Like the smell of flowers, fresh rain, and cut grass, ANTICIPATION is another thing that is in the air during the spring months, where everyone is anxiously awaiting announcements listing winners of various competitions held throughout the University. The CCEI Strategy Competition is one such event. We are currently calculating the scores from last night’s evening of presentations, and will have the announcement of the winners posted on our website and announced by email tomorrow, 4/23/14. Everyone did a great job, and congrats to everyone for having such great ideas, and making it to the finalist round – out of almost 60 entries, being a finalist is a victory in itself. 🙂
Experiential Learning Accelerators
2nd Session added to Pitch Competition!!
Monday night was a great time at the CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition – in fact, we ran out of time before everyone had their turn to pitch! So, we have scheduled a second session to allow everyone who showed up last night the opportunity to pitch their idea, but also if you were unable to attend on Monday, this will provide you one last opportunity to participate in this fun event. We hope to see you there!
4/9/14, 6:00pm
UConn Storrs Campus
GENTRY 131 (School of Education Building – DIFFERENT LOCATION)
**Pizza, refreshments, and soda provided**
The CCEI Startup Challenge Pitch Competition is the first of two events that comprise the CCEI Startup Challenge initiative. At the Pitch Competition,$10,000 in prize money (ten $1000 prizes) 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”)
Pitch Comp tonight @ 6pm (before the game!)
Don’t forget the CCEI Pitch Competition is being held tonight at 6pm (instead of 7 as originally planned) in ITE C-80 so that we can make sure everyone is able to watch the Huskies WIN tonight! How awesome would it be to watch that win with a giant check in your hands …. hope to see you tonight, and can’t wait to hear your ideas!
The CCEI Startup Challenge is back …. and we want YOU!!!
The snow is finally melting and temperatures are slowly rising, which means we are finally entering collegiate competition season, including our annual CCEI Startup Challenge.
The CCEI Startup Challenge is a two-pronged initiative that includes a Pitch Competition (April 7th), where ten $1000 prizes are given out for different categories of elevator pitches. Then, the second element is a written Strategy Competition, where participants submit a written application containing specific elements found in a business plan (submission is max 5 pages in length), all submissions are reviewed, and the finalists are invited to do a full length presentation for a panel of judges from the University and from the Connecticut entrepreneurial community. The details of these events can be found by vising our “Business Plan Competition” page.
So, although this is a two part initiative, participants can do either/or, or both events. However, we strongly encourage people to take the ideas that they pitch at the Pitch Competition, and flesh them out and submit written Strategy Competition entries for these same ideas. The Strategy Competition also provides winners with larger monetary prizes, details found on the Business Plan Competition page.
In past years, we have had significant overlap with other competition participants, such as Innovation Quest (iQ), the Engineering Senior Design Project (ESDP), Startup Weekend Storrs, and the State Collegiate BizPlan Competition. The Pitch Competition is an event that we designed to be “for students by students”, and this years’ judges include winners from the 2013 CCEI Startup Challenge. It is fun and interactive, and last year there were over 60 ideas presented to a packed room of over 100 attendees.
Any UConn student is eligible to participate – each person (or team) has 90 seconds to present an elevator pitch for an idea of any type (app, manufactured product, service, etc.), real or hypothetical, and we present ten participants with $1000 each for 10 different prize categories, which include things like “best green idea”, “best college-focused idea”, “best overall pitch”, etc (listed on Business Plan Competition page). If you already are working on an idea, or if you are someone who wants to become involved in entrepreneurship at UConn, please come join us for the Pitch Competition! Any type of idea pitch will be heard – be as creative and innovative as you want to be. Do you have an idea? Pitch it!!!!
Kathryn Huntington
khuntington@business.uconn.edu
UConn One of Only Two CT Business Schools Named “Best for Vets”
Selection focuses on culture and curriculum that caters to vets.
This week, the Military Times newspaper named the UConn School of Business and its MBA Program to its “Best for Vets: Business Schools 2014” list, in recognition of the School’s commitment to providing opportunities to America’s veterans.
It is the latest acknowledgement of the strength of services for veterans offered through UConn’s School of Business, which has a record of success engaging those who have served in the armed forces.Continue Reading
UConn EBV Program is a Community of Veterans Supporting Connecticut’s Economy
UConn’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) fills an important need both for the veteran population in that it provides access to entrepreneurial education and resources, and to the state in that it helps create economic vitality and businesses that create jobs.
A May 2011 study from the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy revealed that 45 percent of veterans are more likely to take the plunge into entrepreneurship than people with no active-duty military experience. “I think there are several reasons why veterans tend to be more entrepreneurial, says Michael Zacchea ’12 MBA, EBV program manager, in a 2012 Hartford Business Journal interview. “First, in the military, they developed a bias for action, and a commitment to mission accomplishment. Veterans tend to network with other veterans, and tend to understand things like logistics and supply chains. Veterans have learned management and planning skills that lend themselves to entrepreneurial success.”
On Veterans Day in 2004, Zacchea nearly died while fighting with his unit in the streets of Fallujah, one of Iraq’s deadliest combat zones. Nine years later and retired from the Marine Corps, he has led more than 60 disabled veterans through the EBV program curriculum. “We believe that veteran entrepreneurship is part of the solution both for the current generation of 2.5 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and for our economy both nationally and for our state. In Connecticut, there are more than 40,000 veteran-owned businesses, which account for 8% of the state’s GDP,” says Zacchea. “Veteran business owners create both economic and social value disproportionate to their size of the population.”
Learn more about UConn’s EBV program and hear feedback from participants in this video:
EBV Program Welcomes Veterans for 2013 Bootcamp
Kicking off the annual week-long Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), the UConn School of Business welcomed this year’s incoming class of veterans at a dinner reception on Friday evening, October 4.
Following a welcome from Michael Zacchea ’12 MBA, EBV program manager, keynote speaker Dawn Halfaker inspired the crowd by sharing her story. A decorated war hero and entrepreneur, Halfaker is a former Military Police Officer in the United States Army who commanded a military police platoon in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was subsequently wounded during a combat patrol near Baghdad in 2004, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for her service. Halfaker is now president and chief executive officer of Halfaker & Associates, LLC, an award winning professional services and technology solutions firm founded in 2006, and employs more than 100 people including a workforce of almost 50 veterans.
Entertainment for the evening was provided by UConn a-cappella group, Conn-Men.
About the EBV
In 2010, UConn’s School of Business was honored to become one of eight members of the EBV Consortium of business schools and universities. The EBV program offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to our country.
The School of Business is proud to participate in this very special program that helps give back to individuals who have sacrificed for our country. EBV demonstrates the power of entrepreneurship in our communities by fostering an essential route for job creation and economic vitality.
To date, the UConn EBV has helped 42 veterans open 45 businesses, and to place another eight veterans in full-time jobs.
Pictured: Dawn Halfaker, Michael Zacchea, Justin Nash ’14 MBA, a 2012 EBV graduate and founder of Veteran Construction Services, and School of Business Dean John A. Elliott. (Photo courtesy of Lynn Luczkowski, L2 Communications)
To Satisfy Every Demand that may Reasonably be Requested…
In a letter George Washington wrote to our own illustrious Governor Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut on 28 June 1781:
Because of his role during the American Revolution, Jonathan Trumbull is one of Connecticut’s best-known governors, and many historians regard him as one of its greatest leaders. He was the only governor of an English colony to side with the colonists, and his opposition to England’s encroachments into the colonies made him the only colonial governor to remain in office throughout the war. Thus, he became Connecticut’s last colonial governor and its first state governor.“Permit me Sir to add, that Policy alone in our Present Circumstances, seem to demand that every Satisfaction which can reasonably be requested, should be given to those Veteran Troops who, ‘thro almost every Distress, have been so long and so faithfully serving the States . . .”
In the spirit of George Washington’s words on this 4th of July, the recent progress on veterans issues the federal government has made towards policy satisfying every demand of our nations veterans…
On June 4th, the House passed the fiscal year (FY) 2014 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations bill. The bill funds homeless programs within the Department of Veterans Affairs at the highest levels in history, meeting President Obama’s FY 2014 budget request for those programs. These funding levels include $300 million for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program and $250 million for the Grant and Per Diem Program.
As well, the Obama administration announced the completion of a new online application that completely enables an electronic, online, disability claim to be filed with the VA. The availability of the joint VA-Department of Defense Web portal eBenefits marks a major milestone in VA’s transformation from paper claims records to a fully digital operating environment, one of the keys to VA’s goal to eliminate the disability claims backlog by the end of 2015.
Taken together, the these two developments lay in place the pieces to revolutionize the processing of disability claims and benefits for veterans and their dependents, at once bringing the system into the 21st century and working to resolve the two major and synergistic complaints plaguing veterans today: the enormous backlog in disability claims (more than half of them from Viet Nam or “other era” veterans) and veteran homelessness. There currently are just over 851,000 claims filed with the VA, with most of them — about 565,000 — past the 125-day period that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki set as a resolution time. In some parts of the country, the wait time is past 600 days.
These twin developments in the month of June promise to solve these problems by the end of 2015!
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