The Darden School of Business student-founded company, Husk Power Systems, won the first Global Business Plan Competition, co-sponsored by Cisco, the leading supplier of networking equipment and network management for the Internet, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), a leading early-stage venture capital firm. The victory earns the team international recognition, mentorship and professional assessments from both DFJ and Cisco, and a seed investment of $250,000, by far their largest monetary award to date.
Husk Power Systems works toward supplying electricity to villages in rural India on a pay-for-use basis using the bio-gas produced when generators burn rice husks, a waste product of rice farming. Geared towards an area known as the “Rice Belt,” the process not only eliminates an abundance of rotting husks, but it is carbon-efficient and produces silica, a central component in making cement, as a byproduct. What started as a business plan by Darden students Manoj Sinha, a native of rural India, and Charles “Chip” Ransler has become a cost-effective and eco-friendly reality.
Ransler and Sinha, who received their MBAs in May, teamed up with another Indian native, Gyanesh Pandey, and are currently providing power to tens of thousands of rural Indians. “We've had tenfold growth in year two, expanding from two villages served to 23 villages," Ransler noted.
The team’s success literally hits close to home with Sinha and Pandey, who were raised in Indian villages without power. "We grew up in those areas," said Sinha. "Our relatives still do not have electricity. We wanted to give back."
The team has also won other numerous awards, including first place and a check for $10,000 in Darden’s own 2008 business plan competition. In May, the team received $50,000 when they won the Social Innovation Competition at the University of Texas. At the same competition, they were awarded the People’s Choice Award and an extra $1,000.
In 2008, Ransler and Sinha were named “Pop!Tech Fellows” and “Social Entrepreneurs of the Year” by Fast Company Magazine. The same publication hailed the company as one of its “Social Enterprises of the Year,” an honor roll of the top ten social enterprises of 2008.
This week, the team received further recognition as they took first place out of a group of 16 finalists hailing from 15 schools in 6 countries in the Cisco and DFJ Global Business Plan competition. According to Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ, Husk Power Systems’ innovative approach to advancing alternative power set them apart from the other talented candidates.
Thanks to Cisco TelePresence, technology that allows live, face-to-face network communication, finalists were able to present their plans to a San Jose-based team of investors from DFJ, its Global Network of Funds and Cisco without having to leave home. Competitors and the media were able to view the competition, which took place on June 30, via simulcast.
Founded in 1955, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business improves society by developing principled leaders in the world of practical affairs.
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