Profiles of Winning Teams
First Place - Altus Poles
Team Members:
Mark J Jensen
Contact Person:
Mark J. Jensen (mark@altuspoles.com)
Institution:
Brigham Young University (USA)
Funding Sought:
US$300,000
Detailed Company Description
Imagine a communication tower that is lighter than aluminum, stronger than steel, and less expensive than traditional towers. Altus Poles aims to be the leader in composite grid towers and poles by decreasing manufacturing costs through a patent–protected, automated manufacturing technology. The value of Altus Poles lies in its ability to change the current composite-grid construction process from expensive hand-weaving to an automated braiding technology. Hand-weaving requires nearly 400 man hours for a 40-ft composite tower; Altus Poles will manufacture the same tower in just 2 man hours. Altus Poles aims to revolutionise the wireless communication towers and utility pole industry by providing a tower/pole that is stronger, lighter, cheaper to install, and maintenance-free.
PAIN & PRODUCT
Businesses in the tower industry experience pain in the transportation, installation, and maintenance of towers. The solution Altus Poles provides is a lighter structure that is less expensive to transport, easier to install, and requires no maintenance.
MARKET
Although this technology can be applied to many industries, we have chosen to focus on the communication tower and utility pole industries. The total potential market for these two segments is US$3.2 billion annually, with a growth rate of 8.5%. Our target customers within the industry will be tower owners. We will also seek a partnership with a large manufacturer to benefit from their established distribution network and customer base.
Second Place - Biofont
Team Members:
Asim Hussain, Sukhsagar Jolly
Contact Person:
Asim Hussain (asimhussain01@gmail.com)
Institution:
University of Waterloo (Canada)
Funding Sought:
US$150,000 in seed financing
Detailed Company Description
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogen that annually leads to the hospitalisation of 390,000 patients, causes over 19,000 deaths, and results in US$4 billion in treatment costs in the US alone. Furthermore, it had developed resistance to several antibiotics rendering most treatments ineffective. Currently, MRSA screening is integrated into the pre-admission protocols of the vast majority of hospitals, resulting in over 4.6 million MRSA tests in the US each year. However, current methods of testing involve bacterial culturing, a process conducted by insufficiently trained nurses that takes up to 48 hours, requires sample transportation to laboratories, and the expensive quarantine of suspected carriers for up to 2 days with an average per patient treatment cost of US$5100.
SOLUTION
Biofont is introducing the next medical technology breakthrough: a screening tool that can indicate within minutes in a simple yes/no format if someone is colonised with MRSA. The strips use non-invasive, painless saliva samples and require no prior training to use effectively. These point-of-care strips will drastically reduce wait times for results, eliminate the need for primary overnight isolation, improve sample collection, and reduce costs. The strips will be able to determine whether the individual tested is incubating, suffering from, or recovering from MRSA.
3rd Place - InnoTest Limited
Team Members:
Kunal Parwani, Chen Zi Xiang
Contact Person:
Kunal Parwani (kunalparwani@gmail.com)
Institution:
City University of Hong Kong (China)
Funding Sought:
US$250,000
Detailed Company Description
Our product is a transgenic fish which can be used as an innovative testing method. This fish can test for harmful substances found in consumer products and the environment. It is also historically accurate in detecting Estrogenic Endocrine Disruptors (EEDs), a major group of harmful substances, and when it does, it produces varying intensities of green fluorescence. By applying the fish in the preliminary stage of the testing process, 60% of the time and money will be saved. This fish is a proven technology developed by the City University of Hong Kong's Center of Marine Environmental Research and Innovative Technology (MERIT). It has been patented by the City University Research Limited.
MARKET NEEDS
This business stems from the current issues in society, namely:
• Increasing concern for safety of consumer products
• Lengthy, inefficient and expensive testing processes (which limit the extensiveness of product testing)
• Deteriorating state of the environment due to harmful substances
VISION
Our vision is to revolutionise the testing industry by establishing a platform of innovative testing solutions which
• make testing more efficient, economical and accurate,
• enhance the safety of consumer products, and
• minimize the damage of harmful substances on the environment
BARRIERS TO ENTRY
The technology with the registered patent, continuous innovation on the testing methods and the clients' high switching costs will guard against potential competitors.
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