Rakuna.Co: Announces their Public Launch

Rakuna.Co just had their public launch this month! 

Rakuna.Co was started by Trong Dong and Ngan Pham, graduate students and STARTUP participants (class of 2015). Dong was initially interested in recruiting solutions for a while, so he confronted several students and recruiters to understand the problem of current recruitment. There was a disconnect from offline to online recruitment experience. That's where Rakuna.Co emerged. Dong and Pham wanted to provide a fully engaging experience between the candidate and recruiters both offline and online while gathering the candidate's information. 

Rakuna.Co, a finalist for the MN Cup 2015, is a candidate relationship management (CRM) solution for millennial recruiting. The solution provides a more efficient way of recruiting candidates. Even in the short time of operation, Rakuna.Co has many accomplishments:

• Raised over $60,000 from various angel investors
• Achieved actual sales with 5 customers, 2 customers who are annual multi-year contracts
• Grown the team from 2 founders to 15 team members (including full-time, part-time, contractor, interns who are working around the world)
• Set up the operational team in Vietnam, which helps Rakuna.Co to manage cost very efficiently
• Participating in the Vietchallenge competition, a global start-up competition fro startup with Vietnamese founders, and have advanced to the semi-final round!

However, there have been a few challenges they have faced as well:

• Figuring out the sales process
• Cutting cost efficiently with operational team in Vietnam

Rakuna.Co wanted to share some advice to individuals looking to start their own business:

• Pick your partner carefully - founders conflict is one of the most common reasons a startup fails
• Pick your board of advisors carefully - you will need a lot of wisdom and help along the way. A strong board of advisors will help a lot. 
• Focus on customer development process at the beginning - It will save you a lot of money! 
• Be persistent - There will be a lot of ups and downs. Do not give up. Pivot until you find what works. 

Rakuna Recruit from Luong Tran on Vimeo.

What has Rakuna.Co been up to?

Website

Twitter

Linkedin

YouTube

MIN-Corps Spring 2017 Programs

MIN-Corps offers a full suite of non-credit seminars on technology commercialization and innovation-based startups.  Classes are free to UMN students, staff & faculty, and also open (some for a fee) to non-U participants.


Innovation Commercialization Bootcamps

Commercialization introduction, including value proposition design, customer discovery & intellectual property.

• Science & Engineering – Jan 27 @ 10am - 4pm 
• Agriculture & Environment – Jan 30 @ 10am - 4pm
• Medical (Twin Cities) – Feb 8 @ 9 - 3pm
• Medical (Hormel Institute, Austin MN) – Mar 14 @ 10am - 
  4pm
  
  

Value Proposition Design Workshops

Four hands-on sessions cover the following:  product-market fit, customer discovery, pathway to commercialization, market assessment. $3,000 minigrants available for customer research & prototyping.

• Science & Engineering – Feb 10, Feb 17, Mar 10, Mar 24 @ 1 - 4pm 
• Medical – Mar 8, Mar 22, Apr 5, Apr 12 @12 - 3pm

Emerging Opportunities Forums

• Securing Intellectual Property – Feb 21 @ 4 - 6pm
• Agriculture & Environment Opportunities & Showcase – Apr 3 @ 4 - 6pm
• Funding a Startup – Apr 18 @ 4 - 6pm
• Founders Day Showcase – May 9 @ 5 - 7pm

Strategy Clinics

Current and future science and tech entrepreneurs share a meal, hear from experts, and seek advice.

• Customer Acquisition – Jan 25 @ 5 - 7pm
• Startup Boards of Directors & Advisors – Feb 22 @ 5 - 7pm
• Sourcing & Operations – Mar 29 @ 5 - 7pm
• Competitive Differentiation – Apr 26 @ 5 - 7pm

Office for Technology Commercialization Venture Center Seminars

For UMN faculty, staff and students considering a startup based on inventions emerging from their research.

• How to Build a Business around a University Invention – Feb 8 @ 5 - 7:30pm
• Bench to Business: Context, Capabilities & Collaboration – Apr 12 @ 5 - 7:30pm

Congratulations Midwest Cleantech University Prize Finalists Minnealloy Magnetics and Abyss Incoporated

 

University of Minnesota student-led ventures from the College of Science and Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science are TWO of the eight finalists for the Midwest 2017 Cleantech University Prize!  Both ventures have participated in MIN-Corps programming.

 

Minnealloy Magnetics is led by Md Mehedi, a doctoral student in Materials Science who does research in Jian-Ping Wang's lab.  

 

Mehedi applied for the Cleantech Prize a year ago and the feedback inspired them to seek out the NextEnergy I-Corps program in Detroit (which we paid for Mehedi to attend), as well as to get coaching from both the Holmes Center and the Office for Technology Commercialization.  Minnealloy also won the Student Division prize of the 2016 MN Cup venture competition.  Minnealloy Magnetics makes soft magnetic materials that increase the efficiency of transformers and inductors used in power converters, motors, generators, and sensors.

 

 

 

Abyss Incorporated is led by Ethan Loosbrock, an undergrad in Chemical Engineering.  Ethan has attended the MIN-Corps value proposition design workshops and strategy clinics, and will participate in the STARTUP course this spring.  Abyss focuses on advanced energy storage devices, such as lithium air batteries.

 

According to Clean Energy Trust, these are the finalists' next steps - they're going to have an exciting few weeks:

 

Over the next five weeks, these student startups will be matched with expert mentors from CET’s cultivated network and work with CET staff to refine their business models and pitch. The final pitch showcase will be held on February 9th at the Polsky Center for Innovation and will be free and open to the public. The keynote speakers are Will Allen, former NFL player and current cleantech champion, and Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, the Skokie-based waste-gas-to-fuel startup with Series D funding.

The winner of the final event – the Cleantech UP Showcase – will be determined by a panel of expert cleantech industry judges. The winner will receive a $50,000 grant and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers will go on to present at the Clean Energy Trust Challenge event – as well as the Department of Energy National Cleantech UP competition.

Congratulations Mehedi and Ethan!