Nanotechnology Now

Home > News > Old Company Press Releases > InTICE News

First International Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition Accepting Submissions

Cleveland, Ohio. June 22, 2004 ­Submissions are being accepted for the first International Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition in which the top 25 entries will compete October 28-29 for a total of $75,000 in cash prizes.

The competition is being sponsored by InTICE: the Institute for Technology Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University and the Nano-Network, a consortium of nanotechnology-minded scientists, entrepreneurs and financiers in Northeast Ohio. Award winners will be announced during NANO Week, October 24-29.

Believed to be the first competition focused on the burgeoning market for nanotechnology, the business idea competition differs from traditional business plan competitions in that it is simply seeking submissions of concepts that have the potential to be profitable, nanotechnology-based businesses.

“The International Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition was conceived as a means of shifting the thinking about nanotechnology from the laboratory to the development of real products and services,” said Mark Brandt, founder and chairman of the Nano-Network.

Awards will be given in several categories, including best overall business idea. The first, second and third place winners will receive cash prizes of $50,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. All three top winners will receive business plan writing assistance. And Scott Rickert, the chief executive officer of Nanofilm, one of nation’s leading nanotechnology companies, has agreed to serve on the advisory board for the team that takes the top prize.

The International Nanotechnology Business Idea Competition is the culminating event of the first NANO Week, which will feature a series of events that will focus attention on nanotechnology research and commercialization efforts. For more information on NANO Week, click here.

“For years, people have been talking about how great an impact nanotechnology will have on our economy,” said Cyrus Taylor, professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University and co-director of InTICE. “And as Cleveland is making a push towards recognition as a ‘nanotech’ hub, we determined that hosting such an event would shine a spotlight on the applications these entrepreneurs are envisioning.”

The contest organizers also will award cash prizes of $1,000 to the best business ideas in each of eight industry sectors: semiconductors and telecommunications; energy; biotechnology; medical devices; chemicals/materials; aerospace/defense; environmental; and “other.”

Each of the 25 finalists will be invited to present their idea to a panel of judges in Cleveland. An awards ceremony for the winning teams will be held October 29 in Cleveland.

The winners will be chosen by a panel of judges from the entrepreneurship, business, financial, and academic communities. The panel’s decision will be based on the ability of the business ideas to fill a need and be commercialized.

There is a fee of $100 for each entry a team submits, and there is no limit to the number of submissions a team may enter. The deadline for submissions is September 1. For more information and detailed rules about the competition, visit the Nano-Network’s Web site here.

About InTICE: the Institute for Technology Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University

Building on the formidable strengths of Case Western Reserve University, InTICE fosters the practice, study and teaching of technology innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship through the development of unique academic programs. InTICE works to make the process more effective and more efficient, and to create a transformative culture in all of its partners.

About the Nano-Network

The Nano-Network was formed by scientists, entrepreneurs and financiers to improve and expand the nanotechnology research and commercialization activities and capacities in Northeast Ohio and throughout the nation. More information about the Nano-Network and NANO Week is available here.

Contacts:

Chris Thompson, Vice President
Edward Howard & Co.
Phone: (216) 781-2400 Fax: (216) 781-8810


Brian Edelstein, Account Executive
Edward Howard & Co.
Phone: (216) 781-2400 Fax: (216) 781-8810


Copyright InTICE. Reprinted with permission.

If you have a comment, please us.