16 minute read
ON THE COVER Savvy Student Startups
By Terri Mrosko
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Pavel Galchenko, founder of RVS Rubber Solutions
The concept is simple. The Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box], the center for innovation and entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University, provides a space for anyone to “tinker and creatively invent.” Nobody has taken those words to heart quite like our students. The early success many have achieved as startups is nothing short of remarkable.
Second-year biochemistry major Pavel Galchenko is the cofounder of a company that came up with a novel way to recycle the body ply of a tire, which currently accounts for 100 million pounds of landfill waste in the United States annually. RVS Rubber Solutions alleviates this problem by repurposing the piece back into high-quality components of rubber and steel, which it sells back into the consumer market.
“As a result, we can remove a waste source from landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Pavel, who came up with the concept in high school with his lifelong best friend, Yohann Samarasinghe. “Yohann’s father’s clients mentioned how widespread the issue was across the globe, and we took that as a challenge to come up with a solution.”
RVS received startup funding through MSPIRE by Magnet, enabling the young entrepreneurs to develop a second prototype to gather data and create a commercialization report. More recently, they earned a $50,000 Cleantech University Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy. “This money will be used to engineer the factory-scale prototype and is one of the last steps before going into full production,” Pavel said.
Pavel utilized extensively the services of the IP Venture Clinic through the law school and housed at Sears think[box]. “CWRU LaunchNet also has been a great help, and we love the collaboration space that think[box] has provided us as well as the office space we have there,” he said.
Managing a startup company as a student definitely comes with challenges, Pavel said. “Adjusting to this kind of lifestyle has forced me to really plan weeks ahead and makes every hour of the day important. I have seen an increase in focus throughout daily life as well as in my schoolwork. Similarly, I understand the benefit taking time to relax has on one’s mental and physical stamina. It makes me appreciate fully the process of getting to where I want to go.”
A training ground for entrepreneurs
“The goal at any great university incubator isn’t necessarily for every company to become a billion dollar company, but for every individual that passes through Sears think[box] to become a billion dollar individual,” said Ian Charnas, manager of the facility. “The idea here is modern workforce development.”
Charnas pointed out that Sears think[box] is part of a greater solution that includes such resources as the IP Venture Clinic, LaunchNet and the Technology Transfer office. Together, these resources enable students to take that dream in their heads and build it in real life. Students get the opportunity to focus their motivation and energy and drive it toward a new project or a new product.
Students learn how to be entrepreneurs or, more simply, to think like one. “You go through the process of raising money, building a prototype, applying for a patent and developing your business pitch. Along the way, you become someone that is valuable to companies globally for your communication skills and your ‘chutzpah’ for your ability to make things happen,” Charnas said.
Within the next year, it is hoped that the final phases of the entrepreneurial ecosystem will be in place at Sears think[box]. Charnas said architecturally the plans are near approval for floors six and seven, which when complete will truly make the space a one-stop shop for budding entrepreneurial needs. “The sixth floor is all about entrepreneurship and housing related resources. Floor 7 is the incubator. We’ve looked at several models across the globe that focus on coaching students to certain startup success.”
When asked what other help, besides the tools and resources already in place, could better contribute to our students’ startup success, Charnas cited “alumni volunteers.”
“Alumni with particular technical expertise can act as product mentors. If you are an electrical, mechanical or civil engineer or entrepreneur, there is an opportunity to mentor these young people. I am an alumnus, and I find mentoring exciting,” Charnas said. “Nothing feels better than using your expertise to build off another person, to help him or her along the same path that you traveled. It’s a way of paying it back to all the people that helped you along the way.”
Register to be a student advisor through the Alumni Career Network
Sears think[box] is looking to create an active team of skilled volunteers to mentor, advise and inspire our student entrepreneurs and innovators. If you have a background in engineering, science, manufacturing, product development or business, please register as an adviser through the Alumni Career Network and notify Tiffany McNamara of your interest. She will ensure students connect to you through the networking system. Contact Tiffany at 216-368-6357 or via email at tew24@case.edu. The need is great; please consider volunteering!
Lean more at https://www.casealum.org/ Alumni/Volunteer/thinkbox
Meet more of our startup superstars
The Reflexion Interactive Technologies system rapid-screens for concussions
Every year 50 million young amateur athletes may compete or practice with a concussion, mainly because their schools and athletic organizations do not have access to an inexpensive and fast way to detect traumatic brain injuries.
A high school friend’s sports injury ultimately deemed a concussion that sidelined him for a couple of months prompted Matt Campagna to seek a solution. The computer engineering major started his company with two high school friends from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who now attend other universities. Using the Reflexion Edge, in only 30 seconds a return-to-play decision can be made.
“When my friend slid head first into the boards during an ice hockey game his junior year in high school, his coach put him on the bench and asked where he was, what year it was and who was president of the United States,” Matt recalled. “While he answered correctly and passed the protocol in place, the coach had no way of knowing he had indeed suffered a severe concussion.”
Reflexion Edge is a portable, fast and affordable concussion monitoring system. Athletes stand in front of the two-by-six-foot touchscreen and interact with light patterns that allow the operator to monitor depth perception, peripheral awareness, complex reaction time, balance and memory simultaneously. The product easily collapses into a duffle bag and is ready to deploy in minutes.
The company has a provisional patent, Matt said. They have raised almost $200,000 from grants and four active angel investors in sports technology and neurology for product development and clinical validation. “Our story has been picked up by more than 180 media outlets including Forbes, Engadget and IB Times,” Matt said. “This spring, phase one of our clinical study will be complete, and we will begin to transition the Reflexion Edge into the market.”
Reflexion amazingly placed third in the national student startup competition at South by Southwest® earlier this year, where fellow classmate Xyla Foxlin and her company Parihug enjoyed a second-place finish. Making the “Entrepreneurial Eight” from universities across the country, from more than 200 applications, was an incredible feat for both of these fledgling companies.
Matt said the toughest thing about being a student startup is trying to maintain the balance between class and running the company. “Professors are not understanding at times and it forces you to make decisions,” he said. “Time management becomes paramount. It teaches you how to manage your resources.”
And like his student-startup counterparts across campus, Matt relies heavily on the countless resources available at Case. The network of support is unparalleled, he said. --Terri Mrosko
CHIMU brings African clothes to Cleveland
Chioma Onumwuire, founder of CHIMU
“There was something in me that said, ‘Go for it!’”
That’s when Chioma Onukwuire, a senior macromolecular science and engineering student at Case Western Reserve University, started CHIMU, a business that brings African fashion to Cleveland.
“When I was growing up, getting African clothing was a nightmare. My mom would have to contact my cousin in Nigeria, who would then find a tailor there to make the clothing. I had no say in the style or even the color. I just had to trust the tailor to make me look good,” Chioma said. “I wanted to make the process more accessible and convenient.”
She began by making clothing for herself with the assistance of the machines at the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box]. When an intern working in the Master of Engineering and Management program complimented her style in May 2016 and requested clothes, Chioma found her first customer. Though at first, she did not feel confident making items for other people, eventually Chioma warmed up to the idea. And thanks to the MEM program, CHIMU grew quickly.
“Ever since then, CHIMU has skyrocketed,” she said. Chioma will be continuing her studies in the engineering-meets-management program where she hopes to learn how to grow her brand, among other business topics.
For Chioma, one of the biggest obstacles to growing CHIMU is finding places to showcase her creations. A majority of her day-to-day operations are sending
out emails to places where she can display her wares. Chioma has already used on-campus events, such as the Thwing Study Over, to reach students and has gone off-campus to Little Italy and even an Ankara Bazaar. “At this stage,” she said, “it’s more getting my name out there.”
Being a full-time student taking 19 credit hours at one of the top engineering schools in the country is hard enough. When one adds owning a business on top of that, there seem to be not enough hours in the day. Chioma handles the time crunch well by planning her days in a thorough schedule. “There’s no way I can do something last minute,” she said, adding that she does projects and assignments early on, so she is not rushing at the last minute.
Chioma says one of her biggest challenges is self-doubt, a common thought among young entrepreneurs. She has only been sewing for one to two years and sometimes her inexperience shows. She said “it’s really, really frustrating” when the machine or thread breaks or, even worse, she does a pattern completely wrong and has to start over, adding, “I’m afraid I won’t get to the end.”
Despite these challenges, Chioma will continue with her business as well as her studies. “I want it to be CHIMU 24/7,” she said. However, Chioma added that she is okay with using CHIMU as a way of earning supplemental income.
CHIMU already has an Instagram (@chimu_fashion) where Chioma posts her latest items and inspirations. She hopes to expand her brand by creating a website and selling her items on Etsy, an online retailer. --Edward Kerekes
Autoimmune Citizen Science is a data-driven platform to combat autoimmune disease
More than 50 million individuals suffer from an autoimmune disease, which can severely affect their quality of life. The Autoimmune Citizen Science, or AICS, offers an organized tool to track and visualize symptoms and metrics including diet, sleep and medication patterns, allowing individuals to manage their chronic illness more effectively. Iulia Barbur is a biomedical engineering student on the computing and analysis track who is also pre-med and planning to graduate in 2019. She is the health informaticist for this young startup. Iulia is passionate about medically responsive software applications, she said, and her ultimate career goal is to apply Iulia Barbur, cofounder technology to address Autoimmune Citizen Science health needs. She joined a team of other young people including Vivek Mandan, who has suffered from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis since the age of 12. “Our team began experimenting with various factors that could influence Vivek’s disease, including his diet, supplements, sleep, etc. to see what effect each had,” Iulia said. “However, this approach will only succeed if the person can incorporate research and information from the community into experiments while keeping detailed records of all metrics and results involved, both of which can be overwhelming tasks to do alone.” The group decided to apply their individual skills – computer science, data analysis and an understanding of the autoimmune community – to help people navigate the process. The app is already functional and has several users. Currently, the plan is to roll out awareness of the app to the autoimmune community as well as add physician features in the near future. One of the cool things about the AICS app, Iulia added, is that it serves people with a variety of autoimmune diseases. No matter how many different manifestations autoimmune diseases can have, the common need to track metrics and symptoms is still there. The app was originally intended for use by anyone working to keep tabs on their autoimmune disease and path to wellness; however, some of AICS users like the metric tracking feature so much, they use the app for tracking sleep, hydration and other things unrelated to a specific autoimmune disease.
More startup success stories
Many successful alumni startups began while they were still students at Case. These companies include EveryKey by 2013 computer science graduate Chris Wentz and Apollo Medical Devices, cofounded by Punkaj Ahuja ’09, MS ’11, among so many others too numerous to name!
Case Alumnus caught up with a couple of our more recent graduates to learn more about their companies. Nick VanDillen of LYGENT and Nathan Swift of Hedgemon both graduated last May.
Nicholas VanDillen, MS ’16 is the founder and chief executive officer of LYGENT, which is currently developing a novel, easy-to-use vision tool called the iStrabTM. VanDillen, of St. Louis, Missouri, completed his master’s degree in biomedical engineering and translational health technology at Case Western Reserve University last year.
With his time here at Case Western Reserve, VanDillen was eager to find a dynamic project that he could take on, one that would provide him with real world experience. “I can’t take credit for coming up with the invention, as it was invented by Dr. Jeffrey Bloom in 2011,” VanDillen said. “While I was a student, my mentor, Dr. Colin Drummond, brought to my attention a promising project that had been taking place between Case and University Hospitals. A student team working with Dr. Bloom at University Hospitals had invented the technology that would eventually become the iStrab in 2011.”
Unfortunately, Dr. Bloom passed away in 2012 leaving the project without a leader. VanDillen got in contact with the remaining team members and started up the project again. LYGENT is currently raising funding for the iStrab and preparing clinical trials for Food and Drug Administration notification.
“Once cleared by the FDA, the iStrab will afford providers with a quick, automated assessment of common vision disorders such as eye misalignment and refractive error,” he said. “Its simplicity and low costs should increase access to appropriate vision care for millions of children across the globe.”
VanDillen’s advice for those trying to spearhead startups while also being a student is keeping a tight schedule and staying in a routine. “Planning out your weeks and writing down action items is extremely important. It really helps to note which items you didn’t complete at the end of the day so you can tackle them the next day.”
Finding inspiration in the strangest places
When you think of animals that have the best cushioning for falls, chances are the hedgehog is not your first thought. The animal known for being covered in sharp, spiny quills couldn’t survive a fall from any great distance, you might think.
However, the opposite is true. When hedgehogs, who are great tree climbers, fall, they curl into a ball and use their spines, better known as quills, as a shock absorber. Two students in the University of Akron’s biomimicry fellowship program wanted to model shock-absorbing technology of an animal. After looking at many natural models including big-horned sheep and woodpeckers, they found their perfect candidate in the tiny mammal.
“Upon high-speed impact with the ground, the curled-up hedgehog walks away uninjured because the spines on their backs elastically absorb the shock,” said Nathan Swift, a 2016 physics entrepreneurship graduate from the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program. He along with three other students from Case joined Hedgemon when it was founded in early 2015.
As part of STEP, each student writes their thesis on work done at a company for their entire second year. Most students intern at local businesses; Swift worked at Hedgemon as their Chief Operating Officer. “I made my company my thesis,” Swift explained, adapting grant applications the company had already published and incorporating them into his paper. As a student entrepreneur, Swift received help from his graduate adviser, Ed Caner, who helped guide the company by discussing priorities, strategizing business funds and suggesting directions for growth.
The main focus for Hedgemon is on designing a sports helmet liner to better reduce, or even eliminate, incidents of concussions. The design, of course, is based on the spines of a hedgehog. Right now Swift says Hedgemon is in “full-on prototyping mode,” after collecting data on various samples.
He said, “We are trying to optimize design and continue collecting data that proves our technology is superior to what is out there right now.”
In six to nine months, Swift expects the company to have produced a full-scale model that can be implemented in helmets. It is important for Hedgemon to achieve that step because, according to Swift, helmet manufacturers will only notice the product if they have comparable data to other helmet liners. And the only way to get that data is to build a complete model.
The company is also applying for grants with the National Science Foundation and publishing papers on the technology. They continue to raise money, as well as conduct testing in Akron.
In the future, Hedgemon is looking beyond football helmet lining. Though the team has not picked its next focus yet for the technology, Swift listed many applications, including packaging, flooring and use in seats or cars.
So if, at some point in the future, you see what looks like hedgehog spines in your next Amazon box, do not be alarmed. That packaging will better protect your order. --Edward Kerekes
