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The angel investor dream is to get in on the ground floor with a tech start-up that goes on to become a global giant, but those are few and far between.

Then there is the nightmare of getting in on the ground floor, but cashing out far too early. Ronald Wayne, the little known third co-founder of Apple, sold his 10% share in the company for $800 back in 1976.

Earlier this year, Apple became the first US company worth more than $2 trillion. Sorry, Ron.

Back to the matter at hand – the technology transfer unit at Stellenbosch University (SU), with the help of outside angel investors, is currently backing five start-ups that are based off research conducted at the institution.

The university has raised R26 million to back the start-ups, and there are high hopes that they’ll be as successful as some of the other ventures the university has backed.

In the past few years, the institution has funded the likes of GeoSmart, SharkSafe, and Unistel Medical Laboratories.

Via Moneyweb, let’s see the five start-ups that will benefit from this latest round of funding:

Phagoflux offers the ability to monitor health and wellness by measuring the self-cleaning activity (autophagy) of bodily cells. When cells cannot undergo autophagy, toxic material builds up and the cell dies – resulting in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Susento is looking into developing and producing a sustainable protein source from insects for both human and animal consumption. The product is a high-quality protein powder that can be used in any high protein product.

Biotikum develops and produces microbial additives for the agricultural industry. Microbial additives are environmentally friendly technology that promotes sustainable farming practices and improves profitability.

BioCODE is a nanosensor for the early detection of disease risk in patients. It detects inflammatory biomarker levels from a drop of blood and is small enough to be used by nurses in mobile clinics.

Immobazyme has developed a device that can remove enzymes, which can get rid of unwanted compounds in the sugar industry, produce antibody derivative compounds and make wine taste better.

All of those ventures sound like they are tackling areas where innovation will be helpful, but none are going to be ‘the next Google’.

Stanford University, for example, held a stake in Google, eventually selling in 2005 for a cool $336 million.

Anita Nel, chief director of innovation and business development, at SU and CEO of University of Stellenbosch Enterprises, says that those giants are few and far between.

Instead, through the university’s tech-funding unit, one of the aims is to create “a possible employment destination for Stellenbosch University graduates”.

[source:moneyweb]