Development of ChronoWake while Ryan pursues this doctoral degree will continue, albeit more passively than before. However, upon obtaining the degree, Ryan will have acquired unique knowledge and skills that will keep ChronoWake on the cutting edge, surpassing competitors by utilizing the most recent advancements in the biomedical engineering and neuroengineering fields.

Competition to join Wharton VIP has continued to be very intense, with 42 companies vying for 11 spots. We would like to sincerely congratulate the newly accepted ventures, listed below.

Cape Wines: The company is a U.S. importer of South African medium to high-range wine which would contribute a portion of its proceeds to a fund towards microfinancing local African farmers.
CollegeCups: CollegeCups will be a producer and distributor of plastic party cups containing printed logos and slogans of universities, fraternities, and sororities throughout the country.
Jimmy Helmets: Bike helmets that blend fashion with safety by adding a fashionable hat/cover that fits onto our specially designed base helmet.
LongTail Grants: LongTail Grants will provide social and financial benefits to the world through running an interactive website that connects donors with motivated individuals looking to make positive differences in their communities.
MobileBlick: Developing and selling a personal head-up-display with a lightweight and compact design that takes video inputs from smartphones and ipods.
Public Health Insurance Connector: The company will find and enroll the hundreds of thousands of people eligible for free public health insurance (e.g. Medicaid).
Safer Taxi: SaferTaxi increases the safety of taxi passengers by registering their taxi rides: By sending a simple text message to SaferTaxi, customers create a record of their taxi ride, get instant feedback about safety issues related to their driver and can opt for automatic notification of an emergency contact.
Simplegrid NOW: Provide enterprise level business continuity to the small and medium business.
Tatako.com: Tatako enables retailers to create mobile storefront applications for a variety of mobile platforms through our easy-to-use online application designer tool.
UniGlam: UniGlam is a private sales club which gives undergraduate students access to brands they care about at heavily discounted prices.
UTurn: UTurn is an automatic bidirectional page-turner for pianists that frees the user from the constraints of preloading pages.

Note: If any of the companies would like to edit their company name/description or add a link to their website in this post, please comment below or contact us.

View the list of all current VIP members. Once again, congratulations to the newly accepted companies; we look forward to working with you!

The first such competitor utilizes a motion-detection mechanism to attempt to determine the ideal time to wake up by estimating sleep stages. However, monitoring movement is only an indirect measure of sleep stage, and is thus, by definition, less accurate and precise than utilizing EEG (electroencephalography), the primary mechanism utilized by ChronoWake. It may occasionally wake the user at the ideal time, but not nearly at the rate of our product.

The second competitor does, in fact, attempt to utilize EEG to determine sleep stage. With some of our funding, the ChronoWake Team purchased this $400 product and tried it out ourselves. Despite a higher price point than our product, it doesn't seem to work at all. In fact, during the testing by one of our team members, he awoke several times during the night, once actually getting up and leaving the bed for a few minutes. In its sleep summary the next morning, this product claimed that he slept soundly through the night and never awoke until the morning. Obviously, if this product cannot detect whether one is awake or asleep, it will not be able to initiate waking at an ideal time.

In summary, both products appear to rely at least partially on the placebo effect. Conversely, our product relies on proven scientific methods to determine sleep stage. In fact, the only scientifically and medically valid way to determine sleep stage is primarily through EEG, as demonstrated by these papers, among many others.

Emergence of competitors is not a negative. In fact, we consider it a great sign - that the basis of our product has been validated in the business world. Other companies that have also done the market research have come to the same conclusion as us: there exists a large enough market to warrant the large research and development expenditures. As a well-respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and professor once said, "If you can't find any competitors, you either haven't looked hard enough, or no one will want your product." And with a technologically superior product, we have no doubt that ChronoWake will dominate this market.

From November 16-17, 2009, top bioscience leaders will be at Biotech 2009 to network, connect with potential partners, share business strategies, and learn from their peers.

These leaders include top executives from the region's global pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and diagnostic companies; venture capitalists and other investors; university researchers; university-industry liaison officers; government officials; and support organizations.

In its ninth year, this annual joint symposium of BioNJ and Pennsylvania Bio is designed to advance the growth and development of the bioscience industry in our region. It will facilitate opportunities for information sharing, new skill development, networking, collaboration, and partnering among companies at all stages of the continuum.

Fred Hassan

Biotech 2009 will be featuring world-renowned speakers, including David Holveck (President and CEO of Endo Pharmaceuticals, a global pharma company with over 1,200 employees) and Fred Hassan (pictured on right, Chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough Corporation, a $50 billion healthcare company).

Registration for this event normally costs over $1,000. Thanks to a generous grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and the DVIN Life Science Fellowship Program, Ryan's registration fee has been subsidized fully, allowing him to attend this event for free.

Find registration information here. If you'll be attending, let us know, and be sure to say hello!

Penn Startup Internship Fair

ChronoWake has been invited to participate at the Penn Startup Internship Fair being held on November 20, 2009, in Jon M. Huntsman Hall. The event brief is pictured on the left (click for full resolution). This fair will give us an excellent opportunity to recruit some of the brightest Ivy League students, in disciplines ranging from business to engineering. View the logos of the participating companies.

Thanks to Eduardo Orozco of Campus Escapes, a fellow Wharton VIP company, for organizing this fair.

VIP Networking Event in the Science Center

Please join Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs and the University City Science Center in a Networking Event with students from the Wharton Venture Initiation Program on Monday, November 9 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at University City Science Center. Join us for refreshments and mix with Wharton/Penn's best and brightest student entrepreneurs along with some of the Philadelphia region's leading business professionals including numerous Wharton and Penn alums. This event is a rare opportunity for the area's VC, angel, legal, and financial services communities to meet and mingle with both rising and seasoned entrepreneurs.

The area's leading professionals were in attendance, and ChronoWake has made many valuable contacts, including investors and legal consultants.

We would like to thank the Wharton Venture Initiation Program and the University City Science Center for this great opportunity to help fulfill our business objectives.

Laboratory Management Course

On October 26 - 28, 2009, Ryan Goldstein, President/CEO, attended a three-day laboratory management course, offered by Smart Consulting Group, LLC.

A successful lab is at the heart of any thriving pharmaceutical or biotech company. But running a successful lab in the 21st century requires a complex skill set. You have to have deep technical understanding and project management expertise. You also have to juggle the many personalities of researchers, regulators, and organizational hierarchy. You must develop a clear and focused vision, be ruthlessly efficient with your resources, and be disciplined in your execution.

Nigel Smart of Smart Consulting Group, LLC

The fascinating topics covered ranged from laboratory organization and communication to bio-terrorism. ChronoWake has benefited greatly from this training course, increasing laboratory efficiency and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.

This workshop was also an excellent networking opportunity, connecting ChronoWake with high-level employees of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations, potentially paving the way toward a future partnership or acquisition.

Normally priced at $900, Ryan was able to participate for free, courtesy of grants from the Delaware Valley Innovation Network and the US Department of Labor. We would like to thank these agencies for providing this opportunity at no cost to our company.

• Startup Operations
  Alex Gellman, President & COO, Global Tower Partners
• Launching a Successful Business as a Penn Student
  Nathaniel Stevens, Founder, Yodle
• Fundraising for Startups
  Deepak Sindwani, Principal, Bain Capital Ventures
• Grant Funding for Early Stage Ventures
  Christopher Laing, PhD, Director of Science & Technology, University City Science Center
• Prototyping
  Jason Halpern, Founder, Power Flower Solar

The ChronoWake Team gained excellent information and assistance to further venture objectives. We would like to thank Wharton VIP for organizing this great event.

In addition to the reapplications for existing members, an unprecedented 14 new companies have been accepted into the program. The ChronoWake Team would like to congratulate the below ventures and welcome them to the Wharton Venture Initiation Program!

Bashpole Group: Product design and development group.
CouponKong: CouponKong is a revenue-enhancement tool for retailers and restaurants that lets customers design their own custom coupons.
Gamma Basics: Gamma Basics produces GrayCAD, a software package that visualizes radiation.
Innovation For All, Inc: IFA provides a self-management tool for patients with chronic disease based on SMS technology; this "low-tech" application, based on patient interactions, is a unique offering in the health care IT space.
Juncanoo: Juncanoo provides an application which allows tourist institutions such as museums, distribute audioguides onto mobile devices.
LineBreeze: Mobile-phone ordering for food and concessions at sports stadiums and theme parks.
MG Legal Solutions, LLC: Online SaaS (software as a service) legal/compliance tools, products, and services.
MVD Consulting: The consulting group provides state of the art text and data mining services to pharmaceutical and health care related companies.
myGreek.org, Inc.: The one-stop organizational and social utility for fraternity and sorority chapters.
PayDivvy: PayDivvy is a financial technology company providing collective payment and finance services for roommates.
Portfolio Art Management: Wealth management firm focused on advising clients on art portfolios.
StorageByMail LLC: StorageByMail.com is a unique alternative to traditional self-storage that offers downloadable prepaid shipping labels, centralized storage and online tracking.
Textaurant: Textaurant is a waiting list management application for businesses whose patrons experience waits of longer than 45 minutes, which allows those patrons to wait anywhere and be alerted via mobile phone or text message.
TutorChatLive: TutorChatLive is a nonprofit free, online, live tutoring service that aims to help struggling students around the world while fostering an online academic community.

Note: If any of the companies would like to edit their company name/description or add a link to their website in this post, please comment below or contact us.

View the list of all current VIP members. Once again, congratulations to the newly accepted ventures; we look forward to working with you!

We are looking for top emerging private companies that are having the most impact on the public sector. This includes private companies that are demonstrating significant market traction and pursuing game-changing technology.

We're thrilled to have been nominated for this renowned competition, contending with such companies as Clearwire, Education.com, and FireEye.

The winners will be honored at OnDC 2009, taking place October 19-21 at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington DC.

We're happy to announce that we've been featured by University Startups, including a well-written article by Ashish Sharma. Additionally, our news feed has been added to Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs' Entrepreneurial Advantage Blog. This increasing publicity has been fostering even more interest in our company.

We're enthusiastic about the progress we've been making. It's nothing short of exhilarating to witness the evolution of our product from a concept to a physical, functional entity!

Entrepreneurship requires intense dedication to a vision. An entrepreneur's vision is challenged constantly. The more revolutionary an idea, the more difficult it is to make a reality. Though the concept behind a venture may (and should) be refined and developed over time, the revolutionary aspects of a venture should never be minimized.

It can be very tempting, when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, to diminish an entrepreneurial vision. To be more conventional. To be less innovative. To rely on established methods and technology.

"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Since our inception, this axiom has guided our company's strategy. The most successful entities in the world have all forged their own paths, later followed by others.

Going where the path leads is often enticing; it's safe and proven. However, ChronoWake will not simply be a follower. Where others have given up and returned to the conventional path, we will create our own way, through dedication and perseverance. We eagerly anticipate our company's limitless future.

Here's to another year of accomplishments and success!

A Sacramento, CA native, Joshua is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. He has experience in both business and the life sciences as a member of the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. He will conduct sleep research and serve as a liaison between the science-oriented and business-educated members of the team.

Joshua's work at ChronoWake will be subsidized entirely by the University of Pennsylvania's Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, as a part of the LSM Summer Internship portion of his curriculum.

We appreciate the support of the Vagelos Program in paying for Joshua's employment, and we look forward to working with him over the summer and beyond.

The ChronoWake Team would like to congratulate and welcome the newly accepted ventures:

American Resource Conservation, LLC: ARC funds land and resource conservation by monetizing ecosystem services, leasing renewable energy sites, and developing limited real estate products.
Code Blue: Through developing the Code Blue reusable water bottle with modular filter, our mission is to address the global water crisis by increasing consumer awareness and providing safe drinking water to the ever more mobile and urban world.
Dropcard: Dropcard empowers salespeople to capture every interaction, be remembered, and share contact information anywhere.
Initiative to Develop Entrepreneurial Ability (IDEA): IDEA will be a non-profit venture that aims to train college students in developed countries and link them to young entrepreneurs in developing countries as a means of providing entrepreneurial knowledge and expertise.
NIR Diagnostics: NIR Diagnostics specializes in near-infrared diagnostic technologies, and its device (InfraVue) provides a rapid and non-invasive method to quantitatively assess the healing process of complex wounds.
ONE VISION: Transformational designer, marketer, and retailer of fashionable eyewear sold online at 1/5 the price of traditional glasses.
Philadelphia's Old Original Walking Tours: Philadelphia’s Old Original Walking Tours offers insightful, engaging walking tours in the city of Philadelphia to give tourists memories that will last for years.
Serenity Maternity & Baby Organic Skin Care: Organic maternity and baby skin care line formulated with 100% safe, natural, and organic ingredients for a mum to be, a nursing mum, a sexy mum, and a happy baby.
Seven Rivers: Seven Rivers will provide purified and enhanced water products to on-the-go college students who desire the purity of filtered water but want to go green by reducing plastic bottle waste.

View the list of all current VIP members.

Dear Ryan,

I am delighted to inform you that the faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science have selected you for the Weiss Tech House Innovation Fund Award in recognition of your academic achievements and leadership.

On behalf of the faculty, I salute you for the passion and dedication that you have demonstrated. I am sure these qualities will serve you well throughout your life and career.

You will be honored at this year’s Penn Engineering Awards Recognition Dinner, to be held on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 6:00 PM at the Inn at Penn.

Ryan's receipt of this award followed shortly after the Albert P. Godsho Engineering Prize was given to Josh Magarick, Chief Technology Officer.

ChronoWake is fortunate to have such commendable individuals on its management team. Our company and its employees continue receiving awards, global exposure, and support from both academia and industry. We look forward to continuing on our successful path!