THE FIRST AND LARGEST INTERNATIONAL LEAN STARTUP COMPETITION
2016
2011
45 Teams 6 Schools 2 Countries
2012
59 Teams 7 Schools 1 Country
2013
1,383 Teams 143 Schools 10 Countries $357,000 Awarded
2014
2,418 Teams 209 Schools 19 Countries $755,600 Awarded
2015
3,832 Teams 276 Schools 15 Countries $644,500 Awarded
2016
5,113 Teams 482 Schools 29 Countries $663,000 Awarded
IBMC Administrators Jeff Brown managing director jeff.brown@byu.edu 801.367.3936 Brennan Steiner student co-director steiner.brennan@gmail.com 435.232.9797 Joe Davison student co-director josephddavison@gmail.com 801.232.2252 If you have any questions regarding the competition, please contact one of the IBMC administrators listed above.
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FOUNDER’S MESSAGE
A
S THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MODEL COMPETITION REACHES ITS SIXTH anniversary, we are living in a world that has been transformed by the perspectives that inspired the competition—lean startup, business model innovation, design thinking and so forth. Entrepreneurs are using these sets of tools to create new businesses more frequently and more effectively, changing the world in which we live and changing the lives around them. As the competition has transformed from a handful of teams to an international movement, we want to remember the reason for the competition: as opposed to the old business plan competition in the past that rewarded grandiose claims and slick sales pitches, the IBMC rewards the process of discovering and testing your assumptions. As teams improve, we should also improve our ability to clearly state our hypotheses about the business model (the customer need, solution, and other business model elements), to test these using rapid low cost experiments, and to communicate the results of these experiments). Let’s remember to reward the process, not just big promises. Let’s also remember an even more foundational principle. Innovation is about solving problems in the world around us. So whether the teams participating win or lose in the competition is less important than our ultimate goal … to change the world for the better. Thank you for being a part of the competition and please, no matter the outcome of the competition, go out and change the world.
Nathan Furr
Co-founder, International Business Model Competition
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Competition Booklet
Contents 04 SCHEDULE 06 MAPS 09 SPEAKERS 11
PRIZES
12
COMPETING TEAMS
27
JUDGES
30 SUCCESS STORIES 32 HELPFUL HINTS
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SCHEDULE
Friday | April 29, 2016 Microsoft Visitor Center (Building 92)
7:30-9:30 AM Transportation
A shuttle will be provided to transport attendees to the Microsoft Visitor Center (Building 92) on the Microsoft campus. The last shuttle will leave the hotel at 9:15 AM.
8:00-9:00 AM Check-In & Networking
Attendees will check in and have the opportunity to network with one another.
9:00-9:50 AM Lean Startup Thought Leader Conference Morning Keynote
Attendees will be oriented about the conference and hear from the morning keynote speaker, James Whittaker.
10:00-10:50 AM Lean Startup Thought Leader Conference Breakout Session 1
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose between a number of concurrent conference sessions.
11:00-11:50 AM Lean Startup Thought Leader Conference Breakout Session 2
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose between a number of concurrent conference sessions.
12:00-1:00 PM Lunch
Attendees will eat lunch and have the opportunity to network with one another.
1:10-2:00 PM Lean Startup Thought Leader Conference Breakout Session 3
Attendees will have the opportunity to choose between a number of concurrent conference sessions.
2:00-3:00 PM Break 3:00-3:30 PM Welcome and Orientation
Attendees will be oriented on the competition and on the rest of the day and the next day’s activities.
3:45-6:45 PM Quarterfinal Mentoring Sessions & Preparation
Teams will be assigned a space to work on their presentations. During the three hour block, mentors will visit each team to provide valuable feedback on their presentation.
7:00-8:30 PM Dinner & Evening Keynote
Attendees will eat dinner and hear from the evening keynote speaker, Brant Cooper.
8:30-10:30 PM Quarterfinal Preparation (cont.) & Transportation
Teams will have the opportunity to return to their assigned space to continue working on their quarterfinal presentation. We will provide a shuttle to transport guests back to the hotel. The last shuttle will leave Microsoft campus at 10:15 PM.
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SCHEDULE
Saturday | April 30, 2016 Microsoft Visitor Center (Building 92)
7:30-9:30 AM Transportation
A shuttle will be provided to transport attendees to the Microsoft Visitor Center (Building 92) on the Microsoft campus. The last shuttle will leave the hotel at 9:15 AM.
8:15-8:45 AM Quarterfinal Round Judge Orientation Quarterfinal round judges receive orientation.
9:00-11:30 AM Quarterfinal Round
Teams will be divided into 4 rooms and present for 10 minutes to a panel of judges with up to 3 minutes of Q&A. Teams are encouraged to watch the presentations of the other teams in their room.
12:00-1:00 AM Lunch & Quarterfinal Results
Attendees will eat lunch and the results of the quarterfinal round will be announced.
1:00-3:00 AM Semifinal Mentoring Sessions & Preparation
Mentors will be assigned to meet with the semifinalist teams to help them prepare for the semifinal round.
3:00-5:00 PM Semifinal Round
Teams will be divided into 3 rooms and will present for 10 minutes to a panel of judges with up to 5 minutes of Q&A. Teams are encouraged to watch the presentations of the other teams in their room.
5:30-6:30 PM Dinner & Semifinal Results
Attendees will eat dinner and the results of the semifinal round will be announced.
7:00-8:30 PM Final Event & Awards Ceremony
The finalists will compete for the title of “Global Champion� and the winner will take home the IBMC traveling trophy as well as the top cash prize. Teams will present for 10 minutes to our all-star judging panel. The Q&A for this round will be 5-8 minutes depending on how many finalists are selected.
8:30-10:30 PM Post-Finals Networking & Transportation
Attendees will have a chance to network with one another after the final event is over. We will provide a shuttle to transport guests back to the hotel. The last shuttle will leave Microsoft campus at 10:15 PM.
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MAPS | REDMOND WASHINGTON AREA
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Competition Booklet
MAPS | MICROSOFT VISITORS CENTER
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SPEAKERS
Guest Speakers James Whittaker (Morning keynote) James Whittaker’s career spans academia, start-ups and top tech companies and starts in 1986 as the first computer science graduate hired by the FBI. James then worked as a freelance developer, most notably for IBM, Ericsson, SAP, Cisco and Microsoft, specializing in test automation. He joined the faculty at the Florida Institute of Technology where he continued his prolific publication record in software testing and security. In 2002 his security work was spun off by the university into a startup which was later acquired by Raytheon. James’ first stint at Microsoft was in Trustworthy Computing and Visual Studio. He then joined Google as an engineering director and led teams working on Chrome, Maps and Google+. In 2012 James rejoined Microsoft. James is known for being a creative and passionate leader and sought after speaker and author. Of his five books two have been Jolt Award finalists. Follow him on Twitter @docjamesw.
Brant Cooper (Evening keynote) Brant Cooper helps organizations big and small innovate. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Lean Entrepreneur, and the popular “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development.” His most recent book project is The Lean Brand, bringing the rigor of lean startup principles to the marketing black box of branding. As a sought after keynote speaker, startup advisor and corporate mentor, Brant travels the globe speaking with entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, debunking the Myth of the Visionary, teaching Lean Startup and Customer Development principles, and empowering employees to create new value.
Paul Ahlstrom Paul Ahlstrom author, investor and entrepreneur is Managing Director and co-founder of Alta Ventures and Alta Growth Capital. Through Alta Ventures and prior seven VC funds, Paul has invested in Jott, VidAngel, Converus, Ancestry.com, Altiris, LanDesk, Rhomobile, SpaceMonkey and more than 125 startups throughout the US and Latin America. Paul is the author of the BigIdeaCanvas.com and the startup book Nail It, Then Scale It. Through his investment platform of Alta Ventures and the Alta Innovation Institute, Paul is focused on accelerating positive venture outcomes for entrepreneurs and creating knowledge economy jobs in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean.
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SPEAKERS
Chad Carlos Professor Carlos is a professor of entrepreneurship in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D. in management from Cornell University, he worked as a consultant in Silicon Valley, where he specialized in serving clients in the technology sector. Professor Carlos’ research focuses on issues related to entrepreneurship and innovation in contexts such as health care and alternative energy. He has taught courses on entrepreneurship and innovation to undergraduate, graduate, and executive education students in the US, Europe, and the Middle East and has consulted with innovative organizations, such as Google, Cisco, GE, and Hitachi.
Dale Jasinski Dr. Dale Jasinski is a professor of entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University and a serial entrepreneur who has founded 6 organizations, four for profit companies and two non-profits. He has successfully raised venture capital and exited a technology venture.. His first venture, Automation Partners, designed and sold computer systems to law firms. Its successful exit enabled him to go back to school and earn a PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since joining the Quinnipiac faculty in 2000, he has launched a consulting practice, a media company, and two non-profits one that provided students with an alternative to college to learn to be an entrepreneur and one that provided career transition services to current and retired professional athletes. His current new venture is an education technology company that provides a learning and development platform and content for professional and elite athletes.
Stephen Paterson Stephen Paterson is the Co-Founder and Program Coordinator of the Mekong Business Challenge, which is an entrepreneurship program and competition involving universities from Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province, China. The Mekong Challenge is conducted in partnership with the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Stephen has been involved in entrepreneurship education in Cambodia and the ASEAN region for the past 20 years. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor and Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh. In addition to teaching several courses on entrepreneurship and innovation, Stephen also serves as the Coordinator for the BMC Startup Accelerator Program in Cambodia and is also actively involved in the National BMC Competition in Yangon, Myanmar. Stephen is a Canadian citizen and received his Master’s Degree from the University of Toronto, and his Bachelor’s Degree from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
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SPEAKERS
Brian Reschke Brian Reschke is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management. He earned his PhD in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He studies the social and cognitive processes whereby markets evaluate novel products, ideas and organizations. In recent projects, he has studied the role of language in the success of crowdfunding campaigns and the implications of prestigious awards for scientific careers.
Nile Hatch Nile Hatch earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley and is now an entrepreneurship professor at Brigham Young University. He teaches innovation, economics, and strategy in the Marriott School of Management. Nile’s research focuses on learning and innovation as determinants of entrepreneurial success and corporate agility. His most recent work focuses on how firms innovate to solve the needs of heterogeneous customers and how those decisions lead to disruptive innovations. He is also the area leader of the BYU entrepreneurship program.
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Competition Booklet
PRIZES
Prizes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
$30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $6,000
5th $5,000 6th $3,000 7th-41st $2,000
IBMC Champions Every year, the winner of the International Business Model Competition takes home the IBMC traveling trophy. This year, the trophy comes to the competition via the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, home of last year’s winner Kaitek Labs. The 2016 competition is a new year and a new champion will be crowned. Bring your best to the IBMC and you may take home more than just prize money.
2015 Kaitek Labs
Emilia Diaz, Cristobal Aller
2014 Veritas Medical
Nate Rhodes, Martin de la Presa, Mitch Barneck
2013 Owlet Baby Monitors
Kurt Workman, Jordan Monroe, Jacob Colvin, Tanor Hodges, Zach Bomsta, Adam Rogers
2012 XoomPark
Ken Frei
Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Chile
University of Utah
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
2011 Gamegnat
American University
Zachary Allaun, Jorge Espinoza
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Competing Teams 3MEALS
Lumos Energy Strips
Beetech
LundÃ
BioAesthetics
Mohyi Labs, LLC
Borealis Wind
Nisoltus Medical, LLC
Brand Hero
Ohm Wearables
Capacitech Energy
ORGANizer
ClickDish
Periodiza
Crickets as Fish Feed
Prev UPP
Dollow
Protein Pod
Edemy
ProTell
ExVivo Labs
Quench
EZplate
Sangria Sage
Gamezop
SeeMePly
Grizzly
Sensytec
Guardana
Soteria Solutions
Hewa
Sweelevia
Hippy Feet
SwineTech
Information Dental
Tolkidz
iOCargo
Wavio
Latitude
Whistic
locKay
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Competition Booklet
COMPETING TEAMS
3MEALS Dalhousie University With the ever growing population, many people are wondering how we are going to feed the expected 9 billion people by 2050. 3MEALS could be the solution to this problem. We offer a sustainable and nutritious protein supplement, made from mealworms locally produced in Nova Scotia. Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, is a leading trend in agriculture, and currently a third of the world’s population is consuming insects as their main protein source. Our journey through the business model canvas has allowed us to tap into the consumers’ perspective, regarding insects as a food source, and has given us insight into how the public would prefer to eat this nontraditional product. With the knowledge we have gained from our customer interviews and market research, we have developed a fantastic prototype, which will interest even the most squeamish eaters.
Beetech Brawijaya University Beetech is an innovative honey processing tool, designed as a solution to the beekeepers problems of maintaining time efficiency and providing high quality honey. Our tool has two main features, an automatic extractor and water detectors. The automatic honey extractor has been equipped with a DC motor that can rotate constantly in order to maximize results. Water content detectors can measure the level of quality honey digitally in a cost-effective manner.
BioAesthetics Tulane University BioAesthetics was founded in 2015 as a Tulane University spin-out with the mission to improve reconstruction options for breast cancer patients after they undergo mastectomies. The BioAesthetics’ initial product is a tissue engineered nipple-areolar complex (NAC). This product will be provided to plastic and reconstructive surgeons as an off-the-shelf ready, acellular, NAC graft. During the breast reconstruction phase, after a mastectomy, the surgeon would engraft the NAC graft in position onto the patient’s reconstructed breast. The patient’s body would then use this NAC graft as a building frame to regenerate their own NAC. This patent-pending product is currently in the pre-clinical phase.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Borealis Wind University of British Columbia Borealis Wind aims to increase the efficiency of wind turbines by reducing the downtime caused by icing. Wind turbine icing causes power production losses, turbine damage, and overhead hazards. Wind farms in Canada alone lose $100 Million in revenue every winter due to blade icing, while $3 billion is lost worldwide. We have designed a deicing device that is easy to install in any turbine, requires minimal alterations to the turbine, and is far more inexpensive than any other solution.
Brand Hero Quinnipiac Brand Hero is a tool designed for college students, job seekers, and anyone looking to increase their online presence in order to improve their ability to be noticed by hiring managers and job recruiters. We found that 74% of job recruiters agree that a visual resume is the number one personal branding tool to help them quickly learn more about a candidate and understand if they are a fit based on their personality and skills. Brand Hero allows a user to emended introduction videos, their skills, portfolio projects, involvement, and other tangible and intangible skills though a visual experience.
Capacitech Energy University of Central Florida Capacitech Energy is developing a Cable Based Super Capacitor (CSC) that can simultaneously store and transport electricity on a copper wire. There are many applications for this technology; however, we are specifically focused on applications to create energy storing advanced textiles for military use, source filtration for wind turbines, and energy storage in electric/hybrid vehicles. In these applications, the CSC delivers value by reducing weight and cost, while increasing productivity (or efficiency). The CSC is a “value add” technology and will help commercialize other emerging technologies from consumer electronics to directed energy weapon systems.
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COMPETING TEAMS
ClickDish The University of Queensland ClickDish is an online catering marketplace where event organizers can get the best food from the best caterers in just a few clicks. ClickDish provides a web portal where event organizers can quickly define their catering requirements. Food providers register with ClickDish to receive catering requests and then bid on the ones they want. The bids are then returned with value adds to the event organizer, who then select a caterer. The food provider then caters the event. Finally, the event organizer and food provider mutually review each other.
Crickets as Fish Feed Waseda University Crickets as Fish Feed’s main goal is to create a more sustainable fish farming system. After interviewing the owners of Japanese aquaculture businesses, we have learned that the fish farming industry produces cultured fish by feeding them anchovies. With the increase in price of anchovies and the cost of feed accounting for 70% of the total production costs, we believe that crickets could be the solution. Crickets are high-quality, sustainable, and are also eco-friendly because they can be fed wasted vegetables. This new form of aquaculture contributes to sustainable fishery resources through affordable, organic and high-protein crickets as fish feed.
Dollow Brigham Young University The #1 pain for the majority of social media marketers is calculating return on investment. Most social platforms provide soft metrics such as likes, tweets, and follows, but without true ROI information, marketers are unable to evaluate the effectiveness of their social media efforts, essentially going in blind. Dollow removes the blindfold from social media marketing by linking sales to real time followers. Not only does this solve the #1 pain of social media advertising, the analysis of the Dollower demographic provides companies with a targeted way to qualify other high potential customers. The Dollower process has been proven with several major companies. By providing social media ROI, Dollower analytics, and high potential leads, Dollow empowers marketers to get more bang for their social media buck! (dollowers.com) 2016 IBMC
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COMPETING TEAMS
Edemy Colorado State University, National University of Management, Royal University of Phnom Penh We offer a quality English education that is 50% cheaper than the cheapest fee most rural Cambodian students pay. Our students study 50% of the time with an offline technology and 50% of the time with a local facilitator. Our current model is able to operate in areas where there are no Internet connection and no teachers. Our vision is to be able to provide the most affordable and accessible quality English education in the ASEAN region. Currently, we have about 100 students in two rural areas paying between $2-5 a month.
ExVivo Labs University of Waterloo ExVivo Labs is developing next generation medical diagnostic tools. Our non-invasive technologies make testing procedures safe, simple and certain. The first product line will be a series of skin patches that allow for at-home allergy testing without the need for any allergic reaction. The company operates out of the University of Waterloo’s Velocity Foundry incubator in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada).
EZplate Peruvian University of Applied Sciences EZplate is a innovated and social way to connect people through cooking. We offer working people who don’t have time to cook and are tired of fast foods the possibility to order homemade food prepared by housewives who live near their work places. In this way we also give housewives who don’t have stable incomes, the opportunity to earn money by cooking from their homes.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Gamezop Delhi University Gamezop is a casual gaming platform that allows users to play smartphone games without installing apps. Working closely with Intel, Gamezop leverages the full potential of browsers to enable games to run across any smartphone, tablet, or Smart TV. With users in 65 countries, Gamezop aims to integrate playing and sharing games into messaging apps just like music or videos and eradicate the download-deletion fatigue altogether.
Grizzly University of Waterloo Grizzly enables researchers to automate the process of finding the right participants at the right time through the use of web-based media technology. Researchers need to connect to people that match the specific demographics and attributes of their study. Unlike traditional ways of finding human participants with posters, ads and yers, Grizzly enables researchers to hand in detailed recruitment strategies into their research proposal through an online platform. The Grizzly mobile and web application allows participants to discover, connect, be compensated, and stay engaged through content delivery provided by researchers. Grizzly is bringing research closer to people.
Guardana Northern Caribbean University Guardana is an organic mosquito repellent lotion that acts a 3 in 1 product to protect people from mosquitoes, while giving them the convenience and effectiveness that they desire. It is a combination of plant and essential oils that are beneficial for the body and benign to the environment. The product was developed as a natural response to the outbreak of the Chikungunya virus and other mosquito borne diseases that affect thousands of people.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Hewa Monterrey Institute of Technology
Hippy Feet
In cities with poor air quality there is a high rate of inhalation and exposure to particulate matter, especially inside vehicle cabins due to a phenomenon known as tunnel effect. Studies have shown that, because of the proximity with other automobiles, pollutants can be 10 times more concentrated inside a car than they are outside. Inhalation of particle-size pollutants results in a series of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as asthma, heat attacks and even lung cancer. Hewa is a company dedicated to manufacture and commercialize filters made with nanometric fibers capable of providing clean air (free of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10) to any person who is in a closed environment, starting with those traveling inside a vehicle’s cabin. Our filters can easily be installed in the ventilation system of any automobile, have a high eďŹƒciency, a low cost and prevent respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
University of Wisconsin-River Falls Did you know that the most requested item in homeless shelters across the nation is socks? Hippy Feet, a social enterprise, provides a solution to this pervasive problem by offering a buy-one give-one product. Purchasing this organic, durable wool sock allows the customer to give back, as a pair is automatically donated to a local homeless shelter. It is the mission of Hippy Feet to truly service, and provide opportunity for, the homeless community.
Information Dental Technology Brigham Young University We fabricate 3D surgical guides for tooth replacement surgery, decreasing surgical time from 4 hours to 45 minutes for potentially millions of patients each year. The surgical guides are acrylic mouthpieces dentists use during surgery made from 3D printers. Surgical guides allow dentists to do surgery a lot more accurate than doing it freehand, giving surgeons that use a surgical guide a competitive advantage. Also, it allows the surgeon to do surgeries they would not have been able to do without the guide. Currently it takes 30 days for a surgeon to get a surgical guide and patients are not willing to wait 30 days when they can get surgery the same day without a surgical guide. We differentiate in that our guides are ready on the same day. Our current beta tester has increased usage from 2% to 86% in only a few months with our system. 18
Competition Booklet
COMPETING TEAMS
locKay Brawijaya University We create technological solutions to motorcycle security problems. In developing countries, especially Indonesia, a very large number of people use motorcycles as their means of transportation. The increasing numbers of motorcycles has also increased the amount of thefts. The main problem lies in the motorcycle lock system that is easily breakable. A thief only needs 30 seconds to break most systems. We decided that we need something different. locKay brings new innovations that make motorcycle users able to monitor their motorcycles easily and quickly.
Latitude Brigham Young University Latitude is a platform for taking the world’s best audio tours on your smartphone. There are many problems with the guided tour industry. Latitude provides a very simple way for tour guides and companies to create and sell mobile versions of their tours. With our app, travelers can be at any landmark in the world, press play on their phone, and listen to a professional tour guide unfold the stories and history about that location. Beginning next month, over 75 tour guides and companies will be selling Latitude passes to their customers in NYC, London, and Paris.
Lumos Energy Strips Queens University Lumos is focused on delivering people what they want, faster, and in a healthier way. Our focus is on naturally caffeinated products. Our business is positioned to be a one stop shop for delivering the supplements you need. Lumos Energy Strips deliver the immediate effect of half a cup of coffee using an all-natural source of caffeine, while also providing a burst of fresh mint flavour. With no sugar, no fillers, and no hassle, Lumos is the solution to today’s caffeine market where currently consumers find there is no product that that delivers everything they need. The business started out of the Queen’s Innovation Connector last May, and the cofounders will be continuing full time after graduation as part of Canada’s Next 36 in Toronto.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Lundí Harvard Business School Lundí creates luxury women’s boots that allow you to be fashionable while still staying warm. Embedded heating technologies warm your feet while at work, on the street, or wherever you may be. Smartphone integration lets you set the temperature to whatever you would like it to be, resulting in maximum comfort throughout the day. Women will no longer have to chose between looking great and being warm.
Mohyi Labs, LLC Michigan State University The purpose of Mohyi Labs is to create the future we have all been dreaming of. Mohyi Labs is a product development umbrella company currently focused on developing a cutting-edge Bladeless Drone. Mohyi Labs has pioneered a breakthrough ducted counter-vortex diffuser technology that will revolutionize not only the consumer drone industry, but the future of logistics and personal transportation. Its patent pending geometry works by altering the airflow out of a vortex pattern and converting it into usable thrust. Additional advantages of the technology include the potential to exceed the efficiencies of existing bladed propulsion and the ability to operate both in the air and in sub-aquatic environments.
Nisoltus Medical LLC Tulane University Nisoltus Medical is a company committed to developing products that monitor and prevent pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores. Nisoltus was founded in 2015 as a spinoff from Tulane University. Our debut product, Sensifoam System, is designed for perioperative use. Application of the device prior to surgery helps hospital staff establish a baseline before the procedure begins and ensure that the patient is positioned safely for the duration of the surgery. Intraoperatively, real-time feedback ensures that surgical staff is aware of their patient’s well-being, and can make adjustments if necessary at their discretion. Postoperatively, staff can be aware of any areas that may need special care. Together, Sensifoam can keep your loved ones safer by preventing physical, psychological and financial detriment.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Ohm Wearables University of British Columbia Ohm Wearables is an early stage company founded on the principle of living a healthier and more authentic life through technology. Our product is a wearable belt that tracks breathing patterns and provides real-time feedback when users are shallow breathing. Deep breathing is not only vital to our health, but it is also the vessel to engage in greater awareness and calmness in the mind. Our company is rooted in yoga and meditation, where the idea was first conceived. We are currently creating a community around wellness and technology as well as testing and iteratively designing our prototype to prepare for sales.
ORGANizer University of Iowa ORGANizer is a medical software company developing a suite of products designed to improve the productivity, communication, and coordination surrounding organ transplant recovery. At ORGANizer, we are using collaborative and communicative technologies to tackle some of healthcare’s greatest problems. Our products utilize the versatility of smartphone technology and the internet to provide intelligent communication and coordination between organ donation professionals. Organ donation is one of the largest fields in healthcare, accounting for $5.2 billion of claimed expenses. Each day 79 people receive a life saving organ by donation, 22 people die waiting for organs, and 111 organs authorized-for-donation are not recovered. ORGANizer aims to reduce the number of unrecovered organs by improving the coordination of organ recovery professionals.
Periodiza Federal University of SĂŁo Carlos Many exercise falsely thinking they know how to be effective, which often causes injuries and frustration in not achieving their goals. In desperation they seek out a personal trainer to help them reach their goals. Personal trainers usually employ a methodology called periodization. Periodization involves specific training variables that require planning from their coaches. Periodiza assists gym professionals to optimize the training routines for their clients by automating the periodization process. It provides improvement in interaction between professionals and their clients. With Periodiza, clients will be more motivated to exercise and will be able to visualize short and long term goals
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COMPETING TEAMS
Prev UPP Federico Santa Maria Technical University Pressure ulcers are injuries that affect the majority of all wheelchair users. They are caused by sustained pressure over time on a single area of the body, damaging the skin, muscles, and in some cases even the bones of the individual. Prev UPP is a mat that detects the distribution of the user’s pressure points while in a sitting position, sending an alarm to the user’s smartphone warning them to change their posture. This will allow the user to appropriately shift positions to prevent in this injury.
Protein Pod Unversity of Wisconsin-River Falls Protein Pod combats the difficulties many individuals experience when attempting to consume a daily protein on the go, at work or in the gym. All you have to do is drop our Protein Pod into a bottle with water and the film dissolves, releasing the protein concealed inside. Transferring powder from bulky containers into small ones to transport, or just waiting until you get home are some of the traditional methods of protein consumption, but they are messy, time consuming, and inefficient. Protein Pod makes getting the proper protein intake an effortless process. The Protein Pod’s target customers range anywhere from elite level athletes, who seek to get the proper protein intake in order to boost recovery, to the everyday individual who is looking to conveniently add protein into their diet.
ProTell Saint Mary’s University ProTell is a technology company focused on developing wearable technology that monitor and track key physiological vitals in Sickle cell patients. Sickle cell crises lead to pains and complications in various parts of the body. With ProTell, patients will be informed of early warning signs, giving them the opportunity to better prepare themselves and quickly take preventive measures. Vitals will also be shared remotely among the patients’ family, friends and emergency units. This goes a long way to reduce the rate of crisis occurrence in a month or in a year, saving the patients lots of money, time and physical pain. Currently, patients have no real time method of monitoring and staying ahead of upcoming crisis, trend analysis, data mining will be performed on this data over time to identify hidden patterns and provide better accuracy and predictability. 22
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COMPETING TEAMS
Quench California Polytechnic State University Quench is the only company that keeps customers fully hydrated without adding any contaminants to your water. We have developed a hydration-tracking accessory that, with the help of our mobile app, calculates water consumption, how much water you should drink, and when you should drink it. The smart hydration tracking accessory fits on the base of all size bottles and keeps track of the amount of water you drink. Based on temperature, altitude and your cardio activity it reminds you to drink water. We’re the first company to use a special water displacement sensor to keep track of water intake. We want to reduce the deaths and health problems caused every year due to insufficient consumption of water. We would like to compare ourselves to a medical device which helps solve the problem of de-hydration.
Sangria Sage Fisk University We are a company that realizes how difficult it is for college students to afford the textbooks and other tools that they need to be successful; thus, we have created a system to rectify this problem. We provide a personalized, socially capable, interactive digital library on our website and app through a subscription to our service by their school. We take this one step further by providing an educational suite that would further create an ideal educational community.
SeeMePly Saint Mary’s University SeeMePly is an online platform that streamlines the application process for private secondary schools in Africa. SeeMePly connects parents with schools and provides an electronic alternative to the current manual application/admissions systems. By using SeeMePly, parents save time and make better informed decisions. On the other hand, schools increase their candidate pool and significantly reduce the time and money required to manage applications.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Sensytec University of Houston With Sensytec’s breakthrough technology, Smart Cement, it is now possible to monitor the conditions of cement structures in real-time. Smart Cement gives users data on cracking, contamination, corrosion, temperature changes, and mechanical pressures within their structures. With this data, users can ultimately prevent catastrophic structural failures. We created Smart Cement directly in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill where the well cement was not properly set, causing a whole blowout. If this technology had been implemented in the well, the disaster could have been avoided entirely. Such problems are quite common, and there is already a huge demand for our technology in oil and gas. The potential applications for our system, however, are endless. We intend to reach out wherever we can make a difference and have comprehensive plans to do so.
Soteria Solutions Mumbai University Soteria Solutions is a group of enthusiastic, budding entrepreneurs trying to make a deep social difference. They are using refurbished technology like smartphones to build products in the IOT field. Our first product, Novis2, is a state of the art wireless digital IP surveillance system based on smartphones - easy to operate, install, and service remotely. It boasts loads of essential & unique features, all bundled up into a sub-$60 USD price point to meet the demands of the average Indian consumer, as well as larger potential customers such as the Indian government. The private market is worth over $4.6 billion. What Soteria provides is a much cheaper, more effective solution to surveillance needs. Their team consists of 3 engineering graduates from BITS Pilani, a student from California, and technical mentors based from Moscow and San Fransisco.
Sweelevia University of the West Indies Sweelevia Company Limited was developed based on the demand by consumers and creates products including natural sweeteners such as stevia. Our aim is to supply the demand of consumers for a natural zero calorie sweetener in their products. The demand for products with natural sweetener is not currently being supplied, hence Nature’s Teas. Sweelevia Company Limited has latched on to this outstanding demand as an entry to the market and intends to provide our customers with a variety of naturally sweetened instant tea bags. We intend to commence production on May 1, 2015. We will start locally in the commercialization stage with two flavors: Ginger and Peppermint. As we expand our variety of flavors we plan to tap into the international markets.
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COMPETING TEAMS
SwineTech University of Iowa SwineTech is an Iowa-based company located in New Sharon, Iowa and formed as a Delaware C Corp. SwineTech creates solutions to reduce the amount of piglets that die on farrowing facilities. SwineTech’s mission is to help farmers increase production in order to play their part in helping feed the world. SwineTech’s first product, Echo, reduces the incidence of piglet mortality due to crushing by the mother sow by analyzing the crates temperature and piglets’ squeals in a particular crate. Echo detects when a piglet is being laid on and then communicates to a belt-like structure on the sow which alerts the sow to stand up. This allows farmers to receive real time health analysis of each sow and whether any abnormal activities are occurring within the facility.
TOLKIDZ University of Technology, Malaysia TOLKIDZ is an innovative device intended for children with learning disabilities in order to help parents and caretakers identify their emotional states. The device acts as a wristband monitor that is wirelessly paired with a mobile application for the caretaker. The app allows caretakers to see the emotional well-being (good or bad) of the children during their daily activities, which helps to reduce parents’ stress in taking care of their children. TOLKIDZ can also help parents identify their disabled childrens’ hidden talents earlier on in their development.
Wavio Brigham Young Universiy Wavio is a small device that allows hands-free talking and texting to outdoor enthusiasts when they’re off the grid. Skiers, climbers and other action sporters are often in situations with no cell signal and need a way to communicate. Wavio connects to users’ own headphones and phones to provide instant communication, even while listening to their music. Sports Technology is a growing $2 billion market with 83 million Americans participating in outdoor sports alone. Wavio is the only hands-free off-grid device on the market, and at a price point of only $99, it fits well within the spending habits of this growing target audience.
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COMPETING TEAMS
Whistic Brigham Young Universiy Whistic is a cloud-based platform that uses a unique approach to address the challenges of third-party risk management. Our diligence platform provides workow solutions that automate the vendor risk management process and saves IT personnel hours each week communicating with vendors and evaluating assessment results. In addition, Whistic’s crowdsourced algorithm provides vendor risk scoring based on the insights of thousands of industry professionals. Coupled with machine learning, the Whistic platform and risk score improve over time to give organizations increasingly valuable information and guidance.
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Competition Booklet
JUDGING
2016 Judging Criteria
Each round of the International Business Model Competition is generally judged using the following questions: 01. Did the team use the Business Model Canvas or similar tool to identify and track hypotheses? 02. Did the team clearly state their hypotheses? 03. Did the team identify the most crucial hypotheses to test first (the ones that could kill their business)? 04. Did the team design low cost, rapid, but reliable tests of these hypotheses? 05. Did the team conduct the tests in a reliable manner? a: Number of tests–should be adjusted for industry, product type (web vs physical product), and
business type (B2B vs B2C). b: Quality of tests - interviews are high quality, surveys and focus groups are much lower quality (you don’t know which questions to ask) unless interviews have been conducted first.
06. Did the team clearly state their insights and learning, how those validated or invalidated a hypothesis, and if that informed any pivots (changes)? 07. If changes were made, was the pivot the team made supported by evidence or did they fail to pivot when the evidence clearly stated it? 08. If appropriate, has the team developed a prototype or minimum viable product (mvp)? Does the team understand the hypothesis they are testing with a prototype or mvp? Is the prototype or mvp appropriate to answer those assumptions? We want to reward prototypes over full products unless the product is the result of many prototypes tested with customers—in other words, we want to reward testing hypotheses and building from prototypes up to products.
09. Is the team solving a significant problem (defined in terms of money or impact)?* 10. Does the team have significant evidence that the solution is validated (i.e. letters of intent, purchase contracts, sales, partners, etc.)?* * these two criteria serve as tie breakers NOTE: Because web-based businesses are easier to test, these companies can often pivot faster. Please do not penalize physical product companies or health-related businesses because they have not performed as much testing and validation as web-based businesses.
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JUDGES
2016 Final Judges Alex Osterwalder Alex is an entrepreneur, speaker and business model innovator. He is co-founder of Strategyzer, a leading SaaS company that helps organizations develop new growth engines, better value propositions and powerful business models via online applications and facilitated online courses. In 2015 Alex won the strategy award by Thinkers50, called the “Oscars of Management Thinking” and ranks #15 among the leading business thinkers of the world. Alex is lead author of Business Model Generation and Value Proposition Design, which have sold over a million copies in 37 languages. He also invented the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool to visualize, challenge and (re)invent business models. Leading organizations and start-ups around the world use it. Alex is a frequent keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies and has held guest lectures in top universities around the world, including Wharton, Stanford, Berkeley, IESE, MIT, KAUST and IMD.
Brant Cooper Brant Cooper helps organizations big and small innovate. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Lean Entrepreneur, and the popular “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development.” His most recent book project is The Lean Brand, bringing the rigor of lean startup principles to the marketing black box of branding. As a sought after keynote speaker, startup advisor and corporate mentor, Brant travels the globe speaking with entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, debunking the Myth of the Visionary, teaching Lean Startup and Customer Development principles, and empowering employees to create new value.
Nathan Furr Nathan is a recognized expert in innovation, entrepreneurship, and value creation, co-authoring The Innovator’s Method (published by Harvard Business Review Press, 2014), Nail It then Scale It: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating and Managing Breakthrough Innovation, and multiple articles in Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review. Nathan is an assistant professor of strategy at INSEAD where he teaches innovation and technology strategy. Nathan has acted as the founder or advisor to corporations and startups in healthcare, clean technology, professional services, internet, retail and financial services industries. He also sits on the investment board of the Kickstart Seed Fund, an innovative early-stage venture fund. Nathan earned his PhD from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University and has held permanent or visiting positions at INSEAD, ESSEC, and BYU.
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JUDGES
Paul Ahlstrom Paul is a serial entrepreneur. He has founded several high-tech startups and understands the process of success. He is managing director and co-founder of Alta Ventures Mexico, a venture capital fund focused in Mexico. He is a regular keynote speaker and an avid supporter of Utah’s entrepreneurial community, and a member of the Utah Angels. In 2000, he co-founded vSpring Capital, Utah’s leading venture capital fund. In 2007, he co-founded Alta Growth Capital, based in Mexico City and Kickstart Seed Fund based in Salt Lake City.
Tim Enger Tim is an entrepreneur, investor, and business development expert. He is currently focused on building the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Seattle. Tim co-founded SocialNexus, Inc., a firm focused on a number of ventures nationally and internationally with a focus in Brazil. In addition to the ventures in Brazil, SocialNexus built a large digital asset touching more than 30 countries which was later acquired by a major digital agency. Tim ran all sales and business development efforts in New England for Entrata, a rapidly growing company that went from 400-800 employees during his time at the company. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Brigham Young University.
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SUCCESS STORIES
2015 Success Stories Kaitek Labs (First Place) Kaitek Labs are transforming bacteria into computers. Kaitek Labs uses microorganisms’ natural capacity to gather and process information about its surroundings. This natural functionality gives both a purpose and a human interface to turn bacteria into information gathering machines, capable of expressing their findings to human users. Founded in 2013 by Emilia Diaz in Santiago, Chile, the company has expanded and gained support of the Chilean government granting Kaitek $350K for development. Reflecting on the 2015 IBMC Emilia said, “Do not underestimate what lean methodology can do for you. At first I honestly thought there was absolutely no way I could apply it to slow, expensive biotech, but I actually found it a great tool when it comes to trying to move as quickly as possible….We have used it many times before and after IBMC to decide what experimental line to pursue.” Kaitek Labs has been awarded many prizes both in national and international contests, including BYU’s “IBMC” (USA, 2015), AAAS’s “GIST” (Morocco, 2014), Copec-UC’s “Aplica tu idea” (Chile, 2014), Emprende UC’s “Jump” (Chile, 2012), totaling over $50,000 in prize money in three years.
Simple Citizen (Finalist) After trying to help his wife, who is from South Korea, secure a green card, Sam Stoddard, armed with a masters degree in accounting and experience with confusing tax laws and forms, threw in the towel. “I assumed that if TurboTax can condense mountains of tax law into a few easy questions, something similar must exist for green cards.” Stoddard was wrong, and the idea for SimpleCitizen was born. From signup to citizenship, SimpleCitizen guides applicants through the entire immigration and visa processes providing a truly comprehensive solution that’s fast, accurate, and affordable. Over the past year they have raised over 200K from prestigious venture capital partners and recently announced their $700,000 seed round led by Kickstart Seed Fund. “If we have learned anything from the IBMC, it’s that figuring this stuff out require endless hours and dedication to the scientific method of having an assumption, testing that assumption, and either validating it or invalidating it,” said Stoddard. SimpleCitizen’s growth displays a welcoming sign to those traveling the road to US citizenship.
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SUCCESS STORIES
D&P Bio Innovations (Honorable Mention) With over eighteen years of stem cell tissue engineering research experience, the management team at D&P Bioinnovations are biomedical entrepreneurs capable of translating biomedical academic research from “benchside” to “bedside”. Their pilot product is an implantable, bioresorbable medical device to functionally regenerate a damaged esophagus within the body. D&P Bioinnovations has been very busy since participation in the 2015 IBMC. They have won awards as finalists at the India C-Camp/QB3, Johns Hopkins MedTech Venture Challenge, M2D2 $100K Challenge, Baylor New Venture Challenge, Global TiEcon, OneStart Americas 2015 and GEW 50 Global Startup Open all within the last 5 months. ”Specifically, the IBMC has taught us how to change our product based on customer needs,” said Derek Dashti, founder and CSO at D&P Bio Innovations. said Dashti, “We have been in contact with many prominent thoracic surgeons and hospital administrators to understand both the utility and reimbursement strategies of our product.” His advice to entrepreneurs is to “have open communication with your customers. This is key in developing a sound product and will also lead to potential partners to help your startup advance quicker.”
Local Line (Semifinalist) Local Line is a modern commerce system for local food. They serve those in the service industry through their state-of-the-art software that connects purchasers, suppliers, and food hubs all directly together. Since competing in the IBMC, Local Line has improved transaction volume by three times and has participated in several local funding rounds. Validation has been a key principle that has helped drive the success of this venture. “There’s no shortcut to validation,” said Cole Jones, (CEO of Local Line), “customer validation is experience you have to go through. Lean Methodology and customer development have been key drivers for Local Line post-launch. “This strategy is present in our current day product development.” said Cole, “We define what we do based on our company vision, then ask specific questions within a well-defined scope. We prioritize, we build, we launch, repeat.” Local Line is anticipating the launch of its new software and databases for Food Hubs in early summer 2016.
Illumibowl (Quarterfinalist) Using the bathroom at night is serious business. No one enjoys stumbling around in the dark or turning on bright lights and waking themselves up in the middle of the night! IllumiBowl is dedicated to helping you have the best late night bathroom experience possible. While a student at BYU, Matt Alexander launched a Kickstarter that has raised $95,399 on an original $20,000 goal. The IllumiBowl is an LED light that lasts 100,000 hours that clips on the side of the toilet and shines a soft light into the bowl, eliminating “bathroom blindness caused by bright lights when going in the middle of the night. To date they have sold over $1 million worth of product – over 50,000 units. In March 2016, Illumibowl competed on Shark Tank and walked away with $100,000 for a 25% equity stake from Kevin O’Leary. It recently made the shelves at Bed Bath and Beyond and has been featured nationally in Forbes, BuzzFeed, CNetm Good Morning America, Daily Mail, engadget and many others.
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HELPFUL HINTS
What Winning Teams Do: The purpose of the International Business Model Competition is to reward the process student entrepreneurs follow to eliminate uncertainty in their businesses. We encourage smart entrepreneurs that identify and test key business hypotheses, seek input from potential customers, and make necessary changes based on what is learned. Remember, this is not a business plan or venture pitch competition!
Tell us your story. If you watch any past winner present, you will see that they start by connecting to the audience through a compelling, but truthful story about their business. In your story, describe the pain you uncovered and how you plan to solve it.
Use the Business Model Canvas. Start with a blank canvas and step-by-step show your hypotheses , how you tested them, and the results. Demonstrate visually which hypotheses were validated and which were not. Don’t throw all of your information on the canvas at once, walk the judges through your validation in digestible portions.
Describe the validation. Each hypothesis you make has to be accompanied with a test or an activity that aims to prove or disprove your hypotheses. Zoom in close on all of your tests and explain the hard work you did. We want you to justify your decision-making and the course of your business with real data from credible sources.
Highlight the lessons learned. Each test has to lead to the lessons learned and future plan of action. Show what each test taught you, what was validated, what wasn’t, and what hypotheses and tests you made next.
Explain your pivots. Most of you had to pivot or change a portion of your business in response to customer feedback. We want you to justify your pivots with concrete data. Just saying that you made a pivot is not enough. Realizing that your hypothesis is inaccurate is not a weakness, but evidence that you learned something.
In conclusion, judges want to see multiple rounds of hypotheses and tests. One or two tests is not enough to show that you thoroughly researched your business idea. It is not possible to walk through the entire canvas in 10 minutes, so focus on a few hypotheses and tests that are crucial to your business.
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IBMC
around the world
2015-2016
global competition qualifiers