Impact Proteomics featured at LaunchCMU, an event highlighting CMU entrepreneurship
- May 29, 2018
- 6 min read
Impact Proteomics Co-founder Amber Lucas speaks about their start-up at LaunchCMU in San Francisco on May 16th. Watch the 8 minute talk above.
It's 6 PM and the event is over. The lights flash and event workers begin to try to shuffle us out the door. Because we are still there. We won't stop talking. We won't stop laughing. We just won't leave! Isn't that how you know you've put on an amazing event?
I had never been to a LaunchCMU event before. I always thought that Redwood California was too far to travel for a few hours of showcasing and networking. I love it when I'm wrong! Not only was the event exciting from start to finish, I met brilliant, fun people and learned things that I feel will stay with me for the rest of my career. I've never been more excited to be a scientist and entrepreneur from Carnegie Mellon University.
LaunchCMU is an event that brings entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, alumni, and influencers into the same room to highlight world changing research and innovation from students, alumni, faculty and staff at CMU. The most recent event held on May 16th highlighted "Science @ CMU", with students and alums showcasing their CMU based startups and the Dean from the Mellon College of Science, Rebecca Doerge, discussing the future of science at CMU. There were five start-ups featured at this event in order of appearance:
Emerald Cloud Lab: Allows scientists to remotely run experiments, allowing high quality, reproducible science every time.
Impact Proteomics: Produces kits for protein sample preparation to enable better drug and biomarker discovery.
Biohybrid solutions: Uses polymer based protein engineering to tailor protein activity and stability for enhanced performance.
Anactisis: Recovers rare earth elements from large volume industrial wastes, enabling development of new technology and materials from these elements in a sustainable way.
LumiShield Technologies: Developed a new type of protective coating for metal products that are resistant to wear and corrosion and are made using no toxic chemicals.
In true CMU fashion, the event was also attended by startups in artificial intelligence and engineering who sought to take full advantage of this amazing affair. This event provided a unique opportunity to build a network and raise funds from local investors that CMU entrepreneurs might not get the chance to meet in Pittsburgh. For me, it was an incredible learning opportunity. Here are three things I learned at LaunchCMU.
An audience of investors and entrepreneurs watches on during LaunchCMU presentations
1. No one helps entrepreneurs like the people at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship.
The presentations opened up with words from Dave Mawhinney, Executive Director of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship was created in 2016 by a generous gift to Carnegie Mellon by Jim Swartz (TPR 1966, H 2016) who on May 18, 2018, was awarded the CMU Inaugural Founders Medal. Their mission is to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables CMU students, staff, and alumnus to transform their cutting-edge research to successful commercial products and services. Since their foundation, they have helped launch more than 135 startups and invested more than $310 million in CMU based ideas. They offer more than 50 events and educational workshops each year and have mentorship programs available for one-on-one counseling and advice. They also have their own incubator program, Project Olympus, where they help you build your professional network while also providing incubator space, micro-grants, and startup advice. With an amazing portfolio that includes Duolingo, RoBotany, and many more, the Swartz Center has helped propel start-up ideas into real success stories.
I have taken advantage of many of the resources available through the Swartz Center, such as the mentorship, the Innovation Fellowship which helped fund our first year after incorporation, the local NSF I-Corps program which allowed us to properly perform customer validation, and the showcase events like Project Olympus' annual Show and Tell. I have yet to hear about another program that so enables scientists to become successful entrepreneurs. Without the resources available to me through the Swartz Center, my ideas would be limited to a paper publication that went nowhere, rather than a company and a product that is improving year by year
Dave Mawhinney speaks in front of the crowd at LaunchCMU
2. Science and entrepreneurship at CMU are about to get a major face lift.
As a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, I am no stranger to the difficulties of working in an old industrial building. While Mellon Institute is a beautiful, historic building with charm and character, it doesn't create the best work environment. Its location also puts chemists and biologists quite a distance from main campus and the other science departments, discouraging collaboration. All of that is about to change. Glen de Vries Dean’s Chair Dr. Rebecca Doerge, the dean of the Mellon College of Science, talked at length about her vision of the future of science at CMU. A future where walls are flexible, collaboration is encouraged, and all areas of science come together to meet and talk about innovation for the future. A future where we leverage the strengths of CMU's world-classlegacy for fine arts, engineering, and artificial intelligence to elevate science at CMU to a new standard. This all starts with plans for a new building that will facilitate this environment for growth.
Dave Mawhinney also announced the Entrepreneurship Center will be opening in the brand new Tepper Quad building, construction of which will be completed this fall. This will put science and entrepreneurship in new spaces closer in physical and mental space that facilitate conversation and collaboration, bringing together ideas like never before. By building bridges instead of walls, Mellon College of Science and Tepper School of Business will be able to work together to change the world in a meaningful way with science and technology.
Thanasis Karamalidis, Co-founder & CEO of Anactisis, and Tonia Simakova, Founder and Director of Research and Development of BioHybrid Solutions talk at the LaunchCMU networking event
3. Entrepreneurs are connected by our victories and our struggles
Being an entrepreneur is really difficult. It takes someone who isn't afraid of taking risks, who can think outside of the box, and who has an unshakable belief that what they are doing can change the world. At the core of all of that is just a person with an idea and a stubbornness to see that idea through to whatever end may come. Finding myself in a room full of these people, the entrepreneurs who have come before me at CMU, I felt such a connection with everyone. It was as if I had known these people my whole life and was getting to catch up after a few years away.
"Never let anyone shake that enthusiasm. It will get you halfway there." said Matt Kirmayer of Perkins Coie.
His point rings so true. Part of the incredible energy that is in every room that entrepreneurs occupy, the energy that connects us all, is pure enthusiasm for the work that we are doing and the belief that what we are doing will positively impact humanity. There is a beautiful balance of understanding and hope in this place that is incredibly inspiring. It's like being in one big support group. We're all figuring it out as we go, leaning on each other to find our way, and getting advice from the people who have been where we are. That's one of the reasons these kinds of events are so important. I discovered a network I can reach out to at any moment, full of people who have been in my shoes for any advice I may need. If you're an entrepreneur, reach out and use your fellow entrepreneurs to help you when times are rough. You'll be surprised at how much everyone understands and wants to help.
All in all, the coordinators of LaunchCMU put together an amazing event. I left knowing more than I did before, with a stronger network and potential partners for the future. I'm excited about the future of science and entrepreneurship at CMU, and what that will mean for me once I graduate and become a CMU alum. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to showcase at LaunchCMU and once again utilize the resources provided by the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship to pursue my dreams for a better future through Impact Proteomics.
Amber Lucas, co-founder of Impact Proteomics, speaks at LaunchCMU on May 16th in San Francisco
The next LaunchCMU is scheduled for October 2nd in Pittsburgh. Save the date and visit their website here for more information.
Technology development is funded by the NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research- Technology Transfer Award.
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