Making the first move: Commuthon 2014

New research consortium for spintronics

Disruptive technologies that create the future

Summer Programme

NOC’s Tee-rrific outreach

05 Tech transfer: It’s not about the money, money, money

Building a company with over 200 million users

16 Useful Tinder

MCI (P) 173/02/2014

ISSUEOCT - DEC 2014004

Sensational ViSenze clinches another win

Going global - KAI Square recognised in Japan

Emphatic endorsements in Taiwan for NUS start-ups

08 NUS technologies on show for Energy RoadMap 2014

Second Go-to-Market talk

Advancing science by supporting high-impact research

10 Sky high valuation with BizEquity

Creatively enterprising: marrying design and business

2014 at a glance

13 Flash Forward16

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The year was filled with exciting activities and events, fanning the flames of entrepreneurship and innovation to even greater heights. This issue captures the highlights from the past few months: the many collaborations we have forged with industry and academic partners; the progress and recognition achieved by our start-ups; and thought-leadership views on commercialisation and start-up businesses. A rousing end to the year in anticipation of an even busier one. Cheers to another good year ahead!

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Making the first move: Commuthon 2014SINGAPORE’S FIRST COMMUTER EXPERIENCE HACKATHON

BY NUS ENTERPRISE AND SMRT

Packed into Plug-In@Blk71, over 120 participants worked feverishly over the last weekend in August 2014 to develop innovative solutions for a more positive travel experience. Organised by NUS Enterprise and SMRT, the solutions spread across train, bus, taxi and open categories. Five teams each won a $500 cash prize, and the chance to realise their solutions through an additional $120,000 set aside by SMRT to fund selected projects for implementation. In addition to the cash prize, NUS Enterprise will support these winning teams through mentorship guidance, access to validation workshops and hot-desking support.

47% of the participants were from the NUS community and two out of the five winning companies were teams with alumni from the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC). One of the winners, aptly named ‘Your Move’, comprised a group of six alumni across different batches from NOC. ‘Your Move’ developed a mobile app that encourages train commuters to move deeper within the train carriages to avoid blocking access to the doors. The app leverages iBeacon technology and uses rewards and gamification tools to influence user behaviour. Tapidata, an NUS Enterprise incubatee, was another winner. This start-up offers taxi commuters digital electronic receipts on their mobile phones, an environmentally-friendly and hassle-free way to keep and sort receipts, especially useful when making transport claims. The solution benefits companies too, in providing improved data management options. “This is a first for the transport industry in Singapore, and we are excited to work with NUS Enterprise to provide a new and meaningful platform for public engagement. SMRT will be funding some of these innovations and we look forward to launching these in our network in the near future,” said Mr. Lee Ling Wee, Managing Director, SMRT Trains. ✦

02 Red HotSPARKS interest with the latest in the start-up and entrepreneur scene within our community.

The winning teams at the NUS –SMART Commuthon on 31st August 2014.

New research consortium for spintronics

In December 2014, a new research consortium was set up in Singapore, encouraging researchers to explore innovative electron spin-based tech-nologies for sensor, memory and logic applications. Called Singapore Spintronics Consortium (SG-SPIN), this will facilitate collaborative re-search partnerships between IHLs and industry. Spintronics is an emerg-ing technology that utilises the intrinsic spin of electrons and associated magnetic moment, in addition to their electronic charge that is exclu-sively used in existing electronic devices. Spintronics technology is al-ready used in hard-disk drives and magnetic field sensors. New potential

applications include non-volatile memory, logic and biomedical devices. SG-SPIN is led by Professor Wu Yihong from the NUS Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The consortium’s founding members - NUS, NTU, Applied Materials Inc., Delta Electronics and GLOBALFOUNDRIES – signed an MOU to demonstrate their commit-ment to collaborate in spintronics R&D activities. The NUS Industry Liaison Office took the lead in driving and facilitating this collabora-tion. Several R&D projects have been identified under SG-SPIN and will commence in 2015. SG-SPIN is supported by NRF Singapore. ✦

Members of the SG-SPIN Consortium (from left): Mr Russell Tham, President, Applied Materials South East Asia; Mr Rajesh Nair, Vice President, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore; Prof Barry Halliwell, Deputy President (Research & Technology), NUS; Prof Low Teck Seng, CEO, National Research Foundation; Dr Lim Jui, CEO NTUitive, NTU; and Mr Patrick Chang, Director, Delta Electronics International (Singapore)

Disruptive technologies that create the future INAUGURAL TECHCRACKER SINGAPORE PRESENTED BY

HORIZONS VENTURES, VERTEX VENTURE HOLDINGS AND NUS ENTERPRISE

The buzz of anticipation at the University Cultural Centre on 7 October 2014 was palpable as over 300 visitors from Hong Kong together with the NUS and the Singapore entrepreneur community gathered for presentations from seven start-ups in town especially for Techcracker Singapore. A conference showcasing ‘disruptive technologies’ from a range of industries, Techcracker Singapore was jointly organised by the Li Ka Shing Foundation, Horizons Ventures, NUS Enterprise and Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd. Techcracker was first organised in Beijing in May 2014 by Hong Kong-based Horizons Ventures, Li Ka Shing’s venture capital firm that focuses investments mainly in disruptive technology start-ups from around the world. Some of its previous investees include tech giants such as Facebook, Skype and Spotify. The presentations from the seven founders held the audience spellbound with their passion and innovative ventures. Impossible Foods and Modern Meadow are set to revolutionize the meat and leather industries by producing plant-based and cultured meats and leathers that not only require no animal slaughter, but are also less harmful to the environment. Ariel Garten, CEO and co-founder of InteraXon, displayed her own brainwaves using Muse, a headband that helps people understand their own minds, and has a positive effect on their lifestyles. Space Glasses by Meta, another wearable technology, brought the Iron Man movies to life with interactive 3D glasses that merge the physical and holographic worlds with a wide range of applications in work and play.

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(L to R) Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry received by Prof Barry Halliwell, NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology), Dr Lily Chan, CEO, NUS Enterprise, and Prof Wong Poh Kam, Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, NUS Enterprise, at Techcracker 2014.

(3rd from left) Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President on stage with some participants to try the freshly prepared beef burger.

Ariel Garten demonstrating Muse, the brain sensing headband.

Red HotSPARKS interest with the latest in the start-up and entrepreneur scene within our community.

Some other ventures included Teralytics, a Singapore-based big data firm that demonstrated how efficient data capture and use can solve some of the most complex urban issues from traffic to the way we communicate. MeMed founder Eran Edan shared an inspiring story about his entrepreneur journey and the founding of a medical technology venture revolutionizing disease diagnostics and minimizing misuse of antibiotics. Also featured was Roli’s Seaboard, a radically new musical instrument that marries the sensitivity of a traditional musical instrument with the compactness and adaptability of digital technology. Besides inspiring the audience at the morning conference, the founders networked with invited guests and investors over lunch and made time for sharing sessions with small groups of students and entrepreneurs from the NUS community and visiting students from Hong Kong. They also provided useful perspectives in a ‘Pitch Jam’ session featuring specially invited NUS start-ups. Techcracker is set to empower a global community of change makers to build a more sustainable and responsible future by exploring new and innovative ways of tackling existing problems. Its stopover in Singapore was made possible through the close collaboration between the NUS Development Office, the NUS Office of Corporate Relations and NUS Enterprise. ✦

Gaining Singapore entrepreneurial insights: Summer Programme

Held from 14th to 25th July, the 2014 NUS Entrepreneurship Insights Summer Programme was attended by more than 60 students from 17 countries. In its 9th year, the two-week residential programme has to-date hosted over 600 students from 32 countries helping many gain insight into local business practices and entrepreneurship development activities. Programme highlights included sharing sessions; a blindfolded clay-making class conducted by Clay-Street, a social enterprise that supports visually impaired potters; and visits to Lam Soon Group, an established household brand in Singapore, and Clearbridge Accelerator, an accelerator for medical technology start-up companies. “This programme not only taught me leadership skills but also provided a comprehensive educational experience. The site visits to

04 Red HotSPARKS interest with the latest in the start-up and entrepreneur scene within our community.

Some of the Summer programme participants at the sharing session in July 2014.

businesses, government organisations and cultural heritage sites were wonderful. I am extremely satisfied with the level of academic rigour and quality of instruction. I made strong friendships with students from different countries. The combination of lectures, dialogue sessions with entrepreneurs, small group discussions and project presentations were both interesting and enriching.” – Paras Dhawan, Bits Pilani-Dubai undergraduate and NUS Summer Programme 2014 attendee. ✦

NOC’s Tee-rrific Outreach

The NUS campus was awash with blue, brown and gold on 28th August 2014 as NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) staff and alumni stationed themselves across seven faculties for selfies with students. Over a hundred snaps were captured and posted onto NOC’s Facebook page, leading to an overwhelming number of enquiries from prospective NOC applicants. Attractive prizes were given to the Most Liked, Funniest and Best Group selfies. Salute and thanks to over 60 NOC alumni who continue to walk-the-talk of entrepreneurship as brand ambassadors, infecting students with their passion and inspiring them to take on the challenge of becoming an entrepreneur. More smiles for NOC! ✦

The ever burgeoning NOC family, beautiful in blue and brown on NOC Tee Day on 28th August 2014.

Winners of the Funniest Selfie.

The application period for the next Summer Programme will begin on 26th Jan 2015. For more details contact enterprise@nus.edu.sg.

Tech transfer: It’s not about the money... money... money...

When the Bayh-Dole Act passed in 1980, allowing universities to retain ownership of inventions created with the use of Federal research dollars, tech transfer offices flourished across the United States. But the industry has come under fire in recent years, with dual accusations that universities themselves act as an impediment to innovation through patenting and commercialisation efforts, while simultaneously not doing enough to maximise revenues through these same activities. Combatting the criticism is Mr Sean Flanigan, immediate past President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). Speaking in Singapore on 25th August 2014 on “Challenges in Research Commercialisation: Focusing on the Impact of Research, Not Return on Investment,” the InnovFest 2013 speaker called for a better understanding of technology transfer, as well as a broader view of the value and impact that it can have for society. “There have been three million jobs created in the US economy based on university technologies alone,” Flanigan stated. But these and other more intangible markers of success – the value of lives saved due to new drugs, the contribution to an educated workforce, the advancements made in standards of living, etc. - often get lost when more immediate and easily quantifiable measures are called for. Compounding the problem is AUTM’s own annual report of licensing revenue data, which itself has contributed to the perception that success is best measured in financial returns.

05 Bright IdeasSPARKS ideas with different thoughts and perspectives.

SEAN FLANIGAN SPEAKS ABOUT CHALLENGES IN RESEARCH COMMERCIALISATION

Flanigan argued that the risk of relying solely on financial markers places technology transfer offices in the precarious position of having internal priorities and expectations misaligned with those of their external stakeholders. Such emphasis additionally neglects the nuances and complexity of the entire process, conflating activity with outcome and trivialising the amount of time it takes for research to move into the marketplace. In reality, as demonstrated by a Columbia University study quoted by Flanigan, only 50% of patented technologies have been licensed by their fifth year of availability. More worryingly, increasing budget restrictions are threatening the centrally important role of research at many US universities. Given the direct correlation between research expenditure and subsequent technology commercialisation, Flanigan argued it is imperative for tech transfer offices to now shift and diversify both their means of engaging with industry, as well as the ways in which they convey their impact. “If we continue to report the same kind of snapshot- the Polaroid look of each year, we’re not going to get the full picture; we’re not going to be able to demonstrate the broader impact that these technologies can have,” Flanigan remarked. Instead, he argued that multi-modal measures must be used to supplement traditional measures, encompassing not just the value to the university but to its partners. These measures might include the Licensing Success Rate (LSR), which prioritises commercialisation

over revenue maximisation, as well as human impact stories that focus on the end-user of commercialised technologies, such as those being compiled through AUTM’s “Put A Face On It” campaign. In order to generate this impact, new commercialisation methods and partnerships are needed to help transition university research into the economy. This includes enhancing sponsored research opportunities, as well as pioneering flexible IP terms, non-traditional deals and innovative new programmes to engage companies, inclusive of those that have not previously interacted with universities. While not every university will gain the stature of a Stanford or an MIT, Flanigan stressed that external expectations of duplicating their success misses the point. By placing public benefit at the center of its mission, tech transfer offices of any size are capable of creating meaningful impact in their own right. “It’s not about the money; it’s about making a difference.” ✦

Mr Sean Flanigan, immediate past President of the Association of University Technology Manager, discussing the impact of technology transfer on society on 25th August 2014.

06 Bright IdeasSPARKS ideas with different thoughts and perspectives.

07 Bright IdeasSPARKS ideas with different thoughts and perspectives.

On 10 October 2014, NUS Enterprise and NUS Business School co-organised another instalment of the Global Start-Up@Singapore seminar, this time presenting Mr Ming Lei, co-founder of Baidu, the world’s largest Chinese search engine, and CEO of Kuwo, China’s leading online digital music company. Ming Lei engaged the audience with his views on building a global internet company and growing the user base to over 200 million in a highly competitive market like China. Here are some of his tips:

Choose the right market and user baseFinding a fast-growing market is the most important factor. Fast-growing means early stages of growth at 100% and later stages at 50%. A large user base, preferably above 100 million, is also important especially if you do not yet have a clear business model.Another strategy is to look for segmented markets with no dominant player. Those with high costs and competitors providing bad service represent great opportunities, as users will be looking for alternatives. In China, the market size for e-commerce is $2 trillion; for online advertisements it is $240 billion; and for online advertisements it is $180 billion. This is why Alibaba could grow bigger than Amazon.

Build the productWhen developing a product, everyone wants to make the perfect solution. In reality this is hard due to limited resources. Instead, Ming Lei felt it is better to identify one important feature and make it much better than the competitors. The other features should still be average; otherwise, you won’t attract users. For example with Baidu, in the early days they focused on

Mr Ming Lei, co-founder of Baidu, the world’s largest Chinese search engine, and CEO of Kuwo, a leading online digital music company in China, sharing insights on the challenges of building a successful mobile internet business.

(L) Prof Wong Poh Kam, Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre moderating the Q & A session with Mr Ming Lei, co-founder of Baidu at the Global Start-Up@Singapore seminar on 10th October 2014.

Building a company with over 200 million users

GLOBAL START-UP@SINGAPORE PRESENTS MING LEI

speed. The typical response time for other search engines was 1.25 seconds. Baidu’s response rate was less than 1 second. Half a year later, competitors caught up, so Baidu focused on providing rich content – at least double the number of webpages of search. And when competitors caught up again, Baidu focused on providing accurate rankings – the top listed item should be the right one.

MarketingMing Lei sees marketing as an accelerator – it can help to win customers faster, or lose customers faster. Only start marketing once the product is ready. Since users have many choices, if they don’t like your product, you won’t get a second chance and negative publicity spreads faster. New marketing strategies place the product as the marketing plan and users as the marketing channel. Social media is tremendously powerful as users trust their friends over an advertisement.

Doing business in ChinaChina now has the largest population - 1.4 billion users, and a fast-growing economy – more than 8% over the last 20 years. Internet penetration is still low, representing a large potential for growth. However, there is a lot of competition and thousands of eager entrepreneurs setting up copycat businesses. Ming Lei recommended that businesses find a local partner to help them better understand China. The country is unique - there are many government regulations, the legal system, culture and user demography are different and relationship and trust are very important. Looking to the future, Ming Lei stressed the need for entrepreneurs to have a strong innovation drive. To all the Singapore entrepreneurs, his advice was “Think Global, Team Global, Grow Global”! ✦

Trail Blazers08

Sensational ViSenze clinches another win

Going global - KAI Square recognised in Japan

Oliver Tan (right), Co-founder and CEO of ViSenze, and Alex Vieux (left), Publisher and CEO of Red Herring at the award ceremony on 29th August 2014

KAI Square team members with Prof Wong Poh Kam, Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre (2nd from right) at the award ceremony in Fukuoka on 18th October 2014.

On 29 August 2014, National University of Singapore (NUS) technology spin-off ViSenze won yet another award, this time gaining a place among the 2014 Red Herring Top 100 Asia, a prestigious list honouring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from Asia. ViSenze, a two-year old company, has gained international exposure and is on an accelerated mode of growth. The victory was no easy feat; the rigorous selection process evaluated criteria such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This was augmented by a review of the track record and standing of start-ups relative to their peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models in Asia. “Winning the Red Herring Top 100 Asia Award is a milestone for ViSenze,” said Oliver Tan, Co-Founder & CEO of ViSenze. “We set out to simplify the visual web with our simple but really smart visual tools. So this win is a firm testament to our R&D innovation, execution and management strength. It is also a timely highlight as we cross two years in our existence.” To the judges, ViSenze embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. This truly is a mark of distinction for a promising new company and its entrepreneurs. ✦

KAI Square, an innovative surveillance solutions provider, was honoured with the Award of Excellence at the Fukuoka Global Venture Awards on 18th October 2014. The Fukuoka Global Venture Awards is a business plan competition for Japanese companies expanding internationally or foreign venture firms aiming to establish a presence in Japan. Dr. Neo Shi Yong, CEO of KAI Square, said, “To win the Award of Excellence is a special honour as the Japanese judges foresee a potential in our solutions for the Japanese market”. He provided insights about their signature product, Video-Analytics-as-a-Service (VAaaS). VAaaS is an off-the-shelf video analytics solution that rides on KAI Square’s flagship product, KAI Unified Platform. VAaaS helps users, such as retailers, analyse video footage from surveillance cameras to gain insights about their businesses, such as customer demographics, number of people visiting their stores, effectiveness of marketing campaigns, staff allocation and more. Currently, VAaaS has helped retailers from over 10 retail sectors in six countries – Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia. KAI Square hopes to expand the product’s use throughout Asia. With the rising trend in online shopping in many parts of Asia, including Japan, KAI Square hopes to provide an affordable video analytics solution to help Japanese traditional retailers increase sales. “Web analytics

SPARKS action with fireside chats and tips from experienced entrepreneurs.

RED HERRING TOP 100 ASIA AWARDEE

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE AT FUKUOKA GLOBAL VENTURE AWARDS

help online retailers understand their customers; likewise, video analytics help traditional retailers understand their customers”, said Dr. Neo. “Understanding your customers is the key to retail success. We hope more retailers would use video analytics to gain understanding of this.” Founded in 2006, KAI Square has helped transform businesses across many industries in the private and public sectors in Asia. It has bagged many prominent awards, testament to its growing market leadership in the security industry. ✦

Emphatic endorsements in Taiwan for NUS start-ups

Two companies founded by NUS alumni and students took home prizes at the 2014 Global Talentrepreneur Innovation & Collaboration (GlobalTiC) Award ceremony on 22nd August 2014. Novelsys received the top prize in the youth pre-start-up category, securing the JohnnyTiC Award and a US$2,000 cash prize. Jayden Ooi from Collappe was recognised with the Best CEO prize, for his leadership performance and strategic vision. Both Novelsys and Collappe were winners at the Start-Up@Singapore 2014 business plan competition organised by NUS Enterprise and NUS Business School earlier this year. The win made them eligible for the GlobalTiC Award. Nominated by NUS Enterprise, and supported with coaching and guidance by NUS Enterprise mentors, both went on to beat 11 other teams from Asia, Europe and South America. Novelsys was founded by three NUS students who have taken a year off their studies to work on developing the company’s flagship product – ampere™. This is a wireless charging sleeve for mobile phones, which does away with bulky power banks and other wired charging solutions. Novelsys plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign in end 2014, and targets shipping products to early adopters by 2015. “Competing at the GlobalTiC was a fantastic experience. Over the past year, we have honed our pitch and presentation skills - through Start-Up@Singapore, the Practicum grant and most recently with mentorship provided by Kelvin Tan, Deputy Director, NUS Enterprise at GlobalTiC,” said Kenneth Lou, CEO and Co-founder, Novelsys. The team from Collappe comprises NUS alumni and students. They are developing a chat-based mobile app that boosts collaboration during project work. Their solution encompasses the simplicity and convenience of mobile messaging, together with the productivity of desktop solutions. A minimal viable product has been developed and is undergoing closed beta user testing. Collappe has plans for a full launch in Q1 2015. “We made Collappe for students. However during the GlobalTiC Awards, we received positive validation from industry professionals as well, who suggested the potential for corporate use. We may explore this further in the future. The competition has opened up bigger networks for reaching out to overseas students in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India,” said Jayden Ooi, CEO and Co-founder Collappe. ✦

Ampere, a wireless charging sleeve for mobile phones invented by Novelsys, an NUS start-up company.

Trail Blazers09 SPARKS action with fireside chats and tips from experienced entrepreneurs.

2014 GLOBAL TALENTREPRENEUR INNOVATION & COLLABORATION (GLOBALTIC) AWARDS

(L to R) Mr Kenneth Lou, CEO and Co-founder, Novelsys, Mr Kelvin Tan, Deputy Director, NUS Enterprise and Mr Jayden Ooi, CEO and Co-founder, Collappe at the Global Talentrepreneur Innovation & Collaboration Award ceremony on 22nd August 2014.

10 Fired UpSPARKS partnerships with industry and market leaders

NUS technologies on show for Energy RoadMap 2014

INAUGURAL SYMPOSIUM BY THE NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SECRETARIAT AND THE NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The NUS Industry Liaison Office participated in the inaugural Energy RoadMap symposium, jointly organised by the National Climate Change Secretariat and the National Research Foundation on 30th July 2014. Themed ‘Accelerating Research to Deployment to Address Singapore’s Energy & Climate Change Challenges’, the symposium

(Left) Mr André Nobre from NUS SERIS explaining the solar irradiance monitoring map to the media at Energy RoadMap on 30th July 2014 at Suntec City Convention Centre.

Posters on solar photovoltaics exhibited by NUS.

showcased the findings of five key technology roadmaps that were developed in the past two years. The five technology roadmaps are: solar photovoltaic, building energy efficiency, industry energy efficiency, green data centres and carbon capture and storage/utilization. These roadmaps highlighted the research, development, demonstration and deployment pathways for technologies that help increase energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions and increase energy security for Singapore in the medium to long term. 32 NUS technologies were showcased at the event. The symposium served as a platform to further develop partnerships between government agencies, academics and the private sector to accelerate research and deployment of technologies to help Singapore meet energy and climate change challenges. Over 500 participated from academia, industry, government agencies and international governing bodies, such as the International Energy Agency. ✦

With the success of the first run of the Go-to-Market talk at the Faculty of Engineering in February 2014, NUS Industry Liaison Of-fice (ILO) organised a similar event at the Faculty of Science on 25th September 2014. As many as 70 academics, researchers and faculty members at-tended the talk, which gave insights into the various aspects of ILO. Apart from the IP filing processes and contracts management, the talk also delved into case studies on commercialisation and technol-ogy translation and innovation partnership. There were also speak-ers from the various government agencies such as SPRING, AStar and MOE to share the funding options available for researchers to tap to bring inventions to the market place. The aim of this event is to introduce ILO services and exper-tise in the area of technology commercialisation and explain how ILO can help researchers move their innovation from the lab to the market. ✦

Second Go-to-Market talk held at Faculty of Science

Participants raising questions on commercialisation.

INTRODUCING ILO’S SERVICES

Advancing science by supporting high impact research

NUS FORGES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC

NUS and the Life Sciences Group of Thermo Fisher Scientific began a strategic alliance in August 2014 for a three to five year programme. Facilitated by the NUS Industry Liaison Office, the collaboration aims to advance fundamental knowledge through basic and applied life sciences research in areas that improve food and animal safety and human health. The NUS-Thermo Fisher Scientific Strategic Alliance kicked off with a call for applications for short-term and multi-year sponsored research projects in the areas of new devices for biological science; mammalian cell biology and synthetic biology; methods and tools for analysis and understanding of the human microbiome; human stem cell-based programmes; and applications for Thermo Fisher Scientifics’ Capillary Electrophoresis Systems. Successful research projects will receive multiple year grants of up to $300,000 per year from Thermo Fisher Scientific. In addition, Thermo Fisher will be providing short-term grants for innovative investigations that need rapid and flexible support to projects that meet the Alliance’s goals. To encourage collaboration between both parties, each project will be managed by an NUS Principal

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NUS and Thermo Fisher inked a three to five year partnership to advance research in food and animal safety and human health in August 2014.

Fired UpSPARKS partnerships with industry and market leaders

Investigator and a research collaborator from Thermo Fisher Scientific. A joint steering committee, comprised of scientists from NUS and Thermo Fisher Scientific, will be responsible for reviewing and awarding grants to these high-impact research projects. Ron A. Andrews, President of the Genetic Sciences Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific, said “The need to establish better understanding of biological science is increasing every day, around the world. The strategic alliance with NUS is an ideal form to increase true innovation and we appreciate Singapore’s vibrant scientific environment that brought us together. We are glad that we can further deepen our commitment in this country where we can be true partners to promote R&D and deliver more solutions for the better lives of people.” In addition to supporting research projects, the NUS-Thermo Fisher Scientific Strategic Alliance will also support annual life science symposiums held at NUS. This aims to accelerate cross-cutting perspective exchange of knowledge and opinions amongst scientific experts. ✦

ILO participates at TechInnovation 2014

The NUS Industry Liaison Office (ILO) participated at TechInnovation2014 from 23rd to 24th September at Marina Bay Sands Conven-tion Centre. The event was a platform to showcase NUS technologies and research capabilities to prospective industry partners. ILO displayed 18 technology posters in the areas of energy and environment; health and personal care; materials and nanotech; and, infocomm and electronics. ✦

(R) Dr Ting DorNgi, Associate Director, NUS Industry Liaison Office, fielding questions on NUS technologies.

NUS presence at TechInnovation 2014.

12 Fired UpSPARKS partnerships with industry and market leaders

Outreach to the Waste Recycling Community

More than 50 industry members and academics gathered on 2 Oc-tober 2014 for a seminar on waste recycling technology, jointly organised by the NUS Industry Liaison Office (ILO) and the Waste Management Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS). The seminar was part of an outreach effort to connect com-panies with available technologies that can help better manage waste generated from various sources. Technologies presented included those in the areas of carbon nanotubes, aerogels, bio-mass gratification, modelling, alternative fuels and heat transfer. Industry representatives benefitted from a greater understanding of NUS’ knowledge capacity in the sector while NUS academics had a chance to better understand the challenges industry faces in tackling waste management issues. This was another industry connect event presented by ILO as it strives to bring NUS technologies closer to market commercialisation. ✦

Participants gaining insights into NUS knowledge capacity and technology development expertise at the Seminar on Waste Recycling Technologies on 2nd October 2014.

CONNECTING INDUSTRY WITH ACADEMIA

SHOWCASE OF NUS TECHNOLOGIES AND RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

Fire StarterSPARKS passion with exciting entrepreneurial internships

Sky high valuation with BizEquityNOC ALUMNI HELMS ASIAN SUBSIDIARY OF US CLOUD-BASED BUSINESS VALUATION SERVICE PROVIDER

NOC alumni Naman Shah (Philadelphia) and Andrew Yeo (Silicon Valley) head the APAC office of BizEquity, a US start-up that raised $5.1M in Series A funding in October 2014. BizEquity is looking at expanding into the Asian market as they see a huge potential for growth. Formed in 2011, its APAC headquarters was set up in July 2014 as its subsidiary and is incubated at one of NUS Enterprise’s incubators, Plug-In@Blk 71 at Ayer Rajah Crescent. Prior to joining BizEquity, Naman, an economics and business graduate from the Faculty of Social Sciences, worked in Ernst & Young and headed business development for Freshmentors, a Silicon Valley company. Andrew, a statistics graduate from the Faculty of Science, worked in Yahoo, GFK and CISCO. The two are primed to expand BizEquity’s business in this region, with Naman overseeing business development and marketing and Andrew heading data and operations. BizEquity is a cloud-based business valuation service provider. It is the world’s largest provider of online business valuations. To date the company has valued over 27 million businesses in the USA. It has been granted seven patents in the last two years for its software and algorithm. Earlier this year, the company expanded to the UK and Canada, and now has its eyes set on the Asia Pacific market. Michael Carter, president/CEOof BizEquity, selected Singapore over China, South Korea and Japan for several reasons. “Singapore is the linchpin to BizEquity’s Asian market penetration strategy and a good base by which to democratize business valuation knowledge to the over 50 million businesses in China and 48 million in India,”

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BizEquity team at NOC Graduation event in Philadelphia. (L to R) Marc Sng, ex-NOC intern, Michael Carter, CEO & Founder, John Hallinan, Director of Sales, Naman Shah, Market Lead Asia Pacific, Jiajun Lin, Marketing Associate and Semyon Fishman, CTO

said Carter. “With a solid legal system, world-class talent pool from top universities like NUS, and an entrepreneurial environment, Singapore is the perfect place to set up Asian operations for any company looking to expand East.” For the last three years, BizEquity partnered NUS Overseas Colleges and has hosted over seven interning students as part of its team. Prof Teo Chee Leong, Director of NUS Overseas Colleges said of the partnership,”We are very pleased that BizEquity has chosen to base their operations in Singapore to focus on the Asia Pacific region. BizEquity coming to Singapore is of special significance to us as we have been partnering them the last few years via our NUS Overseas College in Philadelphia programme.” Naman said, “We are looking forward to APAC as our big focus market, with Singapore being the foothold and entry point.” He added that incubation with NUS Enterprise has been a privilege and honour. It has helped them develop relationships with fellow tech start-ups, attend numerous events and connect with mentors. This network is helping them to establish in Singapore. The office space is lively, innovative, energetic, and augmented by a great support team. Moving forward BizEquity plans to launch the Singapore edition of the software by year-end, bringing on board new clients and partners from this region. Other plans include expanding the team and possibly hiring one to two interns from the NOC iLead program. By Q2 of 2015, BizEquity will push on to expand in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. ✦

Creatively enterprising: marrying design and businessNOC ALUMNAE GRACE CHOW ON FLOWERS AND BUSINESS

Creation of a Hibiscus dress. Iris dress created by Grace Ciao.

Fourth-year business student Grace Chow Geng Yen, alumnae of the NUS Overseas Colleges and iLEAD programmes (2013), shares her experiences and learning journey in the iLead programme. Enterprise SPARKS gets up close and personal with Grace.

What were your experiences like in the iLEAD programme?

During my time in iLEAD, I interned as a product designer at Burpple. Besides helping to design mobile and web products, I had a lot of fun creating infographics and designing collaterals for Burpple’s marketing campaign. The co-founder and lead designer, Elisha, taught me a lot about visual aesthetics. I was designing app icons in the beginning and had to pay attention to the finest details. The other co-founders gave me plenty of learning opportunities as well. I did not just do design; I was also involved in both the community and growth aspects of the business. I even picked up the skills to design and code my own website later. My experience at Burpple has been nothing short of amazing and it has inspired me to venture out on my own as well.

What you are doing now on your design-related business?

My projects really vary. Sometimes I am engaged to design marketing collaterals, other times I provide creative direction for marketing campaigns.

How has the programme’s experiences benefitted your venture?

The iLEAD programme taught me a lot about management. Managing projects, time, people, expectations and such. Many

Fire StarterSPARKS passion with exciting entrepreneurial internships14

illustrators out there engage creative managers to help them with the business side of things. These include proposals, negotiations, contracts, invoicing and chasing payments. I have also learned that you do not always have to be the best, you just need to be a little different from the rest. I am not the best fashion illustrator out there. I don’t even have an Art degree! But my works are different because I incorporate flower petals in my designs and no one has done it before. So I guess in this aspect, my works stood out from the rest.

Any “wow” moments?

I actually have plenty of “wow” and “WOW” moments. I guess this is because I don’t ever regard any project to be too small or too worthless to take up. Every project that I have been engaged to do is unique in its own way. Sometimes I get email enquiries to do things I never thought I could do. Coach wanted me to do live illustrations of their shoppers. “Wow” because I have never done live illustrations like that before and it can be a little pressuring having everyone watch me draw. And “WOW” because I actually did it and now I know this is something I can do for other brands as well.

Where do you see yourself moving forward in this entrepreneurial journey?

For now I want to continue doing fashion illustration and providing creative directions to fashion brands. I have a community manager and plan to have more designers in my team. Besides this, I have also thought of turning my gown designs into reality one day. ✦

Grace creating 10 inspired fall fashion clothings to be exhibited for an event at 313@ Somerset.

2014 at a glance

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SG-SPIN Consortium - December

NUS Overseas College, New York - January DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia - January to June

InnovFest - April Friday Feeds - May

Kopi Chats - May Global Start-Up@Singapore - June

NUS - SMART Commuthon - August NUS - Thermo Fisher Partnership - August

Start-Up Runway - October

Enterprise SPARKSEditorial TeamNUS Enterprise 21 Heng Mui Keng Terrance, Level 5, Singapore 119613Email: enterprise@nus.edu.sgCompany Registration No. 200604346E

We are happy for you to share or reproduce the content of this publication but do let us know before you do as it is proprietary to NUS Enterprise. Thank you!

WHEN WHAT WHERE8 Oct N-Counter: Networking Night N-House10 Oct Global Start-Up@Singapore Seminar: Building a Mobile Internet Consumer Business

with More Than 200 Million Users by Lei Ming Lei, founder, chairman and CEO of Kuwo NUS Business School

13 Oct Lean LaunchPad@Singapore Preview 1 I Cube Building 14 Oct Lean LaunchPad@Singapore Preview 2 Engineering Design and

Innovation Centre16 Oct Kopi Chat@NUS on Disruption and Innovation in the Financial World by Yoram Tietz,

Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Israel.University Hall

17 Oct Google for Entrepreneurs Day Blk71 Ayer Rajah17 Oct Tea-session with Mr Qian, Chairman of Flon Holdings I Cube Builiding18 Oct The NOC Connection (Homecoming) U-Town18 Oct PA Tech Connects Conference Conference 2014 U-Town28 Oct Kopi Chat on Speak your language by Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President of

Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Group Blk71 Ayer Rajah

31 Oct Friday Feeds! Roti Prata Blk71 Ayer Rajah5 Nov Kopi Chat on 7 Things I Learned As A First Time Start-Up CEO by Juha Paananen,

Head of Studio at Nonstop GamesBlk71 Ayer Rajah

7 Nov NOC Local – Tech Scouting in the Start-Up Nation I Cube Building11 Nov Get-Together at PGP PGP51 Dec Science & Technology Policy Research Seminar I Cube Building5 Dec Strategic Positioning and Team Building N-House8 Dec Business, A Force for Good – Public Forum on Conscious Capitalism Shaw Foundation

Alumni House Auditorium12-13 Jan LLP@SG Run 3 Bootcamp TBC15 Jan Social Venture Challenge Launch TBC27 Jan NOC Tea Chat with Tom Kosnik Faculty of Engineering

Useful TinderSPARKS food-for-thought.

Form a strong founding team which comprises of tech, business members or members with different skillsets so as to complement each other.

Keep things simple. This will keep your start-up’s runway longer. Have equal equity between founders, avoid complex structure and be stingy with your equity.

Picking investors. Most investors are good in providing money but you need to build the product yourself. As a rule of thumb 20% of investors are helpful in addition to providing money, 60% provide you with money but not much more and 20% can be actually harmful and slow you down.

Don’t over-estimate the effect of PR. A good piece of tech publicity (like front page of TechCrunch) can draw folks to your website but the effect of actual conversion to customers is very limited.

“From start-up to acquisition: 7 things I learned as a first time start-up CEO”

SOMETHING IS ALWAYS BREWING WHERE ENTREPRENEURS GATHER. CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE EXCITING EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS.

SPARKS interest in upcoming events and activities Flash Forward16

Be stubborn but listen to feedback. While you are sticking to your stand, always listen to feedback from your team and customers.

Obsess about your product and customers, not competitors or how startups die. Do not let your competitors worry you or you will start worrying why and how other startups are dying.

Focus. Just be focused on what you want to do and do it best.

Take care of yourself. Entrepreneurs are also human beings; you will be tired at times. So take care of yourself and be re-charged again!

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Contributors: Chan Yiu Lin, Katherine Chinn, Samridhi Singh

INSIGHTS FROM JUHA PAANANEN, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF NONSTOP GAMES, WHO SPOKE AT KOPI CHAT ON 5TH NOVEMBER 2014. NONSTOP GAMES, A SINGAPORE START-UP WAS ACQUIRED BY KING DIGITAL (MAKERS OF CANDY CRUSH) AT US$100 MILLION IN AUGUST 2014.