Entrepreneurship Activities for Engineering Students and Faculty

David Barbe

Professor, ECE

University of Maryland

New Directions for Engineers The old days – The choices for engineers were to

work for big companies or governmental agencies New option – starting their own companies or

working for startups Students are demanding entrepreneurship

education

Engineering Schools can “educate” students about technology startups

What about the down economy? The economy is cyclical

Down times are a actually a good time to start ventures prepare for upswings

The Radar Screen

Dean, Provost, President support? If yes, very helpful If not sure, just do it “under the radar”

Capitalizing On Innovations

Research &Knowledge

Self-UseResources

Hands-OnAssistance

Seed-StageMonies

EntrepreneurialCulture

Classifications of Activities Education and culture building

Encourage faculty and students to examine their research for “commercially viable” concepts

I can start a venture! Widely available resources

Help “entrepreneurs” to help themselves Hands-on assistance and guidance; money

Combine technical innovations with business acumen and process

Education and Culture Building Students need to believe in the feasibility of

starting companies and commercializing technologies: People available to help Diverse monetary resources Case studies

Students need to understand accepted “tactics” for creating a technical venture How do “I” proceed with my concept?

Education and Culture Building ActivitiesEducation and culture building activities designed to encourage students to take the critical step – learn about venture creation: Boot Camps Technology Ventures Clubs Entrepreneurship Courses Business Plan Competitions Residency Programs Promotion of Success Stories

Technology Startup Boot Camp Kicks off the academic year Large audience of students (and faculty) Regional sponsors Basic startup processes

Evaluating tech ideas IP basics and licensing Legal fundamentals Building a team Obtaining financing Entrepreneur experiences

Presented by experienced VCs, service providers, and tech executives

Networking

Technology Ventures Club Dynamic forum for technical graduate students to

network and explore commercializing an idea and forming a venture

25 to 100 active members Monthly meetings include start-up workshops, speakers,

and social mixers Members have opportunity to network with local VCs,

service providers, business students and entrepreneurs

Started by faculty/staff Student president and VP Migrate to student-run with faculty advisors

NCIIA guide available

Fundamentals of Technology Startups Course < 30 technical graduate students Boardroom setting best Study basic processes of tech company

formation and operation Form into teams Teams develop business plans during

semester Teams present plans to “judges” Course is best co-taught by technical and

business faculty/staff Adjuncts ok

Business Plan Competition Culmination of academic year Prize money and/or contributed services raised from

external sponsors Scale the competition to the supply of entrants Start advertising early in the Fall Semester First level of down-select based on executive summaries

submitted near the end of the Fall semester Use a Judging panel to select top ~ six for full plans and

presentations Give two or three awards Conduct Networking and mentoring sessions between

finalists and judges/sponsors during the Spring semester

Entrepreneurial Residency Programs Provide one location for students to

reside Adds significantly to relationship building

Select Undergraduate Students having strong Entrepreneurial Spirit GPA Essay

Example: UMD’s Hinman CEOs Program

The Hinman CEOs Program

Program Goals• Attract students with an entrepreneurial spirit• Create a sense of community and cooperation among like-minded students • Impact the way they think about their careers and destinies • Help prepare them to start businesses

Clark School of Engineering

Smith School of Business

Jointly Founded

David Barbe – Faculty Director

Karen Thornton - Program Director

Third cohort - 100 students

44% hard sciences, 39% business, 17% other

(30% are engineers)

 

Indian, African American, Asian, Hispanic – 54%

Caucasian - 46%

Female - 27%, male - 73%

 

Class GPA - 3.57

12% have 3.8 or above with 4 perfect 4.0 GPAs

The CEOs

CEOs Program Components

• Community

• Technology

• Team Building

• Seminars and Workshops Mentoring

• Product Development Projects

• Technology Opportunities

• Entrepreneurship Education

• Partnerships

• A Living-Learning Program

• Facilitates sense of small community within larger university

– Living Spaces– Working Spaces– Meeting Spaces

Community

• Incubator-Like Setting

• State-of-the-Art Technology

- Wireless technology- Videoconferencing- IP Phones in the rooms- Computer-based

conferencing capabilities

- Computer labs- Business software - Copiers, fax

Technology

Team building

Ropes CourseFacilitate Team Forming

Weekly seminars• Education• Experiences• Resources

Seminars and Workshops

Four-Course Entrepreneurship Citation Program

• Starting a New Venture• Financing a New Venture• Growing and Managing an Emerging Venture• Business Plan Development

Entrepreneurship Education

Mentoring

Level One Mentoring -Just-in-time

• Program Director

and MBA Grad AssistantLevel Two Mentoring - Advanced

• Faculty and Staff

• Outside Experts

Product Development

NCIIA and Campus Sponsored

Funding for patent work and to help build Prototypes

Faculty Supervision including internships

Technology Opportunities To Expose CEOs to

Technology Commercialization Opportunities

Network CEOs with MBAs and Technical Grad Students to form Teams

Partners • Technology firms

• Venture firms

• Legal firms

• Other service providers

• Individuals

• Retired executives

Promotion of Success Stories Evidence that it can be done is a powerful incentive

for others to try Word about successes will spread among students Legislators and Alums will like it Successes stories should be promulgated

to expand the reach Campus newspaper Local publications

Self-Use Resources

Creat resources to support venture formation: Build a mentor network: execs, VCs, marketing

experts, legal, accounting… Technology Startup Portal with comprehensive

information in plenary stage

Mentor Network

Business plan reviews, questions about funding, advice about IP common inquiries to mentors

Available to all students or students involved in the other entrepreneurial activities

University staff involved in technical entrepreneurship provide “level one” mentoring

Extensive database of entrepreneurs, consultants, retired execs, VCs, and service providers offer “level two” mentoring

Entrepreneurial Resources Web Portal Technical entrepreneurship web portal

under development: Forecasting template Business plan preparation guidance IP rules Information on funding sources Testimonials and case studies

Hands-On Assistance

Build programs to provide hands-on guidance and assistance to technical ventures started by students on campus

Many successful technical ventures follow a “dual-path” approach to launch – assistance needed!

Launching Technical VenturesTechnical development: Final product development Beta testing Alpha testing Laboratory testing Begin developing

prototype(s) Concept is feasible

Business Planning: Recruitment Marketing materials Customer segmentation Solicit funding Monetary needs Business planning Commercial viability

Many technical entrepreneurs lack experience in business planning.

Hands-On Programs

VentureAccelerator: Hands-On Assistance Couple with local incubator(s)

VentureAccelerator

Comprehensive consulting and “interim” management services for approximately five companies at one time

Selection process Services coordinated by on-campus person

provided by a network of key mentors and service providers

VentureAccelerator

Services: Strategic planning Forecasting Executive recruitment (database) Fundraising (debt, equity, grants) License negotiations Legal/accounting issues Marketing analysis “Marshall” diverse business resources

Graduation from Accelerator

Demonstrate likelihood of “self-sustainability:” Significant financing event (e.g. “A” round) Significant initial customer(s) Addition of key, full-time executive managers

Or…recognize business not worth pursuing

Identifying Accelerator Companies Incubator Faculty outreach Residency program Tech Ventures Club Tech Ventures Class Accelerator can feed other programs too

Seed Monies

The Current Climate Investors returning to fundamentals Fundamentals = great technology Universities good places to find technology

Seed Monies

Actively build “seed investor” network Couple with nearest “angels” and VC firms

Take max advantage of SBIRs and other programs (e.g. NIST ATP)

Encourage solicitation of strategic investments by startups

Other sources??

Program Information Sources NCIIA

www.nciia.org/ N2TEC

www.n2tec.org/

Small Business Administration www.sba.gov/gcbd/7j.html.

Meetings

ASEE – Entrepreneruship Division - June NCIIA - March

Funding for Starting a Program NCIIA

www.nciia.org/ Kauffman Foundation

www.emkf.org/ Coleman Foundation

www.colemanfoundation.org/ Lemelson Foundation

http://www.lemelson.org/index.html

Conclusion

Your campus can become a nucleus of technical venture formation in your region

Engineering research and knowledge provide sources

Combining research with increasingly entrepreneurial culture as well as new resources, assistance programs, and sources of seed monies will yield even more successful startup ventures