it’s not what we make, it’s what we make possible.€¦ · been undertaken by governments,...

It’s not what we make, It’s what we make possible.

G L O B A L I N N O V A T I O N & E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P S H O W C A S E

Index

Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . .

Connecting Businesses, Cutting Costs Wormhole IT, Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Power of Green SiliconReef, Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A Brainwave that can Improve Lives Active Rehabilitation, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Taking Away the Pain Factor Ihealth, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Saving Lives, Saving Costs NKU Healthcare Medicine, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Conserving Water for Tomorrow with Technology Filsel, Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Intuitive Innovative Breakthrough for a Smarter Product Algorithm Innovations, Egypt . . . 16

A Vision for a Brighter Tomorrow SurgicEye, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Mastering the Climate with Innovative Technology Dhama Apparel, India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Fighting Burn Trauma by Technology Polyskin, India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Backtyping is the Way Forward Grippity, Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Accurate Detection for Precise Treatment Echopixel, Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3A Smart Idea for a Critical Challenge Re Derm, Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Enabling the Disabled Gravitonus, Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

. . . . . . . . .

FOREWORD

Dear Friends,

Entrepreneurship has been demonstrated to be a global driver of innovation, technology commercialization,

business model adaptation, human potential development and value creation. How can the power of

entrepreneurship be harnessed and put to work in diverse economies around the world? This challenge has

been undertaken by governments, educational institutions, social service organizations in partnership with

entrepreneurs, business leaders and private enterprises in many settings and combinations.

For the last six years Intel Corporation, in partnership with various universities and governments, has

contributed to this process through the Intel Entrepreneurship program. The Intel Entrepreneurship Challenge

founded in 2005, today has expanded to 15+ countries through leadership symposiums, faculty colloquiums,

curriculum seminars and the Intel Challenge - regional business plan competitions.

In partnership with the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, the Intel Entrepreneurship

programs provided faculty from around the world with information on how to create and operate a multi-

disciplinary, multi-functional entrepreneurship center. As part of the training, selected faculty leaders from

around the world were recognized as having been chosen as leaders in their geographies and encouraged to

receive valuable training that will allow them to help others create successful entrepreneurship centers. This

effort has yielded significant positive results not just by enhancing training and education in classrooms

around the world but has also encouraged students to convert their ideas into reality by participating at the

Intel Challenge. At the Intel Challenge, thousands of business plans are reviewed every year out of which 25

are invited to participate at the global finals - the Intel+Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge

(IBTEC). These programs link together to build a complete program for building entrepreneurship education and

entrepreneurial spirit and activity throughout the world.

To encourage and inspire next generation innovators, we have put together this innovation and

entrepreneurship showcase comprised of 14 selected teams that have participated in IBTEC. I hope you enjoy

reading their amazing stories.

Sincerely,

Isaura S. Gaeta

Director, CAG Global Program Office

Corporate Affairs, Intel Corporation

Connecting Businesses,

Cutting Costs: Wormhole IT

Sally Buberman was working as a tutor for two well-known

companies in the US. She used to give lectures over the Internet

with an online whiteboard and a simple chat application. The

results were so impressive that it gave rise to a business idea.

Thus Wormhole IT was incorporated in Buenos Aires, Argentina

in late 2007. The company was founded by Buberman and her

friends Ignacio López, Maximiliano Menasches and Juan Ignacio

Frecha - a group of young professionals and students with

different degrees in engineering.

Buberman recalls, “We started thinking along the lines of what

could happen if we develop a complete feature set of web

conferencing product for online learning, work sessions and

event transmission. With that idea in mind, we started the

development of our first prototype and we competed in several

business plan competitions.”

Before incorporating the company, the team toiled for an entire

year during their spare time (between full time jobs and schools)

to develop the first prototype to validate their business idea.

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Favorite Business Book:

Favorite Social Media:

The cell phone that I presently own:

Favorite Laptop Brand:

Favorite App:

Favorite Holiday Destination:

One inspiring quote that has made me

what I am today:

Three values that are extremely important

to my business:

The most inspiring moment in my

childhood:

The funniest incident in my life:

To me,

My parents

The Art of Start

YouTube

Blackberry

Toshiba

Plants vs Zombies

Europe

Treat every human being

with the respect they deserve and dedicate

enough time to listen to them.

Honesty, consciousness

and focus.

When I realized that I was capable

of achieving my dreams if I work hard.

I had to

dress up as a giant clock during a literature

conference to help a friend promote his book

for children. It was very embarrassing but I

felt fine after being useful.

Intel is the synonym of outstanding

quality of products.

Sally Buberman

Argentina

Currently, the team at Wormhole IT comprises of 15 people: Four

founders/directors, three graphic designers, and eight

developers. The team in 2009 had a turnover of $320,000.

The web conference suite of products by Wormhole IT is

designed for small and medium businesses (SMBs). The SMBs in

Latin America and other emerging market do not have enough

money to have their own IT staff, and they invest a lot of money

on IT solutions.

With Wormhole IT’s suite of web conferencing products, SMBs

can be more productive by saving on time and money. “We aim

at becoming the emerging market standard of cloud computing

web conference solutions for SMBs through partnership with

telecommunication companies and vertical integrators. These

days, we are working with Iplan, Xfly and IP-Tel in Argentina,

Powercom in Thailand and Telconet in Ecuador and they are

offering our solutions to their customer base,” says Ignacio

Lopez.

Wormhole IT’s products allow people to communicate at a very

low cost by improving their productivity and performance.

Besides this, they enable users to save time and money on

traveling, which also help decrease CO2 emissions.

“We faced many challenges. Once you overcome one challenge, a

new one, completely different, appears,” observes Buberman.

IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS

CHALLENGES FACED

4

Initial Investment $3,000

2009 Turnover $320,000

2012 Expected Turnover* $19,000,000

Number of Customers 500

Area of Operations Latin America, Asia

F A C T F I L E

The first issue the team had to solve was lack of money, and

then hiring their first employee. When the company started off,

the team had no money. They adopted a bootstrapping strategy

by selling custom software applications and graphic designs to

generate enough cash flow to support research and

development. With that strategy they invested more than

$160,000.

“The initial investment was just $3,000 that came from few

savings and holidays that we did not take,” she recalls.

Currently, the team’s main challenge is the scaling-up process.

“We are learning everyday and since we decided to follow a

channel distribution model, we need to improve our skills to sell

more accounts every month,” says Ignacio.

About hiring good human resources, Buberman says, “We had to

learn how to hire good employees and to recognize their good

skills. We worked with a psychologist specialized in working skills

who helped us and taught us how to organize a good job

interview. With her advice we created a great way to post job

requirement announcements and managed to grab the attention

of young students. We also developed the Worm Academy, a

training program for developers and graphic designers, which

helped us keep our team members motivated and encouraged

them to keep improving their knowledge.”

The company plans to build its visibility by marketing its

products in social media and social networking sites. Wormhole

IT is also working with two other companies with a specialized

initiative focused on sales and marketing that are improving the

company’s materials, collaterals and website.

In the next three years, the company is planning to double their

team size by adding more graphic designers and developers and

also incorporating sales and marketing professionals. “We have

developed a plan and we are incorporating people as long as the

business allows it,” says Ignacio.

The company already has traction with more than 500

customers around Latin America and Asia, five business partners

and few others in negotiations. This shows that there are great

business opportunities in Latin America and Asia and the team

has developed a good strategy to quickly capitalize on it.

Wormhole IT is currently looking for VC funding.

The company plans to realize a turnover of $19,000,000 by

2012. “We see ourselves selling our company to a big

multinational player after generating value to millions of people

around the world,” says Ignacio.

THE ROAD AHEAD

HOW INTEL®+BERKELEY

TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

Wormhole IT got a lot from Intel Berkeley Challenge

and they acknowledged it thus:

“Thanks to Intel, we met people that are currently

assisting us to develop a better business and reach

even more people. Intel helped us by introducing us

to potential customers. Besides this, assigning us a

mentor allowed us to improve our business plan and

be more precise in terms of the use of money

and resources.

It was an extraordinary experience for the team.

First of all, it made us stronger because we need to

act as a team and be 100% committed to the

competition. It helped us to focus more on the

business strategy. It also introduced us to few

important people who are assisting us these days

and helping us in our consulting needs .

We learnt how to be concise. We were taught to

focus not only on the technology but also on the

business front, and explained the complete

business proposition straight forward with no

fancy words. The challenge gave us a chance to

spend an entire week in UC Berkeley with people

from all over the world. We received consultancy

and lectures from the best professionals of

the Industry. “

5

Thanks to Intel, we met people that are

currently assisting us to develop a better

business and reach even more people.

Intel helped us by introducing us to

potential customers. Besides this,

assigning us a mentor allowed us to

improve our business plan and be more

precise in terms of the use of money

and resources.

Innovation SnapshotThe web conference suite of products by

Wormhole IT is designed for small and medium

businesses (SMBs). The SMBs in most emerging

market do not have enough money to have

their own IT staff, and they invest a lot of

money on IT solutions. Wormhole IT’s products

allow people to communicate at a very low cost

by improving their productivity and

performance. Besides this, they allow users to

save time and money on traveling, which also

help decrease CO2 emissions.

Over the last few years, there has been an influx of portable

technology with mobile phones, laptops, global positioning

systems (GPS), e-readers, gaming devices and wireless sensors

coming into common use. Most of these devices are powered by

batteries and require frequent charging or replacement,

highlighting the need for a continuous source of power. A green

battery charge that uses renewable power sources available in

environment like solar energy provides an inexhaustible power

on demand as well as autonomy, paving way for lucrative market

opportunities in the renewable charger market.

“Energy efficiency is one of the biggest issues that are still

waiting to be addressed in a big way. We believe that energy

harvesting technology will play an important role. Our inspiration

to start the company arose from the need to supply efficient

electronic circuits and power it using clean and renewable

energy sources,” says Tiago Lins, Business Development Director

of Brazilian-based SiliconReef.

Tiago Lins

INNOVATOR TRIVIA





Favorite App:

Favorite Past Time:



to my business:


childhood:

To me,

Jeff Bezos:

of Amazon

LinkedIn

iPhone 3G

Apple

There are lots, but I prefer

card games.

All alumni meetings.

Europe

Honesty, engagement

and brave.

Creating toys on my own.

Intel is the biggest semiconductor

company.

King

The Power of Green:

SiliconReef

Brazil

THE ORIGIN OF SILICONREEF

THE SOCIAL ADVANTAGE

SiliconReef was conceived in 2005 when its founders realized

the market need and the government started showing interest

in developing the semiconductor industry in Brazil. The company

was born in the highly innovative and entrepreneur environment

of Porto Digital, an information technology hub that promotes

sustainable growth based in an economy of high quality

services. SiliconReef is an enterprise with C.E.S.A.R DNA, one of

the most renowned centers for R&D and innovation in Brazil.

In 2008, SiliconReef was incorporated and started its operations

with an initial investment of around $400,000 on product

development. The team also secured a total amount of

$722,000 from the government non-refundable public funds.

Today, SiliconReef is a privately held company that specializes in

the development of low-power analog and mixed-signal

integrated circuits. It has a headcount of 12 people working on

managing, sales and engineering. It witnessed a turnover of

$70,000 in the last 12 months (not considering government

non-refundable public funds).

SiliconReef believes in contributing to the greenhouse

gas reduction and providing a better quality of life for

future generations.

6


2009 Turnover $70,000


Proposed Head Count* 30

Area of Operations Brazil

F A C T F I L E

7

The company’s mission is to provide innovative solutions in the

semiconductor market that contribute to improved sustainability.

The company plans to contribute to the creation of new

products and services that take into account the planet’s

sustainability, bringing technological innovation to products in

diverse fields and collaborating so that these products are able

to use ambient resources in a sustainable fashion.

As the semiconductor industry is a very complex business to be

in, SiliconReef faced challenges, both big and small. Says Lin,

“Earlier, challenges arose in product development because we

were in R&D and still innovating. These days, the primary

challenge lies in spotting the VC who can support us in our

product launch.”

To overcome the technological challenges, the team underwent

specialized training courses and counseling services. Besides,

the team also has strong partnerships with local universities.

“Most of our manpower came mainly from these universities,”

he says.

Besides tackling harsh competition in this space, the company

feels it needs to overcome cultural barriers to successfully

launch its product in a global market.

This company benefits from public policy and is supported by

the federal government, which designated the semiconductor

industry as a priority for investments in science and technology.

By means of these investments, the government stimulates the

sustainable growth of this industry in the country.

SiliconReef is planning to market its products by means of web,

social networking, events, mailers, and direct sales. “We will use

SiliconReef’s website to promote company products and also

send sales representatives to important business events and

conferences to promote our products to prospective new clients

and partners,” states Lins. The team is also working on the

development of international partnerships with R&D centers.

Three years from now, SiliconReef sees itself as a world-class

company in South America in the field of microelectronics. The

company is also planning to have a headcount of around 30

people, and is forecasting a turnover of $1 million.

TACKLING CHALLENGES

MARKETING EFFORTS

THE ROAD AHEAD

The mentoring process was very helpful.

In my opinion, the feedback from the

judges was the best thing about the Intel

Berkeley Challenge. They clearly pointed

out where we had gone wrong or missed

out on certain aspects in the business

plan. In short, it was all about people,

entrepreneurship and innovative ideas.

We definitely learnt a lot from it.

Innovation SnapshotAlmost all the portable devices available

currently are powered by batteries and require

frequent charging or replacement, highlighting

the need for a continuous source of power. A

green battery charge that uses renewable

power sources available in environment like

solar energy provides to the device an

inexhaustible power on demand as well as

autonomy, paving way for lucrative market

opportunities in renewable charger market.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The team at SiliconReef participated in the Intel

Berkeley Challenge in 2009. “Our participation in

Entrepreneurship Brazilian Challenge (supported by

Intel) and the Intel Berkeley Challenge helped us

get important feedback from investors and

successful entrepreneurs. This has had a direct

impact on our business model,” says Lins. At the

Intel Berkeley Challenge, the team got an

opportunity to talk to investors from Silicon Valley

who are accustomed in analyzing business plans. “In

Brazil, we do not have a mature ecosystem in

microelectronics. So the feedbacks we got from

them were highly valuable. Also, the media

exposure and the networking sessions were

extremely beneficial in developing our business

plan,” he reveals.

“The mentoring process was very helpful. In my

opinion, the feedback from the judges was the best

thing about the program. They clearly pointed out

where we had gone wrong or missed out on certain

aspects in the business plan. In short, it was all

about people, entrepreneurship and innovative

ideas. We definitely learnt a lot from it,” signs

off Tiago.

Brain injury is a major cause of impairment and functional

disability in millions of people worldwide. Stroke, in particular,

can damage the motor system in the brain partially or

completely, causing the patient mental trauma. To cater to this

growing concern and to improve motor function, researchers

have found a way to rehabilitate these patients using trainings.

Active Rehabilitation Apparatus for Brain Injury (ARABI) of BC

Tech aims at supplying a novel and effective rehabilitation

method for those suffering from motor disorders induced by

brain injury. This device based on world-class Brain-Computer

Interface (BCI) technology can help patients control

rehabilitation training. Clinical experiments conducted in

Hong Kong have proved that ARABI can accelerate rehabilitation

and enhance effectiveness.

China

A Brainwave that can

Improve Lives:

Active Rehabilitation

Jack Guo

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Favorite Book:

Favorite Laptop:

Favorite Cell Phone:


Favorite Quote:

My most inspiring moment:

To me,

Bill Gates

Presenting to Win by

Jerry Weissman

Lenovo ThinkPad

iPhone 3GS

Hawaii

You have to try everything

without the fear of failure.

My parents have

always inspired and encouraged me, even

when I had lost a match or not done well in

school. It’s their confidence in me that has

made me what I am today.

Intel is constantly innovating and

impacting both society and technology. THE ORIGIN OF ACTIVE

REHABILITATION

“First, we came across this amazing technology called the

Brain-Computer Interface. It’s an equipment in which you use

your brain to control a robotic arm. You can move your right arm

or left arm simply by thinking about it,” says Jack Guo, who was a

part of the team that developed this technology at Tsinghua

University in China. Guo is currently pursuing his higher studies

in Stanford University, USA.

The team first got to know about the Brain-Computer Interface

technology at the Neural Engineering lab in Tsinghua University.

The conceptualization of applying this technology to benefit the

society followed later. The team then came up with a focused

initiative of helping patients with stroke or other injury

rehabilitation. They spent about two months in converting the

idea into a business plan.

This project was funded by the Neuro laboratory of China.

8

F A C T F I L E

Project Funding Neuro Lab, China

Proposed Company Formation* 2011

9

The Intel Berkeley Challenge paved the

way for providing smart strategies by

exposing the team to international best

practices. The mentoring process also

helped in guiding our team about

conducting clinical experiment in an

effective way that could lead to FDA

certification. The mentoring practices gave

the team a better understanding of

business and the market.

SOCIAL IMPACT

CHALLENGES FACED

THE ROAD AHEAD

“When we come up with an idea for any technology, we make

sure that it creates a profound impact in the society,” says Guo.

“Our technology will help stroke patients improve their quality of

life,” he adds.

Since it’s a medical equipment, there are lots of clinical trials and

procedures that need to be carried out. This takes quite a long

time and the team has to keep working on the prototypes and

come out with new developments and improvements. The

process is still going on.

Although Guo is no longer in Tsinghua University, the other

batches at the university are still working on developing the

technology. However, inspired and encouraged by the Intel

Berkeley Challenge, Guo has plans to set up his own business.

“Right technology, right people and the right market—these

three factors will definitely make me a successful entrepreneur,“

he says.

Innovation SnapshotActive Rehabilitation Apparatus for Brain Injury

(ARABI) aims at supplying a novel and effective

rehabilitation method for those suffering from

motor disorders induced by brain injury. This

device based on world-class Brain-Computer

Interface (BCI) technology can help patients

control rehabilitation training. Clinical

experiments conducted in Hong Kong have

proved that ARABI can accelerate rehabilitation

and enhance effectiveness.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The team had no exposure on how to present a

business plan. “We first entered the regional

competition in Beijing, then we attended the

national competition and won the first prize,” states

Guo. The team as a whole had in-depth knowledge

of the technology. “However, what we lacked was

the business sense,” reveals Guo. “Blending

technology sense and business sense was an

important aspect. This was the key learning that

we got at the Intel Berkeley Challenge. Also, we

learnt a great deal on how to present a business

plan. We gained some valuable feedback from the

judges and the VCs. VCs in China are not as mature

as the ones in Silicon Valley. So we were able to

gain fresh perspectives on how to run a business,

how to find the right market and how to effectively

sell our product to the customers,” he says. The

team also gained business knowledge on how to go

about with FDA certification.

The Intel Berkeley Challenge also paved way in

providing smart strategies by exposing the team to

international best practices. The mentoring also

helped the team in guiding them about conducting

clinical experiment in an effective way that could

lead to FDA certification. The mentoring practices

of the program gave the team a better

understanding of business and the market.

Serious bone injuries generally require complicated surgeries,

physical treatments, and lengthy rehabilitation period. Apart

from the pain and suffering, bone injuries can lead to temporary

or permanent disability, which can then lead to negative

psychological effects and depression. So to address these

concerns, the Ihealth group from Tsinghua University, China

developed an innovative product that provides a better way of

dealing with bone injuries.

The Ihealth group, led by Wang Lu, focussed on providing a

better treatment for patients with bone injuries through their

revolutionary product – the MPHB biodegradable bone screw –

which brings down the need to undergo numerous surgery

procedures and also ensures that the surgery is free from risk

and unwanted pain.

THE RIGHT MIX OF BUSINESS

AND TECHNOLOGY

CREATING A POSITIVE CHANGE

The Ihealth team comprising of three postgraduate management

students from Tsinghua University – Wang Lu, Qie Yan, and Chen

Xu – on their quest to create a meaningful and revolutionary

product, decided to use their business acumen in pushing

forward an innovative technology developed by Tsinghua’s

Professor Hu Ping.

“We wanted to do something meaningful together and decided

to make a business plan. Then we got in touch with professor Hu

Ping in Tsinghua University and got to know about his patent.

We were excited by the technology and found it a potential

investment opportunity, so we decided to use it as our business

idea,” says Wang Lu.

With emphasis on providing a better quality of life for patients

with bone injuries, Ihealth Group hopes to bring a positive

change in society with their innovative MPHB biodegradable

bone screw, which will not only bring in a more effective and

painless solution but will also help in bringing in a safer

environment with its eco-friendly nature.

“Ihealth aims to improve life quality with its revolutionary new

product. With the support of China Central Government's State

863 Program, Ihealth has developed MPHB biodegradable bone

screw in light of bionics which has been granted a national

patent in China. Our product overcomes the disadvantages of

Wang Lu

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Favorite Book:

Favorite Laptop:



Three values that are core to my business:


To me,

Liu Chuanzhi

Crossing the Chasm

Lenovo ThinkPad

Nokia

Thailand

Speed up the commercialization process of

technology, do good to society, self-fulfilment

and achievement.

I gave a speech

in public and got the championship trophy

in the competition during my primary

school days.

Intel is an innovative and leading

company, and I have high regard of the

company.

Taking Away the Pain Factor:

Ihealth

China

10


2015 Expected Turnover* $100,000

Proposed head count* 20

Area of Operations China

F A C T F I L E

11

existing bone surgery methods and provides a nearly perfect

solution for the rehabilitation and fixation of bone injuries. With

its effective use, there will be no more second surgery and no

more inevitable pain or risk,” asserts Wang Lu.

This ambitious project was taken up by a team of seven

members and with an initial funding of $75,000 from angel

investors. With no VC funding and a very small group like theirs,

it was a big challenge in finishing their clinical experiment in

time, coupled with the need for more people to implement their

market strategy and opening up sales channel.

“We are still perfecting our clinical experiment. So there is no

revenue at all and our cash flow is still negative, which is a

normal state at the beginning of any business. Hopefully, we will

achieve our first bucket of gold very soon,” observes Wang Lu.

The Ihealth team plans to take a step-by-step approach in

deciding the future course of their ambitious project. “We are a

team of seven and we need at least three people to help us

finish our clinical experiment in 2010, three more people to help

us set down our marketing strategy in 2011 and seven more

people to open our sales channel in 2012,” reveals Wang Lu.

With their expansion plan firmly in place, Ihealth Group is hoping

that their product rake in a fair amount of revenues in the near

future. “A lot of Tsinghua MBAs have contacted us and showed

their interest in Ihealth. We plan to expand our team step by

step. Hopefully, there are going to be 20 team members in 2012

and our turnover will reach $100,000 by 2015,” she says.

STARTUP CHALLENGES

GOING AHEAD

The experience we took back from the

Intel Berkeley Challenge was awesome.

The competition was well organized. All

the finalist teams presented high-quality

projects and shared their great ideas. It

would go a long way to build up a

common ground for facilitating tech and

personal horizon.

Innovation SnapshotIhealth’s MPHB biodegradable bone screw

overcomes the disadvantages of existing bone

surgery methods and provides a nearly perfect

solution for the rehabilitation and fixation of

bone injuries. With its effective use, the need

for undergoing multiple surgeries for fixing

bone injuries has been effectively removed. It

also enables a painless and risk-free surgery for

bone injuries.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The uniqueness of the program and the learning

they took away from the Intel Berkeley Challenge

excited the Ihealth team the most. “The experience

we took back from UC Berkeley was awesome. The

competition was well organized. All the finalist

teams presented high-quality projects and shared

their great ideas. It would go a long way to build up

a common ground for facilitating tech and personal

horizon,” signs off Wang Lu.

12

Cancer is the most dreadful of human diseases, and people

across the world are fighting hard to survive it. The treatment

for cancer is quite expensive, as it involves human life.

Justin Lin and his team at NKU Healthcare Medicine have come

up with an inexpensive alternative that can save the world from

this killer disease. Their objective was to provide cancer patients

with low-cost but high-quality Taxol anti-cancer drugs on a large

scale through fungal fermentation technology.

Explains Justin Lin, the CEO of NKU Healthcare Medicine, “Since

ancient times, we have always regarded human life to be the

most precious thing in the world. Our production can benefit

people around the world. It’s a big dream, but we are going to

pursue it.” So far, this initiative has received an enthusiastic and

positive feedback from patients.

Justin Lin

INNOVATOR TRIVIA







what I am today:

Three values that are extremely

important to my business:


childhood:

To me,

Blue Ocean

Strategy

Internet

Nokia 6030

ThinkPad

Maldives

An old Chinese saying:

The road is long and hard, but I will move on

with confidence.

Confidence,

teamwork and diligence.

I made a gun by myself using

wood when I was six. As my father is a

carpenter, I got to learn from him and made

myself some toys using wood.

Intel is a “core” that makes the world

smarter and fantastic.

Saving Lives, Saving Costs:

NKU Healthcare Medicine

China

THE BEGINNING OF THE BIG DREAM

GREEN & GOOD HEALTH

The idea to produce Taxol anti-cancer drugs through fungal

fermentation began on March 2008. And the company

transformed the idea into a business plan on May 2009. NKU

Healthcare Medicine uses the fungal fermentation technology

to produce Taxol anti-cancer drugs on a large scale. The low-cost

and high-quality production of the Taxol drugs brings health

and hope to the cancer patients. This technological innovation,

the fungal fermentation, is free from the limitations of

Taxol sources.

Not only does this project save human life, it is also

environment-friendly for it reduces the felling of yew trees.

NKU’s technology is using Bran as a material for the fungal

fermentation method, so when compared to traditional

methods, one can save the yew tree. Besides creating

employment for more people, NKU’s low-cost technology can

help more cancer patients enjoy the fullness of a healthy life.

Explains Lin, “Scientists have discovered that extracting the

natural and efficient anti-cancer drugs Paclitaxel from the yew

tree is possible. However, due to the cost reason, only a few can

enjoy it. We are committed to breaking this status, so that more

people can enjoy good health. That’s our dream.”

Initial Investment $3,000,000


Proposed head count* 33

Area of Operations China

F A C T F I L E

13

The Intel Berkeley Challenge was an

opportunity for the team to connect with

VCs. The program provides a good

platform for the entrepreneurs to sell

their business idea. Intel invited many

experts across the world to coach us on

entrepreneurship. This helped us in

fulfilling our entrepreneurial dreams.

BRAVING STARTUP CHALLENGES

THE ROAD AHEAD

The technology that Healthcare Medicine uses is “863” key

support engineering project of NKU. The company’s initial

investment was a research funding of about $3 million and NKU

holds about 25% of shares through the technology. As a

healthcare hi-tech project, the biggest hurdle that NKU faces is

the feasibility of this technology. The team is still conducting

experiments to improve the purity of the Paclitaxel.

“As we are still doing the experiment, there is only cost and no

revenue now. And our next step is to conduct clinical trials. Our

payback period is about seven years. According to our financial

plan and production condition, in the third year the revenue will

reach to about $1,200,000,” says Lin.

The team has contacted some VCs. “Since it is a high-risk project,

VCs are taking some time. And our technology is still in the lab,

so we need to improve the technology first, and that’s what we

are doing at the moment,” he explains.

The company currently has nine team members. Jianjian (Justin)

Lin is the CEO, Jiannan Bi is the CTO (Ph.D of Microbiology of life

and Health Sciences Dept., NKU), Tian Xu is the CMO, Meiyu

Zhang is the CFO (CICPA certified), Cun Tang is the HR Director,

Guobin Shang is the CMO assistant, Qingying Zeng is the CTO

assistant, Shaoting Zhu is the CFO assistant, and Yiqun Xia is the

HR assistant.

Earlier, the NKU team was not sure about the business and

technical aspects, and they had no awareness in terms of how

to promote the plan. “That’s when we participated in the Intel

Berkeley Challenge to fulfill our dream,” reveals Lin.

According to the company’s five-year business plan, the team

plans to employ about 33 people: Eight for Production, six for

R&D, fifteen for Marketing and four middle managers. The

company is expecting a turnover of about $1,200,000 after

three years and saving more lives in the days to come.

Innovation SnapshotThe treatment for cancer is quite expensive, as

it involves human life. The team at NKU

Healthcare Medicine have come up with an

inexpensive alternative that can save the world

from this killer disease. Their objective is to

provide cancer patients with low-cost but high-

quality Taxol anti-cancer drugs on a large scale

through fungal fermentation technology. This

initiative has received an enthusiastic and

positive feedback from patients.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

“The experience at the Intel Berkeley Challenge

was fantastic. It is a technology feast. It was a

get-together of new and fantastic technologies

around the world, and it’s possible that some of

them will change the world. Through the

mentorship at UC Berkley, we were able to gain

knowledge on how to write a business plan, how to

promote our idea, etc. Moreover, Intel arranged a

face-to-face meeting with venture capitalists,

which was extremely beneficial to us,” describes Lin

about his experience at UC Berkley.

“The organization of the Intel Berkeley Challenge

was perfect and we got many suggestions from the

judges,” he says. This event also enabled the

Healthcare Medicine China team to communicate

with entrepreneurs around the world. “We had

access to new information, and we gained a

perspective of the worldwide entrepreneurship

trend. And also, we were able to build relationship

with other innovators,” he adds.

The event was also an opportunity for the team to

connect with VCs. The program provides a good

platform for the entrepreneurs to sell their

business idea. “Intel invited many experts across

the world to coach us on entrepreneurship. This

helped us in fulfilling our entrepreneurial dreams,”

signs off Lin.

Water is commonly referred to as the elixir of life. However, not

many businesses seem to realize this. Companies that use water

to perform industrial processes generate large amounts of

waste water. These wastes are “treated”, often with chemical

processes, which are expensive and inefficient. Disposing the

polluted water to the sewer is penalized with a fine, thereby

increasing costs. Additionally, in waste water there are large

amounts of raw materials. They are wasted because of not

having the right technology to separate the raw materials from

the water. In other words, industries currently pay for: Water,

treatment of the waste water, raw materials and disposal fees

or fines.

The industry lose billions of dollars by dumping raw materials

and compounds that are dissolved in water and are impossible to

recover or not economically viable with current methods.

Additionally the cost of water and environmental taxes are

going up, impacting directly on production costs of enterprises.

THE ORIGIN OF FILSEL

HIGHLIGHTS OF FILSEL

TECHNOLOGY

Filsel was set up in 2009 with the objective of saving both

water and raw materials, while reducing or completely

eliminating disposal charges. Says Jose Naranjo, the company’s

founder, “Our product is designed to treat water waste with the

objective to recover the water and the raw material to reuse

them in the process. Using nanotechnology, Filsel provides

integrated solutions to industry, including diagnosis, design and

construction of industrial filtration and/or concentration

equipment, according to specific needs of the industry.”

Filsel’s technology is based on the rational combination of the

usage of filtration membranes and concentration methods. The

company’s team brings experience in product representation,

product development, concept creation, project management

and other fields with multicultural and multilingual environments

to Latin America.

• Controls contamination by 100%

• Delivers more profits to industries

• Recovers a pure product without modifying its

molecular structure

• Key products are in the process of being patented

Conserving Water for Tomorrow

with Technology: Filsel

COLOMBIA

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:


Favorite Mobile Phone Brand:


Three values that are important to my

business:

To me,

Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi

St Petersburg,

The Museum in the world

Nokia

Apple

Honesty, technology and efficiency.

Intel is about getting things right.

Jose Naranjo

14

Current Customer Base 5

Expected Customer Base 700


Area of Operations Latin America

F A C T F I L E

COMMUNICATING IT RIGHT

THE ROAD AHEAD

Filsel’s prime challenge was not in establishing the company. It

was about communicating to the customer the value of their

technology. Although the technology is all about saving the

environment, Filsel does not use this as the key sales pitch. “In

turn, we talk about how customers can save money and how

they can improve efficiency,” says Naranjo. Today Filsel is

working with five MNCs. “These MNCs have subsidiaries,

especially in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean,”

he says.

Since it’s a technical product, Filsel is following a direct sales

approach. In the future when the company grows, they are

planning to have a marketing and advertising department.

Filsel currently has five customers and an employee count of 62.

They plan to add another 10 members to their team by the end

of 2010. One of the company’s key goals is to expand their

base by having strategic alliances outside Colombia. Currently

they are looking for partners who can distribute their products

abroad. “Based on our market research, the potential we see just

in Colombia is 700 customers in about six years. Moreover, we

already have contracts signed for the next 10 years and we plan

to have a revenue of at least $1.5 million, every year,” he

reveals. Filsel also plans to set up branch offices in Latin America

and India.

15

We saw other teams with more

experience and more years in the

business. We wanted to learn from other

companies, what new ideas they have,

and how mature their technologies are.

The idea was not really to win a prize but

to learn from other teams, which we

successfully did.

Innovation SnapshotFilsel’s technology is based on the rational

combination of the usage of filtration

membranes and concentration methods. It is

designed to treat water waste with the

objective to recover the water and the raw

material to reuse them in the process. Using

nanotechnology, Filsel provides integrated

solutions to industry, including diagnosis,

design and construction of industrial filtration

and/or concentration equipment, according to

specific needs of the industry.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

When the team at Filsel decided to participate in

the Intel Berkeley Challenge, they had two

objectives in mind: First was to benchmark and

understand how to position their technology

against other similar technologies in the world. The

second was to design a business model by looking

at other companies’ focus on technology. “We saw

other teams with more experience and more years

in the business. We wanted to learn from other

companies, what new ideas they have, and how

mature their technologies are,” remarks Naranjo.

Before participating in the Intel Berkeley Challenge,

Filsel did not have a concrete business plan in place

nor did they receive any kind of mentorship.

However, post this program they achieved the

clarity of thought by taking guidance from mentors

who were present at the event. “This way, we were

able to figure out what step we needed to take to

make our business plan more concrete,” he remarks.

“The idea was not really to win a prize but to learn

from other teams, which we successfully did,” he

signs off.

16

Intuitive Innovative Breakthrough for a Smarter Product:Algorithm Innovations

Egypt

After a close examination, he found that the real problem lies

with the cursor, not the mouse. Algreatly felt that the

coordinate system currently being used to define the movement

of the cursor was insufficient for today’s 3D movement. He

came up with the theory that rather than the Cartesian

coordinate system, the spherical coordinate system would be

much more appropriate to define movement in 3D.

In order to take his research further and make it available for

the masses to benefit, Algreatly decided to patent the method

and its application in a computing environment. With the help of

his friend, Basil Elway, he co-founded a company, calling it

Algorithm Innovations (AI).

Together with Elway, Algreatly finally decided upon and

patented a special hardware configuration that was the first real

innovation in the mouse since its creation.

The 3DNaviEditor™ is a 3D human-computer interface device

that offers six degrees-of-freedom (6DOF), as opposed to the

conventional mouse’s 2DOF. Through its proprietary patent-

pending TriTiltWheel™ technology, the 3DNaviEditor™ allows the

user (with one hand and without the need for a surface) to

directly manipulate the cursor to freely rotate on and move

along all three dimensions.

THE 3D MOUSE FINALLY

TAKES SHAPE

Dr. Doug Engelbart invented the concept of the mouse/cursor

input system in the 1960s. It was commercialized in the 1980s,

and built for two-dimensional (2D) displays. Historically,

movement on a computer display was defined by the Cartesian

coordinate system.

An architect, Cherif Algreatly, began contemplating in early

2007 on how the computer mouse, which had not changed in 47

years, was negatively affecting his productivity especially when

working with three-dimensional (3D) software applications.

After some researching he found that other architects also

share the same problem. So he set out to investigate and

uncover the inner workings of the mouse.

INNOVATIONS

THE ORIGIN OF ALGORITHM

BASIL ELWAY

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:




Favorite Past Time:


what I am today:



To me,

My father

The Four Steps to

the Epiphany by Steve Blank

BlackBerry Storm 2

The Great

Smoky Mountains

Reading

Never doubt that a small

group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world; indeed, it's the only thing

that ever has. - Margaret Mead

Customers first; employees second;

shareholders third.

Seeing the birth

of my first child… simply sublime!

Intel is... inside!

F A C T F I L E

Term Sheet Secured EFG - Hermes

VC Funding $3,000,000

17

With modified software, the cursor responds to commands that

simulate movement in the “Z” axis creating the proprietary

patent-pending SpheriCursor™, which transforms the

conventional cursor into a cursor that can not only zoom in and

out, but can also rotate in three dimensions. This completely

allows for dramatic improvements in user productivity and

efficiency while enabling new software to be developed to

access this feature.

In 2007, AI tied up with Dr. Engelbart and co-invented/co-

patented a device called TipTap which allows those with

learning disabilities to communicate easier and is now becoming

a de facto standard communication tool for the 200,000

members of the National Foundation for Blind Children and is

available for sale on Apple’s famed App Store.

In 2009, AI also developed a novel application called NovelMed.

It introduced a sensitive cushion that can be attached to an

ordinary chair to measure the dynamic forces exerted on

different parts of the back and buttocks while sitting. The

sensitive cushion can be connected to the computer to create a

3D simulation for the user’s spine while sitting on the chair. The

cumulative data enables generating a user’s personal report

describing his/her bad habits during prolonged sitting that might

influence spine diseases. The sensitive cushion is a portable

device that can be used away from the computer while driving a

car, or while sitting at work or home giving immediate vocal

instructions that help users to improve their sitting habits.

In the same year itself, after having received a term sheet for a

$3 million investment from EFG-Hermes, AI formed an offshoot

of their main company and called it Intuitive Input. It was set up

to advanced AI’s first set of inventions related to computer input

hardware and software. AI roped in seasoned Silicon Valley

executive Mark Creamer and former Logitech General Manager,

James Stanford, to take AI’s initiatives to new heights.

Algorithm Innovations plans to continue innovating and bring

significant technology development in the immediate future.

Continuing on their quest to make existing technologies better,

they have been constantly experimenting with cutting-edge

tech. They plan to announce a technology in a major tech event

in 2011 that they feel will impact design automation in a big

way. “We are about to make an exciting announcement at COFES

2011 in Arizona about a technology that we believe will

revolutionize design automation," says Basil.

SURGING AHEAD WITH INNOVATIVE

INITIATIVES

THE ROAD HEAD

The experience at the Intel Berkeley

Challenge helped us tremendously in

understanding what it takes to create a

scalable business model and what to

expect when pitching for VCs.

Innovation SnapshotThe 3DNaviEditor™ is a 3D

human-computer interface device that

offers six degrees-of-freedom (6DOF), as

opposed to the conventional mouse’s 2DOF.

It allows the user (with one hand and without

the need for a surface) to directly manipulate

the cursor to freely rotate on and move along

all three dimensions.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The Intel Berkeley Challenge helped Algorithm

Innovations in garnering valuable experience about

various business aspects, which in turn gave them

the opportunity and confidence to take their

business idea to a new level. “Coming from an

enterprise background, the Intel Berkeley Challenge

was my first exposure to the world of

entrepreneurship. The experience helped me

tremendously in understanding what it takes to

create a scalable business model and what to

expect when pitching for VCs. The latter was

especially helpful since it served as a dry-run to

dealing with a VC that attended the Intel Berkeley

Challenge and offered us a term sheet shortly

thereafter. Instead of looking like a complete

amateur, I was able to discuss relatively intelligently

based on the training I had received,” signs off Basil.

High-quality cancer treatment for every patient—this was the

idea behind forming SurgicEye.

SurgicEye GmbH was founded in March 2008 as a spin-off

company resulting from the long-time collaboration of the Chair

for Computer Aided Medical Procedures (CAMP) and the

Department of Nuclear Medicine at Klinikum rechts der Isar, both

institutions of Technische Universität München (TUM).

The business plan for SurgicEye was developed in 2007. Back

then it was known as Navaris Medical. Only when the team

attended the business plan competition at UC Berkley and got

funded did they realize that the name has to be changed.

Reasons Joerg Traub, the CEO of SurgicEye, “After we got

funded, we wanted to start creating business cards and PR

THE ORIGIN OF SURGICEYE

materials. So when we typed the name ‘Navaris’ on Google

Search, Google proposed, “Did you mean Novartis?” That’s when

we decided we should re-name the company— a name in which

there was no potential conflict of interest or where people could

have no wrong association. So we decided to call the company

SurgicEye.”

Today, the company provides intra-operative 3D imaging and

navigation solutions for a patient-tailored tumor surgery.

SurgicEye is also an OEM partner for custom solutions that

integrate nuclear medicine imaging into surgical procedures.

With declipse SPECT, SurgicEye provides the first system

capable of intraoperative 3D SPECT imaging with flexible,

handheld sensors worldwide. The freehand SPECT technology

enhances the detection, localization and guided biopsy of

sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer therapy, enabling surgical

procedures to be more sensitive and reliable as well as less

invasive. By integrating intra-operative images into the surgical

workflow, SurgicEye GmbH increases the efficiency of surgical

procedures. SurgicEye’s solutions are taking full advantage of

current technologies in nuclear medicine and navigated surgery.

Currently, the company has a team of 15 people— 10 full-time

employees, five part-time employees, and about four to six

student interns. The initial investment when they started off

was with the team’s own money of 100,000 Euros. Then with a

seed funding of 600,000 Euros from High Tech Grunderfonds

and Bayen Kapital, SurgicEye took off. “ When we started off, it

was just Thomas and me. However, we also had professors from

our university on our side as advisors and our team was soon

built with new talents,” recalls Traub.

Germany

A Vision for a Brighter

Tomorrow: SurgicEye

Joerg Traub

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:


Favorite Social Media Site:

The cell phone that I currently have:

Favorite Lapop Brand:

Hobbies:


Inspiring Quote:


To me,

My PhD advisor, Nassir Navab

The Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People

LinkedIn and Xing

Nokia N79

Sony Vaio

Starting a company is a hobby by

itself and I like to see things grow; mountain

climbing and soccer.

Italy, Austria

Do something you are not

ready to do – the worst thing that can happen

is you learn something about your limits. -

Marissa Mayer

Efficiency, reliability and quality.

Intel is shaping the future of

technology.

18

Initial Investment €100,000

Current Installations Germany, Italy, Holland

2012 Expected Turnover* €30,000,000


Area of Operations Europe

F A C T F I L E

CREATING CUSTOMERS

A BETTER & IMPROVED TREATMENT

THE ROAD AHEAD

Convincing customers of the long-term benefits remains the key

challenge for SurgicEye. Since it’s a technology pertaining to

medical science, it requires lots of time, energy and resources to

convince customers of the long-term benefits. “Medical solid

proof will take almost five years to establish with clinical trials

and millions to invest before you are at that stage. The

challenge here is to find reference customers who are willing to

invest together with us in the future of navigated tumor

surgery. On one hand, it’s a mind shift in the surgeon’s mind.

Surgeons need to be open to innovative technologies. On the

other hand, they have to see long-term benefits for the patient.

This again can be proved only after a long-term study. So the

challenge is to find the right customer/partner and convince

them to invest in our product. Also, we are planning everything

in a sustainable way and not short-term profits,” observes Traub.

The idea behind SurgicEye is to provide the world with better

and improved treatment for cancer. “At the moment we are

focused on the surgeon’s performance in the operating room. Of

course, it’s all centered around the patient. The objective is to

heal the patient by providing better services that the patient

deserves. We provide better tools for cancer surgery focused on

improved treatment of cancer. Operating a patient is not an

everyday routine like driving someone from home to work. Each

patient has individual anatomy, individual structure and also, the

tumor is different in every patient. So a surgeon requires the

right toolsets to make individual decision, and he has to

guarantee that every patient is given the same high-quality

treatment. SurgicEye was set up with the mission of creating a

huge impact by delivering improved and high-quality healthcare

to patients, independent of the mental state of the patient and

also of the surgeon,” reiterates Traub.

SurgicEye currently has three installations in Germany and Italy

and is pitching to 15 other customers. The company also

conducted a roadshow recently in the US and plans to Iaunch a

product there by the beginning of 2011, as soon as they get

their product certified there. “Three years from now, we plan to

have a headcount of 50-80 people and we hope to have a

turnover of 20–30 million Euros,” says Traub.

19

After Berkeley, we were much more off

to get in touch with venture capitalist

companies, both from the Bay Area as

well as German VCs. Being placed as

1st rank among highly selective

competitors gave us a lot of credibility.

So I would definitely say, that Berkeley

and Intel helped us a lot in the process

of founding.

Innovation SnapshotHigh-quality cancer treatment for every

patient—this was the idea behind forming

SurgicEye. Today, the company provides

intra-operative 3D imaging and navigation

solutions for a patient tailored surgery.

SurgicEye is also an OEM partner for custom

solutions that integrate nuclear medicine

imaging into surgical procedures. With declipse

SPECT, SurgicEye provides the first system

capable of 3D SPECT imaging with flexible,

handheld sensors worldwide.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The Intel Berkeley Challenge provided a lot of

visibility to SurgicEye. “This event helped us

strengthen our strategy. We certainly had a

remarkable and stimulating time at the Berkeley

campus. Being able to see the diversity of

world-class laboratories and their inter-disciplinary

approach to tackle problems on a truly cooperative

basis was encouraging. After we got in touch with

the other startup teams from around the world,

who were also national winners with highly

competitive business ideas, we felt that it would be

a hard challenge for us to prove our idea in front of

the various audiences we were facing. After we

made it through the first round, we were more than

motivated to get the first prize award and after less

than 48 hours our common dream suddenly became

a reality,” says Eric Soehngen who was leading the

Navaris Team in Berkeley!

“After Berkeley, our chances of getting in touch with

VCs increased, both from the Bay area as well as

German VCs. Achieving the first rank among the

highly selective and competitive field gave us a lot

of credibility. So I would definitely say, that Berkeley

and Intel helped us a lot in getting over the initial

challenges our startup company faced. Also the

emotional spirit that we gained throughout the

experience contributed a lot too,” signs off Traub.

When Hyderabad-based Kranthi Vistakula went to do his

master’s degree at MIT Boston, he was greeted by the city’s

coldest winters. So he clothed himself in multiple folds of warm

woolen clothes. However, the interiors of MIT Boston were so

humid that Vistakula was forced to take off the layers he was

wrapped in. This posed a problem. Nevertheless, in this problem,

Vistakula identified a new opportunity. It was then he conceived

the idea of creating apparels that can heat or cool the users as

per their need.

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Favorite Book:

Favorite Social Networking Site:

Favorite Mobile Phone:

Favorite Laptop:

Favorite Destination:

The quotes that inspire me:

Three core values that are important to

my business:

To me,

My mother, Mahatma Gandhi, Bill

Gates, Steve Jobs, and the Google founders. In

short, I like people who go against what is

common and who change the paradigm.

Harry Potter, the Google

story, the life story of Steve Jobs

Facebook

Blackberry

Mac Book Air - Rugged

Andaman &

Nicobar Islands

Be the change

that you want to see. – Mahatma Gandhi

Imagination is more important than

knowledge. - Albert Einstein

Motivation, passion, and a fun

work environment.

Intel is a game-changing company -

constantly innovating new ideas. I would

definitely want my company to be replicated

in Intel’s model. It’s all about technology and

development of new things that will

change lives.

Kranthi Vistakula

Mastering the Climate with

Innovative Technology:

Dhama Apparel

India

20

The idea took a business twist when Vistakula started winning

tech competitions. With the money he won in these

competitions, he started making prototypes of the apparels by

adding functionalities and capabilities.

By 2007, Vistakula was completely ready to take off. With an

initial investment of $9,000, he set up Dhama Apparel in Jan

2008, and started refining his prototypes, and within few

months, he had a refined prototype in place.

The company is now on an expansion spree. When it started off,

it was a one-man army, with Vistakula pursuing his idea actively.

Today Dhama has a team size of 15, and is planning to expand

to 25 people by 2011.

Dhama has a wide range of products: The ClimaGear, ClimaNeck,

and ClimaMet. With the entry of these functional apparels in the

market, the way people perceive India would change. “It would

create a better impression globally, for it’s a global product from

an Indian company. I wouldn’t say my product is price-competitive.

I would say my product is the best of technology and it’s on par

with any technology in the world,” Vistakula says.

A GLOBAL PRODUCT FROM AN

INDIAN COMPANY


2009 Turnover $60,000



Area of Operations India, South Asia, U.S.

F A C T F I L E

CREATING A SOCIAL IMPACT

COMPETENCY VS. CHALLENGES

THE ROAD AHEAD

India is a country with diverse weather zones. The most

important benefit of these functional apparels is that they offer

comfort and increase productivity for the user. “We distributed

samples of our apparels to some golfers and we found that

when they wore our ClimaGear scarves, the players were active

for a long duration, without being exhausted,” reveals Vistakula.

The company is also planning to go strong in the government

vertical. Currently, Dhama has distributed their Clima range

of products on a trial basis to those working on Border

Roads Organization.

When Vistakula first came up with the idea, people thought he

was crazy. However, later, he turned out to be fairly lucky. “I

was good at convincing people about the vision and the product

I had in mind. Everywhere we went, we got tremendous

response. Every competition we participated, we won,” recalls

Vistakula. With a combination of sales skills and technology

competency, Vistakula positioned his Clima range of products to

the customer. He also understood the customer’s pain areas and

tweaked whatever needs to be tweaked to provide more

comfort for the customer.

In the last few months, Dhama has been on every media

publication in India. India Today magazine selected Vistakula as

one of the Top 20 ‘Innovative people changing your life’. In

Business World magazine, he was selected as the No. 1 ’Young

Entrepreneur of the Year’. “Our product is very unique and we

have positioned our products in multiple different segments,”

Vistakula reveals.

Dhama’s top line last year was around `.27 lakhs ($60,000). This

was primarily from surveys and trial samples given out to users.

Three years from now, Dhama is anticipating a turnover of 100

crores ($2,200,000). The company is primarily looking at

defence and larger base contracts.

`

21

The learning experience we got in the

Intel Berkeley Challenge was immense.

We got to see extremely smart people

with extremely smart ideas. It’s the kind

of learning you cannot get anywhere.

I have learned a lot by interacting with

other innovators. It’s definitely life

changing because it changed my

perspective about things.

India is a country with diverse weather zones.

Kranthi Vistakula conceived the idea of creating

apparels that can heat or cool the users, as per

the users need. The most important benefit of

these functional apparels is that they offer

comfort and increase productivity for the user.

Samples of Dhama apparels were distributed

to some golfers and it was found that when

they wore the ClimaGear scarves, the players

were active for a long duration, without

being exhausted.

Innovation Snapshot


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

Vistakula did not win the Intel Berkeley Challenge,

but his team was among the few finalists. “The

experience was brilliant. This competition brings

out the best in you, because it’s all about being a

champion and you are competing against other

champions. Participants from almost 20 countries

were part of it. They were winners from all the

local competitions from every country. The

standard of the competition was very high. The

learning experience we got there was immense. We

got to see extremely smart people with extremely

smart ideas. It’s the kind of learning you cannot get

anywhere. I have learned a lot by interacting with

other innovators. It’s definitely life changing

because it changed my perspective about how we

used to think about certain things. The mentoring

session was useful too. The mentors went through

the presentation and gave critical feedback.

That helped us learn a lot about where we could

improve and what was missing in our plan. It

helped us to go back and analyze where we went

wrong. The experience overall was priceless,”

remarks Vistakula.

Treatment of burns, scars and deep wounds is universally an

expensive affair. Although, solutions including tissue engineered

skin, bio-active membranes, and grafting etc. do exist, they are

expensive and require specialized skills for administration,

thereby limiting their reach only to the upper crust of the

society. However, scientists G Rajmohan and CK Anish from

National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India have come up

with a cost-effective solution that is feasible even for

developing countries like India.

Polyskin develops biomaterial-based innovative products for

the burn and wound healing and regeneration segment. “We use

two biopolymers - Polylactic acid (PLA) and Polylactic-glycolic

acid (PLGA), both USFDA approved biodegradable and

biocompatible polymers that have been in use for the past 60

years, widely used as absorbable sutures in surgical procedures,”

reveals Rajmohan.

India

Fighting Burn Trauma by

Technology: Polyskin

22

POLYSKIN BENEFITS

CHALLENGES FACED

Polyskin has developed an innovative process, where

biodegradable polymer particles encapsulated with drugs can be

self-assembled into bio-membranes in a single step at room

temperature and can be used immediately as artificial skin

substitutes for burn and wound treatment.

The team prepares encapsulated Polylactide particles at their

facility and then distribute to hospitals where it can be stored

without any special storage requirements. When a burn case

arrives, the particles are immediately fused using a simple

process at room temperature and the polymeric membrane

of desired size and shape can be immediately transferred to

the wound site. This makes the process very easy to be

carried out even in a small center and does not need any

specialized equipment.

Thus, Polyskin offers several benefits like easy handling,

reducing fluid loss, decreasing the chances of infection, helping

in faster clearance of infection and faster regeneration of the

skin, providing the cheapest alternative for treatment of burn

wounds, and easy and increased availability of PLA leading to

increased affordability.

Although the team has made this product a success, they are

still facing IP issues. “The issue that we are currently facing is

that, according to the existing rule in India, the IP rights belong

to the university. What happens in the West is that when a

student comes up with an interesting finding, the university

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Hobbies:


The laptop that I currently have:

My most inspiring moment during

childhood:

Favorite Quote:

To me,

Jagadish Chandra Bose

Reading, travelling

Kanyakumari

Wipro

My father was a doctor and

whenever he used to get some spare time, he

used to build toys with his own hands for me.

I vividly remember him building a good

telescope from scratch and then later a

kaleidoscope. Those moments really started

my interest in science.

When you strive for a noble

cause, many unseen forces come to your aid.

- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Intel is the most important part of

any technology.

G Rajmohan

F A C T F I L E

Grant Secured DST (Dept. of Science and Technology) India

Pilot Project Pushpagiri Hospital, Kerala

acknowledges him as the innovator, sets up an incubator for

him and the IP rights is also given to him, since he is the one

who knows the product or technology better. But this is not

the case in India. I think all these kind of things are pretty new

in the Indian environment. We are trying to work it out,”

reveals Rajmohan.

The team plans to set up a pilot facility, standardize processes,

conduct field trials at urban, semi-urban and rural centres

treating patients with different levels and degrees of burns and

wounds and creating market tie-ups. “We primarily wish to

remain as an innovative research-based organization with

tie-ups with established firms for successful marketing of the

product worldwide,” adds Rajmohan.

The growth and wealth creation opportunities in this field are

high because this process can also be used to formulate

targeted drug delivery implants of the desired dimension for

various bio-medical applications especially in the treatment of

cancer and tumors.

The Polyskin team recently received a grant from DST (Dept. of

Science and Technology), India to set up a pilot plant to produce

their product for clinical trials. “We have been offered space to

set up the pilot plant at Pushpagiri Hospital and Research

Centre, Thiruvalla, Kerala,” says Rajmohan.

ROLL-OUT AND GROWTH

THE ROAD AHEAD

We got exposed to the business angle of

innovation. Earlier we were technically

equipped with knowledge. However,

after this event, it shed brand new

perspectives of how to make an idea into

a business. Because ultimately anything

that we create should reach the market.

Polyskin has developed an innovative process,

where biodegradable polymer particles

encapsulated with drugs can be self-assembled

into bio-membranes in a single step at room

temperature and can be used immediately as

artificial skin substitutes for burn and wound

treatment. This is a cost-effective solution that

is feasible even for developing countries

like India.

Innovation Snapshot


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

The Polyskin team won the second prize at the Intel

Intel Berkeley Challenge. “In PhD, most of the

projects that we work on are always academic.

However, we had plans to take our product to a

commercial level,” says Rajmohan.

The Intel Berkeley Challenge was something that

was not a part of their regular PhD course.

However, the experience opened new doors for the

team. “We got exposed to the business angle of

innovation. Earlier we were technically equipped

with knowledge. However, after this event, it shed

brand new perspectives of how to make an idea

into a business. Because ultimately anything that

we create should reach the market. It helped us

realize this and we are definitely sorting the IP

issue in India so that we could take our technology

to the next level. In fact, it’s at the Intel Berkeley

Challenge that we learned about the different

models of entrepreneurship,” signs of Rajmohan.

23

24

It took about 4-5 years to get a patent. Till then the team was

working only on prototypes. “We didn’t do any business

development till we were sure that we had a patent in our hand.

It’s a waste of time to show or expose it to anyone without

having an approved US patent. So we started to move into the

business area in 2006,” says Eichbaum.

Later in 2008, when after getting patents, Grippity was set up

in Israel with an initial investment of $20,000. The company’s

vision was to offer ergonomic and comfortable QWERTY

typing everywhere. Their latest product provides a “typable”

functionality from both the back and the front, so that users can

start typing with their thumbs just out of the box, and then

gradually discover backtyping.

There are ongoing discussions regarding the correct sitting

position in front of the computer, the height of the keyboard,

support for the forearms and head positioning. The ergonomic

keyboard's advantages, in that respect, are great. While typing,

the ergonomic keyboard relieves pressure from the lower back,

relaxes the shoulders, relieves pressure from the root of the

palm muscles, and prevents unwanted movements of the root of

the palm. The keyboard allows the user to change positions

while working.

1. While typing on a regular keyboard, the hand positioning

should be forward. This position enhances the pressure on

the lumbar spine and on the shoulder muscles. In the

THE ERGONOMICS BEHIND

BACKTYPING

The founders of Grippity have created a new way of typing — or

rather backtyping, as they call it. It all started when they asked

themselves, “Why do we have to lean forward all the time while

typing?” This question led to a series of other questions like —

Why do we use only our thumbs when we operate on a mobile

device? Why can’t we use the other eight fingers that are

inactive? and so on.

And in 2001, the idea of backtyping was formed. “When it was

just an idea presented on a piece of paper or like a model made

out of cardboard, people did not believe in it. Even we did not

believe in it. But it was good to juggle around and check it out.

We started to test the usability. We started to develop

prototypes that were working and found that it was actually

comfortable. Then gradually we started believing in the idea

more and more,” recalls Jacob Eichbaum, CEO of Grippity.

THE BIRTH OF BACKTYPING

Backtyping is the Way

Forward: Grippity

Israel

Jacob Eichbaum

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:





Favorite App:


My idea of fun is:


what I am today:

To me,

Leonardo da Vinci

Bible Guide for

Business by Shai Aloni

LinkedIn

iPhone 3GS

Dell

TeamViewer

Dharamkot,

next to Dharamsala, North India

Any motor sport

Our glory is measured not

by our ability not to fall, but by our ability to

rise after.

Intel is a good old American

hi-tech corporation.



Area of Operations Israel, U.S.

F A C T F I L E

25

We got to learn how to present a

business plan and how to present our

product. We also got exposed to a lot of

mentoring. I think the Intel Berkeley

Challenge was very efficient. It also

taught us to deal with things that

usually entrepreneurs don’t want to

deal with.

ergonomic keyboard, the hands are positioned closer to the

body, reducing the lumbar spine's movement and reducing

pressure on the shoulder muscles.

2. Many studies indicate that the recommended back tilt in a

sitting position is approximately 110-120 degrees. This

angle enables a frontal turn of the pelvic and prevents the

straightening of the back, increasing the pressure on the

vertebras of the lower back. In addition, by leaning back,

some of the body weight is supported, relieving pressure

from the lower back. In the agronomic keyboard, the

keyboard is close to the person typing and there is no need

to lean forward.

3. A common problem faced by computer users is "Tennis

Elbow": Changes to the extensor tendons of the root of the

arm, located in the elbow. The changes are caused by

ongoing strain on the root of the arm muscles that help

maintain the hand aligned statically over the mouse and

keyboard. The agronomic keyboard does not have use of

these muscles since the hand is placed in mid-position, a

position considered in the literature as the preferred position

for the root of the hand, with relatively little strain.

The challenge for Grippity lies in making people comfortable

with backtyping over conventional typing. Grippity solves this by

allowing touch input from the top, like conventional thumb

keypads. The user can then gradually discover the use of the

other eight fingers.

The other challenge is about fighting competition. “Despite

competition, the consumer electronics field is the most

promising field to be in. Because it’s about how a user interacts

with his device, and how we can make the interface interactive.

Today for devices like smart phones or regular cell phones, you

use only your thumbs. 80% of your fingers are on the other side

doing nothing. Here we bring the capability of using 100% of

your fingers,” he says.

Eichbaum sees Grippity as an IP company with more patents.

Three years from now, the company expect to achieve turnover

of $10 million. The company has immediate plans to license the

technology to a consumer electronics manufacturer. And

Eichbaum confidently says that 10 years from now, this product

would be a household name. “Because it’s about bringing full

usability of the desktop keyboard to the couch.”

THE CONSUMER AND THE

COMPETITION

THE ROAD AHEAD

Innovation SnapshotThe founders of Grippity have created a new

way of typing— or rather backtyping, as they

call it. It all started when they asked

themselves, “Why do we have to lean forward

all the time while typing?” This question led to a

series of other questions like — Why do we use

only our thumbs when we operate on a mobile

device? Why can’t we use the other eight

fingers that are inactive? and so on. And thus

the idea of backtyping was formed.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

“It was a very nice experience to meet innovators

around the world. We exchanged contact details

and kept in touch afterwards. It was a very nice

social event for us. In the Intel Berkeley Challenge

we got a very big boost. We got to learn how to

present a business plan and how to present our

product. We also got exposed to a lot of mentoring.

I think it was very efficient. It also taught us to deal

with things that usually entrepreneurs don’t want

to deal with. For example, someone like an

entrepreneur or an engineer wants to spend all

the time solving problems, engineering something,

building new prototypes and dealing with all the

small details. When we got into this program we

realized that we need to focus more on what we

don’t like to do and also on what is more important

for business. And it’s not engineering. It’s more

to do with financial data, financial plan, etc,” signs

off Eichbaum.

26

Colon cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths

in the United States. It mostly affects people over fifty and,

when detected early, is completely curable in 90% of the cases.

Despite this, there are still 150,000 new cases and 60,000

CRC’s deaths each year. Among the people at risk are more than

90 million “baby boomers”, of whom nearly 9,000 reach their

fiftieth birthday every day. By 2020, the “boomer” population is

expected to exceed 120 million, constituting the

wealthiest—and most health-conscious—generation in

U.S. history.

Virtual Colonoscopy (VC) has been in development for 10 years.

The test consists of having a patient undergo an abdominal CT

scan, where several hundred images of the abdomen can be

analyzed in 2D or 3D reconstructions to look for polyps or

malformations in and around the colon.

THE BEGINNING OF ECHOPIXEL

HOW ECHOPIXEL’S SOLUTION

WORKS

Recognizing the need for Virtual Colonoscopy (VC) as an

effective early detection procedure for colon cancer, Sergio

Aguirre Valencia, now the company’s CTO, came up with the idea

of setting up Echopixel in December 2005. The company was

set up in Mexico, but without a clear-cut business plan. It was at

this juncture that a business plan competition was announced

by Intel in Mexico in Februrary 2006. Since the team had a basic

idea in place, they decided to take part in it. They finally won

and were taken to the Intel Berkeley Challenge. The very next

day after the finals at Berkley, Echopixel set up its branch office

in the United States.

When Echopixel started off, it had just one person - Aguirre

Valencia. Immediately after the Intel Berkeley Challenge, the

team grew to three members, and currently the company

comprises a seven-member team.

Echopixel’s patented stereoscopic 3D visualization solution

(Utility Patent #11/944,395) enables radiologists through

diagnostic depth perception to detect most polyps, regardless of

size or shape, with increased sensitivity— significantly

improving the accuracy over previous VC solutions.

Echopixel’s VC solution benefits both patients and doctors while

eliminating crucial issues blocking reimbursement.

Mexico

Accurate Detection for

Precise Treatment: Echopixel

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:


Favorite Laptop:



Favorite Past Time:


what I am today:



To me,

Steve Jobs

Crossing the Chasm

by Geoffrey Moore

ThinkPad W701

iPhone

Weissenstadt,

Germany

Swimming or watching

swimming competitions

“Be the change you want to

see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Deliver best clinical value to patients.

Technical-Clinical tie leadership. Best people.

When a world

leading researcher in our field said, “You are

the only one doing this.”

Intel is a company that has changed

the world and continues to do so.

Sergio Aguirre Valencia

Patent Acquired 2009


Area of Operations Mexico, U.S.

F A C T F I L E

27

It was a very positive experience for us

because we had a very early-stage

investment pitch. There were a lot of

things in our business plan that we still

needed to discover and validate. It was

also great meeting the judges, meeting

other teams and other individuals that

were working in Silicon Valley and we

were able to get good feedbacks.

BUILDING THE TEAM AND

THE PRODUCT

KEY CHALLENGES

THE ROAD AHEAD

“By the end of 2007, we were already five members. We

finished the first prototype of the product. In 2008, the

prototype evolved significantly and we did an internal

benchmark test using public clinical trial databases, which we

conducted with the help of doctors,” he says. In 2009, the team

was only focused on showing the results of their benchmark

tests to some leading doctors who treat colon cancer. “Only a

few doctors have an adequate performance doing VC and our

technology allows more doctors to do that adequately and with

higher precision,” he adds. The whole of last year was fully spent

on preparing the data for the doctors. Now the team will be

working with them on clinical trials.

Improving and increasing sales to fund our development proved

to be a major challenge for Echopixel. Recalls Aguirre

Valencia,“We have been bootstrapping all of our efforts in sales.

That’s one of the first challenges. We have some customers with

professional visualization applications. They are different from

our medical devices. So we expanded a little bit of our sales

force through the Internet. And that’s how we have been

building the company.”

Getting the right people was yet another challenge. “My

experience was a little bit more on the hardware side. It took a

little while to get good resources. I took help from a professor at

the university of Minnesota. Finally we managed to get some

good software engineers”, says Aguirre Valencia.

The third concern was how to go about testing the product

because at the beginning the team had no idea how to do that.

Gradually the company started conducting benchmark tests

using some public profile databases. It was supervised by a

doctor. “What we first needed was to get access to the

databases and with the help of TechBA and ITESM we got

access to the databases. Then our CEO helped us network with

a radiologist at Cornell University who explained the testing that

we wanted to do,” reveals Aguirre Valencia.

Three years from now, Echopixel envisions itself as a company

with 20-30 individuals, and achieving a turnover of $30 million.

The company also plans to have corporate partnership with

Philips Medical, Siemens, and Toshiba Medical Systems.

Virtual Colonoscopy has been in development

for ten years. The test consists of having a

patient undergo an abdominal CT scan, where

several hundred images of the abdomen can be

analyzed in 2D or 3D reconstructions to look for

polyps or malformations in and around the

colon. Echopixel’s patented stereoscopic 3D

visualization solution enables radiologists

through diagnostic depth perception to detect

most polyps, regardless of size or shape, with

increased sensitivity— significantly improving

the accuracy over previous VC solutions.

Innovation Snapshot


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

“It was a very positive experience for us because

we had a very early-stage investment pitch. There

were a lot of things in our business plan that we

still needed to discover and validate. It was a great

experience meeting the judges, meeting other

teams and other individuals that were working in

Silicon Valley and we were able to get good

feedbacks. Overall, we really enjoyed the

experience. It was quite an educative session

because the individuals who were present at the

event came with 30, 40, 50 years of experience.

Some were serial entrepreneurs from hardware,

others from biotech so it was a great platform to

take their suggestions and it came out pretty good,”

signs off Aguirre Valencia.

28

3 RE DERM AND HOW IT BENEFITS

PATIENTS

CUSTOMER APPROACH

• Increased workability and social activity due to shorter

recreation periods

• Decreased risk of infections and wound drying

• Decreased risk of allergic reactions

• Decreased risk of hems and hyper pigmentation of skin

• Healthy skin regeneration and renovation

3Re Derm is a high-end cosmetology product. “The chemical 3peeling procedure costs between $70 and $100. Re Derm costs

about $15, which is 10-15% less when compared to other

procedures,” says Pavlovskiy.

3The consumers that Re Derm is targeting are the upper middle

class and the upper class. “Because they are the ones who are

willing to spend,” remarks Pavlovskiy. Also, the company is not

selling the product to the end consumers directly. “We are selling

the product in beauty salons who have good track record, so the

staff there could try it out on the customers who come there,”

he says.

Sergey Pavlovskiy

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:







what I am today:


to my business:


childhood:

To me,

Khodorkovskiy

The World is Flat

FaceBook, LinkedIn

iPhone

IBM

South Asia

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Customer, Investor and Law.

University visit

Intel is changing the world for

the best.

A Smart Idea for a

Critical Challenge: 3Re Derm

Russia

Treating skin burns is a unique challenge — a challenge for both

doctors and patients. More so for patients because the skin

treatment procedures that are available today are quite

expensive and not many can afford these treatments. A unique 3medical technology called Re Derm was developed by the team

at The Russian Academy of Sciences. The project went on for 33–4 years. Although Re Derm was categorized as medical and

pharmaceutical product, when Sergey Pavlovskiy took over as

the project leader, he and his team decided to go one step

further by making it a cosmetic product and commercializing it in 3the market. Thus RE Derm started off in 2009 as a cosmetology

product that stands for skin regeneration, renovation, and

rejuvenation. Today Pavlovskiy heads the company as its CEO

and currently the team comprises a headcount of seven people,

four in business development and three in R&D.

F A C T F I L E


Area of Operations Russia, CIS Countries

29

It was a unique experience in itself

because we were able to meet lot of

competitive people from new arenas.

The competition as a whole was

structured and orderly. It paved way

for us to learn not only about

opportunities in Russia but also threw

a whole new perspective about

approaching the global markets.

CHALLENGES

SOCIAL IMPACT

MARKETING APPROACH

THE ROAD AHEAD

3Since it’s a cosmetology product, Re Derm faces high

competition in the market. The number of companies that

produce skin care products are large in numbers. “The entry

point is always difficult. When you have a product, it’s difficult to

make people believe that the product is safe to use,” reveals

Pavlovskiy. So the team used to do a showcase or self-test and

taught beauty salons staffs how it works.

Although the team is currently selling the product for upper

middle class and above, they soon plan to make it a viable,

low-cost option for everybody else as well.

“In the long run, we are actually thinking of moving the product

to the medical market as a medicine for anti-burn procedure.

However, it’s a pretty long process because we have to go

through multiple certifications, and it is time consuming. So we

decided to first come out as a luxury product to raise money.

Because we thought it was easier to gain first-point entry into a

cosmetology market,” says Pavlovskiy.

3To promote the product, the team at Re Derm participated in

several exhibitions, including scientific exhibitions where they

showcased the product. Also, they went around beauty

boutiques and did presentations there.

They also have a regional distributor network to distribute

their product.

3Re Derm plans to first strengthen its position in Russia and CIS

countries. In three years, they want to reach one million dollar

revenue per annum. And also, be a solid player in the Russian

cosmetology market and CIS countries and start connecting with

VCs and partners to ensure further expansion. “We also have

plans to expand it to the West. However, for doing so we do

need VC investment and partnership with some western

company to help us market the product in Europe or beyond,“

says Pavlovskiy. However the company’s prime objective is to

gain strong positioning in Russia and CIS countries.

Innovation SnapshotSkin treatment procedures that are available

today are quite expensive and not many can

afford these treatments. A unique medical 3technology called Re Derm was developed by

the team at The Russian Academy of Sciences. 3Although Re Derm was categorized as medical

and pharmaceutical product the research team

decided to go one step further by making it a

cosmetic product that stands for skin

regeneration, renovation, and rejuvenation.


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

“The Intel Berkeley Challenge was very educative. It

was a unique experience in itself because we were

able to meet lot of competitive people from new

arenas. The competition as a whole was structured

and orderly. It paved way for us to learn not only

about opportunities in Russia but also threw a

whole new perspective about approaching the

global markets, such as Europe or India. The

judges gave us valuable feedbacks, owing to which

we were able to improvise on many things.

Overall, it was a great educative experience,” signs

off Pavlovskiy.

30

A PROTOTYPE FOR THE DISABLED

A HEALTHY PRODUCT

The inspiration to create a special technology for the physically

challenged came in the year 2000, when Kosik had a patient

who was technologically savvy. Recollects Kosik, an orthopedist

and a spinal surgeon, “I was practicing in Russia, operating on

people with spinal cord injury. The majority of them were kids

and adolescents who were going through the trauma of an

accident by which they injured their spinal cord. In most cases

they wouldn’t be able to even lift a finger. They cannot even

operate a computer. They cannot pick up a phone, switch

channels on the television and we started thinking how we can

help them. That’s when I started thinking about creating

something for the disabled.”

Kosik started working on the prototype of ACCS and completed

it in 2003. It took almost six years to develop this technology to

make it easy to produce, affordable and effective. And this

product won Gravitonus the Humanitarian award at Intel

Berkeley Challenge 2006, and started the company’s

involvement in several Intel projects on Education and Health.

“We have a second product, currently our main product, called

ergonomic workstation called iClubby, created primarily for

gamers and office workers. “We started thinking of how to help

those people who use their computer for a long time. We want

to mitigate damage to their spinal cord and vertebrae. ”When

the person is sitting in the iClubby and working, the workstation

is actually caring for his/her health. The user is virtually relaxing

and having fun while working,” says Kosik.

Enabling the Disabled:

Gravitonus

Dr. Alex Kosik

INNOVATOR TRIVIA

Role Model:

Favorite Social Networking Site:

Hobbies:

Favorite Book:

Favorite Laptop:

Favorite Mobile Phone:


Three values that are important for my

business:

Funniest Childhood Experience:

To me

Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking

LinkedIn

Scuba diving in Red Sea in Egypt on

the coral reefs and public speaking.

Priestess of Avalon

I like my ergonomic desktop,

iClubby, although I have a Sony Vaio VGN.

Acer Mobile Dual-Sim

and Blackberry

Milan

Customer, the team, and vision.

My first

experience of earning money. This happened

when I was in school. I was good at Geometry

and Algebra, whereas the other students

weren’t. So I used to finish my homework and

the next day, when I go to school, my

classmates would be waiting for my

homework and they willingly paid me when

I let them copy my homework.

Intel is a friend.

F A C T F I L E

Current Team Size 15

Area of Operations Russia, U.S.

There is something more challenging than creating a new

technology - and that is creating a technology for the physically

disabled. Dr. Alex Kosik of Gravitonus has gone the extra mile in

doing just that.

Gravitonus Inc. is a startup company dedicated to bringing the

next wave of accessibility solutions to the handicapped. Started

off with three people, Gravitonus today boasts a team size of 15

people across Russia and the US. The company also successfully

managed to get an angel investor.

Gravitonus has developed a device called the Alternative

Computer Control System (ACCS) for a limited, immobile group of

severely motor-impaired individuals. This device, when placed in

the mouth cavity and manipulated with the tongue, allows the

user to operate a computer. The result is that individuals gain

not only autonomy from being able to operate wheelchairs and

household appliances, but are also able to take advantage of

education and employment opportunities. With the help of ACCS,

a handicapped user can control a PC as effectively as with

conventional means. ACCS is a tool to self-realization and active

life for the SCI population.

Russia

We were able to present a business plan,

we were able to present a product to the

target market. We got a good chance to

talk to venture capitalists and angel

investors. It taught us how to build a

team effectively.

ONGOING CHALLENGES

THE ROAD AHEAD

Gravitonus faced every little challenge that a typical start up

company normally does. “There was a lot of challenges: Lack of

knowledge, lack of capital, lack of manpower, lack of

technologists, etc. Even today we are encountering challenges,”

says Kosik. And Intel Berkeley Challenge proved to be an

eye-opener for Gravitonus.

Gravitonus does have expansion plans, but not in the immediate

future. The need for expansion depends on sourcing and

budgeting. Currently, the company is providing sales through its

website. “It works pretty effectively now. We are thinking about

expanding to additional markets in Europe. We feel it’s better to

have a partner or a distributor in the targeted countries and

subsidiary company in Italy or Germany because it will help in

cutting down the administrative costs involved. It’s a good time

to start the company, but it’s a bad time to expand,” points out

Kosik. Today the company is partnering with Intel in many areas

pertaining to Education and Health.

31

The Alternative Computer Control System

(ACCS) is specially designed for a limited,

immobile group of severely motor-impaired

individuals. This device, when placed in the

mouth cavity and manipulated with the

tongue, allows the user to operate a computer.

The result is that individuals gain not only

autonomy from being able to operate

wheelchairs and household appliances, but are

also able to take advantage of education and

employment opportunities.

Innovation Snapshot


TECHNOLOGY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

CHALLENGE HELPED

“At the Intel Berkeley Challenge we were able to

present a business plan and also were able to

present a product to the target market. We got a

good chance to talk to VCs and angel investors from

the competition. Intel Berkeley Challenge was the

first business plan competition I won. It taught me

how to build a team. Intel was giving support for

the team through mentoring, learning sessions,

etc.,” signs off Kosik.

*

and teams. Reference to any commercial products or services herein does not necessarily represent an endorsement by Intel. Before relying on the information contained in this brochure, you should

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