The «Spark» startup center of NTU «KhPI» organized the final of the online course «Venture capital and financing of entrepreneurship», which lasted from April to June 2023 at the Kharkiv Polytechnic. Six university teams presented their startups, among the graduates of the project are more than 80 students, teachers and scientists of NTU «KhPI». During the course, the participants listened to lectures on the features of entrepreneurship financing, private company valuation methods, securities and venture capital, intellectual property protection, project presentation. In addition, they participated in workshops during which they worked on their startups. The main lecturer of the course was an associate professor of the American Tulane University, a finance specialist Oleg Gredil, speakers were also invited – specialists in finance and startups from the USA. The working language of the project was English.
The final event was opened by Andriy Marchenko, vice-rector for scientific work of NTU «KhPI». He noted that in this difficult time for Ukraine, Kharkiv Polytechnic continues its work on the development of startups, the Spark team does not stop and moves forward to new discoveries and projects. The vice-rector of NTU «KhPI» wished everyone good luck, health and a peaceful sky.
Then, six teams from NTU «KhPI» presented their startups:
- CoMinding is a workspace that connects people in their passion for creativity and invention. Here you can bring your ideas to life, using various modern equipment with consumables. Qualified staff will help develop the creative flow.
- «TER-SAS» is a compact, ecological, low-waste device for the regeneration of spent sulfonic acid effluents of metalworking enterprises. The startup solves the problem by the electrochemical regeneration method, without dilution with water and reagents, like existing methods. The device has compact dimensions of 150x300x300 mm, unlike bulky stationary equipment. The solution is fed to the middle chamber of the device. The concentration of sulfuric acid in the anode chamber increases to 180-200 g/l (from the initial 40 g/l), in the cathode chamber iron settles on steel cathodes in the form of a compact powder with a current yield of 65-70%.
- «Humic Green Polymer» — development of technology for bioplastic granules production for the manufacturing of eco-packages and eco-wraps.
- Demining assistant – speeds up and simplifies the demining process using AI (Artificial Intelligence) combined with various sensors, drones, rovers and more. Currently, more than 30% of the territory and 100% of the water area of Ukraine are mined. This problem is also very common all over the world (Balkans, Middle East, South Asia). In order to ensure the safety of people and their livelihoods, these territories need demining.
- «WeldTogether» is a portable apparatus for contact (spot) welding with intelligent mode setting. The device is convenient to use at home, for creativity, for architectural design projects and souvenirs, for teaching (it is possible to use the device not only in the educational laboratory, but also in classrooms, as it is compact and safe). The device can be manufactured in Ukraine.
- «ProstoEDU» is a virtual research laboratory that allows developing the modern IT solutions in the process of student education. Currently, the result of the work is an adaptive site «ProstoEDU», which allows access to modern platforms of informal education through a convenient interface, only a user profile is required. The automated data aggregator has already collected general information on 10,000 non-formal education courses, and the mobile application interface, which includes the use of artificial intelligence, will help the user in finding convenient training. During the existence of the volunteer virtual research laboratory, students defended their bachelor’s and master’s theses, which took first place at the All-Ukrainian competition, presented three startups which attracted investors, were tested at four conferences, and two articles were published. Currently, two bachelor’s theses are in the final stage, which continue the research. The innovative approach proved the effectiveness of the proposed training method.
In general, the course «Venture capital and financing of entrepreneurship» consisted of two parts: lectures and workshops. During the practical sessions, the teams worked on their startups in order to pitch their project in the finals.
The lectures were devoted to the following topics:
- Why is Entrepreneurial Finance Special?
- Valuation Methods for Private Companies
- Venture Capital Securities and Terms
- Intellectual Property Protection
- Project presentations.
The main speaker of the course was associate professor of Tulane University (USA), finance specialist Oleg Gredil. In addition to him, there were four invited experts — specialists in the field of intellectual property, venture capital, startups and finance, also the teachers of American universities.
During the project, employees of the «Spark» startup center also worked with and helped the teams. At the end of the training, the participants received certificates.
The director of the «Spark» startup center of NTU «KhPI» Nataliya Shmatko thanked the project lecturer for cooperation and support in the development of the startup movement at Kharkiv Polytechnic. «I wish everyone health, inspiration and victory. The startup center works as usual, and the team is always open to every student, scientist and employee of NTU «KhPI», Nataliya emphasized.
«Such projects give impetus to new ideas, cooperation, networking and personal development. I thank all participants who joined. New interesting projects await us ahead. I wish all of us a speedy victory, success and good health,» said Alyona Glushko, communications director of the «Spark» start-up center of NTU «KhPI».
Note:
The free online course «Venture capital and financing of entrepreneurship» was held from April to June 2023 on the basis of the «Spark» startup center of NTU «KhPI». Organizers: startup center «Spark» of Kharkiv Polytechnic together with Tulane University (USA).
The main lecturer of the course:
Oleg Gredil — PhD, Associate Professor Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business. He is engaged in the research of financial intermediaries, paying special attention to direct investments and hedge funds, speaks at major international conferences, his articles are published in prestigious scientific journals (Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, etc.). Oleg Gredil led round tables on attracting funds for direct investments, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, spoke at major scientific conferences, such as the annual meetings of the American Finance Association, the Society for the Study of Financial Intermediation, and the Financial Management Association.
Invited speakers:
Paul N. Taylor is a mechanical engineer by training, patent attorney, and former chairman of the US Bar Association and the European Patent Office. He has experience in the preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign patent applications related to various technological areas, obtaining copyright and trademark registration, and organizing labor agreements related to intellectual property. Worked with clients on defense against patent infringement lawsuits and provided conclusions on patentability.
Val Gui is a startup founder, angel investor (a private venture investor that provides financial and expert support to early-stage companies), and an advisor who supports venture businesses. Experienced on both sides of «VC-backed startups», raising tens of millions of venture dollars for his companies, invested his personal capital as an angel investor in more than 50 startups. Currently Val focused on climate technology, Val is a producer and advisor to climate-focused venture capital funds (Lowercarbon Capital and Anthrocene Ventures), as well as Vice-President and General Manager of VC-backed fintech lender Upstart, which became public in December 2020.
Leo Krasnozhon received a doctor’s degree in economics from George Mason University (USA), a master’s degree in economics from Clark University (USA), a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kharkiv State University (Ukraine). Distinguished Professor of the American Loyola University in New Orleans, presents the Chase Minority Entrepreneurship program. The professor’s area of interest is the political economy of management, public choice, economic development of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. He is a teacher, laureate of the award for the best educational work of the Association of Private Enterprises Education and others.
Tania Babina — received a PhD from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina (USA), teaches entrepreneurial finance for MBA and EMBA masters at Columbia University. Her research is at the intersection of corporate finance, labor economics, and entrepreneurship, examining the relationship between human capital and firm investment, financing, and organizational choice.