Startups

Wild Game Soup

It's no surprise that some of our most creative startups are borne in the minds of innovative and enterprising CMU students. Our relationship with CMU's Labelle Entrepreneurship College provides a pathway for student businesses like Wild Game Soup—brainchild of entrepreneurial studies' senior Cason Thorsby. After his business plan won a university award,Thorsby came to us to develop his culinary concepts, and today we're providing the facilities, resources, and flexibility he needs to get his ideas to market.

http://wildgamesoup.com/

Starpharma

With the support of CMU-RC, promising biotech startup Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc, (DNT) was able to secure funding, develop its intellectual property, and get the attention of Starpharma Holdings Limited—a global leader in developing nanotechnology products for pharmaceutical, life-science and other uses. Today, wholly owned subsidiary DNT Starpharma enjoys the global material support it needs to capitalize on the significant commercial opportunities that exist for its work.

Spa Bath

Some of our best ideas come from the creative minds of CMU alums. Take Art Sills, for example. His design for a barrier-free residential bathtub gives new hope to elderly and physically impaired people who want to remain in their homes, despite physical limitations. Built to fit in the space of a traditional tub, SpaBath’s patented design allows bathers to enter with no barrier, and then raise the tub wall for a deep immersion bath—complete with contoured seat and therapeutic air jets. To ensure this life-changing idea found its market, we connected Art with a team of CMU MBA students that helped him develop a business plan and then followed up with business acceleration services, engineering resources, franchising assistance, contract and legal negotiations, and more. We linked SpaBath with an outstanding COO and chief engineer who are overseeing and speeding the development process. And we helped the firm secure startup funding. Sure, Art’s an alumnus, but the truth is, we’d do the same for anyone with such a promising idea.

Q’Array

Today, all forensic and medical DNA tests in the United States are conducted in one of just a few regional labs—and testing is backlogged at every one of them. With average waits of a month or more and lives often held in the balance, Q’Array’s founders saw a unique opportunity. Using advanced technologies (automation and robotics) and plans to develop nanotechnology in their CMU-RC laboratory, the firm is about to launch a first-of-its-kind, fast-response center to speed results and better serve the Midwest (other labs are on the West coast, the East coast, and in Virginia). Employing recent advances in sequencing, ASPE bead array, microarray technology, Q’Array is poised to provide a full range of DNA testing, including genetic, chromosomal, biochemical, pharmacogenomics, paternity, and forensic identity testing. We’re helping this promising startup launch their lab, retain skilled geneticists, molecular biologists, biochemists, biologists, and chemists, develop their business plan, and establish relationships with chemical and lab–equipment suppliers in the region. It’s a natural fit for our expertise and facilities. And Q’Array is well on its way to providing the fastest diagnostic service in the country, right here in the heartland.

Phaser

Advanced materials innovator Phaser had a host of far-flung resources that needed to be skillfully pieced together to make their ideas work: intellectual property from Malaysia, scientific development from Utah, manufacturing possibilities in Michigan, and funding sources that spanned the globe. Our experience with advanced materials combined with our love for a good puzzle made CMU-RC the ideal place to explore and develop applications for Phaser’s revolutionary Kevlar-reinforced, epoxy resin material. We put CMU MBA students to work researching the market and, for a small fraction of the cost of private-sector research, they returned a promising profile for high-strength utility poles made of the material—so lightweight they can be erected single-handedly—so strong they can outlast absolutely every other practical material. The research also showed promising applications in military transport. With clear markets for the material, we pulled together a complex business plan that paved the way for funding from virtually every part of the globe. Today, Phaser calls our high-tech incubator home. Tomorrow, they envision a future in our adjacent Technology Park, within access of the material and technological resources of both CMU and the research corporation.

Bauer BioMedical

“Test early and often” is the mantra of cancer prevention. Yet, for some forms of cancer, early testing isn’t practical or affordable. CMU-RC startup Bauer BioMedical is developing breakthrough technology that promises to make detecting pancreatic cancer—one of the deadliest forms of cancer—as easy as a trip to the drugstore and as early as two years sooner than current science allows. Bauer’s patented noninvasive, genetic-based test is currently under development in our nanotechnology wet lab and holds enormous promise for its developers and for the health science industry. Why locate here when major metropolitan regions were courting them? Bauer chose CMU-RC for its incubator, its wet lab, its student researchers, and, more than anything its responsiveness to their development needs—something they didn’t find in larger cities. Combining our support with that of graduate business students at world-class CMU, we’ve helped Bauer BioMedical develop their business plan, analyze their investment portfolio, and develop GAP accounting systems essential to securing startup funding.

Bardic Wells

Ever quaffed a glass of mead? If not, you’re missing out on an ancient European tradition and one of Michigan’s most promising new food products. Brainchild of Steve Haystead, a Michigan beekeeper known for his honey and bee’s wax, mead is a hearty, honey-based libation and the ancestor of all fermented drinks. Haystead’s new venture, Bardic Wells Meadery, is Michigan’s first meadery—producing almost a dozen varieties of therapeutic mead from raw, unfiltered honey from Haystead’s organically managed hives. It’s tasty. It’s healthy. And it offers a honey of a chance for Haystead to expand from beekeeper to brew master. Already on select shelves in places like Whole Foods, Haystead owes his early success to a fabulous brew of high quality ingredients crafted with patience. And while Haystead works his craft, we’re working ours—designing a business plan, exploring financing, investigating buy vs. lease options, vetting potential partners, and helping with marketing and advertising. That kind of responsive and targeted support is helping Bardic Wells move from a basement brewery into a 10,000sf state-of-the-art mead-making facility—all in less than six months.

EZeeRider

Daryl Hertema just wanted to help his mother get part of her life back, but his idea may help thousands. An outdoor enthusiast, Hertema’s aging mother gave up her driving privileges, which, combined with her fear of falling on slippery streets and sidewalks, kept her virtually homebound in the rural landscape that she loved. Hoping to restore her mobility, Hertema, an engineer, developed an ingenious solution—an all-terrain vehicle that adapts to a variety of mobility limitations, from arthritic hips to paralysis. Those in wheelchairs are able to wheel their chair into position, strap in, and go virtually anywhere. Really, anywhere! The EzeeRider (its working name) moves easily through water, snow, mud, even across the ice to a favorite fishing hole. The idea caught the attention of many, including someone who suggested Hertema contact CMU-RC about bringing his idea to market—engineering is Hertema’s specialty, business development is not. We connected Hertema with a team of MBA students from CMU’s LaBelle Entrepreneurial Center who are helping Hertema bring his life-changing device to market. The MBA team crafted a business plan; we helped Hertema develop a testing protocol and identify potential markets, and now we’re helping him find development funding. With that in place, Hertema is building the first production model of his all-terrain vehicle—a device that’s already attracting national press for its potential to radically improve the lives of outdoor-loving people with disabilities.

Hunter LLC

Regional restaurateur Dave Hunter wanted to combine two of his popular restaurants—a high-end pizza parlor and a booming sports bar—into one, franchise model for future restaurants. When we took a look at his operations, it was clear he had the makings of a successful franchiser. An efficiency maven, Hunter had operations down to a science—from footprints on the floors that map the optimum paths of movement, to computerized liquor vaults that provide unprecedented inventory accuracy, to his perfect pizza based on trade-secret crust and sauces developed by an elderly Italian woman. Hunter, and his partner and son John, clearly had a recipe for success, but needed help franchising it. When he called us, we put a team of CMU MBA students to work on Hunter’s business and marketing plan, while we helped Hunter develop a business model, create a franchising structure, and conduct site analyses to identify the best cities to launch their first ventures. They’re on a fast-track to success. And if you’re lucky, there will be one in your area soon!

Point Hope Energy

Think of using your recycled cooking oil to power your truck, boat, car or maybe even your lawnmower. This summer CMU-RC was a scale-up location for the innovative biodiesel technology of CMU-RC tenant Point Hope Energy. The mini-plant takes vegetable oil discarded by campus cafeterias and uses it to power campus mowers and lawn equipment. The mini-plant is designed to demonstrate that the commercial version of the technology provides a step-change cost reduction in producing biodiesel along with a much lower environmental footprint.

Shull came to CMU last fall, with a promising idea in need of a home and is now set up in a high-tech facility at CMU-RC, connected to a team of faculty and graduate chemistry students, and is commercializing the technology. The CMU-RC team is there with Shull to help smooth the process, provide business development support, and bring this innovative idea to a market ripe for affordable sources of clean energy.