C-Crete Cements its Rank as $100K Winner

Getting a business off the ground takes far more than simply having a good idea. Although determination and drive are key requirements, a more material prerequisite is funding. Without money, it can be nearly impossible to grow your company into a thriving enterprise. (Image courtesy: http://www.mit100k.org/home/)

C-Crete Technologies, a student-run startup that created a “nanoengineered” concrete that is stronger than standard concrete and reduces CO2 emissions, was awarded the $100 thousand grand prize in MIT’s Entrepreneurship Competition this week.

“For many years, the world has been looking for simple, scalable solutions to reduce the global carbon footprint and limit its impact on the environment,” explained Natanel Barookhian, C-Crete co-founder and MIT Sloan School of Management MBA. “We at C-Crete Technologies have developed a method for tackling this issue by targeting the production of cement, one of the most widely used materials on earth, while improving all of its core properties.”

From a pool of other strong contenders, such as a team that developed an insulin chewing gum, a panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and successful professionals, selected C-Crete as the competition’s winner, primarily because of the company’s strong business plan and product presentation.

“For the past 20 years, the MIT $100K has been inspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their passions and create businesses that will impact the world around them,” said Daniel Vannoni, Managing Director of MIT’s Entrepreneurship Competition. “The competition is an educational exercise that allows students to pursue the entrepreneurial path in a fairly risk free environment... In the end, we all win from the efforts of our competing teams.”

During its twenty-year lifetime, MIT’s Entrepreneurship Competition has funded the creation of 130 companies that have gained $770 million in venture funding, and generated over 2,500 new jobs. Some recent successful companies created from the competition include Akamai, C-Bridge Internet Solutions, Harmonix, and Brontes Technologies. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/abvcCx)

C-Crete was not the only team to walk away from the competition with cash in hand. Finalists, first runner-ups, and second runner-ups were awarded $20,000, $5,000, and $3,000, respectively. The competition’s audience favorite also received a $10,000 award.

A competition such as MIT’s is ideal for startups looking for their big break. In the end, even those companies that do not leave with funding benefit from the free publicity generated by the event. After all, pitching your idea to a crowd of people attending an entrepreneurship competition is an excellent way to catch an investor’s eye.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/bz1gXe, http://www.mit100k.org]