BUSINESS ASSESSMENT

Before building a business, students need to know if it makes sense to build. Conducting a feasibility study provides that reality check.

Developing the Skill

Multidisciplinary Venture Creation Courses Dare to Dream $1,500 Assessment Grants Michigan Business Challenge (round two) Wolverine Venture Fund Frankel Commercialization Fund Social Venture Fund

Outstanding Undergraduate Business Team

Zubair Ahsan, BBA/BSE ’11, MSE ’12, Co-founder, SanoBio Therapeutics

Zubair Ahsan, BBA/BSE ’11, MSE ’12, was drawn to the Universi\ty of Michigan by its reputation as a leading research institution with top-ranked schools of business, medicine, law and engineering. He also was attracted by the “well-rounded entrepreneurial ecosystem” on campus. “I have connected with the entrepreneurial resources offered through the Zell Lurie Institute, the Medical Innovation Center and the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering,” says Ahsan, the co-founder of SanoBio Therapeutics, a start-up company pursuing commercialization of a protein-based substance that speeds wound healing in diabetic patients. SanoBio Therapeutics grew out of a 2009 class project in Finance Professor David Brophy’s Financing Research Commercialization course. Ahsan and his team were assigned to work with University researcher Donna Livant to evaluate the commercialization potential of her promising discovery. “The class created a playground where I could bring all the entrepreneurial skill sets I was building to a real project,” Ahsan explains. The students won top honors for the best undergraduate team in the Michigan Business Challenge, and received a $1,500 Dare to Dream assessment-phase grant. Their competition winnings will be used to conduct pre-clinical animal trials, as they continue to refine their business model, apply for grants and pursue angel funding. “There’s great potential for entrepreneurship to create the next Silicon Valley here in the Ann Arbor area,” Ahsan concludes.