Thursday, Dec 4, 5:49 pm
SkySong


ASU Edson Awardees Announced

Arizona State University’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative recently announced the financial award winners for the 2008-2009 program.

Edson Stats

  • 146 student teams submitted business plans
  • 19 teams were chosen to present to a panel
    of judges in April 2008
  • 16 teams were selected to receive funding
    for the 2008-09 academic year
  • 3 of the 16 winners are repeat winners,
    receiving 2nd year funding

Entrepreneurial businesses at SkySong will also include 16 student-run ventures this fall. The students will be awarded seed money for their businesses based on an initial comprehensive application process, and a live presentation to a panel of judges.

Judges for the competition included local, successful entrepreneurs like Dan Clarke of Specialty Retail Shops. “The presentations and business plans from the top groups were quite impressive,” said Clarke.

The presenting business ideas ranged from non-profit to high-tech to an online cheerleading community. Just a few of this year’s winners are: Community Snap of Arizona, which delivers effective spay and neuter assistance programs to rural, low-income Arizona communities whose animals are at high risk for being killed due to the lack of resources; Genghis Skate, a shop specializing in the conception, design, and manufacturing of deluxe, high-performance longboard skateboard components; emusicinstruction.com, which delivers live, interactive music instruction for students of all skill-levels via consumer webcam technology; and Las Otras Hermanas, a socially conscious, equitable trade clothing line committed to creating social change through responsible consumption.

All of the winning groups will be provided with seed funding for their businesses, ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. The Edson program is not for class credit and all businesses are run in the student’s free time. All winners are provided with an office at the ASU space at SkySong, the Scottsdale Innovation Center located at Scottsdale Road and McDowell.


About the Ventures

Community Snap of AZ: Delivers effective spay and neuter assistance programs to rural, low-income Arizona communities whose animals are at high risk for being killed because of the lack of resources.

Crisp: Designs ecologically sustainable and adjustable footwear for women.

Desert Solar: DS is currently developing a prototype SL-1000 solar panel designed to offset homeowner energy costs by generating solar thermal energy for individual homes.

Emusicinstruction.com: Delivers live, interactive music instruction for students of all skill-levels via consumer webcam technology.

Energy Derived: Designs and manufactures a unique algae dewatering system to provide a commercial solution for the production of algae oils as a potential solution to fossil based petroleum products for the developing alternative fuel market and renewable, sustainable energy industries.

EZ Bio: Providing Biotechnology Tools that aide the Youth in developing Scientific Outlook.

FairTree Studios: A graphic design, illustration, and motion graphics studio providing creative services for the local art community, and Scottsdale/Tempe/Phoenix area.

Genghis Skate: Specializing in the conception, design, and manufacturing of deluxe, high-performance longboard components.

Las Otras Hermanas: Los Otras Hermanas (LOH), is a socially conscious, equitable trade clothing line committed to creating social change through responsible consumption. LOH aims to create a living wage for women producers in Mexico, provide educational opportunities for children in that community, and facilitate social awareness of issues affecting women, through the production of quality garments and accessories.

Live Languages: Provides global solutions to foreign language learners by using innovative web-based teaching tools.

Sideline Star LLC: Online. Cheer. Leader. Connecting the cheerleading and dance industry's participants and vendors through an online social network, offering live events, video tutorials and subscription access to premium features.

Solar Ionix: Researches and develops a new low-cost solar energy conversion technology termed "silicon paint".

Spatial Analytic Microbial Imaging: Researches and develops a new tool for imaging and analyzing microbes.

Textfinity: Provides text messaging services between businesses and consumers.

Tutela Health: Tutela Health provides solutions that simplify the interactions between long-term care facilities and families.

The Virtual Teacher: Develops FREE innovative solutions to help K-12 teachers integrate technology into their classroom and interact with their students in a virtual environment.