Want to open your own business just like current SBE student Scott Ramage? Interested in being your own boss? Come learn more about the B.S. in Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship!
Can’t wait to see you there!
Scott Ramage has just a few months left until he graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Operations and Systems Management from the School of Business and Economics, but that didn’t stop him from celebrating the opening of his new business on February 5. This unique venture is called 906 Vapor, and is an electronic cigarette lounge and vapor bar.
What is an electronic cigarette? Often referred to as an e-cigarette, this personal vaporizer often looks much like an “old-fashioned” cigarette with an LED light on the end. Using one of these satisfies nicotine cravings without most of the chemicals and carcinogens known to typical tobacco products.
Where did Scott find the inspiration to become an entrepreneur before even graduating? He says that he owes some of his success to his dedicated personality, persistence, and of course, the classes he’s taken as part of his undergraduate career at Michigan Tech! The idea for 906 Vapor originally began as a homework assignment for Scott’s Management of Technology and Innovation (MGT 4600) course. His professor, Andre Laplume, encouraged him to keep thinking about ways to make the business into a reality. Scott also drew inspiration from Michele Loughead’s business courses, as well as BUS 2300: Quantitative Problem Solving, taught by Roger Woods.
After graduation, Scott plans to continue his success with 906 Vapor while furthering his education. Perhaps he may even be interested in pursuing his MBA through the School of Business and Economics!
For all of SBE’s young entrepreneurs, Scott offers some advice: “If you have an idea and you believe it will work, take the chance and give it all you have. Even if you fail, keep trying. The experience and knowledge gained can never be taken away from you. It can only benefit you in your future endeavors.”
Do you have an idea for a new business venture? Or have you recently started your own business? Tell us all about it in the comments!
(Left to right: Saurav Pathak, Emanuel Xavier de Oliveira, and Andre Laplume)
A paper that focuses on entrepreneurs in emerging economies was awarded “best paper” honors at the Second Global Innovation and Knowledge Academy in Spain. Its authors, Saurav Pathak, Andre Laplume and Emanuel Oliveira of the School of Business and Economics, were competing against 80 other papers at the academy, and eight received top honors.
In the paper, Pathak, Laplume and Oliveira argue that regimes that protect intellectual property rights, combined with high levels of foreign investment, negatively affect individuals’ entry into technological entrepreneurship.
“Neo-classical growth theory argues that technological progress is the main engine of economic growth, given that other factors have diminishing returns,” said Pathak. “Our key finding is that emerging economies with higher foreign investment per capita tend to have relatively lower techno-entrepreneurship rates.”
Saurav Pathak is the Rick and Jo Berquist assistant professor of entrepreneurship and innovation, Andre Laplume is an assistant professor of management, and Emanuel Xavier de Oliveira is a senior lecturer of economics.
Written by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor in University Marketing and Communications.
The nine students in Michigan Technological University’s MBA program returned from India with a new appreciation for how the rest of the world does business.
“We chose Bangalore because it’s the Silicon Valley of India,” said Jodie Filpus, who directs recruitment and admissions for the MBA program.
The online MBA program includes three residencies, during which the students leave their far-flung homes to meet in person with each other and their professors. Two residencies are held on the Michigan Tech campus. The third and final residency involves a week of international travel. “We do this so the students will be exposed to different cultures, as well as to introduce them to international businesses,” Filpus said.
It would be hard to imagine a city more different from Houghton than Bangalore. “It’s a very interesting place,” she said. “It’s beautiful in many respects, with its temples and palaces, and it’s so rich in history.” However, the population in the city of over 8 million has grown by over 65 percent in the last 10 years and its infrastructure hasn’t kept up, “so it gave me an appreciation for what we have here.”
Led by Assistant Professor Latha Poonamallee of the School of Business and Economics and accompanied by Filpus, the MBA students visited several different organizations, from a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a nonprofit that provides solar-energy-system financing for poor villages.
“It was my privilege to design and lead this international residency, which was a fitting culmination of a well-designed, innovative MBA program that put the School of Business and Economics on the map among top online MBA programs in the country,” Poonamallee said.
During the spring semester, the students prepared for their trip by researching each of the companies and identifying a disruptive innovation to discuss with officials and offer potential solutions. Disruptive innovations are marketplace game-changers, such as iPods and cell phones, that upend earlier technologies.
Assistant Professor Andre Laplume taught them how. First they studied the companies’ products and strategies. “Then they proposed a new business for them to get into,” he said. “They described a new product, developed a rationale explaining why it should be adopted, and wrote an essay about it for their final exam.
“By the time they got to Bangalore and faced the company executives, they had something to bring to the table,” Laplume said. Not only was it a good opportunity to see how businesses function overseas, it also gave the students—most of them middle managers—a chance to display their skills before top-level executives.
Before traveling to Bangalore, student Holly Lehto had already put Tech’s MBA curriculum to good use. “Throughout the program I’ve been reaping the benefits,” she said. “A lot of concepts in the case studies are applicable to my day to day work.”
Her final exercise was to study the Bangalore-based market research firm Mu Sigma. “We talked about the possibility of going public, and we also discussed the possibility of capturing data from electrical transmission lines and selling it to clients,” said Lehto, a project manager for Allonhill, a Denver-based firm that provides due diligence and risk management services to the mortgage industry. “It was empowering to have the ear of these global executives, who were truly interested in hearing what we had to say.”
And there were revelations, said Mike Vigrass, manager of a natural gas compressor station with DT Energy-Michigan in Detroit. “I have traveled internationally, but not to India, and I was quite surprised at how much business was conducted in English,” he said. “At one of the site visits, we talked about the fact that India’s wages are going up, so that they are losing a competitive edge, and their answer was compelling. They said they think in English, which gives them an advantage over other emerging markets, where they have to translate the conversation.”
Another eye-opener was the visit with the nonprofit SELCO, which works to provide solar systems to the poor. “I found that very interesting,” Vigrass said. “Among US corporations, it’s all about market share, getting bigger. For SELCO, it’s about meeting their customers’ expectations.”
Resource-stretched Bangalore has had trouble grappling with its own growth, he noted. “The population has exploded, and it’s hard for them to keep up their infrastructure.”
That culture shock did not take away from the trip, however. If anything, it made it even more worthwhile. “It was a very valuable experience, just to see how people in other parts of the world work and how they think,” Vigrass said.
Lehto agreed. “Both from a business and a cultural perspective, it was such an amazing trip,” she said.
Watch the Tech MBA Online India Residency in pictures
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O4earGfxqM[/youtube]
Learn more about the Tech MBA Online.
As part of the Visiting Women & Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series, which is funded by the Michigan Tech President’s Office and a grant to the Office for Institutional Diversity for the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez-Parks Initiative, Dr. Rebecca Gonzales will be on campus April 12th and 13th, 2012.
Please join the School of Business and Economics in welcoming Dr. Gonzales during two events open to the campus community. This is an excellent networking opportunity.
• Student presentation to Economic Decision Analysis class on Friday, April 13 at 12:05pm in DOW 641.
• Research presentation titled, “Credit and Finance Perceptions in Latino Community Enclaves,” on Friday, April 13 at 1:30pm in the Academic Office Building, room 101.
Research Presentation titled “Credit and Finance Perceptions in Latino Community Enclaves”
This study analyzes financing perceptions within the Latino community and how these might impact individual entrepreneurship and home-ownership efforts. Prior research on entrepreneurship and home-ownership focuses on factors that might push/pull immigrants into self-employment as well as why immigrant populations choose to reside in ethnic enclaves. Quantifiable factors such as longevity of residence in the United States, educational background, legal status, income, and English language proficiency are found to impact the quality of life of many in the Latino community. However, little research has attempted to garner information on Latino perceptions of their financing possibilities through small business loans or mortgages. This study will compile data from the towns of Robbins and Candor in North Carolina, two towns with a large Latino presence that are attempting to promote economic development and home ownership within their communities. Survey data will provide greater insight into why members of this community might be hesitant to seek out loans and how their perceptions of their personal credit situations might impact their willingness to seek out mainstream financing.