Entrepreneurship Activities for Engineering Students and Faculty

1. Entrepreneurship Activities for Engineering Students and Faculty David Barbe Professor, ECE University of Maryland

2. 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

3. What about the down economy? • The economy is cyclical • Down times are a actually a good time to start ventures • prepare for upswings

4. The Radar Screen • Dean, Provost, President support? • If yes, very helpful • If not sure, just do it “under the radar”

5. Capitalizing On Innovations Research & Knowledge Self-Use Resources Entrepreneurial Culture Hands-On Assistance Seed-Stage Monies

6. 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

7. 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?

8. Education and Culture Building Activities Education 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. The Hinman CEOs Program

15. 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

16. Jointly Founded Clark School of Engineering Smith School of Business David Barbe – Faculty Director Karen Thornton - Program Director

17. The CEOs 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

18. CEOs Program Components • Community • Technology • Team Building • Seminars and Workshops Mentoring • Product Development Projects • Technology Opportunities • Entrepreneurship Education • Partnerships

19. Community • A Living-Learning Program • Facilitates sense of small community within larger university • Living Spaces • Working Spaces • Meeting Spaces

20. Technology • 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

21. Team building • Ropes Course • Facilitate Team Forming

22. Seminars and Workshops Weekly seminars • Education • Experiences • Resources

23. Entrepreneurship Education Four-Course Entrepreneurship Citation Program • Starting a New Venture • Financing a New Venture • Growing and Managing an Emerging Venture • Business Plan Development

24. Mentoring Level One Mentoring -Just-in-time • Program Director • and MBA Grad Assistant • Level Two Mentoring - Advanced • Faculty and Staff • Outside Experts

25. Product Development • NCIIA and Campus Sponsored • Funding for patent work and to help build Prototypes • Faculty Supervision including internships

26. Technology Opportunities • To Expose CEOs to Technology Commercialization Opportunities • Network CEOs with MBAs and Technical Grad Students to form Teams

27. Partners • Technology firms • Venture firms • Legal firms • Other service providers • Individuals • Retired executives

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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!

33. Technical 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 Launching Technical Ventures Many technical entrepreneurs lack experience in business planning.

34. Hands-On Programs • VentureAccelerator: Hands-On Assistance • Couple with local incubator(s)

35. 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

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

37. 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

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

39. Seed Monies • The Current Climate • Investors returning to fundamentals • Fundamentals = great technology • Universities good places to find technology

40. 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??

41. Program Information Sources • NCIIA • www.nciia.org/ • N2TEC • www.n2tec.org/ • Small Business Administration • www.sba.gov/gcbd/7j.html.

42. Meetings • ASEE – Entrepreneruship Division - June • NCIIA - March

43. 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

44. 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