Calling all student entrepreneurs to participate in Fairfield StartUp.
Do you have a great business idea? Think you can be an entrepreneur? Well you are in for the opportunity of a lifetieme. The Dolan School of Business will formally kick off Fairfield StartUp on September 27 at 5 p.m. in the Kelley Center Presentation Room.
Fairfield StartUp is an entrepreneurship competition open to all undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in developing entrepreneurial skills. Students who participate will form teams, select a business idea, and work with mentors drawn from alumni and the local business community to develop their business pitch. The competition culminates in April with the StartUp Showcase, an evening where select StartUp teams pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors. Last year over $30,000 was awarded in startup funding.
“This is the second year we’ll offer students the opportunity to receive course credit for participating in Fairfield StartUp,” explained Chris Huntley, PhD, associate professor and program director of Fairfield StartUp. “In fact, Fairfield StartUp drove the format of entrepreneurship curriculum at the Dolan School in order to connect the dots between what our student entrepreneurs are doing both inside and outside of the classroom.” StartUp mentors Jeff Moretz, PhD, assistant professor of Management, and Carl Scheraga, PhD, chair and professor of Business Strategy and Technology Management, will teach the entrepreneurship classes this year and Bob Dorf, entrepreneur-in-residence at Columbia Business School will advise on the curriculum.
The StartUp program commences with the Kickoff event where students hear from past StartUp winners. Following the Kickoff event is the Elevator Pitch Contest on October 14 and the Business Model Workshop on November 11. Students who are serious about participating in the StartUp program will compete for a spot in the Showcase at the Showcase Qualifiers on December 13, and from there, a panel of StartUp mentors will select a handful of teams to participate in the StartUp program in the spring in preparation for the Showcase.
Returning teams Africa Requests, Trees of Life, and Tempas will also talk about their experiences at the Kickoff event. Since the Showcase in April the StartUp teams have spent the summer working with mentors to further develop their businesses and make connections with local investors and incubators through the StartUp Summer Fellows Program.
Students interested in attending the Kickoff event on September 27 should register on OrgSync. To learn more about the Showcase visit fairfield.edu/startup .
