Precision Reproduction wins 2006 Knapp Venture Finals

April 25, 2006 -- Precision Reproduction sweeped the final round of the Knapp Venture Competition on Thursday to win a $10,000 grand prize. Team members Greg Samson (2007), Jeff Kendig (2006), Ben Koff (2007), and Sanjaya Mohottala (2007) presented the business plan for this startup company, which has developed, patented and tested a device and procedure for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) that improves success rates and reduces risks for mother and child.

All prizes were announced at a champagne reception following the final round of the competition in Korn Hall. The five finalist teams that competed had emerged from among 39 original Knapp entries . In second place was logicAlloy, a provider of open-source RFID middleware to a growing market of manufacturers and retailers that must convert to the next generation of bar coding. The team of first-year students received $6,000.

The Filling Station, a self-service pub concept came in third to win $4,000 and tied with Precision Reproduction to share the $1,000 Epson People's Choice award. Synergy Therapeutics, a biotechnogy company that seeks to combine existing medicines in novel ways, won fourth place. Okoro Technologies, a provider of Internet consulting services for small- and medium-sized businesses, came in fifth place. Both teams received $2,000 in prize money.

Now in its 25th year, the student-run Knapp Venture Competition, hosted by the Price Center and Entrepreneur Association, is designed to provide UCLA Anderson students with an intensive learning experience in the venture initiation process.

The judges for the competition were Timothy C. Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Mohanjit Jolly, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures; Cleon T. "Bud" Knapp, CEO of the Knapp Foundation; Jonathan G. Lasch, managing director of Convergent Ventures; Austin Murray, co-founder of JAMDAT; Ruth Owades, founder of Calyx and Corolla; Louise J. Wannier, founder of myShape; and Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's.

The competing teams and their members were:

LogicAlloy

Hans Isern, MBA 2007
Jeff Lee, MBA 2007
Ron Jaiven, MBA 2007
Peter Calveley, MBA 2007
Edward Blazer, Founder (no Anderson relation)

logicAlloy is an open-source provider of RFID middleware. logicAlloy provides three types of products: software engines that handle data collection and data sharing, graphical interfaces making our engines easier to manage, and software tools for hardware configuration.. Unlike other RFID software providers that currently offer expensive customized solutions, logicAlloy provides a lower cost, off the shelf package of graphical tools that enable end-users to quickly and easily implement RFID into their business. Our plan is to supply engines to other software developers as well as supply hardware vendors with tools to ease the setup and configuration processes.

Precision Reproduction
Greg Samson, MBA 2007
Jeff Kendig, MBA 2006
Ben Koff, MBA 2006
Sanjaya Mohottala, MBA 2007

Precision Reproduction has developed, patented and tested a device and procedure for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) that improves success rates and reduces risks for both mother and child. Unlike the traditional method of embryo transfer, Precision's Sub-Endometrial Embryo DeliveryT gives doctors the control to consistently deliver and fix an embryo to an ideal implantation site, and has eliminated the risk of tubal and ectopic pregnancy from IVF.

Okoro Technologies
John Okoro, MBA 2006
Darryl Brumfield (no Anderson relation)

Okoro Technologies will target small and medium size businesses that traditionally have not had the opportunity to have high end Internet consulting services at a reasonable price point; this target segment in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County are has a total applicable market of $2.3 billion in Los Angeles County and $1.8 billion in Orange County as calculated by looking at companies in these counties providing IT consulting and custom programming services.




Synergy Therapeutics
Matt Panuwat, MBA 2006
Peter Catalino, MBA 2005
Bede Broome, Other UCLA graduate program
Karoon Monfared, UCLA undergrad
Bassel Riffai, UCLA undergrad

Synergy Therapeutics is an early-stage biotechnology company that is focused on combining medicines to fight disease in a novel way. Most major drugs today do not work in a large percentage of the population as drugs have been traditionally designed only to target individual factors in a disease pathway. Synergy Therapeutics is developing drugs capable of attacking multiple disease pathways simultaneously. The company's mission is to look for opportunities to combine two distinct biotechnology compounds, creating new, patent-protected formulations to treat disease.

The Filling Station
Jack Farris, MBA 2006
John Tabis, MBA 2006
Ryan Sakamoto, MBA 2006
Gary Hsueh, MBA 2006
Jack Farris MBA 2006

The Filling Station will create the world's first self-service bar interface, complete with at-table beer taps and a touchscreen for ordering food and drinks and enjoying music and entertainment. Never again will customers wait in agony to place an order, or be forced to tip for a simple service: pouring a beer. It is TFS' goal to leverage our patent-pending technology to optimize a patrons' experiences so they can focus on what's important: socializing with friends, new and old. Meanwhile the concept will promote high volume, high margin product in a nationwide network of TFS licensed stores. The Self-Service Interface also enables unparalleled real-time data monitoring, customer loyalty rewards and at-table media messaging. These opportunities provide additional revenue streams for both bar owners and TFS while supplying the beer industry with critical customer data and point-of-sale brand reinforcement currently not available. The company is seeking seed funding to further develop technology and to open the first, flagship store.