Monthly Programs - September 11, 2007

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Campus Center - Odeum Room
6:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Pre-registration
Parking

Patrick Larkin, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Can the Commonwealth Compete?

How to Succeed in a Global Economy

The arrival of the dramatic New England fall season brings a fresh perspective to the WPI Venture Forum. On Tuesday, September 11, come hear answers to the question, How can Massachusetts compete in the global economy?

World high-tech markets are heating up. Competition is rampant as China, Eastern Europe, India and the Far East have become more competent, cost competitive and eager to offer products and services around the globe. What can a Massachusetts high-tech company do to win new business in this increasingly challenging environment? Can innovation guarantee success?

The WPI Venture Forum welcomes to its September meeting Patrick J. “Pat” Larkin, Director, the John Adams Innovation Institute, economic development division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). Larkin will explain a solid strategy that will permit the Massachusetts economy to compete in the open market.

Massachusetts offers a high standard of living, some of the best entrepreneurial resources in the world, and drives a knowledge-based economy. Do these conditions which we enjoy today help us to compete with the rest of the world? Are we overpriced and uncompetitive?

Larkin has established a successful track record with over 15 years in economic development addressing questions of competition in the global market. He was top aide to the late Congressman Silvio Conte (R-MA), has served the Commonwealth as Deputy Secretary for Defense Diversification and Technology Transfer for the Office of Economic Affairs, and is credited with conceptualizing MTC’s Renewable Energy Trust.

Bruce Ginsberg, President

Case Presentation

MooBella, LLC - Bruce Ginsberg, President

MooBella is completely revolutionizing the way ice cream is made, dispensed, and experienced.

MooBella has developed—and is in the process of refining—an innovative, disruptive, multi-patented technology that today can produce a wide variety of creamy, hard-packed ice creams made fresh to order in less than a minute. The MooBella team has developed a modular approach, with no advance refrigeration or freezing necessary. MooBella’s technology has been issued twelve US and six foreign patents with several others pending. Designed initially for placement in college, hospital or business cafeterias with attendants on staff who collect payment, the MooBella Ice Cream System has conducted beta testing in the Boston area in locations including Children’s Hospital, Brandeis University, Bridgewater State College and Boston University.

MooBella’s technology inventor, entrepreneur Paul Kateman, experienced personal tragedies in 1992 that made him rethink his direction in life. He became determined to produce something that would bring pleasure and comfort to people and envisioned a machine that would produce fresh, made-to-order ice cream on demand. In early 2000, he met Bruce Ginsberg, the CEO of New England Ice Cream Corporation and a 20-year veteran of the ice cream industry. Ginsberg’s experience in building successful business enterprises within the industry coupled with Kateman’s vision created a formidable team. MooBella LLC began on July 1, 2000.

Now the team is focused on bringing the machines to market. The company has secured significant funding and is in discussions with strategic partners. Since its 2006 launch, the technology has received favorable attention, including an Inny Award from the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation, a Kitchen Innovations™ Award from the National Restaurant Association, Time magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2006,” the first annual Food Network Award and “Best Cool Indulgence” in Reader’s Digest magazine’s “Best of America” series. MooBella has also been featured in Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, a number of Food Network shows, “Rachel Ray,” “Good Morning America,” and the “Profile Series” hosted by Louis Gossett Jr.

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Last modified: Aug 17, 2007, 15:11 EDT