The Forum on Entrepreneurship & Innovation is Babson’s biggest annual student-run event. The theme of the sixth annual Forum is, “What’s Your Big Idea?”
To highlight budding entrepreneurs with big ideas, we’ve created the First Annual Opportunity Assessment Contest, which is proudly sponsored by Polaroid. It aims to discover and support opportunity-obsessed entrepreneurs who have identified the most creative, interesting and exciting opportunities. A nationwide call for entries elicited more than 55 applications from entrepreneurs and students from top business schools, including Babson, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Northwestern, M.I.T., Simon, and Stanford.
After extensive review, three finalists were selected. One team member will pitch their idea at the Forum on Oct. 12, 2007 to Forum participants and judges. The winner will receive $5,000.
The finalists are:
1. Embrace: Imagine preventing the deaths of four million premature infants every year while developing a financially sustainable business. This is the goal of Embrace, a for-profit social venture started by four Stanford University students. They have created a working prototype of an infant incubator for $25, a fraction of the cost of commercial versions. They plan to launch the product in the rural areas of Nepal and India and project revenues of $5 million by year four of operations.
Team Members
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Jane Chen is pursuing a joint MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School.
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Linus Liang is a first year Masters student studying Computer Science at Stanford University.
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Rahul Panicker holds an MS from Stanford University. He is pursuing his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.
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Razmig Hovaghimian – Razmig has just completed his MBA at the Stanford School of Business where he also earned certificates in Public Management and in Innovative Manufacturing.
2. Hope Learning Centers: Autism is a disease that afflicts millions, including hundreds of thousands of school-aged children. It is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the United States. The Hope Learning Center Network (HLCN) will be a national chain of private educational centers focused exclusively on early intervention autism treatment. Each Hope Learning Center (HLC) will be a community's source for educational excellence for children with autism.
Team Members -
Eric Allen – Eric is a marketing and communications professional pursuing his MBA at the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business.
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Scott Sweeney focuses his entrepreneurial efforts on management and consultation. He will earn his MBA in marketing this spring from the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business.
3. Rhea Mobility: Building on existing intellectual property and ongoing clinical research the team will provide clinically-proven medical footwear that improves the lives of the aging population by promoting joint health and enabling a more mobile lifestyle. It will benefit people with knee osteoarthritis, a group primarily in the 45+ age category, and representing a market size of over $1 billion.
Team Members
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Cary Shiao graduated from Duke University with a BSE in Biomedical Engineering, and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
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Debarshi Sengupta graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
Ben Fritz graduated from Middlebury College in 2000 and attends the Kellogg School of Management. -
Dr. Roy Lidtke is a podiatrist and certified pedorithist at Rush Medical Center.
Our panel of judges will select the finalist during the 2007 Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Babson. The judges are:
Candida Brush, Babson College
Dr. Candida Brush holds the new President’s Chair in Entrepreneurship and will serve as Director of the Babson PhD Program in Entrepreneurship.
Richard Goulding, Managing Director, Devonshire Investors
Richard Goulding is the Managing Director at Devonshire Investors, the private equity division of Fidelity Investments.
Lisa Jordan, Investment professional, Oxford Bioscience
Mrs. Jordan is an investment professional at Oxford Bioscience Partners and serves on the Board for Applied Spine Technologies, Coherex Medical, and Mitralign in an observer capacity.
Diane Mulcahy, McKinsey
Diane works at McKinsey & Co.’s Corporate Finance practice since 2006, and leads the global knowledge efforts on capital markets.
Thomas J. Petters, CEO & Chairman of Petters Group Worldwide
Tom Petters started a trading company in 1988 with little capital. It has grown to be a global company with investments in over 40 firms, and offices in the Americas, Asia and Europe.
