© 2012 Coventry University Entrepreneurs
At last night’s CUE 1K Awards Ceremony, 11 Winners and 11 Runners-up were announced. There was an especially high quality of entrants this year, hence the increase in the number of prizes awarded from 7 last year to 11 this year. Winners received £1K and runners-up will receive free entry into the 5K Competition and be paired up with mentors to help them improve on their ideas.
CUE 1K Winners
1. AQDOT
Microencapsulation is currently a multi‐billion‐per‐annum industry with established applications in food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and personal care products. The current unmet consumer demand is to produce sustainable and inexpensive capsules that can be triggered to release bio-macromolecules. To address this critical industry challenge over the next decades, AQDOT has developed an innovative technology to produce microcapsules with greatly simplified manufacturing procedure and unprecedented ability to encapsulate and release enzymes, antibodies and other high value materials. We are currently building a prototype for the consumer products that will act as a demonstrator for the many other possible applications.
2. Coventry Nanosystems
Coventry Nanosystems aims to become the leading supplier of high quality Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) by a novel, patented method based on Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapour Deposition (FCCVD). The company is a spin-out from the Department of Material Science and Metallurgy and seeks to obtain first commercial sample of reproducible, long and highly conductive SWCNTs at low cost by the end of the year 2013. These nanotubes will be particularly suitable for improving the performance of copper in electrical applications.
3. HemoTest
Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a WHO Public Health Priority that constitutes one of the main causes for child-mortality in Sub-Saharan African countries due to the unavailability of cheap, low-infrastructure diagnostics. HemoTest, a patent-pending paper-based microfluidics device, is a frugal point-of-care diagnostic for sickle-cell-trait status that could alleviate morbidity and mortality associated with SCD and its related disease, malaria, in resource-limited settings. We plan to continue HemoTest-prototype development and approval in partnership with malaria-related-NGO grants and distribution channels, with the aim of becoming the major SCD diagnostic in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
4. PDH Therapeutics
PDH Therapeutics will become the market leader in the processing of Asian therapeutic natural products for use in the global nutraceuticals and functional food markets. The company has developed a proprietary enzyme-based technology to extract bioactive ingredients from Asian medicinal plants. This technology produces greater yield, is more economical and is more environment-friendly as compared to conventional extraction methods. The initial target clientele will be nutraceuticals and functional food companies as well as health supplement manufacturers. The main revenue stream will be through product sales.
5. Purit Technologies
Purit Technologies Ltd (Purit) is a UK biotechnology company that has developed a technology platform that enables a faster, cheaper and more scalable solution for the purification and isolation of biopharmaceuticals. Porous micro-capillary film (MCF) is a versatile, low cost, and robust material which can operate at higher flow rates and pressures than traditional packed bed columns providing a route to the industry’s first ‘plug and play’ (and throw away) downstream processing solution. The market for columns, supports and ancillary reagents in the chromatography sector was $6.6 billion in 2011 and will reach $8.9 billion by 2017 (growing at a CAGR of 4.1%)1. Purit is well positioned to address this market via a business model that comprises OEM licensing, materials supply and direct product supply.
6. Smart Blade
Blade failures account for 12% of wind turbines’ downtime according to reliability studies by EU ReliaWind and contribute to 16.5% of turbines’ operation and maintenance costs. SmartBlade is a patent-pending condition monitoring technology which can reduce the failure rate of blades by 60%, hence increasing wind farm revenues by more than 1.6%. The product, comprising of a number of ultra-compact nanosensors and our BladeSoft application software, offers straightforward retrofit into new wind turbines as well as existing ones. This is a relatively new market and we expect to take a 10% market share by 2017, equivalent to installation onto 800 turbines, generating revenues of £15.2million.
7. IntelliScheduler for Doctors
Like waiting at the doctor’s office? No one does. IntelliScheduler for Doctors is a smart, cloud-based scheduler that reduces patients’ wait-times and dynamically updates appointments in real-time. Using proprietary machine learning algorithms, IntelliScheduler statistically learns doctors’ behaviors and patients’ arrival habits to predict when patients will actually be seen. It gracefully handles service-time variations, delays, and emergencies to minimize patients’ frustration and doctors’ unbilled time. It also allows patients to leave waiting rooms by text-messaging estimated wait-times. By increasing customer satisfaction and likelihood-of-return, IntelliScheduler raises doctors’ revenues. IntelliScheduler can provide customizable, easy-to-setup, privacy-compliant software for over 250,000 US/UK physician offices.
8. Nunuza
Where do people sell their products in the developing world? Nunuza is creating a program that enables people in developing nations to buy and sell things. We are developing an SMS based system that is accessed using the simplest of technology; a normal cell phone. In a nutshell: An easy-to-use E-Bay®.
9. Visual Intellect
We provide insights into the UK housing market by turning large data sets into understandable, visual maps. These insights help decision makers in the property market make the right investment and policy choices. With 40% projected growth in global data generated per year, Big Data is a rapidly growing market. McKinsey estimates the European public sector administration to be worth $250 billion per year. We secured our first contract, which will deliver visual analysis of open data to inform a government report.
10. HubCiti
HubCiti is a social enterprise that creates a direct digital bridge between the poverty- stricken third world and online supporters and donors. It allows people in developed countries to fund and remotely partake in running farming businesses in my village of Kyaka in Uganda. HubCiti is creating a real-life FarmVille. The farms create jobs for the poorest in Kyaka, empowers them to earn a wage, create wealth and attain improved standards of living, rather than depend on hand outs. HubCiti provides an engaging and enjoyable interactive learning opportunity for donors by offering those online the opportunity to have a hand in creating a successful agricultural business, while practically and collectively tackling the challenge of poverty.
11. Written Medicine
DrugInfo Ltd (Trading as Written Medicine) is a fledgling company aiming to increase patient access to information and medication awareness. The literature in the UK and elsewhere points to health inequalities between the majority population and the ethnic minorities where the latter are disadvantaged by their inability to speak or understand the majority language. Our aim is to reduce this inequality by providing written translations to these minorities. Our business is established on the concept of personalised medicine. We will sustain this by keeping the patient at the forefront of our innovation and always aim to deliver the best service.
CUE 1K Runners-Up
1. Calvitium Solutions
Global sales in hair loss prevention products have risen by 80% in the last 4 years to £0.5b in 2011. Calvitium Solutions has developed a patentable product with specific mode of action, ameliorating potential side effects and is reasonably priced. Our product will be patented in major markets including Japan, USA, and UK. Our core expertise will be production, intially at Babraham Incubator, and our licencee’s expertise (eg. Unilever) will be used for marketing, distribution and selling. Our expected sales in the first 5 years of production is £135m, capturing 1.92% of the market share. We will exit via acquisition.
2. Detect-All
Detect-All is a Coventry based start-up striving to empower allergy sufferers through the creation and development of the world’s first portable, personalised, real time allergen detection device. With the explicit aim of producing a user friendly, highly sensitive device, Detect-All will remove the guesswork allergy suffers face on a daily basis. In doing so, millions of people affected by allergies worldwide will be protected from potentially lethal situations.
3. SIM Prints
Accurate patient identification is essential for providing care to patients. However, in many developing countries, patient records do not exist or are difficult to reliably manage with community health workers operating under the difficult conditions of the field. Leveraging the new wave of mobile-phone enabled health applications, SIM-Prints is a prototyping hardware and software that can ID patients using fingerprint recognition biometrics connected to mobile phones. This technology will allow faster and more reliable patient identification for vaccination drives, HIV/AIDS screening, Tuberculosis drug adherence, and a number of other critical applications.
4. SITT Alarm Clock
SITT Alarm Clock brings the pleasure of sleeping to a whole new level, gently solving the main problem of one’s precious dream time - the wake up moment. By combining the processing power of the newest smartphones, an advanced SITT sensors and a reasonable price, it promises to become one of the most attractive solutions for guaranteeing a better and more energetic day for its users. The SITT alarm will be positioned as a top quality, reliable yet affordable device first and foremost for busy people. It is a device that we designed for ourselves.
5. Natural Informatics
Natural Informatics Limited was formed in the second quarter of 2012 after receiving a seed loan from Downing Enterprise to research and develop a wireless non-contact physiological monitoring platform for use in connected health and wellbeing applications. Although the technology has potential to add unique value in many applications, the initial focuss is on generating revenue by selling a monthly subscription service in the sports and fitness market.
6. EchoBox
EchoBox lets bloggers distribute and monetise their blogs on smartphones. More and more people are using smartphones to read their news and blogs. To counter this trend, news outlets have created beautiful mobile apps. Bloggers, on the other hand, do not have the financial means or the know-how to create great mobile experiences for their readers. EchoBox solves this problem. We distribute a blogger’s blogspot posts on our mobile app and forward our ad revenues back to the blogger (after taking a cut). EchoBox will only take two minutes for the bloggers to set up and will be free for their readers to download.
7. Handsome.ly
Handsome.ly is a waitlist system for people that are interested in getting a haircut with a chosen salon soon. With a simple click of a button on a computer or phone, the salon can bring customers to you when it’s quiet, or fill out last-minute cancelled appointments. For providing this time flexibility, the salon offers the customer a discount. We’re tying together the needs of customers and salons to make a service that is valuable to both. Salons get to maximise their capacity and the customers can afford to go to the higher-end salons.
8. Project Policy
ProjectPolicy is a tool that lets businesses, universities, think tanks and individuals understand free public data. Founded in Coventry, Project Policy aims to draw together different sources of data and make the data easy to digest.
9. SnipEat
Are you tired of cooking at home? Do you always cook the same meals? Do you dislike the quality of takeaways food? Find restaurants too expensive? SnipEAT is THE solution! SnipEAT is an online platform that allows you to purchase quality restaurant’s meals at an affordable price in a few clicks. How is this possible? Top-up some credits and use them to eat delicious discounted meals. The service allows you to takeaway, seat in or get your food delivered to you. SnipEAT, eat better food everyday!
10. Nutri-Services Healthcare
According to Dietitians in Obesity Management the obesity epidemic has dramatically changed the weight management field and caused an urgent need for the dietetic profession to re-consider current approaches. Nutri-Services Healthcare (Nu-SH) is a practical, cost-saving intervention against the escalating epidemic of obesity in the UK. It is an online weight loss and weight maintenance programme designed to recreate the experience of one-to-one dietetic consultations in combination with the successful aspects of commercial online weight loss programmes. Nu-SH also provides evidence-based research through a rolling programme of high-quality intervention assessment.
11. GoTo
Road congestion, car emissions, strain on parking facilities and increasing fuel costs are problems in cities around the world, both in developed and undeveloped countries. However, with an average of only 1.5 passengers per car journey in Europe, there is an immense scope for using cars more efficiently. GoTo will facilitate as many shared car journeys as possible in order to reduce emissions, make travel more affordable and create a more mobile population, lessen road congestion and the strain on parking facilities, and promote cooperation amongst people.
Thanks to all participants, mentors and judges for their time and effort! We look forward to the full business plans for the final stage of the competition.
