OPEN Forum from American Express: 12 Ways To Recharge Your Business In 2012

12 Ways To Recharge Your Business In 2012

Barry Moltz, Small Business  Speaker, Consultant, and Author, Barry Moltz
The holidays are always a good time to step back and make sure your business is on track. Here are some tips.

Read More: http://www.openforum.com/articles/12-ways-to-recharge-your-business-in-2012

This article is from OPEN Forum. Powering small business success.

SIU debuts its Saluki Innovation Lab

Just in case you missed it!

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/article_a862d1f8-01eb-11e1-9ad7-001cc4c002e0.html

By Codell Rodriguez, The Southern thesouthern.com | Posted: Saturday, October 29, 2011 1:00 am

Paul Newton

Paul Newton / The Southern Moderator Bill Rowe speaks about the differences between licensing your product and producing it yourself in a University �Spin-Out� panel discussion during the SIUC Innovation and Technology Expo on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Dunn-Richmond Center.

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CARBONDALE - The SIU Technology and Innovation Expo put the research of faculty and students on center stage Friday at the Dunn-Richmond Center.

The event included speeches by faculty innovators, Chancellor Rita Cheng and Phil Pfeffer, president and CEO of Treemont Capital Inc.

Faculty members also were awarded for innovations, and a student was announced as the winner of a poster contest. The event also included the ribbon cutting of the Saluki Innovation Lab.

The Innovation Lab contains lab equipment for startup businesses such as an ultra low freezer, reach-in incubator and a table-top autoclave. Kyle Harfst, executive director of the Southern Illinois Research Park, said the facility will offer equipment for local startups that do not have access to such equipment.

The USDA Rural Devel-opment helped fund the lab. Area Director Rusty Wanstreet said it is the mission of the group to create business and jobs for local communities. The lab was also funded by Delta Regional Authority and the Southern Illinois Research Park.

In addition to celebrating the new lab, the event also honored the faculty and students who push research forward at SIU. Ahmed Soueidan, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, won the student poster contest for his design of a fanless aircraft engine to make airplanes safer from collisions with birds.

Paul Chugh, professor in the Department of Mining and Mineral Resources Engineering, received the Inventor of the Year award.

His inventions include a water spray system that reduces dust exposure in coal mines.

Bakul Dave, associate professor in chemistry and biochemistry, received the award for University Startup of the Year. He has developed startups Nano-aqueonics, a technology for surface coatings, and Enki Technology Inc., which works on solar panel technology.

Geology professor Ken Anderson, who started feedstock company The-rmaquatica, received the award for Innovator of the Year. Anderson said it was very gratifying to get the award and he owes a lot of success to his team.

"There's more than me involved, and I'm happy to share the credit," Ander-son said.

Anderson said the research park at the Dunn-Richmond Center is an excellent investment in the future of the region because it nurtures local inventors and businesses.

"The work being done here will eventually return a lot of benefits to Southern Illinois," Ander-son said.

Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/article_a862d1f8-01eb-11e1-9ad7-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1eMXHxGte

SIU alum makes medical breakthrough

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu-alum-makes-medical-breakthrough/article_348435de-13fb-11e1-b7e5-001cc4c002e0.html

BY CODELL RODRIGUEZ, THE SOUTHERN thesouthern.com Posted: Monday, November 21, 2011 1:00 am

Paul Newton / The Southern SIU alum Matt Reavill of Plainfield recently won
an award for inventing a medical device that reduces the risk of infection
for patients who need a central line catheter.

After his 60-year-old father died from an infection from a central line catheter
after heart surgery in 1994, Matt Reavill of Plainfield knew there had to be a better way.

Reavill, an SIU Carbondale alum, created the ReavillMED CV. Instead of catheterizing the heart through a surgical procedure through the neck, his device operates through an IV and enters through the arm without a need for any kind of surgery. By going through the IV tube, the catheter also stays in a sterile evironment, cutting down the risk of infection.

"It's just that stupidly simple," Reavill said.

Reavill attended SIU from 1984 to 1988, receiving an education in engineering. At the time of his father's death, he was selling medical devices. That's when he realized there may be an easier way to monitor the heart. He later lost his job, but he saw it as a new opportunity.

"Now I had to do it," Reavill said. "Blessings appear in very odd form."

Reavill admits it's surprising no one has thought of doing this before, but now that his idea is out there, others are taking notice. His method, which has been approved by the FDA, recently won first place at the Health Pitch Battlefield in London. He will develop the ReavillMED CV out of the Illinois Small Business Development Center in the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center at SIU Carbondale.

"That's where my loyalties lie," Reavill said.

Reavill said he also plans to hire disabled veterans for the business because "it's only right the money goes back to the soldiers who gave everything they have."

It's not just loyalty to the university that brings Reavill here. He also has a fondness for Carbondale. He said his father-in-law, Bob Brewer, served as a school board member for 38 years and his mother-in-law, Betsy, founded the Apple Tree gift shop.

Emily Carter, director of Entrepreneurship and Business Development at SIU, said being able to assist Reavill is a great opportunity.

"The Illinois Small Business Development Center at SIU is really excited about helping a creative alum like Matt," Carter said. "His desire to launch this innovate venture in our region could lead to not only new jobs, but showcase to others that Southern Illinois is a great place to be an entrepreneur."

Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu-alum-makes-medical-breakthrough/article_348435de-13fb-11e1-b7e5-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1eMIILQpv

Nine completing Operation Mousetrap this week

Saluki Times

http://news.siu.edu/2011/11/111511cjm11351.html

November 15, 2011

By Christi Mathis 11/15/2011 14:00:04

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Operation Mousetrap, a program helping Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty, staff and students learn about commercializing their research and innovation technologies, will wrap up a 12-week session with a ceremony recognizing those successfully completing the intensive series this fall.

The program concludes at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, as participants present "elevator pitches," short explanations designed to elicit funding contributions in no more time than an elevator ride requires.  Following the presentations at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road in Carbondale, there will be a 2:15 p.m. ceremony where participants will receive certificates signifying their completion of the program.

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Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the Operation Mousetrap entrepreneurial technology transfer program achievement ceremony at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, in Room 241 at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center.  John Koropchak, vice chancellor for research and graduate dean, will present certificates of achievement to those completing the program.  Several of the participants will also be on hand to discuss their research and technology innovations following the ceremony.

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"This is our third cohort of faculty researchers and scientists participating in Operation Mousetrap since the program began in January 2010," said Kyle L. Harfst, executive director of the Southern Illinois Research Park.  "We also have several students with technology-based businesses in this group and are extremely excited about the potential for commercializing the participants' research and technology into Southern Illinois businesses."

The fall 2011 Operation Mousetrap series has included workshops and discussions highlighting entrepreneurship, marketing research and analysis, identifying funding sources and working with investors, protecting businesses and intellectual property in the legal realm, defining the target market, testing business concepts, enhancing investor presentations, building and compensating the organizational team and much more.  Presenters have included entrepreneurs, lawyers, business founders and owners, accountants, consultants and various other experts.

The program's goal is assisting technology and life science researchers in bringing their innovations from the concept stage to the marketplace.  Ultimately, Operation Mousetrap seeks to increase the University's commercialization successes through licensing opportunities and creation of technology-based startup companies in the region.

"Inventors at SIU have been increasingly successful in taking their research ideas from the desk and bench top to the market and with today's economy, perhaps as at no other time in recent history, is this more important.  I believe that the culture on campus has advanced to where inventors have more information and are much better prepared to do so, with Operation Mousetrap being a great example of what we now offer to provide assistance," said John A. Koropchak, vice chancellor for research and graduate dean.

Operation Mousetrap uses FastTrac TechVenture, a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation entrepreneurship and business program, and those who complete the program are eligible for three months of free rent at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center through the Small Business Incubator Program, which also offers additional business and technical assistance.

Those completing Operation Mousetrap this month include:

            •  Samir Aouadi, professor, physics

            •  Yoginder "Paul" Chugh, professor, mining and mineral resources

            •  Manoj Mohanty, professor, mining and mineral resources

            •  Tod Policondriotes, assistant scientist, Center for Advanced Friction Studies

            •  Lichang Wang, professor, chemistry and biochemistry

            •  Mike Philip, CEO, Rover Enterprises

            •  Michael Rzeznik, a senior majoring in information systems technologies and chief technology officer of Rover Enterprises

            •  D'arcy Stone, doctoral candidate in applied physics, working with Samir Aouadi

            •  Benjamin Wasson, MBA student and CEO of OrderAce

Those partnering to offer the SIU Carbondale program include the Illinois Small Business Development Center, Small Business Incubator Program and the Southern Illinois Research Park.  Coaching and providing assistance for the fall session were:  Harfst; Lynn Andersen Lindberg, director of business innovation and research; Katie Dzugan, master's student in mass communication and media arts; Hannah Rummel, senior marketing major; Brandon Soltwisch, business administration doctoral student; and Toni Whitfield, MBA student.

Article: Five steps toward commercialization for university researchers

http://www.technologytransfertactics.com/content/2011/11/09/five-steps-toward-commercialization-for-university-researchers/

Idea to Product Regional March 2-3 at Saint Louis Univ: Call for Ideas

Greetings from Saint Louis University:

As previously communicated the Idea to Product (I2P) competition is a unique academic competition that is designed to examine the feasibility of more complex, broad sweeping, high impact or technology innovations in the post ideation, yet pre-business plan phase.  

  

For the past six years universities from Missouri and Illinois have sent up to five student teams to compete in the regional.   New this year is the addition of the 20 KEEN engineering entrepreneurship schools (re: http://www.keennetwork.com/about-keen/) to the competition.  According to SLU's KEEN Fellow Dr. Sridhar Condoor  "We are truly excited to expand I2P to include teams from the KEEN schools as the students learn so much about the commercialization process, receive invaluable feedback from the expert judges and are eligible for thousands of dollars in prize money." 

Once again students submit their entry in a two page format (re:  http://www.slu.edu/Documents/business/eweb/I2PMO-ILCompetitionRules2011-12x.pdf) on or before January 30, 2012 to ecenter@slu.edu.  Semi-finalists are then selected from all the schools' submissions and invited to present to a panel of entrepreneurial experts on Friday afternoon March 2nd.  The finals are on held Saturday morning March 3rd with the winners announced that day around 1PM.  For more information please contact Kevin Schulte at schulteka@slu.edu or 314.484.4860 or go to http://www.slu.edu/x19099.xml or http://www.eweb.slu.edu.

Thank you for your previous interest and we look forward to your students participating this year. 

 

Kevin A. Schulte

Entrepreneur in Residence

SLU Parks School of Engineering

314.484.4860

1 Message from MarketLaunchers: St. Louis manufacturer looking for new products

Dear Inventor --

 

Market Launchers has just contracted with a plastics manufacturer here in St. Louis that is looking to acquire additional consumer products to sell in retail stores. We are looking for products that are "Little, portable affordable items that make your life better." Here are the details:

 

• Products do not have to be retail-ready, because the company is a plastics manufacturer and can manufacture them. It should be pretty far along in the development stage, though.
• The company will take care of the packaging so that each product has the same feel as the rest of their line.
• The company prefers products that are patented or patent-pending, but they might sign an NDA in some cases.
• PRICE POINTS: Product must be able to be manufactured for around $2.50 or less, and it should retail for $10 or less. If you're unsure, just ask me.
• If you are already selling it in retail stores, your website or on TV, that is OK.

The company is a new client of mine, and they have their own product line and are looking to expand it. If you think your product(s) meets the above criteria, then please send an e-mail to me (Paul Niemann) at niemann7@aol.com with either of the following info:

 

1.  Your web site address, and your contact info.

OR

2.  A description, including pictures, and your contact info. If you have a picture of the packaging, please include that, too. 

 

Here's what you will get from me within 48 hours of your product submission, via e-mail:

Either an "I'm going to submit this to my client."

OR 

an "I'm sorry, but it's not what we're looking for."

 

Either way, you will hear back from me within 48 hours. Thanks!

 

Best Regards,
 
Paul Niemann
www.MarketLaunchers.com
Office: 636-477-8000
Cell: 217-653-7058