Students in Dr. Richard Robinson’s Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Global Economy class (IMBA Core Global Strategic Management module) have a little extra incentive to perform well –cash. They are divided into teams which must come up with a business proposal for a “realistic and promising venture idea.” The proposals are then ranked by individuals in the class, and the first, second, and third place winners are announced at the end of the course. This year’s winners were announced August 19.
A major purpose of the assignment, Robinson says, is to expose new IMBAs “to entrepreneurship as well as their own natural inclination to be entrepreneurial at the very beginning of their two-year stay at Moore School,” and to make them aware of “…the global entrepreneurial revolution reshaping the global economy… The exercise helps prepare them for looking at a business in its totality.” The cash prizes add fun and incentive, and just maybe reinforce the notion that the best ideas will attract investment.
Two teams tied this term for 1st place, and each earned $400. They are:
Sonora Dry Car Wash – a business to provide water-free car washes starting in two Boston, MA, parking garages to prove the concept and then expand nationwide. Team members included Chris Childers, Laura Greeson, Jeff Hansen, Natalie Meier, and Matthew Wright.
Luberators – a mobile oil-change service starting in Columbia, SC, to prove the concept and then expand nationwide. Members included James Davidson, Shiro Nagai, Lucia Stoisor, Luke Umstetter, and Robert Zanca.
Other winning teams included:
Shutterdown – A German-based roll-down shutter to install on coastal houses to protect them from bad weather conditions. (Rachel Adams, Li Feng, Peter Knight, George Walter, Akin Watson)
Thoroughbred – A unique, folding scooter-based service to drive people that have had too much to drink safely home. (John Langdon, John Henderson, Brad Matthews, Shirly Mani, Julie Ross)
Carolina Plantation Hunt Club – A large game hunting retreat facility located in South Carolina and catering to out-of-state hunters in overcrowded areas with extremely short hunting seasons. (Connie Allen, William Coxe, Ron Eritano, Robin Horn, Nathan Morenz)
Laptoplutz – A business providing protective covers for laptops similar to “skins” providing protective covers for cell phones. (Scott Biocic, Robert Dalton, Erik Ehinger, Daniel Jagoda, Billy Sweeny)
Global Production Placement Solutions – A geographically specialized provider of production outsourcing services. (Begench Atayev, Michael Doherty, Francois Franco, Roy Nygaard, Ryan Petty)
