Women Entrepreneurs Night at #MIN103 Recap

WeWork South Station -- Our Hosts for #MIN103

This month's Mass Innovation Night  focused on women founders and was once again the kick-off event for WEBos Week. Our host for the night, WeWork South Station,  a coworking space had a bit of a -- dare I say it?--  hipster vibe. The decor in the networking areas and common spaces was mad cute as my poetry slam buddies would call it. Besides the cool venue, we also had a cool surprise
special guest, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Nuala McAllister, in Boston for WEBos Week gave the opening remarks. Even cooler, she told us the entire Belfast city council is made up of women.

Hip Decor at WeWork

The event was spread out over several floors, with the product showcase on floors 2,3, and 4 organized by theme. The three floor themes were Assistive Technologies, Apps, and Lifestyle & Fashion. The presentations took place on the 8th floor and the Experts Corner was on that floor too. Getting to all the exhibitors was like a combination of a scavenger hunt and trick or treat. We each got a map at the check-in desk and set off in search of entrepreneurs. Each product had a room to itself. Some of the rooms were quite cozy.  It was a bit of a challenge to photograph all the product teams in close quarters. Somehow, I did manage to find all of the products and make it to the 8th floor in time for the presentations.

More Interesting Decor

The four chosen presenters were:
invisaWear
will-it
Coeo Fitness
FriendlyU

The audience choice prize winners were:
Aste
Own the Boardroom
invisaWear
All Set - Grand Prize Winner

My scavenger hunt started floor 2 and I worked my way up.

Puffin, a Mass Challenge Finalist, is working on an assistive technology device that adapts to the user, instead of the other way around. Their aim is to provide the same level of access to computers and mobile devices that most folks take for granted to people with significant disabilities. They want to see how far they can go towards making interfaces that not only adapt to the user's needs, but also to advance user abilities by furthering opportunities. It was fun talking to these women co-founders.

Team Puffin -- Founder Adriana Mallozi (R) and Co-Founder Shana Penna (L)

I remembered will-it from last month's MIN102 Fintech Their collaborative estate planning tool is the perfect solution to cataloguing those sentimental items -- and their stories -- so you make sure your "stuff" goes to the folks you want to have it and who want it.

Team Will-It

Own the Board Room bills itself as a professional closet. They offer men's suits and women's professional dress+blazer outfits for rent to wear to interviews. With clothes from Own the Board Room you can make a great first impression without having to buy an expensive outfit that you probably won't need once you're hired. They ship within the continental US, and all outfits arrive ready to wear. Simply wear the outfit to the interview and send it back in the same packaging. The return label and dry cleaning between rentals is included.

Own the Boardroom

FriendlyU is a mobile app for high school students to find out more about the colleges they are considering. It allows you to connect to colleges and their students for information and advice to help determine the right fit academically, socially and emotionally.

Henry from FriendlyU

AllSet  connects you with the local house cleaners that your neighbors already use and trust. The All Set platform is available both on their website and as a mobile app and handles every step of the housecleaning process, from choosing your professional house cleaner through scheduling and paying them. And because the team had matching orange T-shirts that matched their orange tablecloth, I hereby declare them winners of Best Costume for MIN103.

AllSet -- Best Costume of MIN103

Simone Simon designs and produces stylish women's clothing at the cutting edge of technology and fashion. Their bold black and white patterns were attracting quite a crowd at MIN103. Their use of 3D CAD software to visualize and test patterns before actually cutting fabric eliminates waste. The virtual fashion animations also lets them visualize and refine the pattern, the cut, and the thickness of the dress for any body type.

Simone Simon

Coeo Fitness connects fitness instructors, clients, and studios to create a streamlined and integrated fitness experience.

Coeo

Coeo

invisaWear got my audience choice vote. It's always great to catch up with Rajia and Ray to see the progress they've made with invisaWear. Ever since I first met them at an EforAll event about a year ago, I've been impressed with the idea of  smart jewelry that enables the wearer to contact police and/or family and friends in an emergency. Being equipped to get help quickly in a life-threatening emergency is simple, discreet, and stylish.  Seriously, check out their website for information on when the devices will go on sale.

Rajia Answering Questions about InvisaWear

Aste describes itself as "a full service team of digital investigators leading the fight against online dating fraud to keep you safe in your search for love." That says it all. Aste does the online background check on your online date so you can feel safer. Aste's table was very popular and I am not surprised that they won an audience choice award.

Aste

Oze is a  mobile app -- kind of a complete data-driven business advisor in your phone -- that provides African small business owners with the data they need to make decisions. It collects, aggregates, and analyzes financial data and makes recommendations for growing the business. Their passion is enabling small local businesses in emerging markets to grow with technology. Hence the initial focus on Africa.

Oze

Oze

Veripad uses a combination of a mobile app and a paper card that carries several chemical tests to identify counterfeit medications. It's a really clever system to screen for falsified medicines.

Veripad

It was an amazing night with a packed house. I didn't get much chance to talk to the experts this month, but I'll close with an Expert Looking Expert photo of the one expert I did talk to from MassTLC.

Expert Looking Expert

The next Mass Innovation Nights event is MIN104 at Dassault Systemes in Waltham on November 8. I've heard there will be robots and 3D printers to check out in addition to all the innovative products that will be showcasing.

Recap -- EforAll Lowell Lawrence All Ideas Pitch Contest

Last week's EforAll All Ideas Pitch Contest (Thursday, October 12) was a collaboration between EforAll Lowell Lawrence and CMAA held at Glory Buddhist Temple in Lowell. It was a unique event as it was EforAll's  first ever outdoor pitch contest and first ever pitch contest at a temple. The number of entrepreneurs showcasing their ventures at tables was small, so there was no "table favorite" voting this time. Everyone got to pitch. And, as advertised, it really was all ideas. The variety of ideas was impressive.

Sovanna Pouv Welcoming Us on Behalf of CMAA

Cool autumn weather suddenly arrived in Lowell, but that wasn't going to stop either the participants or the audience.  A large group of students from Middlesex Community College was in attendance, making for an attentive and engaged crowd.

EforAll's Joey Banh Explaining the Rules for the Pitch Contest

From the first presenter to the last, the pitches were interesting and worth hearing.

Jewell by BC

Jewell by BC aims to reduce textile waste and keep customers looking good for events and occasions with a boutique that will buy, exchange, and rent high end cocktail dresses, evening gowns, Khmer traditional dresses and accessories. Instead of buying a fancy outfit for one-time use and then stuffing it in a closet or throwing it away, Jewell by BC offers customers a buy, sell, rent approach. The audience loved this idea and Jewell by  BC won the fan favorite voting.

Reduce Textile Waste

Lowell Organics pitched an indoor vertical farm growing organic lettuce, basil, and microgreens in unused industrial space in Lowell. This reminded me of Lowell Lettuce, which started last year and uses the Freight Farms system. Hydroponic urban farming is the in thing lately, so I expect to see more of these types of pitches.

Lowell Organics

Nom Nom Banchok pitched serving a traditional Cambodian noodle dish, Nom Banchok, at farmer's markets, bringing together the current "eat local" movement and a dish with a long history.  The noodles are traditionally served in a green curry fish soup with seasonal greens, sprouts, and blossoms. Founder Eden Chorm mentioned that she had not encountered this dish at any of the Khmer restaurants in Lowell. It sounded tasty, and many of us were curious about it. I think if she'd had some soup with her, we all would have tried it -- especially as the night got colder -- but alas she didn't have samples.

Nom Nom Banchok Answering Judge's Questions

Homegrown Tours pitched Wheelchair Accessible Tours of Martha's Vineyard as an addition to her established tour business. Her approach made lots of sense and her business plan was clearly well-thought-through. I was not at all surprised when Wheelchair Accessible Tours won first prize.

Homegrown Tours -- Wheelchair Accessible Tours

My absolute favorite idea was Mobile Entertainment Theater's plan to convert a box truck into a mobile stage that would bring theater and cultural events to places that don't have brick and mortar theaters of their own. It would host a traveling theater company and also be available for rental to other performing artists.The plan seemed complete and well thought out, and the idea just seemed flat out cool. MET got my vote for fan favorite. I guess the judges liked it too, because it won second prize.

Mobile Entertainment Theater

Kenko Protein Bars identified a need for protein bars that are nut-free and egg-free. For people with nut allergies it can be hard to find a protein-filled snack to fuel up for that after school soccer game. Most protein bars on the market today either contain nuts or are made on equipment that comes in contact with nuts.

Kenko Protein Bars

Each bar contains 18 grams of protein and has no added sugar or preservatives. Sounds like a good idea.

Kenko Protein Bars

REALToDo  is a customer relationship management (CRM) software-as-a-service tool for real estate agents.  It's an easy-to-use, cloud-based CRM system that helps agents keep track of their properties, clients, and schedules. A simple tool for real estate pros seems particularly timely given today's real estate market.  Third prize was well-deserved.

REALToDo

One last pitch that impressed me was Second Chance USA. They had already won previously so weren't eligible for prizes, but got to pitch because there was room on the schedule. Second Chance USA trains the incarcerated for middle skilled job openings and partners with companies that need those skills to guarantee employment for people once they are released. Talk about addressing two problems at once!

Second Chance Mission Statement

Making the Case for Second Chance

The winners and the judges posed for photos with the giant checks and most people took off for warmer quarters as it had gotten really most sincerely cold. Quite a night.

First Prize Winner Wheelchair Accessible Tours