Seven Executive MBA finalist teams from around the globe presented their business plans at the 2016 Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC), which took place March 17 at Gleacher Center. The competing teams—comprising the winners of the GNVC semifinals held earlier this year at Chicago Booth’s Chicago, London, and Hong Kong campuses—showcased a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial companies, from 3-D-printed surgical implements to video commerce.
Now in its eighth year, the GNVC is an expansion of the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge (NVC), and is designed to accommodate the growing entrepreneurial aspirations of Booth’s Executive MBA students around the globe. Teams included 3DMed and Appiness from London; SiidCap and V Cloud from Hong Kong; and ViaBlaze, Ensembl, and Science Tomorrow from Chicago.
Professor Waverly Deutsch and Booth 2016 graduates at the start-ups 3DMed, SiidCap, and Science Tomorrow describe the Global New Venture Challenge.
Waverly Deutsch :
One of the great advantages the EMBA provides, is that our students, they spend time in Asia, they spend time in Europe and they spend time in the US. So they're learning in different environments.
Justin Xiao:
We're bringing equity crowdfunding into Asia.
Joshua Rademeacher:
Well, the premise behind Science Tomorrow is it dramatically enhances the most powerful analytical tool in modern science, the scanning electron microscope.
Sheela Agarwal:
So we use 3D printing technology to create customized surgical instruments.
Joshua Rademeacher:
The most valuable part of the GNVC process is the process. They make you take a deliberate set of steps and always refining and creating your story so that you're building something that can resonate.
Sheela Agarwal:
I think the most valuable part of the program by far has been the coaching and the mentorship, both from professor Deutsche as well as the teaching assistants and the TA's. Everyone had someone for us to speak to.
Justin Xiao:
Professor Deutsch was just superb. I mean, she kind of taught us how to listen, because every time she'll give comments and we're like, "But, but, but, but," and she's like, "Guys, you have to learn how to listen."
Joshua Rademeacher:
If there was one message, it was that tell me a story that's going to make me want to invest in your business.
Joshua Rademeacher:
Well, Science Tomorrow has a pretty interesting trajectory. In the next six to nine months, hope to continue to validate the product and then bring it to market in about the middle of 2017.
Sheela Agarwal:
So our next step is actually to conduct a clinical trial using our instruments.
Desmond Foo:
And at the end of the day, Justin and myself has this small little dream of making a difference in this world.
“The NVC process is so powerful because you cannot pitch a business well unless you understand the business at its core,” said Waverly Deutsch, clinical professor of entrepreneurship and a GNVC coach. “We’re teaching the teams how to understand the core elements of their business model: the execution, the financials, the sales and marketing, the customer, the product development. In order to write a compelling business plan, you need to be able to talk about a compelling, convincing business.”
This year’s GNVC ended in a tie for both second and first place. Second-place winner ViaBlaze offers a collision-avoidance system for automobiles that utilizes innovative wireless technology to analyze the environment and prevent accidents. Fellow second-place honoree V Cloud is a solution platform to connect brand owners and grocery owners, and allow consumers in rural China access to multiple brands and products via their local grocery store. Each team took home $5,000 in prize money.
Science Tomorrow and Appiness tied for first place. Science Tomorrow has developed a quantitative secondary electron detector technology that increases the full potential of the scanning electron microscope. Appiness is a video commerce company that allows time-stamped products and brands in local and international videos to be made shoppable via any smart device. Each winner took home $7,500 in prize money.
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