Garage Member's Start-Up Competes in the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge Finals

by Moaad Benkaraache, EI Marketing Assistant

Last week, I had an opportunity to attend the finale of the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge, an accelerator targeted at environmental business ventures. I had the privilege of listening to a few well-established speakers such as Tom Darden, the founder and CEO of Cherokee Investment Partners, and William McDonough, a globally recognized leader in sustainable development.

The main reason I attended the finale, however, was because one of the finalists of the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge was fellow WolfPack and Entrepreneurship Initiative member: Brian Iezzi. As a founder of Platinix, a company specialized in developing catalysts for hydrogen generation, Iezzi got to showcase his start-up to potential investors and the public. 



Brian Iezzi

Although Iezzi spent most of the past few months working on his start-up with the Cherokee-McDonough Challenge, he credits the Entrepreneurship Initiative with providing many necessary resources that Platinix needed during its infancy. Even though Iezzi's venture is now incorporated and investor-ready, Brian assured me that he would still be working in the Garage periodically. So you might run into Brian Iezzi at the Garage, and if you do, I'm sure he will take time out of his busy day to tell you more about Platinix.

E-Games Monday!

NC State Entrepreneurs Lecture Series and

The Lulu eGames

Celebrating student entrepreneurship and innovation at NC State!

Join us for the Spring 2013 Entrepreneurs Lecture Series on Monday, April 29. Thushan Amarasiriwardena, Co-Founder of Launchpad Toys, will give the keynote address, followed by The Lulu eGames awards ceremony.

Prior to the lecture, Lulu eGames semifinalists will display their contest entries, and entrepreneurship partners and event sponsors will display informational booths. To learn more about The Lulu eGames and Entrepreneurs Lecture Series, please visit our website at http://ei.ncsu.edu. 

VIDEO POST

'Entourage' Star Adrian Grenier Starts Music Incubator

http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/226167

The link provides some additional information, it seems like a neat idea!

Making a Comeback

My dearest blog readers, I know it has been awhile since I have posted to the blog, but the NC State Entrepreneurship Initiative has been super busy lately. Our students and staff have had a successful start to spring 2013. Our latest accomplishment was coordinating the ACC Clean Energy Challenge which happened last week, and the NC State team even made it to the Final Four round! I hope each of your starts to the spring have been equally as exciting. I have an exciting week of blog posts ahead, so keep reading and please feel free to add your input.

Celebrations All Around!

We have a great deal of exciting entrepreneurial news to share with our NC State Entrepreneurship Community.

Congratulations are in order for both Heather Troutman and Mark Delgado, for the successful Meredith College TEDx lectures. I will be publishing a post shortly with links to their videos! Both Heather and Mark were excited about speaking at the local event; they both shared stories about their individual entrepreneurial experiences.

This past Wednesday at the Hunt Library NC State will be hosted "Start-Up Madness", an ACC student competition. Imagine the feeling in the room when the best student entrepreneurs from all the ACC schools gather together during March Madness.  Fans were able to witness students from 13 different universities who are executing on BIG ideas, pitch them in multiple rounds. We are proud to say our very own Mark Delgado, CEO and Found of Koyr, placed second in the competition! Congratulations to Mark!

Videos: Meredith College TEDx Event

Just recently two of our very own Entrepreneurship Initiative students were given the opportunity to speak at a TEDx event at Meredith College. Environmental Studies student, Heather Troutman and Nuclear Engineering student Mark Delgado were selected by the Meredith College community to speak to staff and students at their first TEDx campus event.

We are proud to present their talks via YouTube video's right here on our Entrepreneurship Initiative Student Blog.

Heather Troutman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81V4HUlm9dA

Mark Delgado: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAchxh8u2zc

Entrepreneurship: An NC State Student Story

Ph.D. student Vindhya Kunduru

I was checking out our school's homepage this week and ran across an inspiring entrepreneurial student story that is occurring right here on State's campus.

Here is the link for the article: http://www.ncsu.edu/features/2013/03/unexpected-entrepreneur/. Finding this article has inspired my blog post ideas to continue to spotlight student success stories either from the Garage or around campus. Please let me know if you have anyone you would like to "Spotlight", just email me I would be happy to help pass on the good news. (ghtrembl@ncsu.edu)

Previous "Spotlight" posts to refer to:

- Soutenu Tights

- Guest Blogger: Ibrahim Zafar

- Headbands of Hope

Weekly Update

Happy Monday my fellow blog readers! It may be a dreary start to the week, but the nice weather will return very soon. It is a quiet week ahead for entrepreneurship, but I have a few updates and announcements to make.

Last Thursday we had a great Student Networking meeting in the Garage with Derrick Minor, Raleigh's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager. Minor provided the group with insightful details about his daily networking tasks and tips that help him succeed at his job. He is passionate about the program we have started on campus at the Garage, and encouraged the students to keep up the great work! Sean Maroni (Garage Assistant, Ambassador President) has done an terrific job this semester organizing these meetings on Thursday nights, please continue to attend or stop by on April 11th for the next one. These meetings are a great opportunity to visit the Garage, meet new people, and expand your entrepreneurship network beyond your everyday school group or degree focus!

There was an announcement made prior to the beginning of the meeting by Brian Iezzi about the newly founded NC State Stewards Program. A new program that is affiliated with the University Sustainability Office. The applications for the program are open to all undergraduate and graduate students at NCSU and can be found at the link at the bottom of the message. If you are interested and want to hear more about the program, feel free to contact Brian at bciezzi@ncsu.edu. In addition, there will be a longer information session for interested applicants on Tuesday, March 26th at 8 PM in Poe 120. http://sustainability.ncsu.edu/nc-state-stewards

Have a great rest of your week! G

Student Network Meeting Tonight!

STUDENT NETWORK MEETING AT THE GARAGE *TONIGHT*

COME JOIN OUR STUDENT GROUP TO MEET DEREK MINOR 

[RALEIGH'S INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANAGER] 

THE MEETING IS AT 6PM IN THE GARAGE ON CENTENNIAL CAMPUS

March MaDnEsS!

Its that time of year again when March Madness sets in, but this March Madness season is not just for ACC basketball. ACC Entrepreneurship programs are also sponsoring a March Madness event. See more information below.

Startup Madness on Wed. March 27th at 4:30pm in the Hunt library's new event space!  

Imagine the feeling in the room when the best student entrepreneurs from all the ACC schools gather together during March Madness.  Come join others at the Hunt Library and witness students from 13 different universities who are executing on BIG ideas.   Which school has the best venture?  We shall see on March 27, 2013.  Final competitions start at 4:30pm.

Register for the Madness

What:  Startup Madness - ACC Tourney for Student Startups

When:  Wednesday, March 27, 2013 - Finals at 4:30 to 6:30 pm (Semi-finals 10am-12pm and 1-3pm)

Where:  Hunt Library at NC State University, 1070 Partners Way, Raleigh, NC 27695

Details:  Imagine the feeling in the room when the best student entrepreneurs from all the ACC schools gather together during March Madness.  Come join us at the Hunt Library and witness students from 13 different universities who are executing on BIG ideas.   Which school has the best venture?  We shall see on March 27, 2013.  

Register NOW:  Click here

Here are just a few of 20+ teams who are skipping classes, showers, and hot dates to prepare for Startup Madness.  Other confirmed teams include:

Tarian Orthotics (Tiger) - Shoulder stabilizer

Jobbertunity (Blue Devil) - Helping students organize job hunting

ERISTA (Seminole) - Women's clothing e-tailer  w/FIT technology

FinAddix (Seminole) - Fathead graphics for fishermen

Triboelectric Generator (Yellow Jacket) - New power from motion

UNvity (Yellow Jacket) - Hybrid water bottle

512 Technology (Terrapin) - Mobile app for transportation

Dreamcatchers (Irish) - Dreams to reality for Hospice patients

Frameri (Irish) - Customizable prescription eye wear

CE Agent (Panther) - Software to manage continuing education

Psyqic (Orange) - Social way to share predictions

PlantYourPhone (Tar Heel) - Recycle and monetize old phones

Coverplay Audio (Cavalier) - Ultrathin speaker for iPad

Favela Experience (Cavalier) - Adventure tourism in Brazil

DrinkUp (Hokie) - Mobile app for ordering drinks

Come celebrate these big thinkers who are doing more faster (as Brad Feld says).  

Share Madness  

#smad13    Facebook event    60 sec Video

Sponsored by NC State University, Poole College of Management

Questions?  Contact Scott Kelly at scott.kelly@startuphigh.com

Spring Forward

This is a special time of year when the seasons change. Old becomes new again, and we spring forward an hour in time to move along faster, although our day lasts longer. Spring means flowers in bloom; baseball in season; March Madness; cleaning and organizing; and new beginnings. To honor this seasons multitude of meanings, I've done some background research into a few interesting articles that may help those who need an extra push in order to spring forward with their entrepreneurial spirit!

4 Reasons Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Start Up

\

Recharging Your Willpower and Other Tips This Week

10 Iconic Motivational Posters

4 Ways to Pull Ahead of Your Competitors in Business

Stay motivated and moving forward readers!

Warm Weather Welcome

Happy Monday! I know this is one of the toughest Monday's of the semester to get back into class mode and I wish you all the best of luck. I hope everyone had a great spring break, it seems as though the EI Students had a great trip to and from Silicon Valley. If you missed last weeks postings I made sure to update what the group did each day along with pictures from the adventure. At least we can be welcomed back from spring break with warmer weather and the spring forward time change. Here is the weekly post schedule to look forward too:

Tuesday's post will be dedicated to Springing Forward, where and when does this occur in entrepreneurship?

Wednesday is all about March Madness!

Thursday there is a Student Network Meeting in the Garage at 6pm with Derrick Minor, Raleigh's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager!

Have a great start to your week and keep checking in for new blog posts, we appreciate all the dedicated readers!

Home Sweet Home

Today is the final travel day back home for our Silicon Valley spring break group. We wish them all safe and happy travels back home today! We cannot wait to hear their stories and see more pictures. Welcome back Valley Venturers!

Day Four: Venture City

Tuesday was another active venturing day for our student group in and around Palo Alto. The first stop of the day was a tour of the Flextronics manufacturing facility, where the group got to "dress the part" in blue lab coats for the entire visit. The group was very impressed with the facility tour and the meeting itself, there is a great picture below. After Flextronics the group ventured to the big Apple Inc. to meet with Alumnus Tony Blevins and Alumnus Jeff Williams. The group met in a conference room for an introduction/question and answer session. They were then escorted to the campus cafeteria for lunch with the Alumni. After lunch the group visited Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers, a venture capital firm to meet with Randy Komisar. Komisar has worked with entrepreneurs creating businesses with leading-edge technologies, he was a founding director of TiVo as well as multiple other companies. He is also a current entrepreneurship lecturer at Stanford University, where the group traveled on day one of their trip. The last official tour of the day was at NEST, the company that created the learning thermostat. This may sound silly at first until you visit the office and experience the creative environment in which the device was created. With its bright blue walls and open space office area it most certainly gave off a "Silicon start-up vibe." The group ended their day at the Dutch Goose, a well known local bar & grill for their farewell dinner. Enjoy the group pictures of the day below.

Day Three: Palo Alto

It was another successful start in Silicon Valley this morning as our group became "locals" throughout area visits today. They began the day at IDEO, an award-winning global design firm helping organizations to innovate and grow. The group met with Alumna Judy Lee for the visit and we are grateful she was able to spend time with the group, as pictured below. Matt Ocko of Data Collective, a company that helps invest in entrepreneurs building "Big Data" companies. He hales from Yale University and met the students for lunch in Palo Alto for a great group discussion. Next stop was Vantage Point Capital, one of two venture capital firms the group will meet along their venture. The group then ventured to Echelon to meet with Alumnus, Varun Nagaraj, to discuss the company's path to developing the world's most proven, open standard, multi-application energy networking platform. Echelon even greeted the group by welcoming them on their digital company sign outside the office! Later in the evening the group dined with Chris Crump from the class of '78 at NC State, he is now a successful Management consultant/Angel investor/ Entrepreneur in the Valley.

It was a busy "venture through the valley" for our group today, but the pictures below tell the best story of all.

Day Two: San Francisco

Sunday was a day by the bay in San Francisco. The groups first stop after a fun charter bus ride into the city was Liveramp a professional "offline" marketing company. Their next stop was Launchpad Toys in an artsy district; Launchpad makes application games for Children designed around learning. These games can be played on an I-pad, which was the number one asked for gift this Christmas! Next stop was the online presentation genius known as Prezi. Prezi has revolutionized the idea of computer generated presentations, and a fellow Alumni Kelly Hook showed the group around the office! The group got a chance to explore the city on their own for a few hours before dinner at Delancey Street, which is the name of the country's leading self-help organization for former convicts or substance abusers. The group truly enjoyed the inspirational stories shared at the restaurant and were able to dine with the entrepreneurs they met throughout the day. See pictures from their day by day below!

Day One: Touchdown in the Valley

The group has safely made it to Silicon Valley and has shared some photos!
One from their hotel lunch and the Stanford University tour.

The E.I Twitter

The Entrepreneurship Initiative is an active account on Twitter, updating students with schedule updates, tag lines from events, and pictures from events. Please continue to follow or join the Twitter group @ncsuei. We want to stay in touch with our students and alumni so tweet us anytime!

Venture to the Valley

Our E.I Student/Faculty group "Ventures to the Valley" today starting bright and early, departing from the RDU Airport for a direct flight into San Francisco. It will be a long day of traveling backwards in time, but upon arrival they hit the ground running. Their first stop is lunch at the hotel followed by an exciting tour of the Stanford University campus. Later in the evening they will enjoy a new restaurant for dinner! After dinner they will return to the hotel in Silicon Valley for a much needed nights rest! We wish you all safe travels and exciting moments. Please feel free to follow the group on twitter @ncsuei for other trip information and updates. I will be blogging about their daily adventures in full post-card fashion with group pictures and funny tag lines.

Trip Top Ten Takeaway

Silicon Valley 2012

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, the Entrepreneurship Initiative Silicon Valley spring break trip is happening next week. I had the distinct pleasure of attending last years adventure and in keeping with Top Ten Tuesday's theme I have listed my top takeaway moments from last years trip!


1. Find your passion: a simple statement it may seem, but ask yourself or a friend and see who answers first.

2. Necessity is the motherhood of innovation: seek needs versus wants for ideas, you may be missing the obvious.

3. Innovation happens everywhere: a statement from our first meeting that was used all throughout the trip; as an excuse and explanation ;)

4. Arrogance = Failure: again simple but mostly overlooked despite its profound warning.

5. Internet forces Honesty: this was a lesson some of the bigger companies stressed due to actual laws and consumer reporting.

6. Understand the MACROeconomics of the world: a special piece of advice from a meeting.

7. Take what exists and make it better: the mantra of Silicon Valley.

8. Innovation is an act of synthesis: words of an incredibly successful venture capitalist.

9. Complete methodically then adjust: advice for the exaggerated planners of the world, stop planning start acting.

10. Don't bet on the truth, seek thought: network out of your concentration and industry, expands thinking and can solve issues or point them out.

Monday Message

Silicon Valley 2012

Happy Monday to my fellow STATEment readers! We have a crazy week ahead of us all with mid-terms approaching, and I want to wish you all the best of luck! My Monday message is a little different this morning because the week will be hectic, but I will still be doing my job. However, I wanted to clue you all in on an exciting Spring Break blog theme I will be utilizing all week. As some of you may know, our Entrepreneurship Initiative staff plans a special Spring Break trip to Silicon Valley each year with a handful of students to embark on an adventure of entrepreneurship. It was this time last year before I embarked on the trip that I decided to blog during the adventure, with the hopes of being able to look back at all the memories. That blog lead to this blogging opportunity and I could not be more grateful. To mark my one year anniversary of blogging I will be tracking each day of this group’s trip in “Postcard” fashion. Please keep a lookout for the blog over break if you can to hear about the groups daily company visits and random moments along the way!

Tuesday: I will be posting the top ten things I took away from the Silicon Valley trip last year.

Wednesday: Wild Wednesday

Thursday: The Entrepreneurship Initiative is all in a Twitter

Friday: Bon Voyage to our Silicon Valley group 2013

HAVE A GREAT MID-TERM WEEK EVERYONE!

GILLIAN

Wednesday Fireside Chat

We were joined by two local entrepreneurs, Bob Young & Chris Evans, Wednesday evening at the Garage for another successful Fireside Chat. The evening began with a very exuberant Bob Young, co-founder of the noteable, local RedHat corporation. Young is also the founder of the online publishing company LuLu; which is also our main sponsor of the LuLu E-Games event. Young shared his exciting start-up story with the group, claiming all along he knew he saw the world differently. He saw his world through the eyes of a salesman, and in reality, he said, "We all see the world the way we expect to see it. Engineers see fix-it problems and finance people see the world in numbers." He believed in hard work while "embracing your failings because they stay with you forever." Young remarked on the world we live in daily as being one of "open source" whether it was traveling down a highway or being a lawyer with a winning argument. We are constantly collaborating and providing "sources" to collaborate with, which was the major idea behind RedHat''s business model. Although, the world may be one full of "open collaboration", Young was quick to remind us to "get rewarded for your work, because at some point, you will not want to give it up."

Bob Young

Chris Evans

Our second guest was Chris Evans, another technical and local serial entrepreneur. He has invested a great amount of his business life to technical entrepreneurial opportunities, such as commercial software. Evans claimed there is a common theme in most ventures, "They all become a long sequence on getting the next thing done." However, this observation is what should create fire and drive that make dreams come alive! Evans sees himself as "an engineer of non-physical things like project flaws or design." He has always had a focus on the "urgent itch" in pursuing a certain venture, but has learned the value of trust along his path. "Trust is a resource, in which people have different thresholds of," he remarked.  Evans stressed that trust is a guidance tool used in all stages of a start-up--from your team to customers--and it is critical to maintain trust with each person. He believes there is a "certain psychology" to entrepreneurship and its participants because it creates new relationships along with ideas that require trust all along the way.

We are grateful that both Bob Young & Chris Evans took time to speak with us this week! I hope those who attended enjoyed the interactive and informative discussion. G

TOP TEN (Famous Companies=Garages)

I felt this weeks list was appropriate considering we have multiple companies that have or will be getting their start in our Entrepreneurship Garage; why not learn from the pros!

Link: http://www.retireat21.com/blog/10-companies-started-garages

10 World Famous Companies that Started in Garages

1. Amazon

2. Apple

3. Disney

4. Google

5. Harley-Davidson

6. Hewlett-Packard

7. Lotus Cars

8. Maglite

9. Mattel

10. Yankee Candle

Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a nice weekend in our southern winter wonderland. Here is an update for the week ahead, hope its a great one! 

MONDAY: Weekly Update

TUESDAY: Top Ten List/Fireside Chat Night

WEDNESDAY: Fireside Chat Review

THURSDAY: Article of the Week

Thursday Article

This Thursday's article is from "The Wall Street Journal", they have their very own "Venture Capital Dispatch" section that caters to the interest of entrepreneurs. It is known as -An inside look from VentureWire at high-tech start-ups and their investors. It is a blog portion of the Journal and after reading the article I thought my readers may enjoy a brief, yet engaging review of recurring topic of crowd-funding.

Article Title: Crowdfunding 101: ‘Reg-D’ vs. ‘Rewards’

Article Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/02/08/crowdfunding-101-reg-d-vs-rewards/

Student Spotlight: Soutenu Tights

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a successful student entrepreneur in our e-ship family here at NC State. Suzanne Matthews is the founder and CEO of Soutenu Tights, a company dedicated to fashioning protective dance wear for the dance industry. After a lengthy dance career, Suzanne has become aware that dancers are a special category of athletes who experience injuries like any other sport. I sat down with Suzanne to ask her for more details about her current entrepreneurial venture and where she sees it going in the near future.

GT: What is your definition of an entrepreneur?

SM: You know I think I am still learning the answer to this one every day! I think an entrepreneur is someone who is passionate about finding creative solutions. They are people who take initiative in trying to shape our future.

GT: Speaking of futures, where do you see your company in the next 5 years?

SM: In 5 years, I would like to see Soutenu thriving and growing. First, I want to see the tights in dance wear stores throughout the state, and hopefully starting to make their way (at least) around the east coast. I also intend to have additional products in the line. Currently I have several ideas for more garments I'd like to produce, but of course all of the manufacturing and sampling will require more capital I don't have quite yet.

GT: It has been a common experience for an entrepreneur to struggle in the beginning stages of their ventures, what has been the pit and the peak of your adventure so far?

SM:My major pit has been running out of money. As a college student it is hard to say sorry I can't go out because I need this money for my business. It is hard because money fuels progress - especially when you are getting samples from manufacturers. I've had days where I've really wanted to quit because I am so stressed and tired over it. After all, I do work alone, no team, just me.--My peak that gets me through it all centers around last year when I competed in the Arts Feasibility portion of the eGames. I walked away with $1,500. That was great, but I think I got something more out of it. The first time I stood in front of people and said that I was the CEO of Soutenu I was overwhelmed with joy. My peak is knowing that I have created something that is uniquely mine, and nobody can take that away from me. Every day I get to look back and think, wow, look what I've built,  and people are excited about it too.

GT: Every entrepreneur has a unique beginning experience and usually a special place where it all began. For Apple, it was a garage; for others, it's a basement in their childhood home. Suzanne is an avid participant in our very own E.I Garage on Centennial Campus, so I was curious to know what aspects of the Garage have really been useful to getting her business off the ground.

SM: I wish I could say something cool like the power tools or the 3D printers! I actually use the Smartboard and the white boards more than anything. I've spent quite a bit of time designing on the Smartboard. As for the white boards, I like to be able to write all of my ideas in one place where I can see them - it helps me organize. Also, for me the Garage has a certain atmosphere that I think encourages me to work a little better. It's not the same as sitting in my apartment or in the library. I don't really find innovation or community in those places.

Overall it was a fantastic interview and storytelling moment for both us girls, especially since we were both dancers in our pasts. I wish Suzanne the best of luck in her venture, and so does everyone from the entrepreneurial community here at State!

Suzanne Matthews: Owner and CEO

Top 10 Undeserving (Yet Successful) Kickstarter Projects

Top 10 Undeserving (Yet Successful) Kickstarter Projects

LINK: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-least-deserving-kickstarter-projects.php

1. Addicting New Game – Straight From the Stone Age

2. My 1st Webcomic

3. A Tour of Sorts

4. Atheist Shoes

5. Desktop Jellyfish Tank

6. Griz Coat

7. Hey Fartface

8. Ron Paul: Road to REVOLution

9. World’s Largest Rainbow Parade

10. World’s Largest Jockstrap

Monday Update

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I know it is tough to start the week off with a rainy day, but hang in there the sun will come out tomorrow! 

Here is what is on the agenda for the week:

MONDAY: Weekly update

TUESDAY: Top Ten

WEDNESDAY: Spotlight on "Soutenu Tights" a company launched here at State!

THURSDAY: Article day

Hope you all have a great week and thank you for you continuous reader support!

YouTube INFOGRAPHIC

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! G

Guest Blogger: Ibrahim Zafar

We have all heard the infamous tale about a young John Lennon who was asked by his school to write down what he wanted to be when he grew up. Instead of the typical response – “I want to be an astronaut” – Lennon thought outside of the box and simply wrote down “I want to be happy”. This quote, while simple in nature, has challenged a generation – our generator -- into really considering whom we strive to be when we are older, rather than simply what we want to be.

RESQD, a startup company founded at North Carolina State University, has taken the concept of happiness within children and has printed it right on the shirt you wear on your back. The concept is simple: RESQD asks young children around the globe to draw what makes them happy, prints the drawing onto a t-shirt, sells the t-shirt, and uses the money made from the sale to help fund orphans around the globe. Ladies and gentlemen, it does not get simpler than that. The impetus behind Jordan’s idea is that he wants to empower orphans around the globe, and show them that their idea of happiness can not only bring a change within the lives of others, but it can help in providing them with financial independence.

I had the chance to sit down with Owen and his friend, Tasso von Windheim, to take more about RESQD. While Jordan has high visions for RESQD, he has made it a priority for himself and those around him to have fun along the way. Jordan believes that if he can retain his passion for his company, he will soon reach success. But unlike many others, Jordan is not concerned about financial success. Rather his definition of success lies within changing the lives of the orphans, and he won’t stop until his goal is met.

Like many start-up companies, RESQD could use the help of our Wolfpack community. And that is where you, the reader, come into play. RESQD has an online campaign which they are using to gather any donations to help the company out of the start-up phase. You can go here (http://www.indiegogo.com/resqd) to learn more about RESQD and how you can help.

Thank-you to guest blogger Ibrahim Zafar for this posting!

Top 10 Sales Pitch Killers

This weeks top ten list was picked with the upcoming LuLu E-Games in mind. As the teams begin to prepare  for competition it may be helpful to keep these 10 tips in mind for their presentations!

TOP TEN SALES KILLERS
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159546

1. Lack of professional appearance.

2. Talking too much.

3. Your vocabulary. 

4. Not investing time in building rapport.

5. Lack of a qualification system. 

6. Not knowing when to stop presenting and close the sale.

7. Ego.

8. Not knowing how to close.

9. Not paying attention to details. 

10. Poor fulfillment.

Monday Update

Happy Monday after the Super Bowl, I hope the team you chose was the winning team, if not maybe next season! I took the time to pick out a reflective quote that seemed to have a slight connection to entrepreneurship and the Harbraugh brothers big night.

On a more serious note, the Harbaugh patriarch was more reflective:

“The one thing that I do think about is after the game there’s going to be one winner and there’s going to be one that’s going to be totally disappointed,” said Jack Harbaugh. “And my thoughts go to that one [who] will not experience the thrill of victory.

TUESDAY: Top Ten

WEDNESDAY: Guest Blogger [Ibrahim Zafar]

THURSDAY: Article of the week

FRIDAY: Interesting Infographic

Have a wonderful week everyone! G

Article = Video

"Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting Up in College"

Story of a fellow ACC student's experience with enterprenuership!

The winner of Entrepreneur's College Entrepreneur of 2012 is Bryan Silverman, a Duke University student and co-founder Star Toilet Paper. With just $1,000 in start up funds, Silverman and his brother launched the Durham, N.C. and Ann Arbor, Mich.-based, company, which sells advertisements on toilet paper. Star buys recycled toilet tissue rolls in bulk wholesale and has a printer -- using vegetable oil-based ink -- place coupons on the top ply. So far, more than 65 companies have taken the plunge and marketed their services through the toilet-paper advertiser.

Finally Friday!

Stay motivated my fellow entrepreneurs!

Article of the week

Article Link: Your Business + The Cloud?

[Picture Hint]