Business Students and USC Researchers Share Their Entrepreneurial Spirit During Fall Tech Expo

On August 30, Tech Expo 2005 brought together five USC researchers working in technologies with commercialization potential, and over 100 graduate students in business, science, and engineering who are interested in the creation of new ventures.

“An outside perspective is most helpful,” said Professor Dale Kiefer from the Department of Biological Sciences. In collaboration with marine scientists from USC, Kiefer developed a software system with applications in environmental analysis and oceanography. “I think this is a great opportunity to make progress on the business end of my activities.  Like most scientists and engineers, I am caught up in the details of the technology and always find an excuse not to address marketing and financial issues.  The Tech Expo, with its exciting and creative students, represents an opportunity to move forward in the business and financial arena. 

Organized by the Graduate Technology Alliance (GTA) and the Entrepreneurial & Venture Management Association (EVMA) in association with the Center for Technology Commercialization at Marshall, the Tech Expo provided an opportunity to a group of USC researchers working on technologies that ranged from haptics and communications to Geographical Information Systems to present their developments to graduate students in business, science, and engineering. Students interested in being involved in one of the projects will now work closely with the researchers in the development of feasibility studies under the guidance of Professor Kathleen Allen, CTC director.

“The GTA Tech Expo provides a valuable forum for students to network with researchers and to learn about innovative new technologies,” said William Chong. VP of the Graduate Technology Alliance, and host of the event. “Marshall MBA students are entrepreneurial and responsive to potential business opportunities. They are seeking new ideas to focus on either for coursework or for their post-MBA careers.”

The speakers during the TechExpo included:

Tomas Pereira and Andy Gardner, from the Institute for Creative Technologies, who presented methods to digitize light reflectance properties of objects, that have applications in the game and film industries. Dr. Shahram Ghandeharizadeh of the Viterbi School who talked about in-vehicle entertainment systems based on on-demand delivery of audio and video clips among stationary and mobile devices. Dr. Dale Kiefer, from the Department of Biological Sciences who presented EASY software, an environmental analysis system based on Geographical Information Systems. Leslie Liu, a senior Ph.D. student working at the Integrated Media System Center, who talked about AudioPeer, a multi-user audio conferencing tool that is designed to provide a collaborative platform for education, social activities and cooperative work. Greg Placencia, a PhD candidate in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering, who presented OmniGrasp, an inexpensive haptic device designed to create the feeling of grasping an object by fingers and hand.

USC researchers interested in participating in future Tech Expos should contact Dr. Allen at kallen@marshall.usc.edu

TOP

Meet a USC Neighbor: An Interview with Rohit Shukla, Founder/CEO LARTA

What are the most common challenges faced by entrepreneurs in our
community?

Entrepreneurs face common challenges, regardless of where they are
located.  Obviously, in some regions of the country and the world, the
dearth of capital and key resources are more isolating, but in general,
the challenges include issues around mindset - understanding the
competitive landscape, and establishing realistic, less mechanistic
scenarios around the growth of the business; giving up control-understanding the issue of financial return and its relationship to building an extended team that may result in loss of absolute control; recruiting key team members; execution to realistic milestones; determining the true value proposition of the business; stepping back to ask hard questions about who would buy and why; and dreaming big but
focusing on the details. In Southern California, capital issues are less prominent than they used to be generally, and there is considerably more, and better expertise being directed toward entrepreneurs, and it shows in the quality of the companies that we, and others, see.

How does LARTA help Universities with the commercialization of their
technologies?

We have developed and perfected a training, mentoring, and showcase platform over a decade with companies emerging from universities, larger companies, or startups from the "ether." We have worked regularly over the past many years with USC on mentoring and networking its
researchers, especially those who started companies from technologies licensed from the university, including one of its most famous ones, Language Weaver. Almost three years ago, we established Network T2 devoted to providing a common platform to mentor and showcase the most
innovative companies emerging from technology transfer activities in the region's universities.  Each November, we produce and host, in collaboration with the members of Network T2, a conference that showcases startups emerging from USC and other universities.  Project T2 has 2 tracks: life sciences and engineering.

Where do you see the future of technological development in California
and what challenges will the high-tech industry face in upcoming years?

California faces a huge challenge arising primarily from its strength as a hub.  It cannot grow its own technical people] fast enough; there is little progress made in cultivating strong home-grown, cience-based technology education at the primary and secondary education levels.  Its ability to import its way from this problem is now somewhat constrained by the increasing levels of out-migration to countries like China and India, which serve as a beacon to their best and brightest. However, it still
is - and will be for the conceivable future - the place where "it" all comes together, from invention to innovation and beyond. Being an enthusiastic extrovert, [I believe] there will always be something in this eco-system to draw people here.   Outsourcing - and all that entails - will provide great opportunities for this state to continue its growth trajectory, even if it means some interim pain. Meanwhile, we are losing - or have lost - our primacy in several areas, including software, while
more upstream areas like specialized software, bioinformatics applications, and chip-based systems technology continue to find critical mass in California. The challenge is for us not to lose the edge on
innovation, in design, for example, because you can't take 1.5 billion people in China and India for granted, not anymore. The high-tech industry will always be open and sensitive to the global distribution of talent.

TOP

CTC Expert Series: Three Stages of Entrepreneurial Finance sponsored by Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP and the Pasadena Angels

The CTC Expert Series on Entrepreneurial Finance begins on Tuesday October 18 with a panel on Angel Investment that will focus on what angel investors look for when investing in a start- up; what you can do to position your start-up for successful angel investment; understanding the angel investment process with tips on business plans, presentations, due diligence, term sheets, and boards; and careers in entrepreneurial finance. Our guest panelists include

Joe Platnick, Pasadena Angels
Davis Thompson, Pasadena Angels (Moderator)
Lee Weinberg, Tech Coast Angels
Russell Fine, Tech Coast Angels
Kevin Scanlon, Pasadena Angels and Tech Coast Angels

The Entrepreneurial Finance Panel will take place Tuesday, October 18 in Popovich Hall (JKP 300, Dean’s Board Room). 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. To RSVP, contact techcenter@marshall.usc.edu

The second panel in the series, Venture Capital Strategies, will take place November 22 and the third will be announced in February. For more information go to CTC Expert Series.

TOP