To ring in the new school year, MIN-Corps would like to celebrate the three Minnesota Cup finalist teams who have been part of our program! These innovators are among the top 24 entries in a six-month-long annual startup competition where they beat out 500 other competitors in a competition where the grand prize winner walks away with over $50,000 in seed capital, as well as a bevy of benefits.
Sironix Renewables develops environmentally-friendly and safe chemicals derived from plants for industrial and consumer uses. Many cleaning products depend upon fossil fuels or unstable chemicals that require costly stabilizing chemicals to function properly. In contrast, the versatile Sironix technology allows their core technology to solve problems in a wide variety of markets. Sironix is competing in the Energy/Clean Tech/Water division of the Minnesota Cup.
Founders Christoph Krumm and Paul Dauenhauer attended an Innovation Commercialization Bootcamp in spring 2016. This day-long seminar introduces critical skills for technology commercialization, such as the value proposition canvas and the customer buying center. Guest presenters introduce relevant intellectual-property concepts, or the needs of the medical-device industry.
Through this seminar, plus Krumm's participation in the Startup course, Sironix earned a spot in the national NSF I-Corps program, in which fledgling companies are granted $50,000 to perform customer discovery to improve their value proposition.
Through this seminar, plus Krumm's participation in the Startup course, Sironix earned a spot in the national NSF I-Corps program, in which fledgling companies are granted $50,000 to perform customer discovery to improve their value proposition.
Chromatic 3D Materials is developing technology to 3d-print with thermoset materials, which allows for more flexible and durable prints with tunable properties throughout the print. The resulting parts have applications from architecture to prosthetics to car parts to fashion too cell scaffolds for organ printing. The company’s flexible goods are nearing launch, with foams and biocompatible options deemed feasible, and electronic elements in the concept phase. Chromatic 3D Materials is competing in the General division of the MN Cup.
Dr. Cora Leibig brings 20 years of professional expertise in the materials industry to her role as CEO. She attended a Value Proposition Design Workshop in spring 2017, where she had four three-hour-long sessions to enhance her understanding of her customers’ needs, and tools used for real-world interviews of potential buyers. Guest lectures from business experts internal and external to the U, as well as opinions and feedback from classmates, provided additional opportunities to refine the idea.
Upcoming workshops for the fall semester include:
Dose Health has designed a pillbox to help reinforce patients’ prescription regimens with alarms that tell them when they’re due for a dose, and a streamlined design that helps the patient refill the box. The pillbox also connects to the Internet to share key statistics about regimen adherence with caregivers, so family and medical staff have more information about the user’s well-being. Dose is competing in the Life Science / Health IT division of the MN Cup.
Dose Health founder Paul Hines attended the Startup course in fall 2014. This course offers a semester-long experience where industry mentors bolster a curriculum of commercialization tools and tactics. The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students, and offers students up to $3000 to research their customer base, as well as pro bono legal advice. Applications for the spring semester of the course can be submitted here.
