Business Development Experience (I & II)
The MTU campus is abuzz with activities leading up to technological innovations and ground-breaking
advancements in various fields of engineering. While they may be successful as technologies, do they
have the potential to offer opportunities for creating new businesses around them? Our students
provide the answer by undertaking the Business Development Experience (BDE) courses (BUS 4991 and
BUS 4992).
Offered as a two-course sequence – BUS 4991 in Fall and BUS 4992 in Spring – it provides our students
with the perfect entrepreneurial learning experience. Read more on the course descriptions here (BUS
4991; BUS 4992).
Experiential Learning through BDE courses
The design of the course is such that it integrates several entities on the MTU campus into a sustainable
entrepreneurial eco-system (please see attached Appendix 1). Students assume entrepreneurial roles
and work in teams on determining the business potential of real-world technology-based projects
offered to this course by either of the following entities on the MTU campus:
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College of Engineering Senior Design Project
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The Enterprise Program
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Technology Commercialization Office housed in the Advanced Technology Development
Office, and
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Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) SmartZone, or
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Industry sponsors, inventors, early-stage businesses, etc. external to MTU
With two successive semesters in which to work, students have optimum time to explore and apply all
aspects of entrepreneurship while developing a business around their projects.
Course Outcomes
Through the Business Development Experience courses BUS 4991 and BUS 4992, students learn to:
•
•
•
•
•
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Identify and communicate business ideas.
Write business plans and develop business models.
Determine the commercialization potential of intellectual properties.
Determine strategies to take new technologies to market.
Conduct market research on the scope of new technologies.
Plan distribution channels for new technologies.
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•
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Develop project management goals and deadlines.
Work effectively in teams and become leaders.
Develop oral and written presentation skills.
Examples of Projects that our Students have worked on
We continually challenge our students to come up with recommendations on whether a given idea is
commercially viable or not. Over the last couple of years our students have worked on a number of
technology-based projects. Please read more about the scope of some of those projects (Appendix 2).
APPENDIX1:EntrepreneurialEcosystem
S1
S2
BusinessDevelopment
ExperienceCourse–I&II
S4
S3
:TechnologyprojectsacquiredfromentitiesS1‐S4forthecourse
:Technologyprojectsthatareidentifiedasmostviablethroughthis
course would be considered by sources S1 and S2 for bringing to
marketandincubationrespectively.
Figure1ProposedEntrepreneurialEcosystem
APPENDIX 2
1. Wireless Data Acquisition and Signal Processing to Detect Fish Using Mobile
ZTA Technologies is currently developing the first fish finder that utilizes a smartphone and/or
tablet application and communicates via Bluetooth with a sonar transducer. With mobile usage
increasing among users worldwide, ZTA Technologies wants to use the power and mobility of
smartphones and tablets and reengineer the way recreational and charter anglers use their fish
finders. With the sonar detection industry expected to grow to $1.2 billion over the next five
years, the most innovative and groundbreaking devices will be used in these processes. We
predict that adopters will utilize this mobile technology for easy transportation, data sharing,
and seamless updating compared to large and bulky stationary sonar detection devices.
Currently, only one mobile fish finder exists on the market (Vexilar’s SonarPhoneTM), but uses
WiFi technology instead of Bluetooth and uses a dated display for its application. This device
also does not provide constant, real-time updates of floor mapping, water depth and
temperature, speed, etc.
The Mobile Fish Finder by ZTA technologies eliminates the need to buy a stationary fish finder
and allows the user to use their existing transducer using an adapter that connects with
Bluetooth wireless technology. ZTA’s initial fish finder will offer all the features of a comparable
$300 fish finder at under $150, but will allow automatic updates and mobile capabilities.
Today’s smartphones and tablets offer greater computing power and screen resolution,
allowing for a easier to read screen and the ability to offer more, faster running features than a
traditional fish finder. Mobile devices also offer the ability to easily share mapping information
and statuses with social media integration, offering a more interactive and exciting experience
to the sport of fishing.
2. X-Wire Photovoltaic Racking System
To develop a Business Model for Joshua Pearce the creator of the X-Wire Solar Photovoltaic
Racking System. As a team we have tried to find possible options for Dr. Pearce to help realize
his goal of improved solar racking system installation, thereby reducing the total cost of a solar
photovoltaic system.
As a team we wanted to conduct market research as to whether this product is viable to take to
market by directly producing and selling on his own. Another possibility we came up with as a
team is the ability to license the product to an established manufacturing partner to develop
the X-Wire and use their existing contacts to take this product to market. We plan to interview
the Director of Energy Management and Sustainability at Michigan Tech on the recent
renovations to the Solar Energy System attached to the Forestry building. This would help give
us valuable information into the installation time of a different racking system. We would also
like to know if the University has any plans in the future to expand their solar energy
technology would they be interested in knowing if they like to partner up with a University
faculty member.
3. The Finn-Wing Fishing Lure
The Finn-Wing Fishing Lure inventor, Michael Bekkala, received a design patent on April of
2011. Currently this new product has no market shares in the fishing tackle industry. According
to American Sportfishing Association (ASA), growth in the fishing tackle industry was 16% in the
past 5 years. With approximately 60 million anglers in the United States, we have determined
that there is a viable market for our product. The Finn-Wing Fishing Lure team is assisting the
President of Keweenaw Tackle Company, Dale Elliott, with marketing the fishing lure. Last
semester our team helped Dale to establish a Facebook page for the Finn-Wing Fishing Lure.
This semester our team’s marketing strategy will revolve around maintaining the Facebook
page, help to establish a live website, and any other marketing initiatives required by our
sponsor.
Our goal is to make the Finn-Wing Fishing Lure’s introduction into the fishing tackle industry
this semester a success. Our vision for the Finn-Wing Fishing Lure is that it will become the
favored brand name fishing lure for fishing anglers for generations to come.
4. Use of Balise and Radio Frequency Identification (ID) Tags for the Rail Industry
The purpose of the Balise Research team is to prepare a comprehensive report covering balise
technology and current use in the rail industry. The research should focus on the European and
Asian markets, as they are the major users of the technology. The team will consist of Wireless
Communication Enterprise engineers and Business Development students in order to cover
both technological aspects of balise technology, as well as an assessment of the market. An
overview of the information found will be in this comprehensive report and will include an
overview of the balise technology, an assessment of the market, technical specifications on
balises in the market, programming information, deployment and installation remarks, and
balise testing and vulnerabilities. The team collected information from global rail sources.
Technical Expert Network and Michigan Tech faculty assisted in making rail contacts. The team
will also utilize its own research utilizing web and vendor product literature in order to have a
fully comprehensive report covering balise technology.
5. PureStone Spa Sanitizer for Water used in Massage Therapy
Jaroslaw Drelich, a professor of material science and engineering at Michigan Technological
University, is the inventor of PureStone. Jaroslaw created an antibacterial solution with a sandlike texture that he did not yet know the potential of. After speaking with a local stone
therapist, he saw an opportunity to form this solution into a solid, stone-like form for
antibacterial use. In between clients, the stones need to be cleaned and disinfected. This is
normally done by using soap and water or an antibacterial solution before being placed back
into the hot bath. He thought of an innovative way to reduce wait time between clients by
placing the PureStone in the bath water with the other therapy stones. The PureStone releases
antibacterial properties into the water, disinfecting the other stones for use.
Our plan as a team is to take the Purestone form simply a prototype to sending it to customers.
The Purestone was developed by Jaroslaw Drelich to reduce the amount of bacteria in the basin
water that holds the stones used for massage therapy. The prototype is currently in the testing
phase, however, we would like to move forward and create advertisements, determine the best
distribution channel, and find a way for customers to test the bacteria level in their water. We
have come up with several deliverables that our team will be responsible for completed and
turning into our sponsor to help move our project towards its end goal which is to see the
customer holding the product. We will consider our project a success if all of our deliverables
are completed on time and are of the best quality. We will be satisfied when we can say that
the product is ready to go to market, and can foresee the customers ordering our product.
6. Portable Hand-held Device to determine blood type
Set into motion a plan for taking a portable blood typing device to market. Our device’s
technology requires no expensive perishable reagents which is not a typical approach to
portable blood typing. Through investigation of the phenomena known as electrokinetics
Adrienne Minerick and her team has developed an industry changing application in the process.
What this group has developed within a community of researchers who also work in related
areas in this field is a product that can discern molecules that are expressed on cell surfaces.
The root differences are caused by blood type, making this device not only beneficial to a
variety of markets for a variety of reasons but also a portable, life-saving device at its smallest
form with increased accuracy, similar to the bulky device you’d find in a hospital lab. Uniquely,
within four minutes of receiving a single drop of blood but without any expensive, perishable
reagents this chip will deliver a blood type. By providing a highly accurate handheld blood
typing device, reduced cost due to no expensive perishable reagents, and battery powered
solution we can take our product to places where reagents won’t last. The device has the
potential to save even more lives by forecasting potential for diseases. The biggest resource we
need is time; the full potential for this project requires more than a semester’s work so for our
set timeframe we will work only towards putting the device on the market as portable blood
typer.
From a business standpoint the goals are to develop a name and face for the product, brand it.
Secondly dissect the market to find profitable points of entry. The goal would be to have a clear
picture of the landscape ahead by the semesters end so the engineering team has a path to
travel once the prototype is constructed. Using the resources provided through Michigan Tech
and Dr. Minerick we would hope to have a strong idea on how successful this product can be
and our ability to develop this picture will determine our success.
The opportunity to help can be spread to blood banks across the United States, military
applications and even developing countries. Big picture this device has the potential to detect
diseased cells and save even more lives with earlier detection. For now a minimal viable
product is the introduction of the lab-on-a-chip that delivers a blood type under a variety of
conditions.
7. Capacitive Sensor for Real-time detection of moisture in packaged food
Dr. Keat Ong originally developed a sensor that determined if dry packaged goods held up to
their expiration date. He later developed a capacitive spiral sensor that is printable and very
cheap to make, and can be used to measure a number of different things (vibrations, gasses,
heat, moisture, etc.). Ultimately we decided to continue along the food route and have this
sensor put in packaging to determine if a perishable food item were still good (such as milk and
meats). Further testing still needs to be done to verify that this is a viable option for the sensor,
as it needs to be able to accurately measure gas levels to correctly indicate if a product is no
longer good.
We hope to have the product finalized, and the FDA approval/patent process started by April.
We also need to contact stores and packaging companies to further fine tune this invention and
make sure that it serves the needs of consumers. There is a strong likelihood that in the event
grocery stores are interested in this, and we can get it FDA approved, that another team would
need to take over (or we would need to continue beyond this semester) in order to complete
everything.
For the first year we will need a marketing team, sales team, lawyer, patent, and FDA approval,
which we estimate will cost us around $500,000 total. In order for this to be successful we will
need to find a company that is willing to license our technology, and widespread adoption by
the packaging companies and grocery stores. If we contract at $.0075 per sensor, we would
need about 67 million sensors to be produced in order to break even (since these are
disposable this is feasible with widespread adoption).
8. Magline Braking System for Load-lifting Industry
The overall scope of the project is to improve Magliner’s current hand truck brake design and
reduce tire wear. Through our engineering team’s research and development we hope to get a
viable break design to satisfy Magliner’s required improvements. Our goal is to have the new
brake design completed by the end of this semester and be ready to present to our sponsors.
9. Anti-bacterial containers for sprout
Micro Technical Solutions (MTS) is a small research company lead by Dr. Drelich in Houghton
Michigan. Currently MTS has developed a material made of copper nano-particles to help
eliminate bacteria growth in the mini-green packaging industry. As members of the Antibacterial Container for Sprouts (ABCS) group, we have been working to improve the
engineering and business components for this product. Sprouts have been consumed by
humans for centuries. Just like any other vegetable sprouts are healthy to consume and have
nutritional benefits.
Consumption of sprouts is much more popular in Europe than in the United States. Europe
produces roughly 90,000 tons compared to the United States 32,000 tons. Sprouts in particular
have a shorter shelf life compared to other “minigreens”. This is due to how sprouts are
transported and packaged. Sprout containers create a perfect environment for bacteria to
grow. Bacteria outbreaks concern consumers, and produce a major problem for farmers. This
problem can be solved using MTS’s new ABCS container.
10. Low-cost life-saving breathing ventilators for hospitals in Ghana
The ventilator project was born out of the idea that there is a dire need for life saving
ventilation in developing countries. Our customer contacts and networking has revealed to us
that the true area with dire need is not adult ventilation, but infant ventilation.
We found through one of our competitors that ventilating infants is a very common procedure;
often an infant that is born prematurely will not have lungs that are developed enough to
support breathing. Fifteen million infants are born prematurely every year, one million of which
will die and half of those deaths are due to respiratory issues. We estimated 500,000 infants die
every year because they do not have access to ventilation. Infant ventilation is also more
effective than adult ventilation; this is due to the fact that infants are often born with
premature lungs that just need help for a couple of days before they develop enough to work
on their own.
The infant mortality rate in Ghana and surrounding areas is above the global average but not
strikingly high. Ghana’s infant mortality rate is around 39 deaths per 1,000 live births. The
highest mortality rate is Afghanistan with 119 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the lowest is
Monaco with 2. The United States averages 5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Ghana’s infant mortality rate was near 3.9% in 2013, a great improvement over the year 2000’s
7%. We believe a low cost infant ventilator could help bring Ghana’s infant mortality rate down
even further. Ghana’s mortality rate among premature infants is a shocking 80%. Much of this
is a direct result of undeveloped lungs, in all of Ghana’s major hospitals, there are no neonatal
ventilators. The introduction of a ventilator for infants could allow premature infants to receive
the care they need until their lungs are fully formed, saving thousands of lives.
To move forward with the infant ventilator, we need to perform more market research and find
an estimation of the impact the product would make. We would like to be able to quantify the
number of lives we could save by introducing an infant ventilator to certain markets. A step in
the right direction is that Ghana specifically states in their millennium goals that they want to
reduce the infant mortality rate within their country, and this would make an excellent starting
point for us.
The engineering team must work to make a ventilator that is much more precise for the
delicate lungs of infants. The current adult ventilator will be a good jumping off point. The price
point for the infant ventilator may have to fall well above the $1,000 price tag of the adult
ventilator; a price sensitivity analysis will be performed.
11. Assisted Learning Device for Individuals with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures equal access to public accommodations. Equal
access within in live entertainment is frequently loosely interpreted because accommodations
can become cost prohibitive. Common accommodations include assisted listening, live audio
interpretation, signing, and supertitles. Typically because of the cost these services they cannot
be offered at all performances. With the present idea the patron would have access to disability
services through an application which could be on their personal mobile device. Through the
program the patron could choose a combination of assisted listening, captioning, or even
interpretation through their devise. On the user side this would be a simple system streaming
requested services to them.
The content for this system would come from a server which would stream a combination of
prerecorded and live information to the user. Assisted listening would be accomplished simply
by sending a live audio feed from the performance space to the server and then on to the user.
Audio interpretation of the production for blind patrons could be a live feed (as it traditionally
is) or could be prerecorded and have sections triggered though MIDI from another show control
system. Signing and supertitles could be combined into closed captioning which could be
transcribed by the server or the script could be entered into the system before hand or even
better a hybrid system where the transcription is compared to the script for quicker processing.