Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Students

Michigan Tech Entrepreneur, Jess Tompkins, featured in UP’s Second Wave

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Jess Tompkins, a fifth-year student in business management, was recently featured in the Upper Peninsula’s Second Wave. The publication tells the story of the new economy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play.

Tompkins was touted for her business Two Bows, which she started in 2010 under the tutelage of the late Professor of Practice in the School of Business and Economics Bob Mark. The article mentions:

To begin the networking process and get the ball rolling, Tompkins joined Tech’s entrepreneurship support center. During this time she incorporated her business plan, sketches and her prize money from the competition to get sample products made. She later joined the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance. Soon, her idea was starting to look a lot like a real company.

Read the complete article at UP’s Second Wave.

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Two Tech Teams Chosen for Clean Energy Challenge

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Two teams from Michigan Tech have been chosen to join in the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge. Twenty-seven teams were chosen from 71 teams that applied from across the state. Through the challenge, teams will learn the skills needed to start a successful company, through classroom and hands-on learning.

The teams will also meet regularly with their on-campus mentors and venture capitalists and have access to a micro-grant program offering up to $2,500 for each team to move their business forward.

The Tech teams are GreenedIt!, a web-based application for energy auditing, and Aquaponics, for healthy, local food in urban communities.

GreenedIt! team members are physics students Travis Beaulieu, an undergraduate, and graduate student Abhilash Kantamneni. The team traveled to East Lansing for their initial training this past weekend.

“The training we received through the challenge was incredibly useful,” said Beaulieu. “The whole point was to try and get young entrepreneurs into the mindset of finding a customer need and forming the idea around the customer’s feedback. Thankfully this training worked for our team, and we had a complete pivot during the weekend.”

The other team, Aquaponics, features indoor farming using water instead of soil, with a fish tank providing nutrients to plants. Team members include Robert Handler, post-doctoral environmental engineer in the Sustainable Futures Institute; Josh Krugh, economics undergraduate; and Jacob Bray, chemical engineering undergraduate.

“Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics,” Handler said. “And we want to examine the potential for this type of agriculture to expand as a business opportunity in urban communities throughout the state.”

On the final day of the venture challenge, all participating teams will present their results, and a few teams will be awarded additional prizes and investments totaling $50,000 or more. The six-month challenge is run by the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Written by Senior Editor Dennis Walikainen of University Marketing and Communications.

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Student Competition: iOMe Challenge

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Calling all students!

Senior lecturer in economics, Emanuel Oliveira, is looking for students this fall to enter the iOMe Challenge. The challenge, started in 2009 discusses how local organizations might engage the so-called Y or Millennial generation to think about their own future, 40 years from now.

The iOMe challenge they designed consists of two components; an essay and a video.

Essay Contest (due October 31, 2012): Write a policy recommendation targeted for the U.S. congress of no more than 10,000 words that addresses the future financial challenges of the Millennial generation and specifically creates incentives and removes barriers associated with low levels of savings and the lack of planning for their retirement.

Video Contest (due November 21, 2012): Produce a short video (60 seconds or less in length) that compellingly illustrates the key elements of the Essay. You might think about the essay as the screenplay and the video as the movie.

Prizes

Winning team: $10,000 + presentation in D.C. to members of Congress (dependent on
availability). Honorable Mention(s): $2,000

Two years ago, students Coleman Segal (Economics major) and Adam Eidelsafy (Software Engineering major) were finalists in the competition. Last year, three of the four MTU teams made it to the final round of judging and one team has received an honorable mention in the competition. The team receiving the honorable mention was awarded $2,000 and was composed of Katie O’Connell (Economics major), Tianlu Shen (Environmental Engineering major), Adam Stigers (Economics major), Teddy Broe (Economics major), and Walker Derby (Finance major). Read the iOMe update from 2011.

Contact Dr. Oliveira (emolivei@mtu.edu) if you are interested in participating this year.

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Savvy Entrepreneur Workshop: Find Your First Customer

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Learn how to close the deal with your first customer at this season’s kickoff of the Savvy Entrepreneur Series, which features interactive web conferencing. This event will start with social networking and refreshments at 5:30 p.m., and then a panel discussion from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the conference room of the ATDC.

KTM Industries and Jeff Smith, codirector of the New Economy Division for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, will lead the discussion.

Learn simple steps and best practices to help gain market traction for your intellectual property or collaborative university intellectual property.

The goal is to share rapid commercialization ideas as entrepreneurs work with a university research partner and learn about research intellectual property and the great base of strategic customers in Michigan.

For more information, contact Assistant Director John Diebel (IIE) at 487-1082 or jfdiebel@mtu.edu .

The event is sponsored by Innovation and Industry Engagement, the School of Business and Economics, SmartZone and the Keweenaw Alliance For Economic Development.

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