Analyze…Manage…Communicate… Analyze an industrial size dataset, manage the project risk and time commitment, present and “sell” your results to all the stakeholders. This was the theme of the capstone course in the MS in Business Analytics and Project Management (MSBAPM) program, taught by Sudip Bhattacharjee, Mark Tschiegg, and Michael Vandusen from January – April 2013. The final student presentations were held on Monday, April 22 at the Graduate Business Learning Center (GBLC) in downtown Hartford.Continue Reading
Author: Claire Hall
Marketing Students Develop Advertising and Promotional Campaign for 2013 Honda Civic
In an Integrated Marketing Communications (MKTG 3265) course this semester, a team of students—named the “Blueprint Integrated Marketing Team”—engaged with EdVentures, Inc. to develop an advertising and promotional campaign for the 2013 Honda Civic sedan.
As one of twenty university teams around the country, the Blueprint Integrated Marketing Team branded their campaign, Honda Push-Play. On April 9, the team featured three 2013 Civics on Fairfield Way with opportunities for students to experience the car and participate in games and giveaways. UConn students’ awareness of the Honda Civic and interest in purchasing the car increased significantly as a consequence of the team’s social media campaign and on-campus promotion. As the team made their final presentation on April 30 to representatives from Honda’s local advertising firm, EdVentures, and Manchester Honda, they were excited at having had the opportunity to work on a real project for a top automotive brand.
2013 Honda Push-Play Related Links:
YouTube
The Hartford Courant
Mansfield Patch
UConn Students Win 1st Place in Statewide Competition – Venture Business Category
On Friday, April 26, eighteen finalists from nine Connecticut universities competed in the statewide 2013 Connecticut Collegiate Business Model Competition. Among the first place winners were UConn School of Business undergraduates Tim Hidu ’13 and Paul Melancon ’13, whose business, Sea Green Organics, was awarded first place in the venture business category, coming ahead of three competing MBA teams. Sea Green Organics aims to commercially produce and distribute an organic liquid seaweed-based lawn fertilizer. They are one of among four teams working with faculty advisor Tim Dowding from the University of Connecticut School of Business in Stamford that were competitively selected as finalists in Friday’s competition.
The competition, administered by the Entrepreneurship Foundation, was held at the New Haven Lawn Club in New Haven, Connecticut. Student teams had ten minutes including Q&A to convince a panel of investors and authorities on entrepreneurship that their business was the best investment. Winners were awarded cash grants, free services, and advice to encourage and assist them to move forward with their new ventures.
The purpose of the competition is “to recognize excellence in entrepreneurship education and to bring to light innovative business models with the promise of providing new jobs and economic growth for the state.” Approximately 100 business plans were submitted in total.
Winning Student Businesses
Personal Business Category
First Place
Cinegame, Cinema Marketing Platform, Central Connecticut State University
Second Place and Best Written Executive Summary
Pancake Power, Gateway Community College, A food truck serving healthy gourmet pancakes
Best Oral Presentation
IGreekU, Social media network for Fraternity and Sorority life, Quinnipiac University
Venture Business Category
First Place
Sea Green Organics, organic liquid seaweed-based lawn fertilizer, University of Connecticut – Stamford
Second Place and Best Written Executive Summary
Pulse.ly, Mobile phone-based customer feedback at the point of sale, Yale University
Best Oral Presentation
WattMarket, Connecting investors with clean energy projects through the web, Yale University
Awards
- The Winning Personal and Venture Businesses each received a $1000 grant Sponsored by Day Pitney LLP and Launch Capital.
- The Personal winner also received a $2500 booth for one day at the Eastern States Exposition in September. The Venture winner also received a Legal Services Package from Day Pitney LLP valued at $5000 and an invitation to “Breakfast with a VC” at Launch Capital.
- The second-place Personal and Venture Businesses received a $500 grant.
- The Best Personal and Venture Oral Presentation received a $500 grant. Sponsored by Dolores and Cliff Ennico
- The Best Personal and Venture Written Executive Summary (as determined by the Semi-Final judges) received a $500 grant.
- The winning school for each of the four awards received a trophy.
Colleges and Universities
Central Connecticut State University
Fairfield University
Gateway Community College
Quinnipiac University
University of Bridgeport
University of Connecticut – Stamford
University of Hartford
University of New Haven
Yale University
Pictured L to R: Master of Ceremonies Cliff Ennico, Paul Melancon and Tim Hidu of Sea Green Organics, and Judge Ben Wiles of Day Pitney LLP
Additional photos from the event can be viewed here.
UConn NABA Inaugural Awards and Recognition Reception
On Tuesday, April 23, the UConn chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) held their inaugural awards and recognition reception at the School of Business to recognize the organization’s achievements this year, welcome the 2013-2014 Executive Board, acknowledge the summer internships and full-time positions of the members, and most importantly to thank the corporate sponsors for their wonderful support this academic year.
The event was well attended by students, faculty, staff, as well as the Vice Provost for Diversity, Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards to the following corporations: Travelers, IBM, Ernst & Young, PwC, Deloitte, CohnReznick, General Electric, KPMG, and McGladrey. The chapter also thanked INROADS and the NABA Professional Chapter for their continuous support of the members.
Three special awards were given for the following categories:
- Faculty Advisor of the Year – Dr. Mohamed Hussein
- President’s Award for Outstanding Alumni Support of the Chapter – Troy Woolery ’12
- Top Recruiter – Ernst & Young
The chapter was also very proud to announce 100% job placement of the graduating seniors.
Lastly, the 2013-2014 Executive Board for the UConn NABA chapter was welcomed:
Co-presidents
Daniella Loma ’14
O’Rayne Clarke ’14
Vice President
Christina Headley ’14
Chief Financial Officer
Danielle Wellington ’15
Secretary
Frankie Richardson ’14
Membership Outreach Chair
Rachel Gavin ’14
Social Media Co-Chairs
Shanice Rountree ’16
Shantaye Taylor ’16
Office of Diversity & Inclusion Hosts Promising High School Prospects
Eighteen high school students from Murry Bergtraum High School in New York recently spent a day at the UConn School of Business learning about college opportunity and all that the University of Connecticut has to offer. Office of Diversity Program Specialist Michael Mallery and students O’Rayne Clarke and Begum Abadin delivered presentations on college readiness and life in college. Afterwards, the students and counselors explored the UConn Student Union and got a chance to dine inside.
Student mentor and advisor of the Financial Women’s Association Mentoring Program, Beth Dorfman, a legal attorney with Bank of America, said, “I want to thank all of you for the outstanding job you did in welcoming our high school sophomores and juniors in our program and exposing them to UConn’s business school and college life. I can only imagine how much work went into making such a program come to life. You should know that your efforts exceeded our expectations and that meetings like the one we had, have a deep impact on the students.”
The School of Business Office of Diversity Initiatives Program Director Seanice Austin was very pleased with meeting the young students from New York.
CCEI Startup Strategy Competition – $40,000 in Prizes
The Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) at the UConn School of Business will host a Startup Strategy Competition as the second part of a two-event Startup Challenge Initiative. Building off the tremendous success of the Pitch Competition on April 8, the Strategy Challenge strongly encourages interdisciplinary teams—which typically reflect complementary skill sets, knowledge, and perspectives—to participate. There are no restrictions on subject matter or theme. Plans for any type of product, innovation, or service are acceptable.
Entries will be reviewed and judged by experienced professional entrepreneur mentors, and a maximum of ten finalists will be selected to present their ideas to the judging panel. The presentations will be held during the last week of classes (stay tuned for the exact date and place), and competitors will be allowed 10 minutes to present their ideas and five minutes to answer questions from the judges.
This competition is open to all UConn students—all majors, levels, and campuses are welcome and encouraged to participate. Please see the competition entry details below:
Written Entries Due: April 26, 2013
Finalists’ Presentations: Date & Time To Be Announced
Length: 5 pages maximum, plus 1 appendix page (optional). Note: Minimum font size no smaller than 11
Prizes: Total prize money to be awarded is $40,000
- First Place: $20,000
- Second Place: $10,000
- Third Place: $5,000
- Honorable Mention (2 prizes): $2,500 each
How to Enter: Official competition entries should be uploaded to the Business Plan Competition website. The submission tool will be made available by April 24th.
Entry Requirements:
- Executive Summary: One or two paragraphs introducing your innovation.
- Product: What is it that you are developing or proposing, and why is it significant, distinctive, and desirable? What will it cost you to make it and how much can you sell it for? How long will it take to get the innovation set for market and what steps do you need to undertake to make this happen? (One page maximum)
- Market: What is the size of the overall market, who makes up the target market for your innovation, how do you plan to reach them (marketing and promotion), and what will they pay for your innovation (technology, product, or service)? (One page maximum)
- Competitors: Who and what else is out there? Why are you better? (Suggested length: half page)
- Team: Who is your team, and how will you be able to develop and market your innovation? (Suggested length: quarter page)
Questions? Contact Katie Huntington at khuntington@business.uconn.edu
CCEI Startup Challenge – Pitch Competition Winners and Written Plan Competition Announced
On Monday April 8th 2013, students chatted excitedly amongst themselves as they waited in line to register to pitch their business ideas at the CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition. The large classroom in the Gentry Building was nearly filled to capacity with over 60 registered teams and students who attended to watch as audience members. The energy in the room before the competition started was tangible—all of the teams were interested in winning one (or more) of the ten $1000 prizes.
CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition
Prior to the event, participants were able to see five of the ten award categories, but remaining categories were intentionally withheld to add to the excitement of the night. This competition was open to all UConn students (all majors, levels, and campuses), which was clearly reflected in the broad array of ideas that were presented. There were no stipulations about what the business ideas had to be about, and teams were encouraged to get creative. The organizers and judges for this event included former UConn student entrepreneurs who founded their businesses while still students at UConn. It was the intent of the CCEI (University of Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, at the UConn School of Business) for this event to be young, fun, and student-led to add to the sense of camaraderie and creativity.
Teams and individual competitors raced through 90-second pitches. Over the course of four hours, judges listened to and questioned the presenters about their ideas, which ranged from gadgets and websites to new devices and household products. Kathryn Huntington ’06, Administrative Coordinator for the CCEI who served as lead organizer and a judge of the event said, “It was amazing to see all the different ideas that students have and are working on—it is our intent that by hosting this type of event that these ideas will be developed into actual businesses and spur economic development at UConn. During the breaks, you could see teams seeking each other out, exchanging contact information, and starting to talk to each other about teaming up and working on projects—this was exactly what we were hoping for.”
CCEI Startup Challenge Strategy Competition
On a college campus, ideas are sprung constantly, but not all of them come to fruition. Events like the CCEI Startup Challenge encourage students to really develop these ideas, and see how far they can take them. The impressive turnout at this event shows that the entrepreneurial spirit is growing at UConn. Participating teams were invited to take their ideas even further by participating in the other element of the CCEI Startup Challenge: a business strategy competition, which culminates during the last week of classes. It is the CCEI’s intention to offer programming that helps identify student entrepreneurs and bring them together, and to get them to think creatively about new business ideas. “The type of networking and collaboration we saw at this event among the participating teams was exciting, refreshing, and infectious—we hope that these students with the ‘entrepreneurial bug’ will help spread the word to their friends and classmates, and create a real network of collaboration among all of these bright-minded and creative individuals,” said Huntington.
Details on the Startup Challenge Initiative and the upcoming written plan competition can be found on the CCEI Startup Challenge Website.
Entrepreneurship at UConn
“The competition was a great way to get students to start refining their ideas, and preparing for questions they might hear from future investors,” says event organizer and judge Nadav Ullman ’12. “The cash incentive was a great way to get them to come out and pitch, but I think the learning experience was the most valuable part of the event.” Students with entrepreneurial ideas are encouraged to seek out faculty and professional mentors that can serve as resources and guide them through the process of taking something from the idea phase and turning it into a viable business venture.
Organizations like the CCEI, the Office of Technology Commercialization, the Office of Economic Development, and the Innovation East Hub all serve as resources for UConn students, faculty, and staff who are working on developing their entrepreneurial ideas. Event co-organizer and judge Mike Parelli ’12 encourages student entrepreneurs: “We were really surprised with both the quantity of pitches, and the quality. From various types of devices to the next Zumba, we had some great ideas that are being worked on right here at UConn. Our hope is to see these teams follow through and enter some of the other competitions that are happening.”
The CCEI hopes that the ten winners of the CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition will utilize these resources and actualize their ideas. CCEI Executive Director Christopher Levesque ’87 extends congratulations to all of the winning teams and hopes to see written plans for many of the pitched ideas in the upcoming strategy competition. Judge Tom Bachant ’12 sums up this sentiment: “Students really got a chance to show off the passion they had for their ideas. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.”
CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition Winners:
- Best Pitch Presentation: Spine Fuze
- Best Product Invention Idea: MacroPod
- Best Mobile App Idea: KualaApp
- Most Socially Responsible Idea: The 589 Project
- Best College Targeted Idea: Meals to Money
- Best Website Idea: PartsTech
- Most Fundable Idea: Acetone Breath Analyzer
- Most Likely to Go Viral: Picture of the Day
- Best “Green” Idea: Graphine Toothpaste
- Judges’ Favorite: Advanced Column Solutions
CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition Organizers and Judges:
- Tom Bachant ’12; Co-Founder, Sobrio
- Adam Boyajian ’12; Co-Founder, Buses2
- Kathryn Huntington ’06, Administrative Coordinator, CCEI
- Mike Parelli ’12, Co-Founder, Buses 2
- Nadav Ullman ’12, Co-Founder, Sobrio
Business Honor Society to Induct New Members and Award Scholarships
The University of Connecticut chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society for business programs accredited by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), will conduct its annual induction ceremony this year on April 26, 2013.
Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is highly selective and confers recognition for excellent academic performance by the nation’s oldest and most widely known business student association. Only the top 10% of sixth semester juniors and top 10% of seniors are eligible to join. Being invited to join Beta Gamma Sigma is a sign of excellence. Receiving a BGS Scholarship in addition indicates that a student has earned the right to be considered as best of the best at one of the world’s finest business schools.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Beta Gamma Sigma. To commemorate the occasion and in keeping with its mission of recognizing and encouraging academic excellence, Beta Gamma Sigma is awarding $1,000 scholarships to two University of Connecticut School of Business students for their superior performances in the study of business. The recipients will be announced at the April 26, 2013 ceremony.
Beta Gamma Sigma membership provides recognition for a lifetime. This lifelong commitment to its members’ academic and professional success is defined in the the Society’s mission: to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to foster personal and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members.
With collegiate chapters on five continents, Beta Gamma Sigma today is truly an international society that remains dedicated to recognizing the most outstanding students of business and management. The University of Connecticut chapter was established in 1959.
Digital Media Symposium: Innovative Collaborations
Representatives from business, creative, digital humanities/social sciences and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines gathered in the Rome Ballroom on Thursday, April 4th for a day full of exciting updates from the new Department of Digital Media and Design. UConn President Susan Herbst welcomed over 100 attendees, introducing digital media as an “umbrella discipline” with the areas it affects being limitless. Tim Hunter, Director & Department Head for the recently established Digital Media Center, further emphasized the symposium’s goal to raise awareness of current digital media projects and to stimulate new collaboration between disciplines. He also touched upon theory versus practice, citing digital media’s relevance to multiple industries and functions including business and entertainment, marketing, advertising, branding, entrepreneurship and social media.
Specialized presentation sessions were held for each of the four topic areas: business, creative, digital humanities/social sciences, and STEM.
Specialized Session for Business
The business session featured William Congdon ’75, Popular Mechanics magazine; Maureen Croteau, The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut; and ING Global Professor in marketing Nicholas Lurie. A lively roundtable discussion moderated by Christopher Levesque ’87, Director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) included Richard Guha, President of Synerscope Inc. (North America) and Mark B. Hatch, CEO of mBlast, Inc.
Digital media has paved the way for an enhanced user experience, according to Congdon and Croteau who presented the challenges and many changes their companies faced with the advent of digital media in the print magazine and newspaper industries. They also shared how digital media has changed the reader experience with the launch of news and magazine websites, iPad apps, video, interactive media, social media and contests.
The business roundtable discussion focused on “digital media and entrepreneurial trends,” including Facebook and Twitter, the increasing need for technology and software to analyze and visualize “big data,” and how consumers are influenced to choose some brands over others.
Marketing Professor Nick Lurie closed the business session by presenting findings of research on the perceived value of consumer-generated content, the differences in perception of negative versus positive reviews, and the role of temporal contiguity as it influences value perception.
Future Digital Media Collaborations
Provost Mun Choi joined the enthusiastic crowd for an open networking hour during which attendees discussed ideas and opportunities for future digital media collaborations.
The rapidly growing Department of Digital Media and Design recently welcomed digital media specialists Perry Harovas and Samantha Olschan to the UConn faculty. In addition, two new undergraduate majors jointly sponsored by the schools of business, fine arts, and engineering will be offered starting this fall at the Storrs and Stamford campuses.
Those who missed the symposium can catch up on Twitter using #UConnDMD
CCEI Startup Challenge – Pitch Competition – $10,000
The CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition is an event where $10,000 in prize money will be awarded to individuals or teams across multiple categories. Individuals or teams can pitch more than one idea, and you could win in more than one category. This competition is open to all UConn Students (all majors, levels, campuses), and the idea can be for anything – we encourage you to get creative! Five of the prize categories are listed below; the other five will be revealed at the event. Pitches will be limited to 90 seconds and will be followed by up to two minutes of Q&A. Have an idea? Pitch it!
First Five Prize Categories Revealed:
- Best Pitch Presentation
- Best Product Invention Idea
- Best Mobile App Idea
- Most Socially Responsible Idea
- Best College Targeted Idea (“Most Likely to Succeed at UConn”)
For more information and rules, please visit the CCEI website.
Sponsored by the University of Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI)
Questions? Email khuntington@business.uconn.edu