Inside VT KnowledgeWorks

Countdown to the Entrepreneurship Summit

Entrepreneurs are news at VT KnowledgeWorks and on Twitter.

The deadline for an Intent to Compete form in the  VT KnowledgeWorks Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit Business Concept Competitions - one for students, one open - is February 5, 2010.

Nanosafe Founder Co-Edits Book on Nanotechnology Risk Management

Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management, co-edited by Matthew Hull and Diana Bowman, is on Amazon.com's Hot New Releases in Nanotechnology.  I wrote more about that story on Handshake 2.0.

Hull founded NanoSafe, headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and a VT KnowledgeWorks member company, in Blacksburg, Virginia.

I asked Matthew Hull, "Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety looks like a textbook. Am I correct in assuming it's written for students in courses?"  He kindly replied:

Absolutely.  The book would fit nicely with a graduate level or undergraduate level technical or business course focused on balancing the risks of technologies with their commercial development and ultimate societal acceptance.  There's a shortage of information resources on nanotech EHS, particularly resources that really lay out the issues like our book does.  A newcomer to nanotechnology could pick up this book and develop a strong understanding of the major challenges, who the key players are, and what management strategies are being adopted globally. 

 

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NanoSafe, Inc. helps nanotechnology organizations navigate emerging environmental health and safety (EHS) issues.  NanoSafe, Inc. offers consulting, testing, and research and development services designed to accommodate a broad range of client needs.  Founded in 2007 by Matthew Hull, NanoSafe is headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and is a member company of VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Here's more about NanoSafe on Inside VT KnowledgeWorks.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

VT KnowledgeWorks Member Company Abokia Wins SCOUT Award from LeClairRyan

From VT KnowledgeWorks sponsor LeClairRyan:

LeClairRyan is pleased to announce that Abokia has been selected as the recipient of the first Southwest Virginia Connection for Originating Unique Technology (SCOUT) Award. The LeClairRyan SCOUT award recognizes an entrepreneur or emerging business in southwest Virginia with a unique idea that is poised for the next stage of its evolution.

Abokia seeks to deliver easily customizable and massively accelerated biocomputing software in order to address the inability of today’s computing technology to keep up with the exponential growth in genomic sequencing information.  Specifically, with the computing required to perform routine sequence analysis increasing 100-fold every 18 months, a growth rate that is 50-fold more than the projected computing capability of processors, Abokia’s innovative software solutions promise to bridge this ever-widening gap, thus enabling scientists and engineers to accelerate discovery in the life sciences.

“With the looming deluge of DNA promised by today’s sequencing technologies, our society sits at the dawn of a new era where high-end computing has become the key to unleashing discoveries in the life sciences,” said Dr. Heshan Lin, founder of Abokia.  “As such, Abokia sits at the nexus of high-end computing, bioinformatics, and genomics to enable scientists to make discoveries faster and at a fraction of the cost.  Initially, we will be commercializing the cutting-edge bioinformatics research coming out of Virginia Tech.”

Abokia will deliver their massively accelerated biocomputing software through the use of emerging commodity computing platforms that will enable users to access information on demand – whether on their smartphone, laptop or desktop.  Abokia’s products encompass technology related to algorithmic transformation, computational acceleration, and I/O acceleration.  The end result of the convergence of these technologies will be an increase in both processing speed and data transfer capabilities that will ultimately enhance a multitude of downstream processes such as biomanufacturing, rational drug design, and real-time pathogen detection.

“We are invested in knowing the business needs of our venture capital clients,” said LeClairRyan Venture Capital Practice Area Team Leader Michael Drzal. “Being immersed in the industry, we recognize there are many exceptional Southwest Virginia entrepreneurs with great ideas who are seeking capital. Establishing this award was a natural outgrowth of our desire to invest in those entrepreneurs and their ideas.  I am very pleased we can assist Abokia in bringing this cutting edge technology to the bioinformatics/genomics market.”

As the recipient of the award, Abokia will receive up to $15,000 in legal services over the next 12 months.  The firm plans to offer the award again in 2011.  The application process will begin in August 2010.

About LeClair Ryan
Founded in 1988, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and high-stakes litigation.  With offices in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the firm has more than 300 attorneys representing a wide variety of clients throughout the nation.

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The SCOUT Award was first announced on Handshake 2.0 when LeClairRyan was featured in the Rackspace Tech Showcase.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Testimonial for FurnishWEB

From FurnishWEB, a member of VT KnowledgeWorks:

We were delighted to announce that the FurnishWEB Software Suite was selected by Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc. for order and inventory tracking.  We were honored to receive these kind works from Konda Berry, Regional Account Manager, Storkcraft:

As an Indepedent Sales Representative, I love the FurnishWEB program.  I am responsible for customer service and delivery of information to my customers as well as the sales growth.
 
FurnishWEB not only provides instant viewing and tracking of orders, shipments and exact inventory, it provides the sales tools necessary to build the business with my customers.  I no longer have to request sales stats, images or any information regarding my account.  It's all provided to the customer and myself instantly. 
 
In the last couple months while visiting my accounts, I used FurnishWEB as part of my sales demonstration  to gather detailed information about their account (in a matter of seconds).  This is information that would have taken me hours to figure manually. 
 
It also provides images, statistics and pricing to my stores under the download link without having to email or snail mail information.  I can access it anywhere 24/7.  My accounts like this as well, because I am not always available  to take their call, and they too can get instant answers. 
 
When you work for a company that is technology driven, FurnishWEB is the perfect partner offering that next step in IT as well as customer service.  The implementation was seamless, very quick and completely user friendly.
 
My customers are very excited to be using it and are now entering their own orders as well, saving me time to focus on growing the sales, which is a win for all concerned especially the company I represent.

Thank you, Barry, for such a great product and sales tool!  Looking forward to a successful future!
 
Best Regards,
Konda Berry

Thank you again, Konda, for such kind words! 

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FurnishWEB is an online data management system for the home furnishings industry that expedites and systematizes order processing and product inventory tracking to optimize partnerships between manufacturers, dealers, sales representatives, staff, and customers.

You can follow FurnishWEB on Twitter, become a FurnishWEB fan on Facebook, and read Barry Welch's blog.

FurnishWEB is an enterprise of Internet Databases, a custom web development company founded in 1999, located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg, Virginia.  

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

NanoSafe Makes Amazon.com's Hot New Releases List

A version of this post originally appeared on Handshake 2.0 in its Tech Showcase.

According to Amazon.com's Hot New Releases in Nanotechnology, what's hot is Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management, co-edited by Matthew Hull and Diana Bowman.  Hull founded NanoSafe, a VT KnowledgeWorks member company headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.

How hot is nanotechnology safety?  So hot, nanotechnology environmental health and safety (EHS) even has its own acronym - nanoEHS - and many federal agencies and international councils are intensely focused on its study.

Handshake 2.0 asked Matthew Hull why nanotechnology is hot and why we need to read this book.  He kindly replied:

Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety: Risks, Regulation and Management was assembled to target a broad audience including organizational safety managers, corporate executives, insurers and risk managers, nanotech investors, and students, all of whom are interested in a holistic perspective on nanotech environmental health and safety (EHS) risks, the current regulatory landscape, and emerging risk management strategies.  These are all areas where stakeholders have expressed concerns about the limited information available. 

Ultimately, the growth trajectory of commercial nanotechnology hinges on how well we identify and manage known as well as unknown risks, so a resource like this book is especially timely.  Newcomers to the nanotech EHS debate will find that they can pick up this book and, in a pretty short time, have a strong understanding of not only the risks of nanotechnology, but ways that society can manage those risks and effectively capitalize on the benefits of nanoscale materials.  More seasoned readers will appreciate the opportunity to delve into unique perspectives and detailed accounts of key nanotech EHS milestones offered by some familiar names that have helped shape the nanotech risk management landscape.

We believe that a real strength of Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety is that it offers unique perspectives on the nano EHS issue that have not been incorporated in other texts.  For example, one chapter written by a labor union representative, who represents workers impacted by the asbestos industry, provides a passionate charge to the nanotechnology community to apply lessons learned from asbestos to ensure the safety of emerging nanomaterials.  Another chapter provides an objective and detailed scientific review of nanoparticle toxicology and characterization.   Other chapters offer reviews of the global regulatory landscape, emerging legal frameworks, the insurance industry perspective on managing unknown risks, and case studies on how to effectively manage nano EHS risks in a range of organizational settings, from academia to large corporations. 

If, as a society, we are to enjoy the benefits that nanotechnology offers, we have a responsibility to make sure of its safety. Our book contributes to that effort.

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NanoSafe, Inc. helps nanotechnology organizations navigate emerging environmental health and safety (EHS) issues.  NanoSafe, Inc. offers consulting, testing, and research and development services designed to accommodate a broad range of client needs.  Founded in 2007 by Matthew Hull, NanoSafe is headquartered in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and is a member company of VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Here's more about NanoSafe on Inside VT KnowledgeWorks.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for the Entrepreneurship Summit's Student Business Concept Competition

VT KnowledgeWorks will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  More about the Summit is in this announcement.

Part of the two-day Summit will feature presentations by finalists in the Business Concept Competition, five in the Student Business Concept Competition and five in the Open Business Concept Competition. The Business Concept Competition is open to technology entrepreneurs in Virginia and western North Carolina.  The finalists will pitch their business concepts to an audience of 150 business professionals - including a panelist of judges - on April 7, 2010.  The Student Business Concept Competition is at 10:00 AM and the Open Business Concept Competition is at 2:00 PM.  Here's the full schedule for both days.

The Student Business Concept Competition is open to all registered college students in the Commonwealth of Virginia and western North Carolina. Only full-time students are eligible to participate and receive prizes if selected as a top five finalist team. Students may elect to work with teams of up to three; at least one student must be registered at a college or university in Virginia or western North Carolina.

The Winning Team in the Student Business Concept Competition:

•receives $5,000 in cash and iPod Nanos
•qualifies for the VT KnowledgeWorks Global Business Concept Competition September 1-2, 2010
•obtains workspace in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center for the summer 2010

The second and third place teams receive:

•$2,500 in cash
•iPod Nanos

The fourth and fifth place teams receive $25 Best Buy gift cards. iPod Nanos and gift cards are generously sponsored by Best Buy.

Here are Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for the Entrepreneurship Summit's Open Business Concept Competition.

Following is a step-by-step guide to applying for the Entrepreneurship Summit's Student Business Concept Competition.

Registration, by one student or a team of up to three students, of an Intent to Compete with payment is due February 5, 2010.

A one-page summary of the business concept is due February 12, 2009. 

The one-page summary must include:

• Business concept title and team member name(s)
• Business product or service
• Underlying technology
• Uniqueness/innovation of the concept
• Expected initial and potential customer base for the product or service
• Customer need met by the product or service
• Estimate of the market size for the product or service

To adhere to the one-page limit, applicants are encouraged to create the one-page summary in Microsoft Word first, then copy and paste the text for each required section into the required online application.

The One-Page Summary Guidelines are avaiable here in .pdf format. 

From the submitted one-page summaries, Student Business Concept Competition semi-final participants will be selected by February 19, 2009.

The semi-final participants will create further application materials in the form of a three- to five-page Business Concept document.  For this stage of the competition, here's a link to a .pdf with the Business Concept Guidelines (.pdf).

From the students or student teams selected to submit Business Concept documents, the top five finalists will be selected to present at the Student Business Concept Competition during the Entrepreneurship Summit.

The top five finalists for the student competition will be announced Monday, March 15, 2010.

For further information, please contact:

Lindsey Eversole, Member Services Manager
VT KnowledgeWorks
leversole@vtknowledgeworks.com
540-443-9100 x2

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Take Your Business to the Next Level @VTKW

An announcement from VT KnowledgeWorks:

VT KnowledgeWorks is pleased to host the Core Four Business Plan Course from 9:00 a.m. - Noon every Tuesday in February 2010 in the Lakeview Conference Room in VT KnowledgeWorks I. 

David Shanksfrom the Radford, Virginia SBDC will be leading the course, which includes success, market, operations, and cash flow planning.

Pre-start, early stage, and growing businesses should attend to develop their business concept and presentation, business model, and business plan.   Please email your questions to David Shanks. 
For more information see the attachment.  Tuition is $244, which includes workbook, resource CD, and four sessions of beneficial curriculum.

You can register for the class at http://bac.asp.radford.edu/SBDC/seminars.html.

- Click SBDC Local NRV Small Business Training Course.
- Click course code number.
- Click Add to Enrollment Card.
- Enter log-on or click Create Account.

iPhone Training at VT KnowledgeWorks

An announcement from VT KnowledgeWorks:

Jon Almond with AT&T will provide Business and Personnel iPhone users with hands-on interaction and product training with the live iPhone product.   Users may bring their own iPhones to engage in this fully hands-on product testing environment.  This session will include a “Planet of the APPS” overview for various segments of business and life enhancement.

Topics covered iinclude:

1. Line of Business Overview (Remoting, IP CAMS, wide sweep of business application functionality on the device)
2. Life enhancement how APPS change the way we use the mobile web
3. Broad interactive hands on user involvement

When:

February 8, 2010, 1 – 2 p.m.
 
Where:

Lakeview Conference Room, Second Floor
VT KnowledgeWorks I
2200 Kraft DriveBlacksburg, VA 24060

RSVP to Lindsey Eversole, indsey.eversole@vtknowledgeworks.com, to reserve your spot.
 
For more information, please contact:

Jon Almond, Small Business Account Executive
Southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia
AT&T Mobility Business Solutions
Primary Mobile: 540-246-1953
Secondary Mobile: 540-556-0912
e-mail: ja794w@att.com

Survey - Are You an Entrepreneur?

With the VT KnowledgeWorks Entrepreneurship Summit - which includes a Business Concept Competition, one Open, one for Students - just three months away, "What's an entrepreneur?" is a hot topic.

According to its site, "The Kauffman Foundation is often referred to as one of the largest foundations in the United States - or as the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship," yet I couldn't find a definition of an entrepreneur in its entrepreneurship section.

I asked Jim Flowers, Executive Director of VT KnowledgeWorks for that definition, posted it first here, and offer it again below:

In general terms, an entrepreneur may be defined as an independent participant in the marketplace, taking personal responsibility for his or her own financial survival and well-being.  More specifically, a “true” or “complete” entrepreneur is someone who conceives, organizes, and leads a new, independent commercial venture at significant personal cost and risk, both financial and emotional.  It is not someone who does only part of that set of jobs.  So, for example, someone who opens a new coffee shop, or buys a car wash franchise, while definitely a risk-taker,  is not a “complete” entrepreneur, since he or she does not conceive or fully organize the venture.  The same can be said of an inventor who licenses an invention to someone else who then exploits it for their mutual gain. 
 
Simply put, if you dream up a business, put it together, run it, and depend on it financially, you are an entrepreneur.

We'll share the results!

If you're interested in submitting an application to the Open Business Concept Competitions, step-by-step directions are here.  More about the Summit is here, including a video on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship by Jim Flowers.

A version of this post first appeared on Handshake 2.0.

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).

Entrepreneurship Summit Schedule of Events

VT KnowledgeWorks will present the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on April 7-8, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.  More about the Summit is in this announcement.

Schedule of Events

April 7, 2010

7:30 a.m.	Registration & Opening Breakfast Keynote Speaker: Pat Matthews, founder of Webmail.us & General Manager of Email & Apps division of Rackspace Hosting	Alumni Assembly Hall
8:30 a.m.	Understanding Markets By Daryl Scott, Attaain, Inc. and David Denny, i3 Network	Latham Ballroom A
	Reaching Markets By Anne Giles Clelland, Handshake 2.0 and David Poteet, NewCity	Solitude
	Speed, Power, and Meaning - The Elevator Pitch By Jim Flowers, VT KnowledgeWorks	Alumni Assembly Hall
10:00 a.m.	Student Business Concept Competition	Alumni Assembly Hall
12:00 p.m.	Technology Showcase & Lunch	Latham Ballroom
2:00 p.m.	Open Business Concept Competition	Alumni Assembly Hall
5:30 p.m.	Networking Reception	Latham Ballroom
7:00 p.m.	NCTC TechNite Awards Banquet	Latham Ballroom

April 8, 2010

8:00 a.m.	Networking Breakfast	Alumni Assembly Hall
9:00 a.m.	Angel Investing Seminar	Alumni Assembly Hall
11:00 a.m.	Technology Showcase & Lunch	Latham Ballroom
1:00 p.m.	Live Angel Funding Session	Alumni Assembly Hall
3:30 p.m.	Closing Comments	Alumni Assembly Hall

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VT KnowledgeWorks is a unique growth enhancement program open to entrepreneurs in the New River Valley of Virginia and beyond.  Acceleration center and incubation facilities are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

VT KnowledgeWorks sponsors include Attaain, Inc., BB&T, Handshake 2.0, Harris Office Furniture, Hodges, Jones & Mabry, P.C., Latimer, Mayberry & Matthews IP Law, LeClairRyan, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and The Becher Agency (TBA).