MaRS

Designing business models

Recently, Stuart L. Hart of Cornell University gave a talk as part of Rotman’s Wicked Problem series. Hart gained notoriety for his robust discussions on the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) originally made popular with author and professor C.K. Prahalad. BoP thinking explores models of sustainable business that serve non-tradition market segments – namely those overlooked by capitalists of past generations. In Hart’s latest thinking about Capitalism at the Crossroads the story has not changed much, but his call to develop new business models that profitably engage the under-served is still relevant today. However, are developing economies the only fertile ground for this line of thinking?

Saving the eyes of the next generation

Next time you head to the eye doctor, you might be sticking out your tongue.

MaRS incubator tenant Arctic Dx Inc. just announced a saliva-based genetic test — now available from your eye-care professional — that’s designed to determine your inherited risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the western world.

In our most recent issue of Convergence, we asked our trusted Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and Advisors across the province to speak from experience and lend some snippets of sage advice to technology entrepreneurs.

In “Bridging the Gap” we bring to light some common commercialization and business challenges that are oftentimes overlooked by entrepreneurs, or discovered a little too late be to addressed. At a time when our start-up clients have cash on the brain – “need more, where can I get more, just give me more” – some good, relevant advice might help entrepreneurs save cash to weather the storm, and possibly even find some.

Applied Location Corporation

MaRS client, Applied Location, is featured in the October 2006 issue of magazine Business 2.0. Their covery story highlights the ‘next disruptors’, 11 companies whose innovations will “change the world.” Applied Location’s Skymeter system is hailed for its potential to transform toll collection, traffic congestion management, and even car insurance.

For more details, see the article.
To view the list of the other 10 disruptors, see: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/disruptors/

Animation of bacillus cereus bacteria.
Created by AXS for ReGenesis: China

I enjoy working at the interface of art and science. For me, the two are not mutually exclusive disciplines but rather complementary ways of exploring and understanding our world. My partners (Sonya Amin and Eddy Xuan) and I run a business in MaRS called AXS Biomedical Animation Studio.

We came together with mixed backgrounds in genetic research, engineering, and visual arts, and share a passion for science and making pictures. In our studio we develop visual explorations — animations and illustrations — of complex phenomena in biological science and medicine. Much of our subject matter exists at micro- and nano-scales, in the realm of tissues, cells, viruses, and molecules, and often beyond the limits of current imaging technologies. Our images are therefore often interpreted from scientific data (some of it visual) and hypotheses, and the expert accounts of scientists themselves. We bring these images to life in animations using visual effects technology and storytelling techniques developed for Hollywood films.