SiNode and BriteSeed, startups both stemmed from Northwestern University, took first and second place respectively at the Rice Business Plan Competition last weekend, claiming over $1 million in cash and investments between them.

In Slicing Pie

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is receiving an additional $8 million gift from entrepreneur Michael Polsky, putting his total gifts to the university at $15 million since the creation of Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2002.

Another year of SeedCon brought some of Chicago’s best entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, digital startup enthusiasts and students together for two days of sharing ideas and innovative strategies.

Built In Chicago’s very own founder, Matt Moog, was the one who kicked off the 13th annual conference Thursday evening by celebrating the abundance of entrepreneurial talent in Chicago, as well as Built in Chicago’s success in turning that talent into a community.

When was the last time you wanted to make a big purchase, but for the cheapest available price?  Maybe it's a new TV, a flight to visit family, or two tickets to see the Bears play.  These aren't impulse purchases, so you will probably shop around before making a decision.  This usually involves a long period of time visiting a variety of stores and/or websites until you find a deal that fits your budget.

About the company: When cars slow down, they waste energy. Imagine if there was a way to put some of that lost energy to productive use. Energy Intelligence aims to revolutionize the reuse of energy lost on roadways by embedding electro-mechanical devices in road surfaces to recapture energy otherwise lost by vehicular traffic.

About the company: BrainWave Insights is a market research company using a next-generation neuromarketing technology to provide companies with deep and accurate insights into their consumers. The company is developing a proprietary technique to interpret data from a magnetoencephalogram (“MEG”), which provides many concrete advantages over traditional technologies used in neuromarketing studies.

About the company: ArborVita Associates (AVA) is a biotechnology company that has developed a simpler, faster, and cheaper way to modify DNA using a proprietary and patented enzyme called DRAP (Drosophila Recombination-Associated Protein).

About the company: Greenbook was born out of hatred for using Blue Books to handwrite exams while studying Entrepreneurship at the UChicago Booth School of Business. The software enables students to take secured exams in class using their own laptops. Greenbook will be operating in the $19.7B Education IT market, and seek to become the market leader in exam‐taking technologies.

About the company: PrimeLink Health’s aim is to give health care providers the tools with which they can improve the health of people with chronic diseases. PrimeLink Health will achieve this through a combination of a software platform for nurses, physicians and patients that makes the process more efficient, reduces the friction of data entry and provides unique content customized to their chronic conditions.