Page 12 - CEGE Spring 2024

STUDENTPROFILE
Brian Balquist Wins
Pitch Contest
The Biz Pitch Contest offers University of Minnesota undergraduate students an opportunity to present their new business ideas to
a panel of entrepreneurs and investors. Brian Balquist, an Environmental Engineering major in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, proposed a company that applies existing wastewater surveillance technology to new areas. His business idea and his pitch led to him taking home two prizes. Balquist won for the Most Innovative idea. He also won the
Overall Grand Prize, which came with a check for $2,000.
Balquist’s Big Idea
Balquist’s proposed company, Salamander Life Systems, would apply wastewater surveillance techniques, such as those used to monitor the presence of Covid-19 in human wastewater, to hog breeding farms.
Hog breeding farms are prone to a virus known as PRRS, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, which can have significant negative impacts on breeding stock. Monitoring wastewater from these farms could give hog breeders an earlier indication of the presence of the virus in their herds and allow earlier treatment, leading to faster herd recovery and continued reproduction. In contrast to meat farms, where it can make more sense to cull a sick herd and start over, breeding farms are more invested in protecting and healing their animals. Breeding sows are valuable, and hog breeders would benefit greatly from the ability to predict and quickly mitigate a viral outbreak.
The idea makes good business sense because of the commitment of farmers
to the welfare of their animals. A water surveillance system could be implemented because they already budget a significant amount per year for biosecurity to protect
these animals. Balquist concluded, “If you can demonstrate the value, breeders are willing to pay.”
Balquist’s motivation
As an environmental engineering
major, Balquist is fond of saying,
“I love wastewater!” His interest started when Balquist visited a wastewater treatment plant in high school. He determined that is what he wanted to study. While at the University, he heard about wastewater surveillance used to detect Covid-19 levels. “It was cool that there was a brand-new breakthrough
in the field that I am studying right now. Then I thought, ‘they are only really using this in one narrow lane. This has got to be more widely applicable.’ So,
I started researching. My first idea was using wastewater surveillance on cruise ships. I developed an in-depth business model plan for a social venture using wastewater monitoring on cruise ships, but that didn’t make the same kind of financial sense.”
The competition
Salamander Life Systems was chosen
as one of six finalists from across the University. Balquist had just 90 seconds to present his idea to a panel of five judges, a mix of industry professionals and investors from the Student Venture Capital Board. Finalists were allowed no notes and no visuals. After the 90-second presentation, students answered a broad range of ques- tions from the judges about the business model, technical issues, competitors, etc. Participants were evaluated on the idea and the quality of the pitch.
“Ninety seconds was intense!” said Balquist. “I had to introduce myself, build a modicum of credibility, preface the problem, explain what I do as a solution to that problem, and then outline vaguely the business structure from there. In an odd way, the 90 second limit helped me because it forced me to think about what is the most valuable, what is not valuable, and cold open, what does someone need to know?”
THE NAME SALAMANDER LIFE SYSTEMS GIVES A NOD TO THE TECHNOLOGY’S PREDICTIVE ASPECTS AS SALAMANDERS ARE AN INDICATOR SPECIES.
12 CEGE | CSE.UMN.EDU/CEGE