Entrepreneurship Students Launch Company based on Nanofiber Technology
A team of four graduate students in the Jenkins MBA program’s entrepreneurship technology commercialization concentration evaluated the commercial potential of four technologies before deciding to write a business plan based on the nanofiber technology invented by Professor Xiangwu Zhang, a researcher in the NC State University College of Textiles.
The company aims to use the technology to commercialize next-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion ) batteries that have a theoretical storage capacity that is 10 times greater than current graphite anodes.
Tec-Cel will use its Li-ion battery nanofiber technology to build standard battery cell building blocks that will be used in battery packs for laptop computers, hybrid electric vehicles, wireless smartphones, power tools and other consumer electronics, said Roger Debo, manager of the Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (TEC) program in the NC State College of Management.
College of Management faculty associated with the TEC program developed the entrepreneurship technology commercialization concentration taught through the NC State Jenkins MBA program. The sequence of courses is open to all graduate students at NC State interested in learning how to assess the commercialization potential of new technologies and how to write a business plan and launch a commercial venture based on that technology.
The student team evaluated and chose Zhang’s technology last fall, using a methodology developed by the TEC Program – the TEC Algorithm. A total of six student teams evaluated 40 technologies from two universities and the private sector in the course of the two-semester curriculum last year, 18 of which were selected by the students for further analysis and potential business development. The student teams developed business plans for four of the technologies this spring
The Tec-Cel company was incorporated in May, said Al Bender, one of the student team’s two mentors. He now serves as CEO of the fledgling company. Assisting him as mentor was Lisa Chang, an alumna of the NC State Jenkins MBA entrepreneurship curriculum. (Read about TEC Program mentoring opportunities.)
Members of the student team are Jason Marlow, who received his MBA in May 2009. His teammates – all engineering students – were Justin Burnette, Marie Kerlau and Richard Wolf. All were part-time graduate students, three with full-time positions at technology companies in the Research Triangle Park. Kerlau has relocated out of the area.
Marlow, who has a full time position with Red Hat operations, said, “The idea of creating a company and building something from scratch … is very interesting to me. Going through the TEC program and learning how to analyze markets and the technologies, talking with people and figuring out what products might sell at what price – I felt that this was a holistic approach for learning how to start and run a business.”
He also said he saw applications for what he learned for “any company that’s growing quickly and has any type of entrepreneurial activity going on – new programs, new business units, new products. A lot of what I learned can be applied to a company like Red Hat.”
The new Tec-Cel “company was formed as a direct result of what the students did in the class,” Bender said.
“The TEC Program really reinforces the concept that the entrepreneurship commercialization curriculum is not just an educational process. Rather, it’s a process in which we are looking to launch companies, starting with technologies that have been developed with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in research funding,” he said.
“The students have high expectations for this technology,” Bender continued, adding that the students continue their involvement in what is now operating as a virtual company. Although the company has raised $47,000 in grants, “this is not enough to pay a salary,” he said. Bender also does not take a salary for his work with Tec-Cel.
“To get the company off the ground, with a team of employees, you need to raise venture capital. Doing that in this market requires a working prototype, and that’s the goal of the NC Innovative Development for Economic Advancement (NC IDEA) Seed Grant. Forming the company opened the door for Zhang to apply for the NC IDEA grant to support production of a prototype. Zhang also was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Daugherty Endowment Fund to continue his research.
The student entrepreneur teams work closely with NC State’s Office of Technology Transfer as they take steps to commercialize the technology that they are assessing. In this case, the Office of Technology Transfer staff are working with Zhang to secure a patent on his invention.
Bender also is working with an early stage therapeutic drug company, NanoVector Inc., which is commercializing a patent pending nanoparticle drug delivery system also developed at NC State University. Bender’s experience with nanoparticles was a perfect fit for the Tec-Cel project. He also has worked with several other student teams in the entrepreneurship technology commercialization concentration over the years, several of which have resulted in start-up companies.
Other Companies in Development
In addition to Bender and Chang, 11 other volunteer mentors helped to guide this year’s student teams as they followed the TEC Algorithm. In the end, this year’s class produced four potential companies, Debo said. The other three are:
GaN Devices, a power MOSFET (Metal Oxide Seminconductor Field Effect Transister) company whose initial products will be Power MOSFETs for high power alternative energy generating technologies. GaN submitted one U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant proposal to support R&D activities and is preparing a second proposal for submission to the National Science Foundation.
This team is also supported by the FREEDM Systems Center at NC State, one of the latest Gen-III Engineering Research Centers established by the National Science Foundation in 2008. Technology inventors are Mark Johnson and Doug Barriage, professors in the NC State College of Engineering, with Matt Veety and Mike Morgensen as research assistants. On the entrepreneurship commercialization student team were Ryan Fava, Akalu Lentiro, Carol Vercellino and Doug White, all graduate students in the College of Engineering who were in the entrepreneurship and technology commercialization concentration.
Ligamar, a protein purification company incorporated in 2008, is in negotiations to employ student team members remaining in the area as part of its founding team. It is based on research by Ruben Carbonell, director of NC State’s Biomanufacturing Training Education Center (BTEC) and professor of chemical engineering, and Patrick Gurgel, adjunct assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, with College of Engineering research assistants Halon Yang and Guangquan Wang.
On the entrepreneurship commercialization student team are Jenkins MBA students Tim Armstrong, Lemont Baker, Tim Tucker, Jessica Willoughby and Rui Zhen, and Erin Smith, a PhD student in the College of Textiles. This student team placed in three events in NC State’s Inaugural eGames held in the past year. They received a $1,500 silver Athena Award, which focuses on how design can be a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives; a $500 silver Calliope Award for the team’s presentation; and a $750 bronze Apollo Award for its business plan.
EcoFresh, a packaging company, has placed business development on hold while the inventor continues working on its technology.
Certificate Program Begins this Fall
The College of Management is going to offer its graduate level entrepreneurship technology commercialization curriculum as a certificate program, beginning this fall. Students who enroll in the certificate program will participate in the same classes as students in the entrepreneurship technology commercialization concentration in the MBA and other degree programs at NC State. Additional information will be available soon. In the meantime, those interested in the certificate program may contact Roger Debo or Ted Baker, associate professor in the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Photo cutline
Jason Marlow, top right, with mentors Al Bender and Lisa Chang, and team members Richard Wolf, front left, and Justin Burnette worked on their NC IDEA grant application at one of many team meetings this past year.
