SiNode Wins Rice Business Plan Competition

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SiNode Systems won the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston this past weekend. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship hosts the three-day competition, which boasts the largest judging panel and distributes the most prize money—more than $1 million—of any such competition in the world.

SiNode finished first amongst 42 other teams and presented to hundreds of judges throughout the three-day event to take home $911,000. SiNode Systems is a battery materials company developing silicon graphene anodes for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. SiNode anodes offer 10X higher battery capacity and a 10X decrease in charging time compared with

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Starting a Startup: A Founder’s Journey – Featuring JJ Tang of Vantage Realized

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There are many definitions for the word “startup.” However, a single group of seven words will hardly describe the journey a founding entrepreneur will embark upon during the establishment of his or her company. Business plan competitions are an exciting way to develop new relationships and earn funding. However the top benefit could be experiential learning.

Today, iStart explores the expedition of founder JJ Tang of Vantage Realized, Edson Accelerator winner.

iStart: Tell us about your company?

JJ: Just over a year ago, three friends came together with a mission to change the world for the better. Dana, father of

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Starting a Startup: A Founder’s Journey – Featuring Brandon Iglesias of ReactWell

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There are many definitions for the word “startup.” However, a single group of seven words will hardly describe the journey a founding entrepreneur will embark upon during the establishment of his or her company. Business plan competitions are an exciting way to develop new relationships and earn funding. However the top benefit is experiential learning.

Today, iStart Now explores the expedition of founder Brandon Iglesias of ReactWell, local winner of the 2012 Tulane Business Plan Competition.

iStart: Tell us about your company?

Brandon: ReactWell is a biomass to crude oil and bioproduct production platform

Why did you decided to start

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Business Plans Are Still Relevant

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Writing a business plan can be a long and tedious experience. One may come to the point of asking his or herself, “Is writing this business plan important to the success of my start up?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes.” Business plans are still relevant.

Organization A business plan will help build organization. Many entrepreneurs are innovative and have cutting-edge ideas but their businesses suffer due to a lack of organization. Taking the time at the onset of business to develop one’s thoughts properly may insure a smooth start. Developing the business plan will provoke thorough thought about the

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