SBIR stands for Small Business Innovation Research, so the “S”= “Small”, but what really is “small”? The SBA (Small Business Administration) defines a company as “small” if they have less than 500 employees, so technically, a company is qualified for SBIR if they have at least one employee or as many as 499 employees. Does that… more ?
Tag: Entrepreneurs
Harold Shlevin, Biosciences Industry Executive, Joins ATDC as a Manager and Catalyst
Harold H. Shlevin, Ph.D., a 30-year biosciences-industry executive and researcher, has joined Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) as manager of ATDC-Biosciences. He will serve as a startup catalyst advising new bioscience companies within the ATDC.
Harold H. Shlevin, Ph.D., a 30-year biosciences-industry executive and researcher, has joined Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) as manager of ATDC-Biosciences. He will serve as a startup catalyst advising new bioscience companies within the ATDC.
In his new ATDC position, Shlevin will evaluate and guide new and emerging bioscience enterprises that are based on Georgia Tech research innovations as well as others across Georgia. He will work with Nina Sawczuk, a veteran biosciences entrepreneur who is now ATDC’s assistant director for biosciences, responsible for supporting the commercialization of bioscience innovation throughout the state.
“There is, and will continue to be, a willingness among venture capitalists and others to invest in innovation that helps people live healthier lives,” Shlevin said. “Georgia Tech is well-positioned to supply that innovation, because of the high quality and diversity of multi-disciplinary science here, and because there is a willingness among the faculty to see their science realized in some type of application.”
From 1998-2006, Shlevin held positions of increasing responsibility at Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. These posts included global senior vice president of Solvay Pharmaceuticals-SA, president and CEO of Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc., and senior vice president of business development and scientific affairs.
Shlevin’s combination of academic and business experience offers a strong background for his work as an ATDC biosciences manager and catalyst, said Stephen Fleming, vice provost at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, ATDC’s parent organization.
“Harold’s decision to join ATDC is good news for Georgia Tech and Georgia,” Fleming said. “I’m confident he will help us expand Georgia’s bioscience industry, which plays a highly important economic role in the state.”
Shlevin earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston University and a master’s and a doctorate in physiology from University of Rochester Medical School. His doctoral research focused on electrophysiology and biophysics of excitable cells.
He holds a post-doctoral certificate in pharmacology and physiology from the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. He also served as an assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at Mayo Medical School and the University of Minnesota.
Shlevin has an extensive list of both academic and business publications. He holds several global patents covering a variety of medical devices, drugs and electromechanical products, and has six patents pending.
He has been active in the community, serving on the board of advisers of Morehouse School of Medicine and the psychiatry department of Emory University School of Medicine. He has been an adviser and director of several healthcare-related software companies and a nanotechnology-oriented startup company focused on oncology. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Bio organization and is vice chair of its executive committee. He is also on the board of directors of Cardiome Pharma Corp.
Shlevin believes Georgia is well positioned to expand its already extensive list of bioscience companies. He praised Georgia Tech’s close connections with Emory University and its School of Medicine. Georgia Tech’s collaboration with Emory has produced the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, which is ranked among the nation’s top biomedical engineering schools.
“The ability to reach out to people who are practicing clinical medicine and receive their input is a huge benefit,” he said. “It is those people who can best help define the potential application of a given technology, and that in turn reduces market risk and supports the funding of ventures based on that technology.”
ATDC is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing.
Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program. The change enables ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development. ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.
ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.
Research News & Publications Office
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (jtoon@gatech.edu).
Writer: Rick Robinson
HVAC and Plumbing Company Grows with Georgia Tech Assistance
When Sadat Nichols and Al Shepherd started ARS Mechanical, an HVAC and plumbing service provider, they knew it would be imperative to tap into outside resources. In 2005, Nichols became familiar with the Georgia Statewide Minority Business Enterprise Center (GMBEC), funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and operated by Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute.
When Sadat Nichols and Al Shepherd started ARS Mechanical, an HVAC and plumbing service provider, they knew it would be imperative to tap into outside resources. In 2005, Nichols became familiar with the Georgia Statewide Minority Business Enterprise Center (GMBEC), funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and operated by Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute.
GMBEC provides business and technical assistance that helps emerging and existing minority business enterprises (MBEs) experience significant growth and sustainability, and have long-term economic impact through the creation of jobs and revenue. Part of a national network of centers established to increase the number of MBEs and strengthen existing ones, GMBEC provides services in business assessment, access to capital and finance management, access to markets, strategic business consulting and business process improvement.
“Especially at the beginning, we needed their assistance,” said Nichols, president of ARS. “They’ve been really instrumental in a lot of the growth that we’ve established.”
Donna Ennis, GMBEC project director, has assisted ARS Mechanical with a number of projects, including helping the company secure bonding, lines of credit and other financing; providing proposal writing assistance; and helping the company implement ISO 9001:2008, a quality management system. Ennis also nominated ARS Mechanical for the 2007 Regional Construction Firm of the Year Award, given by the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency; the company beat out eight other firms in the Southeast.
Most recently, Ennis assisted Nichols and Shepherd with writing a proposal that landed ARS Mechanical a contract with Fort Gordon to implement an innovative geothermal heat pump project, leading to potential long-term energy savings. The $1.7 million project will convert 11 buildings, totaling 32,500 square feet, from traditional HVAC systems to deep-well geothermal heat pump systems, which use the thermal properties of the Earth to provide heating and cooling. According to estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, energy bills for those structures could decrease by as much as 40 percent.
ARS Mechanical, an African-American owned heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and mechanical services firm, is headquartered in Conyers, Ga., with 28 employees. The company specializes in commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air conditioning, mechanical and plumbing, and since its establishment in 2002, has doubled its business annually.
“Successful MBEs must be able to form strategic alliances as well as secure adequate resources for growth, and that is where I believe GMBEC can be of assistance,” Ennis said. “The management team at ARS Mechanical has fully utilized our services and is planning for future growth in new technologies.”
GMBEC celebrated its sixth year at Georgia Tech in 2009, and over that time it helped clients secure more than $195 million in procurement contracts, financing, and sales; assisted minority companies with creating more than 1,450 jobs; and provided one-on-one technical assistance to some 400 firms and advice, guidance, and resources to thousands of others. The program received the 2006 Institution Award from the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance and was recognized by its federal sponsor as an outstanding-performance center for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
GMBEC works with existing high-impact firms in manufacturing, construction, warehousing, transportation, technology and professional services. Assistance ranges from identification of funding sources to process and infrastructure improvement to securing new business. To qualify for GMBEC assistance, companies must have 51 percent minority ownership and minimum annual revenues of $500,000.
About Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
Entrepreneur Nina Sawczuk Joins ATDC as Assistant Director for Biosciences
Veteran biosciences entrepreneur Nina Sawczuk has joined Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) as assistant director for biosciences. In this role, she will support the commercialization of bioscience innovation throughout the state of Georgia.
Veteran biosciences entrepreneur Nina Sawczuk has joined Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) as assistant director for biosciences. In this role, she will support the commercialization of bioscience innovation throughout the state of Georgia.
For the past ten years, Sawczuk has served as CEO of Zygogen LLC, an Atlanta-based biotechnology company that advanced the use of zebra fish for drug screening. Prior to co-founding that company, she served in drug discovery, biotechnology consulting and business development roles for several organizations in the Boston, Research Triangle Park and Southern California areas.
Sawczuk also served ATDC as a consultant in 1999, assisting bioscience companies and participating in the formation of EmTech Bio, an incubator at Emory University.
At ATDC, she will help companies tap a comprehensive set of services designed to help commercialize innovations, support the launch and growth of technology companies, obtain early-stage commercialization grants and secure Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from federal agencies.
Among the key resources is the ATDC Biosciences Center, an incubator located in Georgia Tech’s Biosciences Complex. Life sciences research now accounts for approximately 20 percent of Georgia Tech’s $500 million-per-year research program.
“Through ATDC and the Georgia Research Alliance’s VentureLab commercialization program, we can provide an integrated set of services designed to support the startup and growth of bioscience companies statewide,” said Sawczuk. “This combination of resources gives Georgia entrepreneurs a strong advantage as they launch and build new companies in the biosciences.”
Sawczuk’s education and entrepreneurial experience give her an ideal background for leading ATDC’s biosciences program, said Stephen Fleming, vice provost at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, ATDC’s parent organization.
“We are pleased to have Nina return to ATDC and Georgia Tech to lead our initiatives aimed at expanding the state’s community of bioscience companies,” he said. “With its research universities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and established companies, Georgia’s life sciences community has a strong economic impact on the state.”
Sawczuk holds a master’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard Medical School, an M.B.A. from Duke University’s School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in social and behavior sciences from Johns Hopkins University.
She has served in a variety of positions with Georgia BIO, and as a member of the external review committee for the Georgia Research Alliance VentureLab Program.
ATDC is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing.
Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program. The change will enable ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development. ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.
ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.
About Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: John Toon
ATDC Opens Membership to More Companies, Consolidates Staff
ATDC, one of the nation’s largest, longest running, and best-known university-based technology accelerators, is expanding its mission. ATDC has been merged with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program.
ATDC, one of the nation’s largest, longest running, and best-known university-based technology accelerators, is expanding its mission. ATDC has been merged with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program. By pooling resources, the new ATDC has increased the staff available to serve its expanded mission of helping Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful technology companies. The change will allow ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development.
Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing. However, according to Stephen Fleming, vice provost at Georgia Tech, “the startup market has changed dramatically over the past few years. Many startup companies do not want or need to pursue venture funding. Some are not even seeking traditional office space. ATDC’s new initiatives directly address the demands of today’s startup environment.”
ATDC will open its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies. “We’re interested in any technology business opportunity,” said David Sung, one of ATDC’s startup catalysts and a former partner with H.I.G. Ventures. “There are many ways ATDC can help startups, from business coaching and providing networking opportunities to financing through angel investment, government grants and contracts, corporate partnerships, and classic bootstrapping. We will support all entrepreneurs, whatever path they may take, through their entire growth process.”
ATDC will continue to offer traditional “bricks-and-mortar” incubation space on entrepreneur-friendly terms, both in midtown Atlanta and Savannah. The center will be expanding its recent “SeedSpace” offering of small single-office leases in Technology Square for the earliest entrepreneurs and will provide a variety of co-working spaces to promote casual interaction among entrepreneurs. Recognizing the sprawl of the Atlanta metro area, ATDC will offer programs outside the Perimeter where dense clusters of entrepreneurs can benefit from its services. ATDC will also take full advantage of social media to build connections with entrepreneurs across the entire state of Georgia.
Since 1999, the state-funded ATDC Seed Capital Fund has made equity investments in Georgia startup companies alongside angel investors and traditional venture firms. With this new merger, ATDC will also manage the Georgia Tech Edison Fund, an innovative investment fund established in 2007 which draws its resources from charitable donors who are interested in helping expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding Georgia Tech.
“ATDC has always been a focal point for entrepreneurship in Georgia,” said Sig Mosley, president of Imlay Investments and member of ATDC’s board of advisors. “With these moves, ATDC now is aligned to support the specific needs of the new startup environment. The open door policy is a strong, positive shift and reinforces ATDC’s leadership role in the startup community not just within the Atlanta metro area, but throughout the entire state.”
The merger of the three units will bring together a broader knowledge base to provide comprehensive services to Georgia’s technology entrepreneurs.
“By working at the very earliest stage with university spinouts — not just pre-revenue but pre-incorporation — we have learned a great deal about the coaching required by brand-new entrepreneurial teams that are still establishing their business model,” said Roberto Casas, previously assistant director of Georgia Tech’s VentureLab. “To date, we’ve focused on startups based on Georgia Tech intellectual property. By merging with ATDC, we’ll be able to offer similar services to any Georgia startup, whether connected to Georgia Tech or not.”
ATDC, the former Georgia Tech VentureLab, and the SBIR Assistance program are part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. Stephen Fleming, the former head of Georgia Tech VentureLab, was recently promoted to vice provost of Georgia Tech overseeing all of EI2. He will serve as the initial director of the new ATDC.
“Despite the economic downturn, it’s still a great time to build a startup company in Georgia,” said Fleming. “The last four years have seen an explosion of groups and organizations supporting the early-stage entrepreneur. With this expansion, we’re rebooting the franchise of ATDC as the hub of technology entrepreneurship in Georgia. We hope to work with everyone, at any stage, along any path, to accelerate more technology startups and weave them into the economic fabric of Georgia.”
All employees of ATDC, Georgia Tech VentureLab, and the SBIR Assistance Program will be retained in the consolidation. The new ATDC organization will continue to assist Georgia Tech faculty members and other research staff in forming new companies, and will continue to provide assistance to any Georgia small business seeking SBIR funding.
About ATDC
ATDC helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful technology companies. Founded in 1980, the Advanced Technology Development Center has provided business incubation and acceleration services to hundreds of Georgia startups — most of which are not based on Georgia Tech research, but which benefit from the close proximity to the university. ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.
About SBIR Assistance Program of Georgia
The state of Georgia has one of the nation’s leading SBIR/STTR assistance programs which, since being established in 2005, has educated and helped hundreds of Georgia entrepreneurs access these sources of federal funds. With the program’s direct assistance, 150 companies have submitted one or more proposals resulting in more than $30 million in federal awards. By merging into ATDC, the program will be able to interact with more entrepreneurs across the state, including those who may have never considered applying for federal grants, and bring more of these awards into Georgia’s startup ecosystem.
About VentureLab
In 2001, Georgia Tech became a founding member of VentureLab, a program of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA). VentureLab helps build spinout companies around cutting-edge university research. With its emphasis on technologically-grounded business analysis, access to early-stage funds, and recruitment of experienced management, Georgia Tech’s VentureLab has launched more than two dozen successful companies and serves as a model for other universities seeking to commercialize their discoveries. GRA’s VentureLab Program now extends to four other research universities in Georgia; with an investment of some $13 million from GRA, more than 150 Georgia-based startups have been created around university intellectual property in the state. GRA also recently launched a new venture fund to make equity investments into these spinout companies.
Savannah-based Urban Planet Mobile joins ATDC
Urban Planet Media & Entertainment, Inc. (Urban Planet Mobile), the leading provider of education and information products created specifically for delivery via mobile phone, has joined the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia Tech’s award-winning technology incubator.
Urban Planet Media & Entertainment, Inc. (Urban Planet Mobile), the leading provider of education and information products created specifically for delivery via mobile phone, has joined the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia Tech’s award-winning technology incubator.
In 2002, ATDC launched a Savannah initiative that focuses on assisting new ventures arising from Savannah’s diverse technology community and a growing number of startups. Selected companies are fully associated with ATDC but receive the added benefit of local personal assistance and attention.
Urban Planet Mobile was chosen based on the attractiveness of its business model that merges advanced technologies with high-demand content in an innovative way to reach billions of potential subscribers worldwide.
Brian OliverSmith, Urban Planet Mobile CEO, brainstormed the idea of delivering simple audio lessons through text messaging two years ago. His team has since built a library of more than 4,500 lessons in 11 languages. With Urban Planet Mobile’s unique offering, the burgeoning mobile content market is taken one step further through the development of Urban English™ anytime, anywhere learning that can be accessed by more than 90 percent of mobile phones worldwide.
With distribution agreements in place to deliver short audio English lessons to the United Arab Emirates through T.A. Telecom, Urban Planet Mobile is poised for exponential growth. The Urban English business line is also in development for Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
OliverSmith describes Urban Planet Mobile’s innovative product line of short audio English language lessons as “providing the world with a native American English speaker in the palm of its hand.”
By signing up for the Urban English line of English lessons, the subscriber receives mobile daily audio downloads of lessons via Short Message Service (SMS). The lessons are available by clicking on a link to the lesson embedded in the text notification, which requires only a basic data plan. Alternatively, each SMS will provide a local country number routed to Urban Planet Mobile’s servers that play the lesson via interactive voice response technology.
The three- to five-minute lessons, which have been engineered to retain exceptional audio quality, use the same data for delivery as a 30-second ringtone. In this way, the more than 1.4 billion people worldwide actively learning English can affordably access quality audio English lessons anytime, anywhere with Urban Planet Mobile.
“In a world in economic turmoil, Urban Planet Mobile’s business model is of particular interest as the content they offer is in high demand and their delivery allows for unlimited scalability at an incredibly low cost, which in turn enables them to sell affordable subscriptions,” said Orjan Isacon, a venture catalyst with Savannah ATDC.
Member companies of ATDC have attracted more than $1 billion in venture capital since 1999, while more than 70 percent of the 122 firms that have graduated from the incubator are currently operating or have been acquired. Urban Planet Mobile is closing out a second round of investment at the end of August 2009.
ABOUT URBAN PLANET MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
Urban Planet Mobile is the premiere language learning content developer for mobile delivery. The Urban Planet Mobile management team is extensively experienced in audio content development, production, distribution and marketing. Additionally, a team well-versed in developing learning curriculum is actively involved in all stages of building the entire family of products. The group is rounded out with international mobile content delivery and global business development experts on the sales and marketing side. Urban Planet Mobile is poised for exponential growth in a growth market. For additional information: press@up-me.com, www.UrbanPlanetMobile.com.
ABOUT ATDC
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Headquartered at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. More than 120 companies have graduated from the ATDC.
In collaboration with the Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program, Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Savannah Economic Development Authority, Coastal BETA and other local organizations, ATDC launched its Savannah initiative during spring 2002. The program assists new ventures arising from Savannah’s diverse technology community and a growing community of startups. For additional information: Orjan Isacson, venture catalyst, 912-963-2519, www.atdc.org.
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon {at} innovate.gatech(.)edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
ATDC Company Offers End-to-End Solution for Untelevised Sports
After working in new product development for Atlanta-based media company Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. for 13 years, David Rudolph left his job to pursue a startup company opportunity. The company – PlayOn! Sports – was developed at Turner over the past four years and was recently accepted into Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
After working in new product development for Atlanta-based media company Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. for 13 years, David Rudolph left his job to pursue a startup company opportunity. The company – PlayOn! Sports – was developed at Turner over the past four years and was recently accepted into Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
“PlayOn! Sports offers an end-to-end solution for production and distribution of TV-quality, untelevised live events, with an emphasis on sports,” said Rudolph, who is CEO of the new company. “Although there is a hardware component to our business, it is very much software driven. Two patents – one for software and one for hardware – have been filed.”
While working at Turner, Rudolph saw a market opportunity to distribute high-quality programming via Web-based broadband at a fraction of the cost of traditional television. Numerous media entities and organizations are interested in producing more exclusive programming and generating differentiated digital advertising opportunities. PlayOn! Sports’ focus will initially be on sports because of the audience passion, the relevance of a live broadcast, attractiveness to advertisers and the wide availability of content.
“One of the initial motivations is the exposure our product creates for their sport. Everybody can tell you that the way to grow your sport is to generate media exposure. Smaller, niche sports can’t get that on television, so they are looking for alternatives,” Rudolph noted. “Sports is also an ad-driven model with highly passionate audiences, something that is very attractive to advertisers.”
While a number of companies offer pieces of the production and distribution process, PlayOn! Sports is uniquely positioned because it is optimized for low-cost production by offering the entire spectrum of a clients’ needs, including production equipment and support, training, scheduling, hosting, streaming and archiving, content rights and management and content syndication. But, according to Rudolph, where PlayOn! really stands out is with its patent-pending software.
“Our software includes a Web application and a client application and gives them complete access to everything they need to do for the entire life cycle of an event,” he explained. “When they’re in pre-production, it checks connectivity to make sure that the venue connectivity is there. In production, it handles all the production elements that go into making it a high-quality event such as advertising insertion, production graphics, replay and slow-motion. And in post-production, it handles the video-on-demand management so the video can be embargoed for a period of time or be available within five to 10 minutes upon conclusion of the game.”
Revenue and profits are generated through recurring software-as-a-service licensing fees, advertising inventory that the company retains and sells on an aggregated basis, broad content redistribution rights and production equipment solutions for clients who require it. Rudolph predicts that the redistribution rights alone will generate a significant revenue stream through DVD sales, download-to-own and the syndication of highlight clips. Sales channels include broadcast television stations, newspaper and magazine groups, regional cable networks and operators, universities and high schools, and independent production companies.
Investors obviously believe in the startup’s business model. In December 2008, 2080 Media purchased PlayOn! from Turner Sports International Enterprises and landed $3 million in a first round of funding. The company, which continues to enjoy Turner as an investor and partner, was also accepted into ATDC, Georgia Tech’s nationally recognized science and technology incubator.
“What I like about ATDC is the energy that’s here and the fact that everybody is in an early-stage company and running around like crazy trying to figure it out. There’s a lot that can be learned from just being in that environment,” Rudolph said. “A few months ago we looked at office space and we were going to be sitting next to an insurance company or a bank or a non-profit and it felt sterile. We look forward to the opportunity of being an ATDC member company.”
Charles Ross, general manager of ATDC, looks forward to watching the continued success of PlayOn! Sports.
“Many successful companies – more than 110 – have grown out of the ATDC facility,” he said. “ATDC can offer technology startups like PlayOn! Sports collective experience, leadership and resources that will help take their business to the next level.”
About the ATDC: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. More than 110 companies have emerged from the ATDC.
Headquartered at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ATDC has been recognized by both Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines as among the nation’s top nonprofit incubators. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia’s technology business base, and now has locations in Atlanta and Savannah. ATDC is part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information, please visit (www.atdc.org).
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
Balaya Bridges Gap between Social Media and Business Solutions
As businesses search for better ways to remain engaged with their customers and employees, social networking tools have offered attractive options. But most of these tools were never designed as business applications. Bob Nunnally, CEO of Savannah-based Balaya, says his company is poised to address that shortcoming by providing a new venue for a business-centric social media solution that improves organizational communication and collaboration.
As businesses search for better ways to remain engaged with their customers and employees, social networking tools have offered attractive options. But most of these tools were never designed as business applications.
Bob Nunnally, CEO of Savannah-based Balaya, says his company is poised to address that shortcoming by providing a new venue for a business-centric social media solution that improves organizational communication and collaboration.
“Businesses are desperate to stay connected, and the most promising activity for that is social media – things like wikis, blogs and social networking sites – that have seen triple-digit audience growth,” he noted. “However, none of those tools were built as a business solution. Instead of a new Web site, businesses need an entirely new venue.”
Balaya’s first application is tick-it™, an interactive communication tool that runs like a news ticker across the screen of a computer or mobile device. According to Nunnally, tick-it enhances team collaboration and cultivates customer engagement while offering an option for generating new revenue.
“We can help any organization with a need to communicate instantly or constantly improve efficiencies and their bottom line,” he added.
The social media market, composed of enterprise, consumer and advertising social, is worth nearly $40 billion in all. Balaya will target a $14 billion segment of that market via a three-part strategy: direct sales, a focus on select marquee media clients and the establishment of channel partners. Revenue will be generated from setup and customization fees, subscription fees and shared advertisement revenue.
“There are two target markets for us: an enterprise solution and a consumer-centric application. Our launch partner for the enterprise solution is a major aerospace corporation that believes this type of tool can connect engineers more effectively and efficiently across multiple time zones and locations,” Nunnally said. “Our launch partner on the consumer solution is a major print media company. They will license tick-it from us and give it free to the community as the preferred way to get newspaper headlines and create their own messaging content.”
Competitors in the marketplace are currently providing Web-centric solutions or social media tools as an add-on to SharePoint, Microsoft’s browser-based collaboration and a document-management platform. Nunnally says Balaya has a competitive advantage over competitors because of its patent-pending technology, its ability to move early into both enterprise and consumer markets, and its rapid scalability, solid architecture and security provisions.
Balaya, which is located in Savannah, Ga., began its operations in 2007 and currently consists of four full-time and two part-time employees. The team has more than 130 years of experience, including Nunnally’s background in international and domestic operations; President Ian Bramson’s expertise in marketing, sales and product development; and Director of Technology Blake Ellis’ experience with technology startup companies.
Supplementing the years of team experience, Nunnally will take advantage of the resources available through the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a nationally-recognized science and technology incubator based at Georgia Tech. Balaya, one of seven ATDC member companies in Savannah, was accepted as a member company in January 2009.
“There is something very salient here for what a technology startup is doing. The faith and backing of ATDC and learning from our fellow entrepreneurs is priceless,” Nunnally said. “Being able to connect with other entrepreneurs, being introduced to business opportunities and having access to educational resources are critical to advancing our company.”
Howard Morrison, a self-described “community organizer,” is excited about what Balaya will add to the Savannah area. Morrison is the chair emeritus of the Georgia Tech Savannah campus external advisory board, a co-managing partner of Energy Launch Partners (renewable energy projects), and former chair of the Skidaway Marine Science Foundation.
“Savannah’s biggest business is education and our greatest asset is students, so companies like Balaya represent an essential consumer of our most important ‘product.’ Retaining these talented students in the Savannah area is the basis of our knowledge-based future,” noted Morrison. “Companies like Balaya only solidify and enhance our reputation in and commitment to this arena.”
About the ATDC: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. More than 110 companies have emerged from the ATDC.
Headquartered at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ATDC has been recognized by both Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines as among the nation’s top nonprofit incubators. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia’s technology business base, and now has locations in Atlanta and Savannah. ATDC is part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information, please visit (www.atdc.org).
About Balaya: Headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Balaya develops social media tools that provide businesses tangible results and a competitive advantage. The company’s Web-enabled products and services move a brand beyond a Web site to an interactive desktop and mobile device presence that improves communication with employees and customers. For more information visit www.balaya.com or contact Michelle McWhinney at 202-361-2891.
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
Zenda Technologies Offers Quick, Early Detection of Alzheimer’s
Zenda Technologies, a new member company in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), hopes to alleviate some of these costs with a new device that detects mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease – the progressive brain disease that slowly takes away memory and thinking skills – is the most common cause of dementia among older people. As many as 4.5 million Americans and 18 million people worldwide suffer from the disease, and for caregivers, the tolls are physical, emotional and financial. In fact, Alzheimer’s is one of the most economically costly diseases to society in developed countries.
Zenda Technologies, a new member company in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), hopes to alleviate some of these costs with a new device that detects mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s. Using patent-pending technology developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University over six years of research, patients can be screened for MCI using a brief, inexpensive test with an immersive neuropsychological device.
“Our cognitive impairment test, called DETECT™, has many advantages over current screening methods,” noted Lawrence Catchpole, president and CEO of Zenda. “It’s portable, objective and does not require a trained technician, and it’s short – seven to 10 minutes – compared to the standard 90-minute pen and paper tests used today. We also use ImTech™, our immersive screening device, so instead of needing a soundproofed quiet room, we create the quiet room in any exam.”
The test is designed to be administered before a patient develops Alzheimer’s symptoms, tracking any abnormal decreases in cognitive performance over time. Patients being tested experience a battery of visual and auditory stimuli such as pictures and words that assess cognitive abilities relative to age, gauging reaction time and memory capabilities. If a patient’s performance declines outside the normal range, additional testing and care from a neurologist, neuropsychologist or other specialist would be offered.
“One in 10 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s; that risk increases to 50 percent once you’re over 85. Upon initial diagnosis, 95 percent of Alzheimer’s patients already have moderate to severe disease, so catching it early is critical,” Catchpole said. “It’s a tremendous financial burden, not only on the individuals and their families, but on the health care system. We’re looking at $100 billion today, going to $1 trillion in seven to 10 years.”
To test its products, Zenda initially conducted studies with 40 patients, 20 of whom had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. They then conducted a larger, 400-patient study which delineated patients with normal, possible, probable and definite impairment. Both studies proved that DETECT was as accurate as or more accurate than the pen-and-paper test that is currently used.
Catchpole notes that Alzheimer’s is the initial but not the only focus of Zenda. Future applications will include neuropsychological testing for mild traumatic brain injury patients related to military assessments, sports injuries and emergency department evaluations, as well as HIV-associated MCI and virtual reality therapies.
Already, Zenda has received more than $3.2 million in grants and other financial resources. The company’s research was funded with a grant from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and support from the Georgia Research Alliance through VentureLab, a program that provides comprehensive assistance to faculty members, research staff and graduate students who want to form startup companies to commercialize the technology innovations they have developed.
Becoming an ATDC member company was a natural progression for Zenda, according to Catchpole, who graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in biology and a minor in electrical engineering. Michelle LaPlaca, who along with Emory School of Medicine assistant professor David Wright created the device, is an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Mark Braunstein, professor in the College of Computing and director of health services for the Enterprise Innovation Institute, and John Baumstark, chairman and CEO of ATDC member company Suniva, both serve on Zenda’s management advisory board.
“We think there is a huge value in being part of ATDC, having the combined experience in terms of consultative knowledge and working with the other companies,” Catchpole said. “There is recognition in the investor community of the thorough vetting you have been through as an ATDC member company, and in today’s economy, every check mark you can get is huge.”
About the ATDC: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. More than 110 companies have emerged from the ATDC.
Headquartered at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ATDC has been recognized by both Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines as among the nation’s top nonprofit incubators. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia’s technology business base, and now has locations in Atlanta and Savannah. ATDC is part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information, please visit (www.atdc.org).
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright
GlobalCrypto Uses Innovative Technology to Secure Online Transactions
GlobalCrypto has developed a patent-pending, innovative technology dubbed RealMe™ that embeds cryptographic information in digital images and exchanges pieces of those images between a user and a Web application.
In 440 B.C., an exiled Greek citizen named Demaratus (who would later become the king of Sparta) secretly sent a warning to his homeland about an attack being planned by Xerxes, leader of the Persians. His message was carved into a wooden tablet and covered in wax. Today, this technique of covered or hidden writing is referred to as steganography, and it is the basis for GlobalCrypto, a new member company in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
GlobalCrypto has developed a patent-pending, innovative technology dubbed RealMe™ that embeds cryptographic information in digital images and exchanges pieces of those images between a user and a Web application. This makes online transactions more secure and prevents attempts to steal a user’s financial information and personal identity. Indeed, the market is ripe for such a solution: last year, U.S. banks spent $6 billion to combat fraud and still lost $3.1 billion.
“The idea for the company hatched over coffee one day when a friend told me about a project he was working on that protected bank logins, but had very weak security,” recalled Todd Merrill, CEO of GlobalCrypto. “We knew we could do better.”
The GlobalCrypto solution is user-friendly, low-cost and easy for Web applications to install and operate. Potential customers include e-commerce sites, financial institutions, credit card companies and other Web environments that exchange confidential information online and want to strengthen their anti-fraud protection and user authentication. GlobalCrypto expects to generate revenue through subscriptions, transactions or professional services.
To use the system, end users will activate the RealMe browser plug-in from business Web sites and will be able to validate their transactions by selecting an image from a toolbar visible in the browser. The image is used to protect them from online fraud and phishing without the need to remember multiple passwords.
“All encrypted information between a Web application and an end user must match before a transaction can proceed,” Merrill noted. “This multi-factor authentication is significantly more secure than typical ‘PIN and Password’ protected sites.”
GlobalCrypto first became involved with ATDC through CapVenture, a unique program that educates and equips executives of early-stage companies for smarter and more productive capitalization of their businesses. Since then, the company has generated considerable buzz: it placed second in a business launch competition hosted by the Georgia Research Alliance and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and was also named one of TAG’s “Sweet 16” most innovative technology companies in Georgia.
In addition to Merrill, GlobalCrypto currently has three employees, including a chief marketing and sales officer, a chief architect and a vice president of engineering. By 2010, the company plans to have more than 40 employees and $12 million in revenue. Merrill expects ATDC will help GlobalCrypto achieve that ambitious goal.
“The ATDC is a fantastic environment for early stage companies. As an ATDC company, we have an incredible amount of resources at our fingertips that we would never have access to otherwise,” he said. “I would recommend the ATDC to any technology startup company.”
About the ATDC: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. More than 110 companies have emerged from the ATDC.
Headquartered at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ATDC has been recognized by both Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines as among the nation’s top nonprofit incubators. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia’s technology business base, and now has locations in Atlanta and Savannah. ATDC is part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information, please visit (www.atdc.org).
Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).
Writer: Nancy Fullbright