BioQ Devices Pty Ltd and TROPHTEC Pty Ltd are among nine landmark innovations set to battle it out for $100,000 in cash to commercialise their business concepts on Pitch Day 2004.
The UQ Business School’s Enterprize competition, a "passport to getting business ideas off the ground," is designed to provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to further develop business plans and compete for prize money to commercialise their business dreams.
Pitch Day 2004, scheduled for October 21, will see the culmination of the teams` zealous business plan preparations when they pitch their business concepts to a judging panel of experienced venture capitalists and a live audience of several hundred interested people.
The business concepts that were chosen to proceed to the next stage of the Enterprize business competition are:
• BakBalls – Chronic back pain is the fastest growing musculoskeletal disability. BakBalls’s simple technology is an affordable, portable self-treatment product for back pain.
• BioQ Devices Pty Ltd – BioQ Devices is a start-up commercializing technology to treat heart failure and aneurysms. They are developing the Walsh Stent Graft (WSG) and supporting technology that incorporates new features to improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering heart failure and aortic aneurysms.
• The Chutzpah Factor ED (CFED) – CFED is a provider of accredited courses and training services to youth. It has provided training workshops for at-risk youths on the premise that non-conformist behaviour is a foundation for entrepreneurship and new venture creation. Their courses in new venture creation make literacy and numeracy meaningful to young people through "real world" application.
• Dovetail Consulting – Dovetail Consulting Group is creating technology solutions for the capture and online web-based dissemination of data relevant to the architectural, engineering and construction industries. Their software significantly reduces the time and costs of capturing and structuring legacy data and organizing it for dissemination.
• QLOXYNTI Pty Ltd – QLOXYNTI is planning a joint-venture with two other specialist companies to produce pathogen-free and high performance propagation and growing material for horticulture. The growing material will be directed towards both local and overseas markets. The joint venture will produce up to 30,000 tons of peat moss alternatives and propagation medias each year.
• SLAP Systems Pty Ltd – SLAP Systems develops hotel-management software applications for major hotels. SLAP proposes to extend its suite of software applications into other areas of hotel management, including yield management/reservations, sales and marketing, customer relationship management and housekeeping.
• TROPHTEC Pty Ltd – TROPHTECH Pty Ltd is an Australian bio-technology company that is developing FoodDetect, an innovative product that immediately detects food spoilage resulting from microbiological contamination. The product is designed for use by large domestic and international food and meat retailers, including supermarkets and grocery stores.
• WebTraf Pty Ltd – WebTraf Pty Ltd has developed computer software to assist with the efficient management of computer networks, such as the Internet. WebTraf software allows network managers to interactively monitor and control network usage, network security and network billing thereby reducing the waste of resources.
• Venture Commander Managed Services – Venture Commander Managed Services is a firm that produces a software package called Venture Commander for small to medium businesses with a particular focus on emerging companies. Venture commander is an on-line knowledge sharing environment that facilitates communication, administration and operational processes by managing and tracking the tasks, documentation and workflows associated with a start-up company. The end result is improved corporate governance, streamlined administration and operational processes.
Enterprize has attracted the involvement of several high profile members of Australia’s venture capital community.
The 2004 judging panel includes Bruce Scott, Managing Director of NBC Capital, Bob Christiansen, Executive Director, Allen and Buckeridge, and UQ Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield.
For further information:
Ms Karen Morgan
UQ Business School
The University of Queensland, St Lucia Qld 4072
Tel. (07) 3365 8207 (International prefix +617)
Fax: (07) 3365 7582 (International prefix +617)
Email. k.morgan@business.uq.edu.au
Web: http://www.business.uq.edu.au
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