Business plan competition helps drive tech transfer at university

BYLINE: Kevin Robinson-Avila

Some new breakthrough medical diagnostics and other technologies will most likely be commercialized thanks to this year's business plan competition at the University of New Mexico.

The students who researched and developed business plans might not themselves attempt to market the technologies, but their work has paved the way for entrepreneurs to step in, says Lisa Kuuttila, president and CEO of UNM's Science and Technology Corp.

"Three of the nine teams that participated in the competition -- including the first and second place winners -- looked at technologies that we were already considering," Kuuttila says. "The competition drew more attention from investors, and now we have solid market data from the students to showcase to potential businesses. I believe some of these technologies will be commercialized, even if the students don't do it."

Given the benefits, UNM faculty involved in tech transfer now see the business plan competition as a fundamental contributor to commercialization efforts at the university.

"The competition has brought many new business plans generated from UNM technology to the table," says Sul Kassicieh, chair for economic development at the Anderson Schools of Management. "These are real technologies that could help generate more deal flow and collaboration with the business community to promote start-ups in New Mexico."

In fact, Gavin Christensen -- a principal with Utah-based vSpring Capital who heads that firm's New Mexico office -- says business plan competitions are a growing trend among universities nationwide to promote technology transfer.

Christensen helped judge the teams at UNM, and he has participated in similar competitions at the University of Utah and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In Utah, vSpring funded a start-up formed by a student team that won the business plan competition there. That company is now promoting Voice Over Internet Protocol technology in Mexico, Christensen says.

"Students in the competitions at UNM, Utah and elsewhere really focus on technologies with high potential for commercialization," Christensen says. " In many cases, the teams represent real companies because the students themselves want to negotiate licenses and spin the technologies into start-up businesses."

Moreover, the competition shines a spotlight on technological breakthroughs that might otherwise go unnoticed by venture capitalists, who often don't have the time or personnel to sift through discoveries at universities.

"The competition helps pull technologies into the transfer pipeline," Christensen says. "It can be an important source of deal flow for us."

The first place winners in last year's competition at UNM -- Ryan Smith and Scott Lovald -- used their $25,000 prize to form a start-up company, Satyrne Biotechnologies. They'll use the company to market new methods to heal jawbone fractures with custom-designed implants. Smith and Lovald will present their business plan at Technology Venture Corp.'s Equity Capital Symposium in May.

The first place winners in this year's competition could also turn their team, called ZiaScientific, into a start-up company.

Zia developed a business plan to commercialize two new drug delivery technologies developed at UNM's College of Pharmacy to more efficiently treat pulmonary diseases.

The three members of Zia are already seasoned professionals who are broadening their careers by pursuing MBA's.

They include Randy Burge, president of the New Mexico Information Technology and Software Association; Peter Mertens, manufacturing director with MesoSystems Technology Inc.; and David Stein, a micro systems researcher at Sandia National Laboratories who has a Ph.D. in engineering.

But even if the Zia partners pass on the opportunity, Kuuttila says STC will look for other investors.

"We were already working on the technology that Zia researched," Kuuttila says. "We've had a fair amount of interest in it from investors and established companies. I'm very confident it will be commercialized."

Second place winners Jovan Huesser and Elena Rusu -- who evaluated two new blood tests to detect abnormalities in the early stages of pregnancy -- are unlikely to invest the $10,000 they won. But STC also will use their marketing analysis and business plan to promote the technology, Kuuttila says.

In fact, both team members can help in that regard, given that Huesser is an STC commercialization specialist for life sciences and Rusu is an intern at STC's Venture Lobo Lab.

New Mexico Angels President Jerry Mattingly -- who mentored Huesser and Rusu on their business plan -- says the pregnancy blood tests stand a high chance of drawing private investment.

"If these women wanted to follow through, I think it would only take them eight to 10 weeks to start a company and approach venture capitalists," Mattingly says. "With a strong management team, I think that technology has an excellent chance of getting funded."