Guest Entrepreneur Information - March 13 2003

A Partial List

Paul R. Beswick

WPI '57 ME

Founder, President & CEO, Beswick Eng'rg Co. Inc.

Paul is founder, President and CEO of Beswick Eng'rg Co Inc located in Greenland (nr Portsmouth) NH. He's a graduate of WPI in '57 in Mechanical Engineering and worked in the Aerospace industry for 6 years developing reconnaissance cameras for orbiting satellites. In '63, with a fellow classmate, they struck out with the expectation of establishing a product based manufacturing business based on a patented clutch mechanism and other patent able ideas. His friend and classmate later chose a different direction and Beswick Eng'rg with less than $1000 capital was launched. Early products failed and income sources were sparse. Consulting became the meager source of cash flow.

One consulting program led to identifying a customer need for miniature pneumatic devices such as regulating valves, fittings and so on. These applications segued into the field of Fluid Power Components. It wasn't long before debt became large. Banks and bankers were deaf to the business plan and the projections. In the beginning the first successful products were produced using old automatic screw machines imaginatively adapted to producing complex items without requiring second operations. Those products were attractively priced for the marketplace and the savings from the production innovations generated the cash flow needed to sponsor additional products.

Over the past 36 years the product list has increased to hundreds of items and the customer base of over 1000 has grown to include over a dozen high tech and medium tech fields such as robotics, medical electronics, biotech, computer chip makers, toxic gas detection, bomb detection, fuel cells, aerospace and the like. Accumulated earnings have financed steady evolution from a manufacturing company to a largely R & D based activity with a network of outside vendors. Serving customers through the web page, the 60 plus page catalog and application engineering results in producing the main source of revenues.

The company is wholly owned by Paul, is debt free and earnings continue strong. The major thrust today is in the fun of new product development. The company employs just under 50 people and the profile of skills has more and more concentrated upon graduate engineers and other professionals.

Greg Cipriano

WPI '77 EE

Partner, Inner Harbor Ventures

Mr. Cipriano has 26 years experience in high technology and is a successful serial entrepreneur and investor. His strength is in envisioning, creating and building innovative products by applying technology to solve real world problems. He has developed a series of successful products that have generated over $500M in revenues over their product life cycles. He has also founded and successfully built three businesses.

Mr. Cipriano was the founder and former CEO of Internexsys, a provider of healthcare software and services for clinics and practices. Internexsys is a profitable, privately-held, self-funded, multi-million dollar company. He was responsible for developing its engineering, business development, sales and support operations from its inception in 1991. He is experienced in starting a business from an idea and building it into a profitable enterprise. Internexsys was his third startup that he founded and eventually sold. Prior to Internexsys, he was a co-founder and VP of Engineering at HealthCom, a provider of office automation solutions. He was also co-founder of Software Concepts, an applications software development firm.

Earlier, he was the Director of Engineering for California Microwave where he worked on early ISDN projects with Bell Labs, NASA and Boeing. Prior to California Microwave, he worked at Prime Computer, Instrumentation Labs and PR Mallory Labs in various engineering management and senior R&D product development positions. He has technical expertise in software, communications, electronics, electromagnetics, and power systems.

Mr. Cipriano has a BSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with Distinction. He has attended the MIT Sloan School of Management, Executive Program on Management and Technology and is an active member of the CEO Management Group, and the MIT-WPI Venture Forums.

David Urbanus

President/COO, VentureTek, Inc.

David Urbanus is President/COO of VentureTek, Inc. a consulting firm that specializes in assisting pre-IPO and venture start-up companies in the electronics, software, medical device and pharmaceutical markets by providing hands-on assistance with marketing, business development, management, sales planning, process management, and product launch through start-up and operation. VentureTek receives equity positions in these companies in exchange for its services.

Over the past 6 years the company has worked with over a dozen new start-ups helping them develop and position their product for either IPO offerings or attaining partnerships with large corporations. VentureTek's unique approach to venture funding provides the hands on assistance that new ventures so often need during their early stages.

David Urbanus has over 30 years experience in the fields of consulting, and domestic and international business ventures. He has held senior management positions with top Fortune 500 companies and successful venture companies. He has been an invited guest speaker for major industry conventions both in the U.S. and Europe. He received the Leadership Design Award from the MITI (Ministry Institute of Trade & Industry) of Japan, attained Germany's Hanover Fair (CEBIT) award for "Best Ergonomic Product", has one of his product designs in the Chicago Institute of Art Museum, and holds 9 U.S. Design patents. He has Engineering and Marketing degrees as well as an MBA.

Albert G. Prescott

WPI '90 CM

Founder, President & CEO

Crescent Innovations

Al Prescott was a senior process development engineer at Anika Therapeutics Inc., a manufacturer of HA-based ophthalmic, orthopedic, and surgical scar reduction products. Mr. Prescott has worked and consulted for some of the preeminent biotech and biomaterials companies including Genzyme, Genetics Institute, BASF Bioresearch, and W. R. Grace and Company. Mr. Prescott has a Bachelor of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology and a Master of Science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He has held many positions in the technical and customer service field of the polymer, pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device fields. His responsibilities have included all aspects of operations including facility construction management, product development, project management, budget management and personnel management. Mr. Prescott has led numerous cross-functional teams in the areas of new drug/device development from projects as simple as generic drug approval, to devices as complicated as bio-artificial pancreases.

Crescent Innovations, Inc. was founded in 2000 and incorporated in Delaware in 2001 to develop products using proprietary polymer technology. These state-of-the-art polymers are used to treat both chronic and acute pain, as well as controlled release/drug delivery products.

Jim Fee

WPI '67 BSEE

Principal, JFF Associates

jimfee@rcn.com

Jim Fee is a principal in JFF Associates, a consulting practice that focuses on helping companies in the medical, imaging, capital equipment and instrumentation markets to quickly transform technological breakthroughs into profitable products. We do this by drawing on expertise in the entire product cycle (strategy, market & competitive analysis, business plan development, pricing, distribution, product launch and support) for products with ASPs ranging from $100 - $100K in market segments $10M to $100M. Jim has been a founder/CEO or (and) key team member in a number of venture-funded startups. He is a 1967 graduate of WPI BSEE and a co-founder of the WPI Venture Forum.

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Last modified: May 22, 2007 14:22:57