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EntrepreneurshipPenn State team takesthird place at idea toproduct global contestBuzby Networks, Penn State’s entry to the 2009 Idea toProduct (I2P) Global Competition, took third place and a$2,500 prize in the contest’s Technology EntrepreneurshipSociety Global Championship round. The I2P GlobalCompetition was held in October at the University of Texas inAustin, TX.The Buzby Networks team consists of electrical engineeringgraduate students Erik Davidson, Erik Weir, and DanielWeiss and former acoustics master’s student Nicholas Platt.Advisers for the team were Sven Bilén, interim head of theSchool of Engineering Design, Technology, and ProfessionalPrograms, and Elizabeth Kisenwether, assistant professor ofengineering design and former director of the EngineeringEntrepreneurship Minor.Weir, who is Buzby Networks’ executive product manager, andBilén attended the competition.The I2P Global Competition is an early-stage technologycommercialization plan competition that invites universityteams from Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin Americato enter their commercially viable product ideas. Studentteams compete for more than $50,000 in prizes and a chanceto enter the Global Moot Corp Competition, the “Super Bowlof World Business Plan Competition.”“The competition gave Buzby Networks a forum in whichto refine its pitch to investors and gain visibility and supportfrom an unbiased group,” said Weir.Buzby Networks developed an indoor Real-Time LocatingSystem (RTLS), which is similar to indoor GPS. The productwas initially created for use in the eldercare market segmentto help track and locate confused and wandering dementiapatients in a facility, patients in emergency situations, criticalassets and equipment, and direct care providers.Similar tracking systems exist, but Buzby Networkshas developed a patent-pending RTLS that gives thema competitive edge. The product consists of a routerinfrastructure, mobile microchip tags for tracking, andgraphical user interface PC software that shows positioning.It has two-meter accuracy and will never provide an incorrectlocation. The system uses ZigBee wireless technology.To date, Buzby Networks has secured more than $200,000in grants from the National Collegiate Inventors andInnovators Alliance and the Technology Collaborative. Thecompany plans to use the prize money from the I2P GlobalCompetition win to help purchase critical software needed fordevelopment, such as LabVIEW.Buzby Networks is currently pursuing contract-engineeringfor hardware development; the software and algorithm arebeing developed using internal efforts. The company expectsto have a commercially viable product in the middle of 2010.Buzby is currently fundraising through grant opportunitiesincluding those through state- and government-run programs.Buzby Networks also plans to enter business plan competitionsusing a business plan written for them by Penn State businessstudents in BA 301H Honors Finance taught by financeinstructor Gregory Pierce.“For the student teams, the I2P Global Competition is allabout education,” said Bilén. “The feedback provided to BuzbyNetworks will prove extremely valuable to them as they moveforward in their entrepreneurial efforts.”More information, pictures, videos, and results of the I2P GlobalCompetition may be found at www.ideatoproduct.org/globalonline. For more information about the program, contact SvenBilén at sbilen@psu.edu.Photo: I2P & Faculty Innovation CenterE-SHIP studentscontinue collectablemagnet businessStudents create magnets to show Penn State prideGreg Kester, Nichole Lopes, and Carlos De La Rosaneeded to form a working company for their final project ofan engineering entrepreneurship course. Although their firstinclination was to use their engineering backgrounds to createsomething elaborate, simplicity won out in the end.“We were coming up with all these grand ideas,” said Lopes.“But one of the things we learned from all of our previousprojects was that simple sells.”Since the company’s conception, Lopes, a 2007 supplychain and information systems graduate and manufacturingmanagement masters student, and Kester, a 2008 industrialand manufacturing engineering graduate, have taken thebusiness to the next level.The group formed PawZmatic, creating magnets centered onthe football schedule and timeless images of Penn State life.“We looked downtown and there wasn’t anything reallyphoto-based; everything was logo or animation. So wedecided to take pictures from inside the stadium to fill thatmarket niche,” explained Kester.However, taking the pictures proved to be more involvedthan just a simple point-and-shoot. The group had to getapproval from the Collegiate Licensing Corporation (CLC)before they could feature any images associated with PennState. The process took more than a year.“It was the number-one roadblock,” said Kester. But,according to the group, the process was well worth thetrouble. “It legitimizes the product to have the CLC logobehind it. It makes it seem more real.”In addition to the costs associated with licensing, findingthe funding for the rest of the expenses proved a formidablechallenge. “The entrepreneurship program helped us withsome things, but we paid for the majority out of our ownpockets,” said Lopes.Lopes is optimistic that her confidence will soon be rewarded.“PawZmatic is close to breaking even,” she smiled.In addition to seeing their hard work pay off in the financialsense, the PawZmatic members are excited to move on tothe next phase of their business. They are hoping that theirtimeless photographs will become a series of collectibleitems for students and alumni, with one photograph thatwill represent a given year. They also are looking to developbeyond football to include academic calendars and the PennState IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.But with one member having already graduated and left thearea, and the other two recently receiving their degrees, thefuture is wide open. The group is considering donating thecompany to the Engineering Entrepreneurship program toallow other students to participate in running and growing abusiness. The profits would go toward scholarships.“If we’re able to have current students benefit from runningthe business, like a student club, that would be awesome. Ithas the real-world feel. There are a lot of things that aren’tclassroom-based that you have to get through,” Kester said.Life lessons come often in college, and the process of buildingPawZmatic was no exception. One lesson learned? “There isno reason for self-doubt,” Kester said.“Being able to have confidence in something you came upwith and being able to communicate that with other people isa core value that I learned from this process,” he said.This confidence in the product was justified, as the group cannow see tangible results of its hard work when they go in tostores downtown and see their magnets. And even with somesnags along the way, the benefits far outweigh the hassles forthese students.“If you don’t believe in what you are doing, how are yougoing to get someone else to? This has been a nice, constantreminder of that,” Kester said.PawZmatic magnets can be found in downtown State Collegeat the Student Book Store, the Clothesline, Lion and Cub,Lions Pride, McLanahan’s, Old State Clothing Co., andRapid Transit Sports.—Kate KhouryTo learn more about PawZmatic, visit the company Web site atwww.pawzmatic.com.32 | SEDTAPP NEwS | SPriNg 2010 SPriNg 2010 | SEDTAPP NEwS | 33