Once an iGEMer, now an entrepreneur
by Marjolein Crooijmans, Alya Masoud, Carolina Elizondo, and Nerea Capon on behalf of the iGEM Startups
Every year, more than 300 synthetic biology projects are birthed by iGEM Competition teams. These projects would remain academic research projects without the work of iGEMers turned entrepreneurs who are focused on turning their ideas and proofs-of-concept into real life applications.
Rodrigo Ferrer (CEO, RebX) delivering their award-winning pitch on stage at the 2022 Grand Jamboree Final Day.
The iGEM Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Community (EPIC) was founded to nurture the talents and capabilities of iGEM alumni and support their transition from lab to market. EPIC’s Startup Showcase featured the top 15 iGEM Startups, who pitched their ideas in front of an audience and panel of judges at the iGEM 2022 Grand Jamboree. Here are some highlights and insights from the winner and finalists:
🏆 Showcase Winner
RebX - Mexico and Argentina: Sustainably produces chemicals using fungi and agrowaste at a low cost. Grand Prize Winner and Finalist in Food & Manufacture, iGEM EPIC Startup Showcase 2022.
“iGEM EPIC broadened my vision of how far could I get as a Latin American entrepreneur and helped me find the way to do so! Thanks to the grand prize won in the iGEM's Startup showcase we will be able to work on and improve our proof of concept. This will be game-changing to accelerate our idea and to keep validating our product”
– Ana Paula Acevedo, COO RebX
“Being an iGEM-born startup has helped me get out of my comfort zone and meet lots of awesome people. Right now, we are actively working on our Proof of Concept, and after we will start working on our RebX MVP (minimum viable product).”
– Andrés Moreno, CTO, RebX
“iGEM startups gave me the tools to become a biofounder, make global connections and encouraged me to keep on going. We are developing our stevia proof of concept. Winning the startup showcase helped us validate our idea and the prize will help us finish the proof-of-concept.”
– Rodrigo Ferrer, CEO RebX
Finalist, Environment Track
Maverick Bioworks - Oakland, California, USA: Engineering enzymes for greener, cheaper, and more efficient lithium extraction from hard rock ores. Finalist in Environment, iGEM EPIC Startup Showcase 2022.
We had a really exciting time at the #iGEM 2022 annual Jamboree seeing the future of biotech! pic.twitter.com/nZwA0PHLik
— Maverick Bioworks (@MaverickBio) November 3, 2022
“As an iGEM startup, we had great mentors and access to biotech resources. We are currently fundraising and focused on research development of our lithium bioextraction technology.” – the driven team at Maverick Bioworks
Finalist, Health Track
CEXAL, Ltd - Edinburgh, UK: Developing cheap, fast, and accurate rapid test kits to identify organic and inorganic molecules. Finalist in Health, iGEM EPIC Startup Showcase 2022.
“We are a Scottish synbio startup that develops robust and simple rapid test kits to detect pathogens in drinking water. But wait... we are not a regular startup, we are an iGEM Startup! We used iGEM as our inspiration and later when iGEM became our launchpad (through iGEM EPIC), our mission to make effective molecular diagnostic became more real. And while today we are very ‘businessy’ and product/consumer-oriented (feasibility and field studies as well as intensive user testing coming soon) we will never forget how iGEM shaped the core values of the company.
Bring the science to the people! Don't confine the beauty of synbio in your lab. Don't let your ideas die; let your ambition define the next step. Don't forget to be generous; you will find strength in the hardest of times.” – Matteo Cese, Co-founder CEXAL Ltd.
Please join us in congratulating the winner and finalists of iGEM EPIC’s 2022 Startup Showcase, and celebrating all of the innovative synthetic biology startups who are shaping the future of the global bioeconomy!
iGEM Startups is now recruiting! Join us and let’s grow together!
