OwlSpark - 2016 Annual Report

� OwlSpark was the ultimate integration of everything I learned during my MBA at Rice. I was challenged to use all that I had learned about business to start building a REAL company. The intensity of the program, its quality leadership and the network I’ve built during the summer have increased the value of my Rice education exponentially.

I feel like the single luckiest MBA of our class because I had this experience.

Contents 04 • A Note from the Managing Director 05 • About OwlSpark 06 • Powered By 07 • Board of Directors 08 • Leadership Team 09 • OwlSpark Alumni: By the Numbers 10 • OwlSpark Alumni: Where Are They Now? 12 • 2016: Year In Review 13 • Beyond the Hedges 15 • Inside the Hedges 16 • Class 4 Curriculum 17 • Class 4 Program 18 • Third Annual Bayou Startup Showcase 19 • Class 4 Startup Teams 22 • Class 4 Mentors, Speakers, Advisors & Pitch Coaches 23 • Class 5: Building the Foundation 24 • Get Involved

Appendix 26 • REA Protoype Fund Final Report: LeaseALLY 27 • REA Protoype Fund Final Report: Topl

A Note from the Managing Director

Dear Friends and Colleagues, The summer of 2016 was an exciting time for OwlSpark

Outside of the summer program, OwlSpark works to build

as we watched our fourth cohort of Rice entrepreneurs

impact and visibility across the University by adopting

begin their entrepreneurial pursuits. In the following

a campus-wide role in developing and encouraging

pages of this Annual Report, you will read about their

entrepreneurial creation. Through our involvement in

journeys and accomplishments, and gain insight into the

organizing or supporting activities and programs such as

entrepreneurial impact OwlSpark strives to achieve.

3 Day Startup, Elevator Pitch Competition, Startup Career Fair, Owl Open, Startup Weekend, Student Activities

Modeled after traditional startup accelerators, OwlSpark

Fair, and the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative, OwlSpark

provides entrepreneurship experiences and commercialization

reaches and unites a broader entrepreneurial student

roadmaps for Rice students, faculty, and recent alumni wanting

population across multiple academic disciplines.

to launch a business venture. Over each of the last four summers, OwlSpark has deployed a 12-week experience built

The opportunity that lies ahead of us is to source and realize

around elements of entrepreneurial education, leadership,

creative means that enable our teams to continue growing

and mentorship, and connected our entrepreneurs with

beyond the summer. We look forward to the establishment of

subject matter experts, business leaders, and a network of

a dedicated campus space that provides our entrepreneurial

mentors who provide practical, pragmatic essentials that

community with a collaborative venue to learn and launch

guide them through the early stages of their journey.

year-round. Through our relationships with the Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, and

In four short years, OwlSpark has evolved into a recognized

the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the

university startup accelerator that has helped support 79

OwlSpark Leadership Team looks forward to creating solutions

entrepreneurs in creating 33 entrepreneurial ventures that have

that both fuel and impact entrepreneurial growth at Rice.

cumulatively raised or been awarded more than $3,000,000.

And while widespread commercial success by our startup

Looking ahead to summer 2017, we are excited about

teams has far to go, We are pleased to report that 60% of

celebrating OwlSpark‘s fifth anniversary. To each of our

startup teams from Class 1, 2, 3, and 4 are still active today,

donors and sponsors, your partnership, interest, involvement,

and that founder satisfaction runs high, with assessments

and support are genuinely appreciated. It is through your

indicating strong support for our innovative program. We are

continued generosity that OwlSpark succeeds in increasing

confident the foundational principles and entrepreneurial skills

campus-wide reach and impact. I invite you to share your ideas

our founders learn through OwlSpark will serve to increase

that help us achieve our goals and contribute to the quality and

their likelihood of both personal and commercial success.

entrepreneurial expertise we deliver to the Rice community.

It will be though our collective participation and vision, that we achieve bigger results and stronger outcomes in 2017.

— Kerri Smith, Managing Director

04 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

About OwlSpark Founded in 2012, OwlSpark is Rice University’s startup accelerator that supports teams of ambitious and promising entrepreneurs through an experiential program designed to launch technology companies. In concert with the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, the OwlSpark program encourages and fosters a culture that attracts entrepreneurial-minded students and faculty to form and launch companies around innovative business ideas. OwlSpark is a leader in promoting multi-disciplinary entrepreneurship through education, mentorship, and wide-ranging community engagement.

Through a selective vetting process that targets promising, scalable, innovative technologies, OwlSpark admits up to ten startup teams into a 12-week summer cohort. Over the course of the program, OwlSpark delivers a curriculum built around educational, leadership, and mentorship components and connects founders with a community of entrepreneurs and experienced business leaders who help guide and advise them through their launch.

Since 2013, OwlSpark has introduced four cohorts, admitted 33 startup teams, served 79 founders, and made advancements in delivering on our program objectives of entrepreneurship education and leadership. By researching and implementing best practices in startup acceleration, we provide our founders with experiential strategies that result in positive, lasting, and measurable contributions to their learning and growth. This year’s cohort represented a broad spectrum of classification that included undergraduate and graduate students, staff members, recent alumni, and and students from other academic institutions.

Stay Connected OwlSpark

RiceOwlSpark

team@owlspark.com

OwlSpark

www.owlspark.com

05 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Powered By

MICHAEL KANE ‘83 THE BENIFICUS FOUNDATION

06 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Board of Directors Brad Burke Managing Director Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Kazimir Karwowski Executive Director Rice Center for Engineering Leadership

Thomas Kraft Director of Technology Ventures Development Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Senthil Natarajan Founder Ziel Solutions

Kerri Smith Associate Managing Director Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Alexander Wesley Co-founder, President, and CEO Arovia

07 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Leadership Team

Kerri Smith

Jessica Fleenor

Alex de la Fuente

Ben Herndon-Miller

Managing Director

Assistant Managing Director

Assistant Managing Director

Wise Guy (Intern)

Kerri has broad experience in developing

Jessica plans and executes strategic

Alex’s passion for innovation and creative

A junior from Norwich, Vermont, a town

strategies and programs that help maximize

marketing, design and communication

ventures developed at a young age, and led

tucked in the Connecticut River valley near

the success of technology-based startups.

initiatives focused on events, programming,

him to earn a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from

Dartmouth College, Ben is pursuing a double

Her experience includes entrepreneurship

and visibility within Rice and the Houston

the University of Houston’s Wolff Center for

major in Statistics and Sociology. Ben served

education, startup acceleration, educational

communities. Dedicated to connecting

Entrepreneurship. During his time at UH, Alex

as a member of the Rice Launch team,

programming, technology licensing, and

entrepreneurs with the resources they need

led several teams tasked with the planning

hosting such events as 3 Day Startup Houston

commercialization. For over 25 years, Kerri

to launch and grow their businesses, Jessica

and development of new ventures based

and the Rice Entrepreneurship Summit.

has provided leadership, oversight, and

co-founded Startup Career Fair, and Medulla,

on University-patented technologies. Alex

His interests include entrepreneurship,

strategic direction for commercialization,

a branding and design agency providing

also played a role in the school’s Cougar

social justice and fighting inequality. In his

entrepreneurship, and technology transfer

tailored solutions to startups, nonprofits,

Venture Fund, where he worked with a group

spare time, Ben also interns for the non-

initiatives. Kerri joined Rice University in 2004

and small businesses. With a background in

to evaluate a local startup and propose

profit organization, Second Servings, which

where she serves as Associate Managing

nonprofit management and entrepreneurship,

whether or not the company represented

redistributes food from regulated food

Director of the Rice Alliance for Technology

she brings more than seven years of

a good investment opportunity. Following

businesses to soup kitchens and shelters.

and Entrepreneurship, Managing Director of

experience in communications, design

graduation, Alex spent a year as a Credit

Ben has no idea what he wants to do with his

OwlSpark, and Director of the NSF sponsored

and project management. Jessica serves

Analyst at Amegy Bank, where he performed

life, but hopes to have someone pay him to

Innovation Corps Grant program (I-Corps). In

as the Assistant Managing Director of

financial and operational analyses of various

travel after he graduates from Rice University.

all positions, she plays a lead role in fostering

OwlSpark, Assistant Director for Programs

small businesses and middle-market

Ben is a fan of basketball, football, hip-hop

collaboration and accelerating the formation

at the Rice Alliance for Technology and

companies.

and pick-up sports. In kindergarten, he could

of technology-based startups.

Entrepreneurship, and Program Manager for

recite all of the presidents of the United

the NSF I-Corps program at Rice University.

States in order, but has since forgotten.

08 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

OwlSpark Alumni: By the Numbers In four short years, OwlSpark has grown into a recognized university startup accelerator that has helped 79 entrepreneurs create 33 new ventures. And while widespread commercial success by our startup teams still has far to go, the foundational principles and entrepreneurial skills we teach enables founders to increase their likelihood of personal and commercial success.

We are pleased to report that 60% of startup teams from Class

16% female | 84% male

1, 2, 3, and 4 are still active today. Of those still active, 65% have raised more than $3,000,000 in funding.

68% Rice students 14% Rice faculty, staff & alumni 18% other

engineering

09 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

business

natural science social science architecture

OwlSpark Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Class 1

Talent Unbound (formerly Coached Schooling) Established a private school that has adapted a version of

CheckedTwice

the Acton Academy model in a micro-school setting using

Developed a web-based gift registry for families and friends.

learner-led education.

www.checkedtwice.com • Raised $130,000

www.talentunbound.org • Raised $170,000 • Currently operating two campuses in Houston

E-Floor Developed raised flooring systems for refugees fleeing conflict and living in temporary tent-like shelters and camps. www.emergencyfloor.com • Raised $54,196 through Indiegogo campaign (2015) • Successfully completed pilot projects in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria

Medical Informatics Developed a platform that provides clinical decision support technology for healthcare professionals. www.medicalinformaticscorp.com • Raised $546,500 through prizes and investment • Received FDA approval for sale in the United States • Established partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital

ParkIt Developed a computer vision system that collects real-time parking lot space availability data from camera images to make parking more efficient. www.parkit.io • Raised $77,750 through prizes and investments • Accepted into first cohort of Jaguar Land Rover, a Portland, Oregon accelerator that advances innovation for the automotive industry.

• Winner of the 2016 OPEN Houston Business Pitch Competition • Completed first sale (2016)

Class 2 Big Delta Systems Developed an advanced electrode design and manufacturing process for lithium ion battery components that increase energy and power performance across multiple industries. www.bigdeltasystems.com • Named among 10 Most Promising Companies at the 2015 Rice Alliance Energy and Clean Technology Venture Forum • Raised $1,185,000 through prizes and investment, including the $35,000 Goradia Innovation Prize (2015) • Awarded a Department of Energy grant that created a partnership with Argonne National Labs to provide finished electrodes that will be transformed into lithium-ion pouch cells in Argonne’s Cell Analysis, Modeling and Prototyping (CAMP) Facility

DiBS Developed a web-based tool that gives users the power to create informative, interactive visualizations for healthcare professionals. www.dibsvis.com • Participated in Class 1 of TMCx Accelerator, an early-stage accelerator for health and medical technology companies

OneJump Developed a website that connects underserved students to enriched, life-changing opportunities, including college programs, internships, summer camps, and research labs. www.onejump.org • Raised $14,265 through IndieGoGo campaign (2015)

10 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

OwlSpark Alumni: Where Are They Now?

Class 3

Ziel Solutions

Arovia

sensors and motion analysis to objectively identify harmful

Developed a high-resolution, 24-inch portable screen that easily

pitching in baseball.

collapses and expands like an umbrella for use in connecting devices anywhere. www.arovia.io

Developed a wearable device (sleeve) that combines muscle

www.zielsolutions.com • Fourth prototype currently in development • Media features on MLB.com and Sports Illustrated online

• Raised $711,397 through Kickstarter campaign (2016)

• Raised $12,500 through prizes

• Awarded a $50,000 grant from NSF to further validate

• Named among 15 Most Innovative College Startups in

business model and customer base • Participated in Retail Xelerator, a growth scale accelerator that bridges startups to major retailers including Walmart, Amazon, Verizon, and Sears • Featured as a Tech Trend of 2017 on The Today Show

Forbes, and ranked among Top 500 Early Stage Science Startups Worldwide by Hello Tomorrow Conference • Winner of the 2015 Rice OwlTank Startup Competition and the 2016 Dallas EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, third place at 2015 OPEN Houston Business Pitch Competition, third place at National RECESS Pitch

OcuCheck

Competition, Honorable Mention at TCU International

Brings eye exams to the workplace.

Business Plan Competition

www.ocucheck.com • Successfully deployed their first eye exam fair with Tech Trans International for 165 employees (2016)

Open Factory Established a 3D printing factory for on-demand small batch production. www.openfactory.co • Generating revenue

ShowCoach Developed a platform for giving and receiving professional private instruction anywhere, anytime. www.goshowcoach.com • Launched Video Lesson Platform in June 2016 • Generated first revenue in 2016

11 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

2016: Year In Review In its first five years, OwlSpark has influenced hundreds of Rice University students and community entrepreneurs through increased entrepreneurial activities and mentoring services.

Events and programs internal and external to Rice, such as business plan competitions, venture challenges, elevator pitch competitions, and a number of other entrepreneurialfocused activities have resulted in the launch and support of promising startups within and beyond the hedges,

12 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Beyond The Hedges: 3 Day Startup Jointly organized and hosted by Rice University Entrepreneurship Club, OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs, 3 Day Startup is a 72-hour learning-bydoing campus-wide program that teaches entrepreneurial skills to university students in an extreme hands-on environment.

The idea of 3 Day Startup is simple: start a technology company over the course of three days. We reserve work space for an entire weekend, recruit 50 students with diverse backgrounds, cater food and drinks, and invite top-notch entrepreneurs and investors to help teams develop strategies that turn ideas into viable, scalable ventures. The goal is to build enough momentum among a network of motivated people to sustain the startup beyond the weekend. By the end of the program, participants have developed a minimum viable skillset, an enhanced network, and the inspiration to move forward.

3 Day Startup kicks off on Friday with a brainstorming session where teams select the best ideas for a startup.

Teams spend Saturday placing heavy emphasis on business model generation, hitting the streets (or phones) to focus on customer discovery, participating in structured mentoring and feedback sessions, and delivering intermediate pitches. On Sunday, teams continue executing on their ideas and engage in pitch workshops in preparation for the final pitch to a panel of feedback judges.

Through a rigorous application process, 25 students from Rice were selected from a pool of more than 120 applicants that included undergraduate and graduate students from multiple.degree programs. Key characteristics of applications included a passion for startups, curiosity about technology, and entrepreneurial drive. rice.3daystartup.org

13 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Beyond The Hedges: Startup Career Fair Jointly organized and hosted by OwlSpark, the University of Houston’s RED Labs, and the Texas Medical Center Accelerator (TMCx), Startup Career Fair is a one-day event connecting local startups with entrepreneurial-minded students seeking internships and experienced management pursuing full-time opportunities. The event helps students and professionals find exciting opportunities where they can make an impact, gives local startups access to the talent they need, and fosters the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Houston and beyond.

Startup Career Fair was founded in 2013 to bridge the talent gap and build a pipeline of qualified candidates within the local startup community, StartupCareerFair

scfhtx

www.startupcareerfairhtx.com

14 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Inside The Hedges: Campus Impact Throughout the year, OwlSpark organizes and supports campus-wide programs and events that encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new ventures.

Our involvement ensures a greater reach and visibility within the diverse, interdisciplinary entrepreneurial population at Rice University.

Elevator Pitch Competition The annual Elevator Pitch Competition is open to Rice undergraduate students with a business concept or idea.

Entries may be at any stage of development and can include engineering design project teams, as well as independent or team design project ideas from across the campus. Through a selective vetting process, applicants are invited to present 90-second pitches which describe their innovation, by addressing the need or problem being solved, competitive advantages, and commercial potential. The top three teams win cash prizes totalling up to $7,000 based on the judges’ scores, with a fourth prize being awarded to the People’s Choice.

The Elevator Pitch Competition is a collaboration of Rice Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie), the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK), and the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL). entrepreneurship.rice.edu/8th-annual-elevator-pitchcompetition-2016

Owl Open

Sandwiches & Startups: Find Your Co-Founder Organized by the Rice Entrepreneurship Club (formerly Rice Launch), this event is an opportunity for students who are pursuing their own entrepreneurial goals or who are interested in working on promising ideas to meet and learn from each other and make useful connections. Those who were working on an entrepreneurial idea, had the opportunity to pitch it to other members of the Rice community. For those without an idea, this was a chance to find an exciting opportunity and join a team. This event is considered a fairly informal look into startup opportunities across campus.

Student Activities Fair Student Activities at Rice University is dedicated to helping students develop as leaders and supporting them in their efforts to make a positive impact at Rice University. Each semester, Rice University hosts the Student Activities Fair to connect students with programs and organizations across campus that provide practical educational experiences designed to foster leadership development and complement the traditional classroom education.

The Owl Open is Rice University’s internal business plan competition and qualifier for the Rice Business Plan Competition. Rice students are eligible to compete in one of two separate tracks: Graduate or Undergraduate. The winning graduate-track team represents Rice University in the annual Rice Business Plan Competition. Judges include venture capitalists, angel investors, successful entrepreneurs, and senior corporate executives. alliance.rice.edu/owlopen

15 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Information Sessions Each semester, the OwlSpark Leadership Team hosts open information sessions to provide insight into the summer accelerator experience. The information sessions are paired with networking events that mimic the OwlSpark culture.

Class 4 Curriculum

MAY

Who is Your Customer?

Market Segmentation

SCRUM / Agile Development

One of the largest factors that differentiate university-based

Establishing Meaningful Relationships

Interviewing the Customer

accelerators from traditional for-profit accelerator models is the

Evaluating Market Opportunities

End-User Profiles

focus on rigorous education and measurable knowledge gained.

Navigating Generational Divides

Brand Development

Networking for Entrepreneurs

Total Addressable Market

The curriculum for Class 4 featured nearly 60 sessions and was structured to provide:

JUN

Beachhead Market

What Can You Do for Your Customer?

• Disciplined Entrepreneurship fundamentals and a deep dive into customer identificaiton, market segmentation, value propositions, customer acquisition, distribution channels, pricing models, and go-to-market strategies; • business fundamentals including market research,

Full Life Cycle Use Case

Identifying Customers

High-Level Product Specification

Defining Your Core

Quantify the Value Proposition

Competitive Positions

Value Propositions

product development, business milestones, intellectual property, sales, funding sources, corporate formation, and

How Does Your Customer Acquire Your Product?

accounting literacy; • consolidation of fundamentals and preparation for

Channels / Go-To-Market

Customer’s Decision-Making Unit

launch through individualized coaching and multiple

Sales Strategies

The Elevator Pitch

pitch practices.

Translating Your Brand

Acquiring a Paying Customer

Supporting the Customer Journey

The curriculum also featured a weekly Startup Founders Series where local entrepreneurs shared their stories of success

How Do You Make Money Off Your Product?

and failure, and a weekly Leadership Lunch Series, led by the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, to instill components of leadership, management, negotiation, and team-building through discussions, case studies, and interactive simulations.

JUL

Total Addressable Market for Follow-On Markets

Value Pricing

Financial Literacy & Accounting Basics

Website Considerations & SEO

Business Model Design

Map the Sales Process to Acquire a Customer

Pricing Frameworks

Cost of Customer Acquisition

Lifetime Value of an Acquired Customer

How Do You Design and Build Your Product?

Storyboarding Your Pitch

Corporate Formation

Identify and Test Key Assumptions

Define the Minimum Viable Business Product

Intellectual Property Basics

Show That “The Dogs Will Eat the Dog Food”

How Do You Scale Your Business?

16 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

AUG

Risk Management

Analytics & Growth Hacking

Venture Debt & Considerations

Media Engagement Best Practices

Increasing Value to Outside Investors

Angel Capital & Venture Capital

Class 4 Program From May 23, 2016 through August 12, 2016, OwlSpark delivered an intensive core curriculum based on the Disciplined Entrepreneurship methodology, enriched it with relevant business fundamentals, provided access to ongoing mentorship, featured office hours with local entrepreneurs and industry experts, and organized professional networking events to enhance community collaboration.

University Accelerator Collaboration For the second time last summer, we partnered with RED Labs, the University of Houston’s startup accelerator to enhance founders’ experience through collaborative coworking, shared resources, increased mentor impact, heightened community awareness, and increased event attendance.

Rice Engineering Alumni Prototype Fund A requirement of the OwlSpark accelerator program is the

Housed in TMCx, the Texas Medical Center Accelerator,

development of a minimum viable product (MVP). For the

OwlSpark created a unique, collaborative co-working space

second time this year, OwlSpark was fortunate to receive

for aspiring entrepreneurs that offered inspiration, stimulation,

funding from the Rice Engineering Alumni Association designed

education, and motivation to launch Rice University’s

to support entrepreneurs in their pursuit to take innovations and

newest startups.

ideas from concept to demonstration. With small grants and an emphasis on low-cost iterative experimentation, startup teams performed research, tested core assumptions, and explored multiple design options before building out their technology.

Recipients of these funds include Arovia, Open Factory, and Ziel Solutions from Class 3, as well as LeaseALLY and Topl from Class 4.

Advisory Board Meetings Held several times throughout the summer, mock Advisory Board Meetings allowed founders to experience the accountability and discipline they will need when they begin forming their own boards and committees. A dedicated group of advisors provided perspective and helped founders counterbalance biases and maintain focus.

Brand Development This summer, we enhanced the branding and design elements of our program. We offered sessions to help founders gain a better understanding of how a brand impacts a startup, and begin the process of crafting their own brand. To round out the visual development of the startup teams’ brands, we launched a collaborative effort with the community to bring in designers who were excited to help early stage ventures grow.

17 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

WHAT DID ATTENDEES THINK? On August 10, 2016, OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs co-hosted the third annual Bayou Startup Showcase. The Bayou Startup Showcase is a celebration of

94% overall quality

provided a platform for startup teams from both accelerators to

Houston community.

I’ve been watching this evolve since it began and

and emphasizes their complementary abilities.

90% quality of pitches

showcase their businesses to more than 450 mentors, advisors, entrepreneurs, investors and key stakeholders from the greater



am very impressed. I think it’s the only example of its kind: startup program that includes two universities

entrepreneurship, the Houston startup community, and the university accelerator programs that support them. The event

WHAT DID ATTENDEES SAY?



I tell folks that the Bayou Startup Showcase is the premier

startup event in Houston each year, and will continue to do so.

86% quality of showcase

I know any number of organizations in town wish this could be said of one of their events instead. Having Rice University and the University of Houston collaborating on such a huge project,

www.bayoustartupshowcase.com

and bringing together the whole Houston community, creates

WHY DID THEY ATTEND?

an atmosphere that, for me, epitomizes what startups are about.



The ENERGY was palpable when I walked in.

Everyone seems receptive, alert, excited and attentive.

support aspiring entrepreneurs



It was encouraging to see that Rice and UH are pushing on

entrepreneurialism and innovation...I enjoyed being exposed to the ideas, professional pitches, and this energetic community.

support Houston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

 

networking 18 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

I have been to similar events in Silicon Valley; I was

impressed by the scale and professionalism of this one.

A unique experience that I’ve experienced

in the city of Houston, and shows the support this city has for its citizens. It’s also provided me with some confidence in starting my own business.

Class 4 Startup Teams After a rigorous application, vetting, and interview process, the OwlSpark Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and Class 3 alumni built a cohort of eight teams developing innovative technologies in life sciences, consumer products, energy, social media, and education.

23 FOUNDERS 22% female | 78% male

14 Rice students 2 Rice alumni

Atmo

BlueCura

Sebastian Pilarski

Beko Jang

McGill University ‘18

Rice University ‘16

Jeffrey Wang

Jonathan Jao

Rice University ‘19

Rice University ‘17

Atmo is a tool that finds the ideal bar for that special occasion

Colton Smith

based on the bar’s atmosphere, and offers a new model of

Rice University ‘16

customer data for bar owners.

1 Rice staff

BlueCura provides a web-based lab management solution which enables researchers to easily record, archive, track, and

6 other

engineering

business natural science social science architecture

19 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

share data.

Compa

Induo

LeaseALLY

Keito Kawabata

Shriya Bhatnagar

Bijan Breland

Rice University Staff

University of Houston ‘17

The University of Texas at Austin ‘19

Brian Turner

William Koh

Lisa Huang

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art ‘06

Rice University ‘19

Rice University ‘16

Compa offers online tools that efficiently recruit participants for

Edward Lash

Camille Nichols

community-based research studies, saving researchers time

Rice University ‘17

Rice University ‘16

Jen Sun

LeaseALLY provides market information and affordable

Rice University ‘17

advisory services for landowners who have been offered an

and money.

oil and gas lease.

Jeffrey Ye Rice University ‘17 Induo provides bite-sized, job-specific courses that help increase work performance and close rates for sales professionals. www.getinduo.com

20 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

www.leaseally.com

Müvve

Topl

WAVIoT

Avinash Ravishankar

Christopher Georgen

Artem Nadikta

Rice University ‘12

Rice University ‘16

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology ‘06

Julian Se

Zihe Huang

Anastasia Novinskaya

University of Houston ‘14

Rice University ‘15

Rice University ‘16

Müvve is an online community that helps runners find others to

Matthew Kindy

Marat Zaripov

run with based on ability and personality criteria.

Rice University ‘16

Rice University ‘16

Topl is a mobile payment platform that offers convenience and

WAVIoT connects sensor devices using a low-power, wide-area

loyalty rewards for shoppers, charging merchants half the price

network that provides better and broader data collection.

www.muvve.com

of credit card companies. www.waviot.com www.topl.me

21 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Class 4 Mentors, Speakers, Advisors & Pitch Coaches

Rakesh Agrawal

Michael Loup

Matt Bell

Deborah Mansfield

Bill Bobbora

Joe Martin

Tom Campbell

Ali McHenry

Chris Church

Roberto Moctezuma

Al Danto

Gayle Moran

Ernie Davis

Senthil Natarajan

Kyle Dixon

Beth O’Sullivan

Aly Dossa

Matt Pena

Doug Erwin

Lauren-Kristine Pryzant

Mike Evans

Paul Pryzant

Mary Lynn Fernau

Michael Raspino

experienced entrepreneurs, academic leaders, industry

Erin Flores

John Reale

professionals, subject matter experts, venture capitalists and

Peter Foster

Grace Rodriguez

Blair Garrou

Angela Shah

Bill Greisinger

Sameer Soleja

Sarah Groen

Jay Steinfeld

Bryan Haardt

Danielle Supkis Cheek

Gray Hancock

Andrew Swick

Melanie Jones

Jordan Szymczyk

Ken Jones

Anderson Ta

Kaz Karwowski

Patrick Taylor

Emily Keeton

D.C. Toedt

Tom Kraft

Jordan Tractenberg

Keith Kreuer

Dan Watkins

Beata Krupa

Alexander Wesley

Brian Lang

Rich Winley

Nir Leibovich

Kimberly Wolf

Tom Levitz

Adam Wulf

Leaning on our vibrant ecosystem and partnerships with university and community organizations, we hand-picked a cohort of professionals that we knew would maximize the success of our startup teams. Mentors, speakers, pitch coaches and advisors were selected based on their expertise, experience and connections to help our founders accelerate their businesses. Throughout the program, they provided strategic and tactical guidance, identifying gaps in a team’s business knowledge and understanding, identifying obstacles, challenging hypotheses, serving as a sounding board for ideas.

Over the summer, founders engaged with more than 55

other members of the Houston entrepreneurial community.

22 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Class 5: Building the Foundation As evidenced by our achievements throughout the first five years, OwlSpark provides value to students, faculty and the extended Rice University community. We are proud to serve as a catalyst for promoting entrepreneurship, to be a provider of enriched experiential learning opportunities, an educational resource for launching Rice startups, a portal for engaging mentors, investors, and alumni from the business community, and a beacon for external visibility and recognition by the media, the Houston community, and national and international ranking sources.

OwlSpark does more than fill a demand for hands-on entrepreneurship experiences — it provides a roadmap for innovation and commercialization. As our students and faculty face a lifetime of technological advances, entrepreneurial opportunities, and personal challenges, their success will likely be determined by their ability to deploy the skills we emphasize — creativity, persistence, passion and resilience.

The impact of OwlSpark isn’t just in the development of emerging business ventures, but in raising the aspirations of our students and faculty across the university. We invite Rice University to continue supporting and promoting our mission through continued funding and permanent space allocation.

23 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Get Involved Dates to Remember Startup Career Fair • February 18, 2017 www.startupcareerfairhtx.com

Owl Open • February 21, 2017 alliance.rice.edu/owlopen

OwlSpark Class 5 • May 22, 2017 – August 11, 2017 www.owlspark.com

Celebrate With Us: #FiveYearsStrong 2017 marks the fifth anniversary of OwlSpark.

The accelerator experience we have designed and expanded over the past five years is more than just the delivery of entrepreneurial training. OwlSpark has evolved into a culture and community where founders encourage, support, and advocate for one another — during the summer program, throughout the year, and beyond the hedges.

OwlSpark has grown into a family of diverse and talented alumni founders with a passion for entrepreneurship. We have built partnerships with university and community organizations to create an environment that cultivates entrepreneurs and early-stage startup teams, enabling founders to share ideas, experience the value of collaboration, and surround themselves with the best people and resources.

To celebrate the wood anniversary, we have some exciting activities in the works. We hope you will join us in commemorating OwlSpark’s first five years!

Stay Connected OwlSpark

RiceOwlSpark

team@owlspark.com

OwlSpark

www.owlspark.com

24 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Appendix 26 • REA Protoype Fund Final Report: LeaseALLY 27 • REA Protoype Fund Final Report: Topl

REA Prototype Fund Final Report: LeaseALLY

The benefit and usage of our software prototyping tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, and Framer.js.

Benefits In the process of creating our website, building an interactive digital map, and validating our beachhead market, we needed to create and edit .ai and .psd files. Only Adobe Illustrator, a tool for working with vector graphics, is capable of editing .ai files. Only Adobe Photoshop, a tool used to manipulate raster graphics, is capable of editing .psd files. Framer.js is a Javascript prototyping tool that uses code to allow designers to generate interactive graphics. This will be pivotal in creating interactive wireframes for our product.

By allowing us to design using real data, these tools let us gather feedback from users in a quick, iterative fashion. These tools enable us to create in-house website design iterations using the latest technologies, without relying on content management systems like Wordpress. They are also critical to implementing our marketing strategies.

Usage Summary Interactive Map Prototype Using a combination of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Framer.js, we developed an interactive map that allowed users

We would like to run a test on one of our proposed marketing channels: Direct Mail. We are doing this to test an assumption that this will be an effective way to reach our customers in our beachhead market, Appalachia. Accordingly, we have created postcards that we would like to send to 1000 target customers in various parts of our beachhead market. The postcard will advertise our services, convey our value proposition and tell customers to call us or visit our website. In order to create these postcards, the described software programs will be necessary.

to display several layers of oil and gas data in the Appalachian

Our aim is to get at least 40 people to either call us or visit to

region, including number of leases, details about wells, operator

our website based on these mailers. We will be able to track the

coverage, shale formations, and parcel data. We used our

success using Google analytics to count how many visitors we

software tools to build out the visual, front-end portion of our

get from the locations we have mailed to, and by the number

codebase, on top of the Javascript libraries Leaflet, Mapbox, and

of calls to our Google voice line. If this is successful, we will be

Esri ArcGIS. This map is important in validating that customers

able to have some defined metrics around customer acquisition

would be interested in interacting with the kind of information

cost. It will also help us answer several other assumptions about

that we our company will offer.

our MVBP (our website) once people start visiting the site. If this

Promotional Materials At the Bayou Startup Showcase, we designed a 6-foot tall banner, business cards, and produced informational postcards that we would later hand out to potential customers. These were important in getting the attention of the audience.

26 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report

Direct Mail Marketing Test

is not successful, it may be because we did not send it to the right people, (i.e. people who have not been offered a lease) or it may indicate that this method is not effective.

REA Prototype Fund Final Report: Topl

Company Overview Topl develops and provides merchants with a more affordable, convenient, and intelligent payments platform. Our first product involves a mobile application for shoppers to pay at businesses and an iPad application for businesses to accept these payments.

Proposal Overview We requested $700 to purchase an Apple Mac mini computer that would allow us to develop and deploy our mobile application to iPhone users and develop the iPad application for businesses to accept Topl.

Results of the Prototype Fund The approval for our use of the prototype and the resulting purchase of a Mac mini was instrumental in our progress through the OwlSpark accelerator. Among other requirements for applications accepted into their ecosystem for use on iPhones and iPads, Apple requires that all applications be developed and submitted using a Mac computer. As a new company comprised of individuals who do not own Mac computers for personal use, this represented a substantial and potentially very expensive hurdle for us. Through the prototype fund, Rice enabled us to overcome this challenge.

Over the summer our team employed the Mac mini to develop, test, and ultimately submit our applications to the App Store. By having a mobile application available in the App Store, we can begin to access the 40% of US consumers who own an iPhone.

27 • OwlSpark 2016 Annual Report