August 3, 2007

Purdue Research Park announces awards for Entrepreneurship Academy

Kara Bartolone presents an "elevator pitch"
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The vouchers, which were awarded during a luncheon in Purdue University's Hillenbrand Hall, ranged in amounts from $100 to $500 and can be used to offset the costs of higher education. Students participating in the academy were juniors and seniors from 13 counties.

Purdue First Gentleman Christian Foster said the students benefited from getting a taste of the skills utilized by successful entrepreneurs.

"The aspiring young business owners who have participated in the Entrepreneurship Academy this week have been exposed to the importance of working in teams and the tremendous excitement of building a new organization and developing it into a productive business," said Foster, who also is director of the K-12 STEM Program for Discovery Park and was the luncheon's keynote speaker. "Now that we see what is possible when we light the fire of entrepreneurship early in the minds and hearts of gifted students, we should begin to find ways to bring this type of program to more youngsters in more communities."

The weeklong academy was based on an entrepreneurship program called “So what? who cares? why you?â€? by Wendy Kennedy. Kennedy is a technology industry executive and former professor who has written on the subject of commercializing innovative ideas. Her program has been adapted across North America by numerous entrepreneurship and educational organizations. More information about her program can be found at wendykennedy.com.  

Students from the top three placing teams, their high schools and hometowns are:

* First-place, Tri Fusion Technology: Nicolas Brown, senior, Rochester Community High School, Rochester; Rachel Cheeseman, senior, Harrison High School, West Lafayette; Sean Igo, senior, Central Catholic Jr.-Sr. High School, Lafayette; Taylor Jenkins, senior, Frankfort High School, Frankfort; and Tyler Schluttenhofer, junior, Benton Central Jr.–Sr. High School, Otterbein. Sue Grimes, commercialization manager for the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization, mentored the team.

* Second-place, Trellis Corp.: David Burke, junior, Benton Central Jr.–Sr. High School, Otterbein; Clay Carter, junior, Frankfort High School, Rossville; Robert McConnell, junior, Harrison High School, Lafayette; Zyon Rennewanz, junior, Century Career Center, Logansport; Cassandra Sprowl, senior, Benton Central Jr.–Sr. High School, West Lafayette; and Shawneci Windell, junior, Delphi Community High School, Delphi. Tim Peoples, director of Purdue Technology Centers, mentored the team.

* Third-place, Skin Engineering: John Burns, junior, North Montgomery High School, Darlington; Kinga Machaty, junior, Harrison High School, West Lafayette; Kelsey Moore, senior, McCutcheon High School, Lafayette; Andrew Ramos, junior, Frankfort High School, Frankfort; and Jacob Roark, junior, Central Catholic Jr.–Sr. High School, Lafayette. Alyssa Panitch, Purdue associate professor of biomedical engineering, mentored the team.

The Purdue Research Park's Entrepreneurship Academy was made possible through a $35,000 grant from Indiana's Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED program. Officials from the Purdue Research Park organized the program at no cost to participants. Participating students were from Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White counties.

"The students in the program worked with Purdue Research Foundation staff, Purdue faculty, industry leaders from the Purdue Research Park, business experts and high-tech entrepreneurs," said Gregory Deason, Purdue Research Foundation vice president of real estate and research park development and director of the Purdue Research Park. "The program has been so successful that we hope to expand the academy next year to include more Indiana counties."

Projects of the Entrepreneurship Academy included:

* Devising a feasible business concept.

* Determining financial and budgeting needs.

* Identifying opportunities and challenges.

* Making the product or service competitive in today's market.

* Developing a communications and marketing plan.

* Participating in a "networking" dinner in the Buchanan Room of Ross Ade Stadium.

* Presenting a two-minute "elevator pitch" at the conclusion of the academy.

Judges for the academy included Susan Davis, Greater Lafayette Small Business Development Center; Jody Hamilton, Indiana Economic Development Corp.; William Connors, CEO of Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union; and Steven Gerrish, director of business development for the Purdue Research Foundation.

Other program sponsors included Lafayette Printing Co., SSCI Inc., BASi Inc., CSO Architects, ICx Griffin Analytical, Purdue University, Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union, Lafayette/West Lafayette Development Corp., and the Indiana Small Business Development Corp.

The Purdue Research Park is home to more than 140 companies. About 90 of these firms are technology-related, creating the greatest cluster of these types of ventures in the state. The park is part of the Purdue Research Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation created to assist Purdue University. The 591-acre research park, located just north of campus, has the largest university-affiliated, business incubation complex in the country. The Purdue Technology Centers are composed of four complementary facilities totaling 195,000 square feet.

The U.S. Department of Labor funds the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, initiatives with a goal of helping Indiana manufacturers develop innovative business strategies. The program is designed to integrate federal, state and local investments in work force development and economic development. Through the Center for Regional Development, Purdue's Office of Engagement is involved with the project.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192 (office), (765) 413-6031 (mobile), casequin@prf.org

Sources: Christian Foster, (765) 494-2981, cjfoster@purdue.edu

Gregory Deason, (765) 494-8572, gwdeason@prf.org

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

PHOTO CUTLINE:
Kara Bartolone, a Lafayette Harrison High School senior, presents an "elevator pitch" on Friday (Aug. 3) as part of the Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy. About 40 students from 14 Indiana counties participated in the weeklong event designed to show aspiring entrepreneurs how to identify a possible business, develop a product or service, create a marketing plan and pitch the idea to potential investors. The academy was made possible through a $35,000 grant from Indiana’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, program and organized by the Purdue Research Park. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)

A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2007/elevator-pitch.jpg

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