entrepreneurship

Events to spark innovation, imagination and creativity are taking place on the WUSTL campus and around the world from Nov. 15-20 as part of a global initiative to promote entrepreneurship among young people. Got an idea? Learn how to turn it into a venture. Participate in an amazing race to discover innovative ventures in St. Louis or listen to other entrepreneurs as they bounce their ideas off a panel of judges.

WUSTL’s campus-wide entrepreneurship curriculum has been recognized as one of the best in the country by The Princeton Review survey published in Entrepreneur magazine today.  WUSTL’s undergrad and graduate programs placed in the top ten out of more than 2000 schools. A venture started by three WUSTL students also is featured in the October magazine on newsstands and online Sept. 21.

To complete a course in entrepreneurship, Olin Business School students traveled to Budapest, Hungary for some hands-on work with new ventures. Their consulting projects not only benefitted the eastern European entrepreneurs, but helped students gain a better understanding of the global marketplace and their career futures.

What do ballroom dancing, fresh farm produce and paper beads from Africa have in common? They are central to the business plans of award-winning ventures in the 2010 YouthBridge Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. Five start-up businesses dedicated to helping others shared a total of $155,000 in cash grants presented at a ceremony April 13 at Washington University.

Winners of this year’s Olin Cup business competition got $75,000 to jump-start their ventures and create jobs. Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center at WUSTL, announced the winners Feb. 5 at the annual award ceremony in Graham Chapel.

Dancing classrooms, online philanthropy, a resale shop, produce market and programs to empower youth are among the projects in the final round of this year’s social entrepreneurship competition.  The YouthBridge SEIC competition will award $155,000 in April to the business plans with the most promise and solutions to help resolve social issues. 

The Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) enters its fifth year with a new name in recognition of a St. Louis community foundation. The competition offers mentoring, business advice and workshops for social enterprise start-ups. Contestants in the seven month-long competition must pass several hurdles before investment awards, totaling thousands of dollars, are announced next spring for the most promising ventures.

Seed money for a start-up company totaling $70,000 will be awarded tonight when the winner of the annual Olin Cup investment prize is announced at 6 p.m. in Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus.

Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in this year’s Olin Cup competition with $70,000 in seed money at stake. A record-breaking 38 teams entered the annual business formation contest operated by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Five finalists are now in the final stage of the competition which concludes with business plan presentations in January; winners will be announced Feb. 5, 2009.

Two early-stage companies received commitments for funding at the annual Olin Cup awards ceremony Feb. 7 at the Olin Business School. The top award of $50,000 went to Is That One Good? (ITOG), a Web site (itog.com) that allows users to generate relevant, accurate product recommendations, hold meaningful discussion about the products and discover new […]