Mobius Microsystems: Powerful Things in Small Packages

What do you get when you cross an electrical engineering Ph.D. applying to medical school with an entrepreneur and a couple of business school students? If you’re talking about engineer Mike McCorquodale who – through the Zell-Lurie Institute and Great Lakes Venture Quest– met entrepreneur Rick Goldstein, and MBA candidates Wade Rushing and Jeff Wilkins, you get an aspiring millionaire rather than an aspiring doctor.Not long ago, McCorquodale designed a semiconductor component superior in many ways to existing technology used in a wide range of devices including PCs, cell phones, and personal digital assistants.microwave ovens. A Ph.D. candidate, McCorquodale sought merely to pair up with businesspeople in order to enter business plan competitions with his design, perhaps to offset his medical school tuition.

The design, a microscopic time-keeping device, could potentially supersede the oscillating crystals currently used in conjunction with microprocessors. Not only is the Mobius technology significantly smaller than crystals, it also costs 10 times less and is 20 times more energy efficient.

However, as much as he recognized the scientific value of his design, McCorquodale underestimated its application in ubiquitous, everyday devices -- not to mention its money-making potential.

Through Great Lakes Venture Quest, McCorquodale was paired with Goldstein, a local entrepreneur with semiconductor experience, who recognized the tremendous business opportunity and incorporated Mobius Microsystems, of which he is CEO. Along with MBA1s Wilkins and Rushing, who joined the team shortly after beginning their MBAs at UMBS, the team put together a successful business plan that has won Mobius more than $35,000 in prize money thus far, plus the potentially lucrative attention of venture capitalists.

The design, a microscopic time-keeping device, could potentially supersede the oscillating crystals currently used in microprocessors. Not only is the Mobius technology smaller than the crystal, but it is also 13-20% the cost and 25 times more energy efficient.

Prizes to date include: MBA Jungle Business Plan Competition (Semi-Finalist), Indiana University Business Plan Competition (First Place), Dare-to-Dream (First Place), Great Lakes Venture Quest Round I (Second Place) and Round II (Honorable Mention).

Thanks to opportunities abounding at the University of Michigan, science was translated to application, and application translated to terms that businesspeople could easily understand. Through Zell-Lurie, McCorquodale was paired with Goldstein, a local entrepreneur with semiconductor experience, who recognized the tremendous business opportunity and incorporated Mobius Microsystems, of which he is CEO. Along with MBA1s Wilkins and Rushing, who joined the team shortly after beginning their MBAs at UMBS, the team put together a successful business plan that has won Mobius more than $60,000 in prize money thus far, plus the potentially lucrative attention of venture capitalists.

Such prize money goes a long way for Mobius, a company whose capital requirement is relatively low given that the bulk of its costs include programming, marketing/sales and administrative expenses; the return could be many times comparatively low investment. Says Rushing: “Approximately 15 companies sell crystals [the existing technology] at razor-thin margins to the semiconductor industry. They’re essentially a commodity, so there is a potentially huge market for this low-cost innovation,” a technology that is protected from imitators by a patent and long design cycle lead time.

Sounds like a pot of gold for a group of people merely in it for the experience. When asked about the experience, Rushing says he enjoys the market research and marketing planning involved in communicating the relevance of this product to the investment community. When he speaks of Mobius, his expression resembles that of his newborn son – wide-eyed amazement at the potential. Rushing sees this as a real career opportunity, but adds, “If Mobius doesn’t work out, it has definitely added to my B-school experience.”