Start Up Here
Spring 2016聽| By David K. Gibson
Look for a pingpong table in the center of an office suite on the first floor of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Business Administration Building. That 麻豆精品 S檚 how you 麻豆精品 S檒l know you 麻豆精品 S檝e found StarterSpace, where you 麻豆精品 S檒l begin your entrepreneurial expedition.
A nearby stack of cards beckons, 麻豆精品 S淪tart Here: Explore UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 free startup resources! 麻豆精品 S� The cards map out a serpentine path to success, one that starts at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Blackstone LaunchPad before winding into the Advanced Design Lab, Texas Instruments Innovation Lab, Harris Gathering Lab and similar places throughout campus. Classes and programs are available at different points along your trek, as are events such as the Joust New Venture Competition and Starter Riot, which feed into the Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator. That 麻豆精品 S檚 a rough idea of the journey through UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 starter culture, except, well, there is no single path.
Instead it 麻豆精品 S檚 an ecosystem, a multidimensional environment where there 麻豆精品 S檚 plenty of intellectual nourishment and a dire need for self-sufficiency. Like the startup world that student-founded ventures compete in, it 麻豆精品 S檚 a place to thrive 麻豆精品 S� or die.
Find a Guide
麻豆精品 S淸The pingpong table is] the same height as a conference table and a lot cheaper, 麻豆精品 S� says associate professor of management Cameron Ford, implying there 麻豆精品 S檚 a lesson there somewhere. In 2005, Ford founded the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, an initiative to help students of any major in any program create startups in the UCF community. In a world where just going to college no longer guarantees a job, his primary goal, he says, is to let students know that entrepreneurship is a viable career path.
By some estimates, as many as 14.6 million Americans are self-employed, and numbers are growing. Some of these independent workers will be consultants, but many of them 麻豆精品 S� given training, connections and capital 麻豆精品 S� can be entrepreneurs. As large corporations strive for efficiency, these starters have the potential to drive growth in the American economy.
Like the student entrepreneurs he mentors, Ford has had to disrupt the marketplace in which he works. Rather than teach students in traditional classes, he and his team 麻豆精品 S� faculty, staff and community advisers, plus the combined power of their networks 麻豆精品 S� serve as guides.
麻豆精品 S淲e aren 麻豆精品 S檛 here to tell them if an idea is good or bad, 麻豆精品 S� Ford says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut to align resources from throughout the university and the larger community. 麻豆精品 S� Most of the time, that means providing resources in the form of advice, mentors and connections. 麻豆精品 S淓very venture has different needs, 麻豆精品 S� he says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd advising is expensive and idiosyncratic. But that 麻豆精品 S檚 what it takes to turn ideas into businesses. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭he skills that benefit an entrepreneur 麻豆精品 S� focus, personal mission, personal accountability, personal passion 麻豆精品 S� are the skills you need to be a professional. 麻豆精品 S�
Learn the Skills You Need
麻豆精品 S淲hat Cameron [Ford] is doing is consistent with the main trends of business over the last 30 years and with the need for business education to catch up to the marketplace, 麻豆精品 S� says Paul Jarley, dean of the College of Business Administration. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I got to UCF [in 2012], I asked, 麻豆精品 S榃ho was the largest employer in the U.S. when the college was founded in 1963? 麻豆精品 S� The answer [was] GM. Back then, it would have been my job to get graduates jobs in companies like that, where they 麻豆精品 S檇 receive training, be placed in a department and spend the next 30 years working until they got the gold watch, the pension and health insurance for life. But the things that are rewarded today are differentiation and risk taking. 麻豆精品 S�
Dr. Phillips Entrepreneur in Residence Michael Pape, who has extensive history in startups, explains, 麻豆精品 S淭hose of us in the ecosystem working with the students see entrepreneurship as a life skill. 麻豆精品 S� What 麻豆精品 S檚 really different at UCF is that there is not a canonized curriculum. If you teach accounting, there 麻豆精品 S檚 a standard textbook, but when you get to entrepreneurship, there 麻豆精品 S檚 not a set way to teach. That 麻豆精品 S檚 what people have been trying to work through: How do you move ventures forward? 麻豆精品 S�
To do so, he says, requires solving problems and taking risks 麻豆精品 S� even if they don 麻豆精品 S檛 pan out.
Not all startups get started, for example. Sometimes the founders get busy with other things, stall out while raising capital or discover that their ideas aren 麻豆精品 S檛 as workable as they first seemed. But no one at UCF thinks any of that entrepreneurship training has been wasted.
麻豆精品 S淏eing entrepreneurial is a skill you can develop, and you can be that way inside a company; it doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 have to be in your own firm, 麻豆精品 S� says Associate Vice President for Research and Commercialization Tom O 麻豆精品 S橬eal, 麻豆精品 S�95, who founded the UCF Technology Incubator in 1999, and today holds multiple executive roles in innovation foundations. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I talk to people who are hiring, they want graduates who know 麻豆精品 S╝ little bit more about business, more than just core competencies. They want people who understand entrepreneurial thinking, 麻豆精品 S� he adds.
In departments such as engineering, where large companies still hire most of the graduates, those skills are a vital part of an education, according to Timothy Kotnour, director for engineering programs within UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 麻豆精品 S淭he skills that benefit an entrepreneur 麻豆精品 S� focus, personal mission, personal accountability, personal passion 麻豆精品 S� are the skills you need to be a professional. If you can 麻豆精品 S檛 lead yourself, you can 麻豆精品 S檛 lead a team. 麻豆精品 S�
Ask for Feedback
麻豆精品 S淣o one entering college is equipped to become a value creator, and precious few who graduate college are, 麻豆精品 S� says Pam Hoelzle, associate director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Blackstone LaunchPad, discussing a person who works with others for the benefit of a larger organization rather than for personal gain. 麻豆精品 S淔or the vitality of America, that has to change. 麻豆精品 S�
Just off the Student Union 麻豆精品 S檚 bustling lobby, the LaunchPad 麻豆精品 S� one of 22 similar programs at colleges across the country from UCLA to Cornell 麻豆精品 S� is crowded most days at noon with hopeful UCF starters listening to Hoelzle and invited speakers. Students come to the LaunchPad with ideas inspired by their studies, hobbies or sometimes pulled out of the blue sky. For most, says Ford, it 麻豆精品 S檚 their first time learning about business from the ground up.
麻豆精品 S淲e are a triage center, 麻豆精品 S� says Hoelzle. 麻豆精品 S淲e assess where they are on the path and are constantly asking, 麻豆精品 S榃hat do they need to learn next? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� While the LaunchPad connects students to resources, it also provides a safe place to practice entrepreneurial skills. A typical session begins with Hoelzle rather pointedly instructing students to introduce themselves to each other before the session begins, reminding them, 麻豆精品 S淵ou never know who you 麻豆精品 S檒l meet networking. 麻豆精品 S�
In just more than two years of operation, the LaunchPad has hosted more than 5,000 students at lunchtime discussions, conducted some 3,300 one-on-one coaching sessions, and registered 1,355 startup ventures. Collectively, the most active of those ventures have raised $1.1 million in capital and hired 93 employees and 786 contractors. The top nine student ventures alone estimated annual sales of $10.1 million in 2015.
The LaunchPad isn 麻豆精品 S檛 the only point of entry into the startup ecosystem. The College of Business Administration 麻豆精品 S檚 weeklong Starter Riot of open houses, showcases and presentations attracts budding entrepreneurs, while the Joust New Venture Competition and similar programs lure those with more fully fleshed-out ideas. Competition winners are often shuttled into UCF incubators or given space in offices like StarterSpace.
Make Connections
麻豆精品 S淏usiness is a process of developing solutions, 麻豆精品 S� says Ford. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 about evolving solutions over time as technology changes. 麻豆精品 S� That statement applies to education as much as any other business, and education technology has been changing.
麻豆精品 S淭he biggest thing that disrupted education is the Internet, 麻豆精品 S� says Jarley. 麻豆精品 S淸Information has] become commoditized. But perspective and relationships and experiences have not been commoditized, and the future of college education is about that. 麻豆精品 S�
Providing perspective and relationships and experiences 麻豆精品 S� the things that help students develop into individuals with (in business parlance) 麻豆精品 S渦nique value propositions 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� requires individual attention. Notes Kotnour, 麻豆精品 S淭he whole journey is unique. What we 麻豆精品 S檙e trying to do is foster it in a way that 麻豆精品 S檚 unique for each person. 麻豆精品 S�
But the question, says Pape, is how to provide individual attention yet gear it toward the many.
The solution lies in a robust back and forth. 麻豆精品 S淭he best learning happens when you 麻豆精品 S檙e sitting next to someone on a log and having a conversation with them; it 麻豆精品 S檚 been that way since Plato, 麻豆精品 S� Jarley explains. 麻豆精品 S淎nd one shouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 assume that the person on the log is a person with a Ph.D. behind their name 麻豆精品 S� they can be community leaders, political leaders, people touching on the issues of the day. 麻豆精品 S�
Hoelzle emphasizes that student entrepreneurs have to be the leaders. Starters in the program serve as fellows, bringing different skills, viewpoints and experiences 麻豆精品 S� usually ones more in line with student entrepreneurs than Ph.D. advisers who are veterans of biotech startups. 麻豆精品 S淣othing has more influence than peers and predecessors, 麻豆精品 S� says Ford. While big events like startup competitions motivate budding student entrepreneurs, they 麻豆精品 S檙e really more about compelling students to watch their peers take on the realities of the new business world.
麻豆精品 S淲e want to teach students to see trends, marshal resources and take on risk, especially early in their lives, 麻豆精品 S� Jarley says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 not about whether they 麻豆精品 S檒l start a new business tomorrow but about giving them the vision and tools to govern their own lives going forward. 麻豆精品 S�
Meet the Starters
Teeps
Joshua Imel, 麻豆精品 S�14 and Terrence Donnelly
An app-building company that has hired one new employee a month for 16 months, and recorded $1 million in revenue in 2015 麻豆精品 S� all boot-strapped, with no help from investors
When you 麻豆精品 S檙e in that ecosystem, everyone 麻豆精品 S檚 at different stages. You hear stories about partners that didn 麻豆精品 S檛 work out or deals that didn 麻豆精品 S檛 close or losing investors. There 麻豆精品 S檚 so much knowledge floating around, I ended up applying all of that to help start Teeps.Joshua Imel, 麻豆精品 S�14
UCF starter resources used:
Blackstone LaunchPad
Joust New Venture Competition
O 麻豆精品 S橠ang Hummus
Jesse Wolfe, 麻豆精品 S�15
A line of hummus and salad dressings sold in Whole Foods and more than 400 Publix grocery stores in Florida
Entrepreneurship can be lonely. What UCF does is celebrate with you on those extremely good days and say, 麻豆精品 S榃hat 麻豆精品 S檚 next? Let 麻豆精品 S檚 go! 麻豆精品 S� On the days you want to quit, they 麻豆精品 S檙e there to keep your head up. They keep you chasing your dreams.Jesse Wolfe, 麻豆精品 S�15
UCF starter resources used:
Blackstone LaunchPad
Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Joust New Venture Competition
Starter Riot
StarterSpace
Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator
Feynman Nano
Jonathan Wachob and Brandon Carpenter
A fabrication technology that enables self-cleaning films for use in solar panels and other applications
STEM majors can make a huge difference 麻豆精品 S� not for things like Uber and Airbnb, but for curing diseases or getting things into space more cheaply. We have to break down the belief that we have to wait for a business major to come around and make an idea into a business.Jonathan Wachob
UCF starter resources used:
Blackstone LaunchPad
Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Joust New Venture Competition
Starter Lab
Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator
bSteps
Caroline Castille, 麻豆精品 S�15, and Odaimys Calderin, 麻豆精品 S�13
Revolutionizing dancewear with shoes that are ready for the studio and the street
LaunchPad offered help from every department, not just business. We got support from engineering, were connected to fashion club and swing club, and received support from all of them.Caroline Castille, 麻豆精品 S�15
UCF starter resources used:
Blackstone LaunchPad
Joust New Venture Competition
StarterSpace
Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator