Our Team

We are a group of aspiring knowledge brokers passionate about bridging the gap between Science and Business.

The Inspiration

The BizBricks idea was inspired by the 2012 University of Waterloo iGEM team. The Human Practices team came forth with concepts and solutions that demonstrated the need of tying revolutionary ideas emerging within synthetic biology to traditional business tools that would support the field’s growth and sustainability. For the past three years, the University of Waterloo iGEM team has been comprised of students who come from multidisciplinary programs, including Biotechnology & Economics, Science and Business (with specializations in various scientific fields), and Arts and Business. These programs have given students the ability to build very versatile mindsets that allowed us to achieve the design of a portal that conveys customizability for the synthetic biology community.

Diljot Chhina Diljot is fourth year student at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Biotechnology & Economics. She has been a part of the University of Waterloo iGEM team for three years as a member of the Human Practices Team and the current team lead for the entrepreneurial team. Diljot has a strong interest in leveraging her skills in strategy and marketing to introduce new business tools tailored to entrepreneurs developing technologies within the synthetic biology and biotechnology space. Outside of iGEM she is also the Director of Marketing for Nspire Innovation Network, and developing marketing strategies to encourage students to attend one of the largest Business & Technology Conferences held in Canada. After graduation, Diljot hopes to remain a part of the iGEM Alumni network, and take her experiences to pursue a career in management consulting. Angela Biskupovic Angela is a fourth year Biotechnology and Economics student. Her work experiences include being a Clinical Programs Coordinator at Cancer Care Ontario, a Business Continuity Management Coordinator at Research in Motion, a Knowledge Management Assistant at Millennium Research Group, and a Retail Service Intern at Suncor Energy. She has been a member of iGEM for three years as a Human Practices representative. She has a passion for bringing business knowledge to the world of science. She would like to pursue a career in sales and marketing. Robert Yun Robert Yun is a second year student studying Biotechnology and Economics, and this is his first year being a member on the University of Waterloo iGEM entrepreneurial team. He is very interested in the field of microbiology and their uses in everyday life. Robert Yun plans on continuing further education in the field of science, and he would like to pursue various practical uses in which microorganisms can be beneficial in fields such as medicine and agriculture. Mark Mugwe Kiragu Mugwe is a second year student studying Biotechnology and Economics at the University of Waterloo and is a recent addition to the iGEM Entrepreneurial team having been a member for under a year taking on an on-campus co-lead role as of January 2012. He thrives in an environment where scientific ideas require a broader business perspective with interests particularly in biotechnology. His work experience includes a stint on Research Attachment at the Biotechnology Centre at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute. He hopes to continue to contribute constructively to the iGEM community for years to come. Harsh Naik Harsh is currently a second year student at the University of Waterloo, studying Biotechnology and Economics. This is Harsh’s first spell on the iGEM Entrepreneurial Team however he plans on extending his involvement in the organization in the upcoming years. His employment experiences include working at an independent pharmacy as well as in Coca-Cola Refreshments. Harsh plans on continuing his education in fields that integrate science and business ideas and his current aspirations are to work in a corporate environment. Kevin Chen Kevin is a second year student studying Biotechnology and Economics at the University of Waterloo. Kevin has been on the iGEM Entrepreneurship Team for less than a year and is currently a co-lead. In the short term plans and goals, he wishes to continue his contributions to the iGEM Entrepreneurship Team and be of value to the team. While in the long term, he plans on going to a MBA school and pursue a career of management in a biotechnology environment. Ronak Saluja Ronak is a second year University of Waterloo student studying Honors Biology with a minor in Economics. This is his first year as a member of the UW iGEM Entrepreneurial team and he is currently a co-lead representing the commercialization division. He has a passion for everything sciences and he strongly values the importance of entrepreneurship in the scientific world. After graduation, he hopes to pursue a career in medical research. Ronak is determined to continue his involvement with the UW iGEM team in the years to come, and is confident that he will consistently provide a positive contribution to the team. Toyin Olawale Toyin is a second year student studying Science & Business at the University of Waterloo with a specialization in biotechnology. His experience in the program has enlightened him to the importance of understanding the business side of the science world. Although he is a newcomer to the iGEM Entrepreneurial Team, his short time with the team has left a desire to continue with this group in future years. Toyin hopes to pursue a career on the corporate side of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry; making it easier to get life saving technological innovations from the science labs to the general public. Anne Lor Anne is a second year candidate for a Bachelor of Science in the Science and Business Program at the University of Waterloo. This is her first year as a member of the iGEM team and hopes to continue contributing to the project in the future. iGEM has enlightened Anne’s understanding of the entrepreneurial opportunities in the synthetic biology and has provided an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and skills developed in Science and Business workshops. Anne aspires to pursue a career in the corporate sector in a position where she can apply her scientific background. Starr Liang Starr Liang is a second year student at the University of Waterloo, currently working towards a degree in Science and Business, specialization biotechnology. Her enrollment in the Science and Business program has given her a greater perspective towards the integration of science and business in today’s current economy. Though she is a recent addition to the iGEM team, the project has captivated her such that she hopes to continue contributing in the years to come. In the future Starr hopes to pursue a career in the medical field while still maintaining a strong business background. Hillary Chen Duane Kailas Duane is currently a second year student at the University of Waterloo, studying Economics with a Specialization in Finance. This is Duane’s first experience on the iGEM Entrepreneurial Team however he plans on extending his involvement in the organization in the upcoming years. His employment experiences include working for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario as an Audit Analyst and as a Bookkeeper at Accounting Pros Inc. As his experience and educational background evidently implies, Duane’s interest in iGEM stemmed from the business side of Biotechnology. Namely his interest for potential investment opportunities in developments pertaining to the field of Biotechnology. Duane plans on pursuing a career in Finance and hopes to link his current and forthcoming experiences with iGEM to help integrate himself as an individual with diverse experience in a corporate environment. Kiran Chhina

BizBricks Portal Competitive Analysis

Before launching any business, it is important that the entrepreneur understands its competition. Indeed an entrepreneur seeks to fill a market gap by offering a product whose value addition is greater than what is already being proposed in the market for his target market. Hence, to clearly know just what their value proposition will be, an entrepreneur must understand those of his competitors.

In this portion of the business plan, we will analyse the competition faced by the proposed BizBricks portal. To do this effectively, we will map out the attributes that characterize portal as well as others and compare them in a Competitor Matrix. In order to appreciate the value proposition presented by the BizBricks portal, it is essential to juxtapose it against existing comparable but not completely similar sites. The advantages of this matrix are evident from its presentation: the traits are easily comparable and several competitors can be compared at once.

The BizBricks portal was compared to other learning portals freely available online. Due to the pioneering nature of the BizBricks portal in the synthetic biology industry, the portals in this matrix were not necessarily intended for synthetic biology but their end goal was similar to that of BizBricks: to educate the end user through freely available and at times open-sourced content.

Traits in the competitor matrix to be analysed:
- Open Sourced
- Availability at no cost
- Intuitive
- Interactive
- Friendly User Interface
- Customized for Synthetic Biology
- Aspect of Affiliation to IGEM
- Contribution of Best Practices
- Aspect of Networking

As seen from the competitor matrix above, the BizBricks portal, despite having a seemingly niche market, caters for its users in all aspects that would have been provided to them in several different places. Making a quick analysis of the competitor matrix, the portal is the only one that is open sourced and hence allows for input from several knowledge sources of different backgrounds. There is thus large potential for providing novel insight in an industry still in its formative stages and doesn’t have the luxury of lots of published and easily available literature.

This competitor matrix indicates the capabilities of the competition. One drawback is that in such a niche industry and a pioneering portal it is very difficult to find a direct competitor. Without a direct competitor it is difficult to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the competition in direct relation to BizBricks. For example, MARSDD.com is a very good resource for entrepreneurs with extensive details on every aspect of how to start your own business. However due to the fact that it is not open sourced and is a broad-spectrum tool for all sorts of businesses it is difficult to assess challenges that BizBricks will face in it’s growth as a portal.

It is hence very easy to conclude that BizBricks has no direct competition. However, it would be foolhardy to assume that the rest of the synthetic biology entrepreneurs are not consulting online tools in their entrepreneurship adventure. Hence, in place of these tools, BizBricks offers an informative, valid and practical tool in one place.

Other competitors to add
Coursera
Wikipedia
Community Bricks
http://pivot.cos.com/- Pivot- Community of Science

Attributions

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