resulting in the lowest installed system price on
the market aiming to reach competitiveness with conventional power generation by 2013.

 Mobile: 3 Winners

Ubitrack (Winner $25K)

UbiTrack delivers advanced wireless localization and tracking solutions, providing increased accuracy, coverage, and
reliability, without additional investment in satellites or base stations. Ubitrack's solution is useful where GPS is not
available or does not provide sufficient accuracy. The company's primary markets include military and firefighters and will
also target the multi-billion dollar consumer market, including mobile phones and car navigation.

SocialSense (Winner $7.5K)

SocialSense has developed a patent-pending behavior recognition technology at MIT targeting 3 billion mobile devices
that will enhance existing mobile applications and unlock new opportunities through inferences about users’ interests.

PollEverywhere (Winner $7.5K)

Poll Everywhere gives everyone the power to "ask the audience" like on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. It attacks the
hardware Audience Response System (ARS) market ($190M in 2007) where the average solution costs $1300 per room.
ARS is currently widely used in higher education, professional speaking and workshop facilitators, shareholder meetings
and large conferences but it is still price prohibitive to a large portion of the potential market. Poll Everywhere replaces
hardware ARS at 1% of the cost with no hardware or software to install – the audience votes using their mobile phone and
presenters can embed animated live results in PowerPoint or web pages using novel patentable technology. Poll
Everywhere is a functioning profitable business with clients including Microsoft Virginia Tech Black Entertainment
Television Experience megachurch and Discovery Channel Education. Competition is coming but not currently
comparable.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT$100K
2008 MIT $100K Winners (continued)

 Products and Services: My Faktory (Winner $10K)

MyFaktory is an "e-tailor" based in New York with back-end manufacturing headquarters in Mumbai, India. Its
mission is to unleash the freedom of fashion by creating clothing on demand at affordable prices to the consumer.
Customers submit designs for clothes at myFaktory.com and fashion professionals and tailors in Mumbai work
together to produce and deliver the garments to a globally dispersed customer base.
 Web 2.0/IT: CyberAnalytix (Winner $10K)
It has been seven years in the making for CyberAnalytix, the computer security risk management platform is
continuing on the long road to commercialization. The target customers are midsize to large enterprises operating
in government activities, financial services or energy industries such as oil and gas.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT CEEP
2008 Winners Awarded by: NSTAR & U.S. Department of Energy

FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp (Winner $200K)

Today’s wind turbines have nearly reached their maximum possible efficiency and are limited to sites with a narrow
profile of wind patterns. The patented FloDesign FD700 shrouded turbine will outperform existing turbines by a
factor of three or more in a much wider range of wind resources. Our team’s experience applying "mixer-ejector"
technology to such projects as the Stealth bomber, Gulfstream II and Comanche helicopter enables migration of
mature aerospace methods to wind turbine applications. FloDesign will design, manufacture, and sell the FD700 to
wind farm developers, industrial operators and utilities. With FloDesign, there is change in the wind.

Covalent Solar (Top MIT Student Team Winner $20K)

Covalent is seeking to develop, commercialize, and manufacture Organic Solar Concentrators, MIT-invented
tracker-less thin film concentrator photovoltaic modules that improve power conversion efficiency by 30% over the
industry average. This reduces the installed cost per watt by 20% in 2014, and reduces the amortized cost of
electricity to $0.12/kWh, hastening the onset of unsubsidized solar electricity competitive with the grid. By enabling
clean renewable electricity at affordable prices, Covalent Solar provides an economic alternative to conventional
peak electricity and the related fossil fuel dependence, greenhouse gas emissions and peak time grid constraints.

Catalyzed Combustion Technologies (Top Industry Team Winner $20K)

CCT technology speeds up the rate of combustion in diesel engines to such an extent that an efficiency gain of
20% is achieved. The catalyzed combustion is so complete that unburned hydrocarbons and particulate matter are
reduced by over 90%. The product is a high voltage, high frequency air activation kit aimed at existing engines.
The retrofit kit saves a typical fleet owner $16,000 per year for each truck while at the same time earning
significant CO2 credits. The ability to remove 20 tons of CO2 from each vehicle represents the most significant
clean energy technology offering to date.

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations: MIT VCPE Club
06 December 2008
http://www.mitvcpe.com

 11th MIT Venture Capital Conference

Focus: Reinventing Venture Capital
 Keynote Speakers:
ƒ Paul Maeder, General Partner, Highland Capital Partners
ƒ Michael Goguen,Managing Partner, Sequoia Capital
ƒ David Fialkow, Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners
ƒ David Skok, General Partner, Matrix Partners
ƒ Dr. Jamshed J. Irani, Director, Tata Sons
ƒ Eran Egozy, Co-Founder & CTO Harmonix
 Next year’s conference: 05 December 2009
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations:
Sloan Entrepreneurs

Mission:
 To foster entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan and help
students identify the best entrepreneurial learning
activities and opportunities

 To promote entrepreneurial networking events

within MIT Sloan, the greater MIT community,
other local MBA programs, and established
Boston area organizations (the “Charles River
co-prosperity sphere…”)

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Student Organizations:
Sloan Entrepreneurs

 The Entrepreneur’s Handbook – available to club members

at Sloan ClubFest
 Speakers – invite entrepreneurs to discuss their challenges,
successes, and failures
 Events – organize and promote local entrepreneurship
seminars
 IdeaExchange – brainstorm with business school students
and engineers about emerging technologies
 Muddy Charles events – organize meetings to talk about
new business ideas
 Recipient of the Patrick J. McGovern
Entrepreneurship Award (2003)

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Tech Link

 History: Started in 1999 as a joint venture

between the MIT Sloan Senate and the MIT
Graduate Student Council
 Mission: Provide social interaction across school
and departmental lines for personal and
professional development
 Major Events:
ƒ Lab Tours
ƒ LeaderLink
ƒ JazzLink
ƒ InfiniteLink
 Recipient of the Patrick J. McGovern
Entrepreneurship Award (2005) 45
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 MIT Entrepreneurship Society (1)

Mission:
 To establish an entrepreneurial support network
among MIT students and recent alumni/alumnae
 To promote productive interaction with MIT
faculty, staff, students, other alumni/alumnae, and
MIT-related new ventures
 To establish a stream of funds and other
intellectual and material contributions to ensure
MIT’s continued excellence in education and
research

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 MIT Entrepreneurship Society (2)
Examples of the MIT E-Society Network at Work
Direct Hit Technologies, Inc.
http://www.DirectHit.com

 Fall 1997: Gary Culliss, at Harvard Law School, teams up

with Steven Yang, ‘98 EE to enter the MIT $50K
Entrepreneurship Competition.
 Mike Cassidy, (AA ’86), and the winner of the MIT $50K with
Stylus Innovations in 1991, joins the student team as a
mentor, then as CEO.
 May 1998: Direct Hit wins the MIT $50K.
 Mike, Gary, and Steven close $1.1 million in venture capital
financing the day after winning the $50K.
 By May 1999 AOL, Lycos, HotBot, Microsoft, ICQ, and
ZDNet are Direct Hit’s customers.
 January 2000: Direct Hit was acquired by AskJeeves for
$507 million.
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 MIT Entrepreneurship Society (3)
Examples of the MIT E-Society Network at Work

NBX Corporation http://www.nbxcorp.com

 Alex Laats, PH ‘88, working at the MIT Technology

Licensing Office meets two MIT undergraduates, Pehr
Anderson, ‘98 EE, and Chris Gadda, ‘98 EE, at a MIT $50K
seminar on intellectual property.
 July 1996: They found NBX Corp as PowerVoice.
 MIT invests in the company, and brings along Morgenthaler
Ventures. (David Morgenthaler, ME ‘40)
 March 1999: 3Com acquires NBX for $90 million.
 Bob Metcalfe, ‘68 EE/’69 MG, founded 3Com with a group of
fellow MIT alumni. (After many years as a pundit at
International Data Group, founded by Patrick McGovern, Jr.
’59, Bob is now a Partner at Polaris Ventures.)
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 MIT Enterprise Forum

The MIT EF collaborates with over 200 corporate & education

organizations that connect technology entrepreneurs with resources
which makes the commercialization of technology faster and easier.

ƒ Operates through 24 official chapters globally and expanding

ƒ Non profit 2000 plus volunteer-driven organization

ƒ Community program that is open to all

ƒ Produces 300 + world-class networking and educational programs

annually to inspire, connect and educate technology business executives

ƒ Goal to build a community, connect technology entrepreneurs with capital,

resources, employees, and industry experts, & to ultimately make the
commercialization of technology faster & easier

www.mitenterpriseforum.org
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Venture Mentoring Services (VMS)

History: Developed under the auspices of the

Provost’s Office, VMS is one of several MIT support
and educational programs for entrepreneurs.
Mission: VMS believes that a fledgling business is
far more likely to thrive when an idea, a good
business plan, and the entrepreneurs are matched
with proven skills and experience.
How: VMS supports MIT startup teams by providing
mentors and strengthens MIT’s role as a leader in
innovation.
VMS wins the Sonny Monosson Award 2007
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 The Deshpande Center

Aims to bridge the “Innovation Gap”

Mission: Improve the innovation process and
ensure that good ideas become a reality by:
ƒ Promoting the earliest stages of technology development
with flexible funding

ƒ Connecting MIT’s inventors with investors and the business

community (particularly in New England) via symposia,
education, and other events

ƒ Tying MIT’s technological research into market needs

ƒ Using i-Teams
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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 We have a lot more to do, but…
have come a long way since this first
course was launched in 1961:

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© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology