Babson 2005 MBA alumna Hui Hui Low has taken the lead marketing role to help launch the website, www.RefugeeDayLive.org. Created by VSee, the site will make it possible for a first-ever live audio-visual feed from refugee camps in remote locations in Chad and Colombia available to reporters, activists, government agencies, and others.  

The webcast, sponsored by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), will take place Saturday, June 20^th. The live feed, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, relies on VSee, a new video conferencing technology which permits interactivity to remote locations. Users can participate by submitting video recordings, text messages, and Tweets.

www.RefugeeDayLive.org will allow visitors to see live video stream from the Djabal camp in the central African country of Chad, one of twelve camps currently accommodating more than 250,000 refugees who have fled the violence in neighboring Darfur. They will also be able to see and hear displaced people at a settlement in Colombia, home to one of the biggest such populations in the world. The Colombian settlement, in Villavicencio, sits on the side of a steep slope where displaced families have carved out homes for themselves.

The stream will feature frontline UNHCR staff discussing their day to day work in helping the displaced, and refugees will talk about their experiences. Viewers will be able to see how ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary hardships live their lives in exile.

“This is a chance to see a world seldom seen,” says UNHCR’s Greg Millar.  “For anyone interested in refugee issues, this is an opportunity to learn and to be a part of a global show of support for the millions of people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes, families and communities because of violence and persecution.”

Hui Hui reports that among the many “firsts” in this project: it’s the first time video chats are enabled by cutting-edge technologies (http://www.VSee.com) to reach out to humanitarians’ efforts in seldom reached areas; first e-exchange between bay area students and students in Chad Djabal Camp, where they can interact and learn with music, sports and chats; first time some World Refugee Day events and well-wishes around the world can be received directly by refugees via YouTube, Twitter and Live chat - and, first time they can react and respond; and Angelina Jolie will be the first celebrity to VSee her friends in Chad!

 “It’s very exciting to be part of this history-making moment where media and technologies mesh to invigorate, inspire and instill hope in people despite incredible difficulties,” says Hui Hui. 

For the latest info about how to participate, visit http://RefugeeDayLive.org/participate.

The Babson alumni business GLOPORE IMS, based in Bangalore, India, has been named Best Startup in the Services category by Silicon India Startup City 2009.

Satish Kumar, M’05, founder and CEO of GLOPORE IMS received this award on behalf of the company at the Startup City 2009 event which was attended by more than 6500 participants, 200 companies, 500 CEOs and 50 VCs.

Babson professor Srinivasa Rangan is co-founder and VP of Global Strategy & Alliances and Director, and Babson alumni, Vivek Nicholas Joseph, M’08, is director of marketing for North America out of the Boston office.

The awards were given based on the following criteria: the company overview, market opportunity, the team, solution value proposition, competitive positioning, growth plans, go-to-market plan, current status and investment opportunity.

“This award reinforces our pure-play ITSM strategy, our complementary ITSM service offerings, our entrepreneurial culture and our passionate execution team,” said Satish. “GLOPORE IMS differentiates itself from the competition by its pure-play focused strategy, frugal execution in addressing customers’ ITSM challenges through its thought leadership, and has carved a niche for itself in the IT Service Management space in a very short period of time. It is a great feeling to have our thoughts validated by an extremely knowledgeable VC crowd!”

GLOPORE IMS is a boutique IT Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) player based out of Bangalore with regional presence in Boston and London. GLOPORE IMS works with CIO’s and IT Managers of organizations and helps them integrate their IT strategy and business strategy with IT operations via a selective sourcing model. Since its inception in 2006, GLOPORE IMS has carved a niche for itself in the ITSM space through its thought leadership. GLOPORE IMS offers IT Infrastructure Management Services (IMS/RIMS), Plan, Design, Deployment of IT Infrastructure, IT consulting and Training services along with Green IT Consulting. GLOPORE IMS offers public ITIL® training in all the major IT hubs of India along with customized corporate training throughout India. For more information on GLOPORE IMS, visit www.gloporeims.com .

Read an article on the win posted by the Silicon India News Bureau in Bangalore.

Name of business: Guesthouse Network LLC (http://www.guesthousenetwork.com/Index.aspx)

Mission:  Providing comprehensive software and marketing solutions that aggregate, under one brand, metropolitan guesthouse accommodations, into a global branded network.  

Year Founded: 2008, while attending Babson’s FW Olin Graduate School of Business

Founders: Assaf Korkidi M’08, and Fernando De La Torre Rabago, M’08

Employees:  3

Past experience: Assaf worked as a corporate attorney and owned a coffee shop; Fernando has a degree in electric engineering and founded a web based IT company.

How the idea began: While attending Babson professor Marty Anderson’s class, “Emerging Enterprise Management”, it became clear to Assaf that the market for alternative to traditional hotel lodging in big cities is growing rapidly. Assaf found a way to meet that need by aggregating small players under one brand to benefit both the travelers and the independent apartment owners who rent apartments on a nightly basis.  

How the Idea Began: We pitched the idea to vacation rental apartment owners in our target markets and asked them how we could improve their businesses.  Once we knew that there was a need we started working on the system.

Favorite Thing about the Business:  Our business helps travelers and vacation rental owners find each other, the apartment owners that we work with are great people.

Worst Thing about the Business:  Each vacation rental owner has different needs and expectations; it’s challenging to find common ground that will work for all.

Biggest Challenge:  Now that we have the necessary critical mass of apartments listed in our system, our main focus and challenge is to find ways to drive more bookings.

Lesson Learned:  You need to realize that many of your initial assumptions may not “hold water.”  Follow the entrepreneurial process; be ready to change the plan when there is a need for it and you will find a way to make it all work!

Babson College photography lecturer David Akiba has had two local exhibits of his work.  Gallery Kayafas is showing “In Plain Sight,” through June 27^th; and “In Winter: Photographs, 1989-2009,” was displayed at the St. Botolph Club through mid-June.

David Akiba has been an exhibiting artist and teacher for over forty years, and his photographs can be found in various public and private collections. He has studied with Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan, and earned a MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Recently, a really nice review of David’s work by Mark Feeney appeared in The Boston Globe. That prompted me to visit the Kayafas website to see his work, which led to a podcast with the artist. Listen to David talk about his long career, how it started, and what he hopes to convey to his visual arts students.

To view David’s extraordinary work, visit Gallery Kayafas at 450 Harrison Avenue in Boston. You can call 617-482-0411 or visit www.gallerykayafas.com for information and exhibit hours.

Babson 2005 MBA alumna Hui Hui Low has taken the lead marketing role to help launch the website, www.RefugeeDayLive.org. Created by VSee, the site will make it possible for a first-ever live audio-visual feed from refugee camps in remote locations in Chad and Colombia available to reporters, activists, government agencies, and others.  

The webcast, sponsored by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), will take place Saturday, June 20^th. The live feed, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, relies on VSee, a new video conferencing technology which permits interactivity to remote locations. Users can participate by submitting video recordings, text messages, and Tweets.

www.RefugeeDayLive.org will allow visitors to see live video stream from the Djabal camp in the central African country of Chad, one of twelve camps currently accommodating more than 250,000 refugees who have fled the violence in neighboring Darfur. They will also be able to see and hear displaced people at a settlement in Colombia, home to one of the biggest such populations in the world. The Colombian settlement, in Villavicencio, sits on the side of a steep slope where displaced families have carved out homes for themselves.

The stream will feature frontline UNHCR staff discussing their day to day work in helping the displaced, and refugees will talk about their experiences. Viewers will be able to see how ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary hardships live their lives in exile.

“This is a chance to see a world seldom seen,” says UNHCR’s Greg Millar.  “For anyone interested in refugee issues, this is an opportunity to learn and to be a part of a global show of support for the millions of people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes, families and communities because of violence and persecution.”

Hui Hui reports that among the many “firsts” in this project: it’s the first time video chats are enabled by cutting-edge technologies (http://www.VSee.com) to reach out to humanitarians’ efforts in seldom reached areas; first e-exchange between bay area students and students in Chad Djabal Camp, where they can interact and learn with music, sports and chats; first time some World Refugee Day events and well-wishes around the world can be received directly by refugees via YouTube, Twitter and Live chat - and, first time they can react and respond; and Angelina Jolie will be the first celebrity to VSee her friends in Chad!

 “It’s very exciting to be part of this history-making moment where media and technologies mesh to invigorate, inspire and instill hope in people despite incredible difficulties,” says Hui Hui. 

For the latest info about how to participate, visit http://RefugeeDayLive.org/participate.

     
Name of business: Blank Label; www.blank-label.com

Mission:  Empowering students to look memorable, and allowing them to carry their youthful individuality to the workplace.  

• Year Began: 2008    

• Where: Sydney, Atlanta, Boston    

• Founder:  Fan Bi, fbi@blank-label.com, 781 591 9924; Ugrad    

• Employees: 2 Partners, 1 full-time, 2 part-time, 1 intern    

• Founder’s Past Life/Business:  Always interested in empowering students, Fan started his first venture, a not-for-profit youth-based think tank, Meeting of the Minds (”MOTM”) in 2007, in his hometown Sydney. Bringing together top college students from different universities in Sydney, all from different academic backgrounds, the aim was to collate youth opinions on topical social issues, and provide vehicles for them to be heard.     

• How the Idea Began: A product of his generation, Fan always valued his independence and his individuality. He always liked buying custom tee shirts, and hated the fact that when he started work, everyone would look the same and buy their clothes from the same few stores, so the idea of designing and creating your own suit or shirt was a logical step.      

• Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea: “The traditional friends and family as customers has seem to have gone a little out of vogue, but for us, that’s what gave us initial confidence in the business. We would ask them to purchase, get their feedback, go back to the drawing board, and do that a few times, and then we would ask them to refer us to their friends. The initial growth was quite organic, and we would really recommend it to any start-up.”      

• Favorite Thing about the Business: “It’s interesting how things pan out. My business partner is from Emory, and I met him when on exchange to Sydney. By the end of the semester, he was taking the business back to Atlanta, I was going to Boston, and we had someone continuing the business in Sydney, and all of sudden, these two kids start running this multi-national company.” 
   
• Worst Thing About the Business: “We’ve done the research, spoken to designers, met with corporate professionals to really understand this balance between youthful individuality and corporate professionalism, but it is still challenging to gently tell a customer that their pick of colors and styling options is not quite right for the conservative, front-office investment banking job they have for the summer.”
   
• Biggest Challenge: “Most student entrepreneurs struggle with the balance between school and work. My business partner, Max, and I have the added challenge of not being in the same school. As much as the virtual boardroom is effective, a growing number of collaboration tools such as Collanos, communication with Skype, and accountability with JourneyPage, it still is not the same as being in the same room and feeding off each other’s energy. We do the best we can by visiting each other regularly, as well as going to see our satellite employees and campus reps.”       

• Lesson Learned: “Withstanding the cliches, I have really come to understand the commitment levels necessary when starting your own venture. I have worked in small firms and large ones, I used to be academically strong, I have trained for a marathon, and have played competitive basketball, but the commitment level for Blank Label transcends anything I have done before.”  

Name of business:  Give Back a Pack Foundation, Inc

Mission:  To improve the lives of underprivileged children through the collection and distribution of backpacks.

Began:   April 2009 in Miami, Fl

Founders: Nicholas Kling & Renzo Pisa, Babson 2007 undergrad alums

Web: www.givebackapack.org;

email: nicholas@givebackapack.org, renzo@givebackapack.org

Business: 617-281-9822; 305-807-9463

Facebook: GiveBackaPack

Twitter: http://twiter.com/givebackapack

Blog: www.givebackapack.org/blog.php

Founder’s Past Life/Business:

Real Estate Underwriting; Real Estate Investment Banking

Creators of board game ‘Keyopoly’ for Key Biscayne, FL

How The Idea Began:  When Renzo was laid off from Merrill Lynch’s Real Estate Investment Banking group, he decided to pursue his passion for social entrepreneurship. He approached Nicholas who was instantly eager to join. While at Babson, they had traveled throughout Latin America together and witnessed the need for school supplies and back packs in many of the poor villages they visited. After reminiscing about their past trips, the two decided to start a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the poor children or Latin America. This was the birth of Give Back a Pack Foundation, Inc.

Favorite Thing about the Business: Seeing the smiles on the kids faces when you hand them backpacks

Worst Thing About the Business:  More work than life on Wall Street

Biggest Challenge:  Building a sustainable and efficient organization

Erik and his skiing guide, Jeff Ulrich, have been working on a project called Blind Skiers’ Edge, to raise awareness for blind skiing and guiding.  Jeff has developed an innovatibve technique to guide blind skiers.  Take a look.

Name of business:  Finroo| Swim Against the Tide
                                    www.finroo.com

Mission:  Finroo strives to be the number one distributor for limited-edition expressive garments sold directly from artists to consumers. We do not sell products; we sell living pieces of art. We will begin in the apparel industry, and then move to any canvas that our technology will enable us to print on.

Began in:  2009

Where: Boston, NYC

Founder: Eric Yohay; eric@finroo.com ; (516)902-8911; One-year Babson MBA ‘09

Employees: 3

Founder’s Past Life/Business:  Eric Yohay, President and Corporate Development

While attending Northeastern University, Eric founded his first company Orecovery. Orecovery is an asset recovery management company aimed at helping electronic distribution companies manage their stressed, open box, refurbished, and aged goods. After graduating Eric was able to grow this company to three employee’s with average monthly sales of $50,000. He was in charge of acquiring new clients, formulating the company’s growth strategy and selling strategy, and responsible for all technology related aspects of the company. This company later branched into selling TV’s through real estate brokers. Eric sold the company in September 2008 and is graduating from Babson’s One-Year MBA program to focus on the creation and launch of Finroo.

How The Idea Began:  “I realized two things.  One, all my artist friends had these huge unused portfolios of artwork.  And two, people were buying things from small boutique shops because they wanted something that no one else had.  We just connected the two.”

Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea:  ”We polled over 100 artists to ask them what kind of outlet they wanted.  We then tested over eight manufacturers’ garments on our consumers and tested three printing companies.  Once all three were perfect, we launched the business.”

Favorite Thing about the Business: “Every time we sell a product we help an artist, a charity, our consumer, and ourselves.  Everyone is a winner.”

Worst Thing About the Business: “I keep ordering new samples to test but end up wearing them instead. I have about 100 different off-blue long sleeve shirts that never made it to the sample room because they sit in my closet.”

Biggest Challenge: “Trying to sell high quality products via the internet.  The consumer can’t touch and feel our work until we actually ship it to them.”

Lesson Learned:  ”It doesn’t matter what I like, it matters what people buy.  I have to strip my emotions away and just concentrate on the numbers.”

Eric Yohay
Finroo | Swim Against the Tide
www.finroo.com
eric@finroo.com

Name of business: KoMarketing Associates, LLC

Mission: Generate profitable website traffic for B2B companies via search engine marketing and social media marketing.

Began:  January 2004

Where:  Waltham, MA

Founder:  Andy Komack, M ‘98
KoMarketing Associates, LLC
www.komarketingassociates.com
 e-mail: andy@komarketingassociates.com
Business:  (781) 209-1989
Mobile:   (508) 904-8735  
Fax: (781)209-1996
Twitter: http://twitter.com/akomack
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andykomack
Blog: http://www.komarketingassociates.com/blog/

Founder’s Past Life/Business: Been an online marketing junkie for 10 years now.

How The Idea Began: I was laid off from my job as the head of online marketing strategy consulting at an interactive agency, and my employer asked if I would be willing to continue to serve my primary clients.  I knew that was my opportunity to create the kind of online marketing agency that I had been envisioning for the past few years.

Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea: If I hadn’t gone to Babson, I wouldn’t have been ready.  If I hadn’t been working in the interactive marketing industry for five years I wouldn’t have been ready.  So, it was a classic case of Education + Experience meets Opportunity + Drive to create a new company.

Favorite Thing about the Business: I enjoy the daily creativity that is required to be competitive in the areas of search engine and social media marketing.  It is like taking the purest form of marketing and putting in a blender each day.

Worst Thing About the Business: The administrative details that come with having employees.

Biggest Challenge: Selling services on the basis of value created, not time and materials.

Lesson Learned: I am learning lessons constantly.  Some of the biggest so far are about how critical it is to surround yourself with the right people, ask for help when needed, and to avoid putting energy into projects that are not directly aligned with the development of the core business.