History of the Entrepreneurship Center
2011
In the November 15, 2011 edition of Soapbox Cincinnati Startup News, Charles H. Matthews, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research, describes the importance of entrepreneurial skills and the value of cross-campus partnerships for students. Realizing the need for both musical and start-up business skills for those interested in commercial music production, the center partners with the College Conservatory of Music to offer a combined major for commercial music production.
The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research hosts a number of outstanding guest speakers in various classes throughout the academic year. Past speakers include Thomas H. Humes (CoB, BBA '71), Founder, Great Traditions Land & Development Corporation; Tony L. Shipley (CoB, MBA '70), Chairman, Queen City Angels; Richard D. Hannan, Founder, Mercury Instruments; Edgar L. Smith, Founder, World Pac Paper, LLC; Jeffrey L. Wyler, President & CEO, Jeff Wyler Automotive Family; Bob Coughlin, Founder, Paycor Inc.; Catalin Macaire, Founder, Cat Creatives and Jeffrey M. Shepard, Founder, East Coast Medical; Rob Lesan, Esq., Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL; Chris Direnzi, Founder, Capacity Energy Solutions; Tim Morrison, Geode Group and Amy Scalia, Cincy Chic.
Dr. Charles H. Matthews, Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research was honored to deliver the opening keynote address of the First World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Conference Forum on Global Entrepreneurship, Transition, and Advancement. The forum was held on October 24, 2011, at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. The title of Dr. Matthews' address was "Global Entrepreneurship: The Role of Innovation Transformation."
Congratulations to undergraduate students James Bell, Elizabeth Hamburg and Bryan Wolf. Their field case consulting project for Midwest Furniture resulted in a First Place win of the 2011 Cecil Boatright Case Competition. Daelia's Food Company Ltd took second place in the competition with team members Chris Foti, Paulos Ghebre-Ab, Jennifer Hacker, and James Willis. Healthcare Online team members Justin Brinkman, Rosalie Giesel, Olivia Mast, and Krista Streckfuss won third place in the undergraduate competition.
UC students Joshua Rudd (CoB '12), President of the Entrepreneurship Club, and Antoine Burnier-Dechon, from our exchange program with the Audencia Nantes School of Management, France, launched a new venture and participated in the "Graines de Boss" business plan competition in Paris on May 11. Rudd and Burnier-Dechon are the co-founders of Piola, a fashionable sneaker company that aims to provide customers with high quality sneakers that are founded upon the principles of fair trade and use of eco-friendly manufacturing practices.
The 13th Annual Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet was held on May 12, 2011 at McCormick & Schmick's, Downtown Cincinnati. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to David M. Lance, Restaurant Management Inc. The Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence was presented to Edgar L. Smith, Jr., World Pac Paper, LLC; John P. Burns, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions, Inc., and Lieutenant Colonel Jeffery E. Lay, Talon Eight, LLC. The Inaugural Distinguished Service Award was presented to Christopher J. Nawalaniec, Stedman Machine Company. The Emerging Faculty Entrepreneurship Achievement Award was presented to Georg F. Weber, MD, PhD, Winkle College of Pharmacy and the Established Faculty Award in Entrepreneurship was presented to Chong Ahn, PhD.
The California Scents Scholarship was awarded to Amin Shawki. Amin is a Kolodzik Business Scholar working toward a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, as well as an Information Systems minor. Amin is also Vice President of Communications for the Entrepreneurship Club.
The Albert W. Goering Memorial Scholarship recipients are: Maria Cassidy, Benjamin Combs, Alexander Cook, Lane Hart, Brittany Lewis, Alexandra Loewenstine, James Love, Rachel Niederhausen and Jared Yates.
The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research welcomed Tim Fogarty (UC CoB '80) Founder and CEO of West Chester Holdings, to the E-Center's Board of Advisors. Fogarty is serving as the new Chairman of the E-Center Board and also serves on the College of Business Advisory Council.
Russell Simmons, entrepreneur and author, delivered a message of "...money won't make you happy, but happiness can make you money" to a very receptive crowd of over 350 attendees in the Great Hall of Tangeman University Center on Wednesday, May 18. Former UC student Jaydev Karande, co-founder of Wearcast, in conjunction with the UC Student Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club) and the Center for Entrepreneurship organized the appearance of Simmons. Simmons is co-founder of Def Jam Records and author of "Super Rich: A Guide To Having It All."
The first place winners of the Undergraduate Entrepreneurship & Strategy Business Case Competition was Chris Foti, Paulos Ghebre-Ab, Jennifer Hacker and James Willis. The second place winners were Steven Bourquein, Jason Keck and Catherine Wilder. The competition was founded by Dr. Thomas Dalziel in 2005 and is open to undergraduate entrepreneurship majors in the senior year of their program of study. Said Dalziel, "The students are to be congratulated for the depth of their analysis, the quality of their recommendations and the professionalism of their presentations. They have bright futures ahead of them."
Jennifer Hacker was named the 2011 Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Entrepreneurship. Hacker graduated in June from the Lindner College of Business with a double major in Entrepreneurship and Marketing and will be joining Procter & Gamble in brand management in its Los Angeles office.
UC Entrepreneurs are among the best recognized at the Cincinnati Innovates Competition. Students, faculty and alumni have once again answered the call and submitted their innovations to the Third Annual Cincinnati Innovates competition. Scot Feldmeyer (BBA '00, MBA '04) entered the competition with his 'augmented reality' mobile phone application that integrates with Facebook. UC Biomedical Engineering students Pooja Kadambi, Joe Lovelace and Scott Robinson (all UC CEAS '11) entered their innovation, Ischiban; a stroke detection device.
On Monday, June 6, Dr. Charles H. Matthews delivered the State of the Tri-State Manufacturing Report at the 2011 Manny Awards: Celebrating Manufacturing Excellence. Cincy Magazine honored the 15 best Tri-State manufacturing companies at the 5th Annual Manny Awards. Winners were honored at the banquet.
Entrepreneurship and Finance student Robel Kidane was chosen to be part of one of the nation's most selective national entrepreneurship conferences: E-Bootcamp 2011: Real-Time Applied Entrepreneurship. The conference is held on the Stanford University campus in conjunction with the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES) and Princeton University's Business Today (BT). Kidane is one of only 110 out of hundreds of students with brilliant ideas who applied to be chosen from universities around the nation.
The Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed two outstanding entrepreneurs to the part-time teaching ranks Spring Quarter: Trevor Stansbury, Founder and President of Supply Dynamics, and Ron Meyers, president of The Ridge Consulting Group and founder of Green Life Energy, Inc. Stansbury will teach Corporate Entrepreneurship (ENTR 501) and Ron Meyers will teach New Venture Finance (FIN 408).
UC Entrepreneurship team earns first place in the National SBI Case of the Year Competition. Entrepreneurship undergraduate students, under the direction of faculty advisor Thomas Dalziel, PhD, took first place honors in the national Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition on February 19. Students Neil Black, Charles Rinehart, Jason Pittinger and Jordan Brewer took first place for their field case consulting project for local manufacturer M+ Midwest Fasteners winning the 2010 Cecil Boatright Case of the Year Competition this past October, 2010, to earn a berth in the National Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition. The UC team was named one of the top three finalists in the National SBI Case of the Year Competition and on Saturday, February 19 took first place from over 30 cases submitted to the competition.
Professor Charles H. Matthews witnessed the Cairo protests while participating in the 1st Annual Mideast Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship conference and assisting in the development of Entrepreneurship Centers and university courses at Egyptian universities. Dr. Matthews noted that the groundswell of change altered permanently the course of Egyptian business and set in motion a new economic foundation.
Diana Hechavarria, UC College of Business PhD candidate in Management and Entrepreneurship, took home second place in the prestigious 3E-Learning competition on January 14, 2011 with her innovative entrepreneurial experiential exercise teaching case.
The Center for Entrepreneurship partnered with First Financial Bank for the 2011 Small Business Roundtable titled "Small Business Jobs Act: What Does It Mean for You?" Over 150 Cincinnati business owners and advisors, gathered to hear from local industry experts, including Charles H. Matthews, PhD, who moderated the event.
The seventh annual UC Spirit of Enterprise Competition, featuring 15 student teams from universities across North America, was held February 24 and 25, 2011 at Cincom Systems world headquarters. The winning team, TNG Pharmaceuticals, University of Louisville, was named the Cincom Spirit of Enterprise Champion and received $10,000. 1st Runner Up Meridian Spirit Award was Ohio State University team O2 Insights, Inc., who received $3,000. The 2nd Runner Up Queen City Angels First Fund Award for $2,000 was Purdue University team Medtric Biotech, LLC. The 3rd Runner Up Launchpad Award of $1,000 was presented to the University of Illinois at Chicago team Stabilis. Ohio State University team O2 Insights also won the Best Technology Plan Award of $1,000. Brigham Young University team Kalood won the Taxi/Limo Competition Round award of $1,000. The Best Exhibit Awards First Place and $350.00 prize went to the University of Oregon team Sonas, LLC. Second Place was won by the University of Illinois at Chicago team Stabilis, for a prize of $250, with Third Place going to BOSS Medical from Johns Hopkins University.
UC College of Business alumni, Don Hunter and Derek Brown created web-based software designed to make it easier for university professionals to manage video applications for creative and sports programs. Their company, Acceptd, is working with UC and other local institutions to test the tool that can be tailored to individuals programs and colleges.
Congratulations to long time Entrepreneurship Center Board Member, Bill Keating, Jr. (BBA '76, MBA '76, JD '79), Keating Muething Klekamp PLL, on receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the College of Business. The award is given annually at the Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards, presented by the UC College of Business Alumni Board of Governors, and is Cincinnati's longest-standing event recognizing achievement in business and service to the community.
UC College of Business graduate students Ron Meyers, MBA '10, MS '11, and Charles Schwartz, MBA '11, were named one of only 12 semi-finalist teams in the 2011 Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge Business Plan Competition at the University of Louisville on February 18 and 19. While the GreenLife team did not make the final four, it was an exciting networking and learning opportunity. "It was a great experience for the GreenLife team to represent UC at the Cardinal Challenge, a prestigious competition with real-world opportunities and consequences designed to stimulate and reward innovative thinking and entrepreneurial persistence," said faculty advisor Charles H. Matthews, PhD, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research. "Over 30 outstanding teams were vying for the 12 select spots, and the team certainly captured the attention of both the participants and judges."
The newly elected officers of the Entrepreneurship Club were as follows: Joshua Rudd, President; Gage Whitehead, Vice President; Ben Schweitzer, Director of Marketing; Chintan Desai, Secretary and Amin Shawki, Vice President of Communications.
2010
The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research hosted a number of outstanding guest speakers in various classes throughout the past academic year. These speakers included Thomas H. Humes (CoB, BBA '71), Founder, Great Traditions Land & Development Corporation; Tony L. Shipley (CoB, MBA '70), Chairman, Queen City Angels; Richard D. Hannan, Founder, Mercury Instruments; Edgar L. Smith, Founder, World Pac Paper, LLC; Jeffrey L. Wyler, President & CEO, Jeff Wyler Automotive Family; Bob Coughlin, Founder, Paycor Inc.; Catalin Macaire, Founder, Cat Creatives and Jeffrey M. Shepard, Founder, East Coast Medical.
The Entrepreneurship Club hosted Global Entrepreneurship Week November 15 – 21, welcoming several outstanding guest speakers to campus who addressed faculty, staff, students and the general public about lessons learned on their entrepreneurial journeys. Lt. Colonel Jeffery E. Lay, Top Gun fighter pilot, cancer survivor, entrepreneur and inspirational speaker visited as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Lay spoke on "Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Key to Economic Recovery" as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Micah Paldino, Founder, PB&J Public Relations and Jean Francois Fletchet, Founder, Taste of Belgium, also spoke to UC students as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
The Entrepreneurship Club and the Finance Club presented the 2010 Venture Capital Forum "Growing Your Business in Cincinnati" on Wednesday, May 19 in Carl H. Lindner Hall. Dr. Charles H. Matthews served as Moderator, with Panelists Bob Coy, President, Cincy Tech; Dr. Tom Dalziel, Professor of Entrepreneurship; Ms. Elizabeth Edwards, Founder, Metro Innovation; and Dr. Jason Heikenfeld, Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC, and Director of Novel Devices Laboratory. These local experts from business and education shared their insights, thoughts and experiences on sources of funding and what it takes to successfully grow your business.
Jordan Brewer, Entrepreneurship and Finance Student, won the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award given by the University. Jordan is a student in the Carl H. Lindner Honors-PLUS program. Jeri Ricketts, Director of the program stated, "I am extremely proud of Jordan and the work he has done with our program and the University of Cincinnati. He is very talented in many areas, recognized by his peers, active in his fraternities, his service and has done everything we could ask from a student. Jordan is very deserving of this award." Jordan will also deliver the university oration for the Saturday morning All-University Commencement Ceremony.
UC entrepreneurs are again among the best recognized at the Cincinnati Innovates Competition. Dr. Georg Weber, UC Professor, won Second Place and Legal & Patent Award for his company Metamol. Sharathbabu Maramraju (COE '99 and CoB '07), Mahesh Bhupalam (COE '97) and Balasaheb Darade (COE '11) won the Second Place Hype! Community Choice Award for their venture Home Food Connection and UC College of Business students Sara Doutt and Yara Khoury were named finalists for their venture entry and were awarded the $10,000 Commercialization Award. UC DAAP alum Carly Hagins won the Student Innovator Award of $1,000 for her compostable porta-potty.
UC MBA alumnus and E-Center Advisory Board Member, Tony Shipley (CoB '75), was honored as the recipient of the Enquirer Media Investor of the Year award at the Cincinnati Innovates Competition.
College of Business PhD student, Diana Hechavarria, received the University Research Council Graduate Student Research Fellowship. Nearly 200 applications were submitted for the fellowship program, and 65 students from eight UC colleges received the award, which includes two months of stipend support for research during the 2010 summer months.
The Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research welcomed Dean David Szymanski, College of Business, as the newest member of the Advisory Board.
College of Business student Phil Santoro, recently sold his venture, FreeForums.org, to CrowdGather, located in Los Angeles, California. Philip developed FreeForums.org while a junior at Madeira High School and at the age of 20, sold the successful enterprise for $1M. The site hosted forums used by small business and individuals on any topic of interest, using a key word internet search.
In its October 2010 edition, Entrepreneur Magazine explains how inspirational professors, including Dr. Charles H. Matthews, PhD, guide student success well past graduation. Former UC students Dan Cremons, Ahmed Shuja and Dan Shelly are featured in the article sharing their praise and appreciation of Matthews' mentorship.
In October 2010, burgeoning talk-show host Jake Sasseville talked to business students in Professor Charles Matthews' "Entrepreneurship - New Venture Creaton" course about where his business endeavors started and how they landed him on television with his show, "Late Night Republic."
Congratulations to undergraduate students Neil Black, Charles Rinehart, Jason Pittinger and Jordan Brewer. Their field case consulting project for local manufacturer Midwest Fasteners won the 2010 Cecil Boatright Case of the Year Competition in October to earn a berth in the National Small Business Institute® Case of the Year competition.
Executive Director, Charles H. Matthews, PhD, was quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday, August 8, 2010 on the subject of U.S. companies seeking to do business with China.
The winners of the sixth annual Spirit of Enterprise Graduate Business Plan Competition were: Cincom Systems Spirit of Enterprise Champion Award of $10,000, the University of Arkansas, BiologicsMD, LLC; 1st Runner Up Meridian Spirit Award of $3,000, Johns Hopkins University, Cortical Concepts; 2nd Runner Up Queen City Angels First Fund Award of $2,000, University of Illinois at Chicago, MMPe Technologies; 3rd Runner Up Champion Award of $1,000, Indiana University, QP Digital; the Best Technology Plan Award of $1,000 was presented to the University of Illinois at Chicago, MMPe Technologies; the Taxi/Limo Competition Round Award of $1,000 was awarded to the Purdue University Team, GlucaGO LLC. The Best Exhibit Awards were 1st Place of $350 to Indiana University, QP Digital; 2nd Place prize of $250 to University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, BiologicsMD, LLC and 3rd Place winner of $150 was Rice University, OrthoIntrinsics.
On the electronic media front, Dr. Charles H. Matthews had the honor of appearing on the Connie Pillich Show this Summer on July 30. Ms. Pillich represents the 28th District in the Ohio House of Representatives and hosts a regular cable television show on topics of interest to her constituents. If you would like to see the show, paste the following into your browser. http://www.icrctv.com/the-conniepillich-show-73010
The 12th Annual Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet was held on May 13, 2010 at McCormick & Schmick's, Downtown Cincinnati. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Timothy E. Johnson, PhD, Founder & President of Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc. The Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence was presented to John C. “JC” Evans, Chairman of the Board and Treasurer of Gold Medal Products Company and Cynthia Booth, Founder and President of COBCO Enterprises/ McDonald's. The Emerging Faculty Entrepreneurship Achievement Award was presented to Jason C. Heikenfeld, Associate Professor, College of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Cincinnati.
The California Scents Scholarship was awarded to Michael Arnovitz. Michael is a Kolodzik Business Scholar studying Entrepreneurship and Real Estate.
The Albert W. Goering Memorial Scholarship recipients were: Sophia Calloway, Maria Cassidy, Benjamin Combs, Alexander Cook, Brittany Lewis, Alexandra Loewenstine, James Love, Rachel Niederhausen, Lindsay Rippingale and Jared Yates.
Dr. Charles Matthews, Immediate Past President, presided over the International Council for Small Business 2010 World Conference. The University of Cincinnati, the Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research and the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) presented the 55th Anniversary ICSB 2010 World Conference at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel. This year's World Conference theme was “Entrepreneurship: Bridging Global Boundaries.” A highlight of the evening included the inaugural presentation of the ICSB Global Small Business Ambassador Award, which was presented by Dr. Gregory Williams, President, University of Cincinnati, to Oscar Robertson, Entrepreneur, Humanitarian and Olympian.
Congratulations to Bridget Lee-Tatman and Chad Muhlenkamp, as well as Neil Black, Jordan Brewer, Jason Pittinger and Charles Rinehart on their first place tie in this year's Undergraduate Entrepreneurship & Strategy Business Case Competition. The student participants described the competition as a rigorous and rewarding learning experience.
UC undergraduate student, Jordan Brewer, majoring in Entrepreneurship, was named a finalist in the national competition titled "30 Minutes with an Entrepreneurial Hero" co-sponsored by the Acton Foundation and the American Marketing Association. Jordan received a scholarship to attend the National American Marketing Association convention in New Orleans, LA in April. His interview with CEO and President of Massage Heights LLC, Glenn Franson, was one of only 28 selected for this honor.
Congratulations to University of Cincinnati undergraduate students and recent grads Daniel Cremons, Gregory Lutz and Megan McElroy, and graduate students Linda Ahting, Jared Aldridge, Carol Prues, LaTisha Salaam, Tapan Shah and Gang Sun who were honored for outstanding achievement in the 2009-10 National Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition February 20, 2010, in Albuquerque, NM. Their undergraduate field case projects for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Tom Dalziel; and graduate field case project for Reality Plus Clothing under the direction of Dr. Charles H. Matthews, took first place specialized undergraduate and second place specialized graduate in the nation at the National Small Business Institute® annual conference.
UC Alum, Dr. Mark Schenkel (PhD '05), was awarded the Best Teaching Case by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) at this year's national conference. The case, "Bergen Cathedral Interiors" (with Dr. Beth Woodard and Joseph Ormont), focuses on a venture founded by Stephen Bergen, a Belmont alumnus. "Mark is a very talented researcher, writer and teacher," commented Dr. Charles H. Matthews. "Both his refereed journal articles and now his teaching cases are top drawer."
Congratulations to University of Cincinnati graduate students Niraj Kapadia (College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning, Master of Architecture program) and Greg Crase (College of Business, MBA program) on being selected one of the 12 semi-finalists in the 2010 Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge Business Plan Competition at the University of Louisville February 19 and 20.
An outstanding team led by College of Business undergraduate students, Neil Black, Alex Bey, and Charles Rinehart took 1st Place honors for their new venture, Book-A-Bike, in the inaugural Reality Check Undergraduate Business Plan Competition for students from Northern Kentucky University, the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Miami University and the University of Dayton. The team bested eight top teams from over 100 potential entrants from the five nationally recognized programs.
The newly elected 2010 Officers of the Entrepreneurship Club were Joshua Rudd, President; Chris Trimbach, Executive Vice President; Gage Whitehead, Vice President of Operations; Chintan Desai, Secretary, and Robel Kidane, Treasurer.
2009
The Albert W. Goering Memorial Scholarships were awarded to the following students: Maria Cassidy, Benjamin Combs and Lane Hart.
The California Scents Scholarship was awarded to Chris Foti.
Philip Gettinger and Amro Kamel were recipients of the Bearcat Bridge Fund established to support students who conceive and craft new venture plans by providing seed capital to assist in the launch of their new venture: Diabetitec LLC.
The 2009 winners of the MBA New Venture Plan Competition were Philip Gettinger and Amro Kamel for Diabetitec LLC.
The winners of the fifth annual Spirit of Enterprise Graduate Business Plan Competition were: First Place $10,000 Cincom Spirit of Enterprise award goes to Tears For Life from the University of Arkansas; First Runner-Up, Meridian Spirit Award of $3,000, to SolarCycle from Brown University; Second Runner-up Queen City Angels First Fund Award $2,000 to Parallel Imaging Corporation; and Third Runner-up with a prize of $750 to GeneWeave Biosciences, Cornell University. The Taxi/Limo Round was won by Pax Neuroscience, Inc. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, which included $1,000 in prize money and the Best Technology Plan Award, also for a prize of $1,000, was won by GeneWeave Biosciences from Cornell University.
Midwest Geothermal was the winner of the 2009 Undergraduate New Venture Business Plan Competition. Congratulations Chris Direnzi and Joshua Rudd
The Entrepreneurship Center hosted the 11th Annual UC Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet on May 14 at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant in Downtown Cincinnati honoring Thomas H. Humes, Founder & CEO of Great Traditions Land & Development Company with the Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award. Nancy Shellhous Conner, Founder of Promark Company and Clifford A. Bailey, Founder of TechSoft Systems were presented the Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. The Established Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award was presented to Chong H. Ahn, Professor of Electrical and Computing Engineering.
Daniel P. Cremons, BBA '09, graduated as both the Entrepreneurship Student of the Year and the College of Business Student of the Year.
Entrepreneurship Professor Dr. Thomas Dalziel presented, “Positioning for Growth: The Value of Advisory Boards” during SURGE, a daylong event hosted by the Cincinnati chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization for Global Entrepreneur Week, sponsored by Cincinnati Magazine.
The First Place Graduate winners of the 2009 Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition were the Burnet Woods Strategic Road Map case by Robin Gardner, Kristin Schaub and Akshay Sethi. The First Place Undergraduate winners were Dan Cremons, Greg Lutz and Megan McElroy with their plan for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
The 2008-2009 winners of the CoB Undergraduate Entrepreneurship & Strategy Business Case Competition were 3M Optical Systems by Drew Donkin, Brittney Kelley, Maria Kontopos and Brian Stevens.
Undergraduate students Gregory Lutz, Daniel Cremons and Megan McElroy receive First Place at the 2009 National SBI Competition.
Dr. Charles Matthews literally went around the world in nine days to promote entrepreneurship education during the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Week. Setting out from the University of Cincinnati on November 17, Dr. Matthews flew via Chicago and Frankfurt to Budapest, Hungary, for the first of four entrepreneurship keynotes and presentations he would give in Hungary and China before returning home Thanksgiving Day.
Six out of the eight available awards were captured by UC students, alums and faculty at the Cincinnati Innovates competition. Cincinnati Innovates was created by a group of organizations and individuals in Greater Cincinnati to develop and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. The competition offered cash and in-kind prizes to contestants with a connection to Greater Cincinnati who had “transformative innovations.”
The Entrepreneurship Center helped facilitate “In One Weekend,” a group of 100 diverse professionals that gathered at TUC over one weekend and constructed a start-up company from scratch in an amazing three days. “In One Weekend” is the brainchild of UC MBA alumna Elizabeth Edwards and her colleague at Neyer Holdings, Stephen Boord, a member of the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. Participants worked together to create the area's newest venture called Dipidee, a web site that provides opportunities for consumers to connect with local arts and sporting events. Organizers estimate a combined 3,500 hours were spent on the project. Dipidee CEO Brian LeCount, BBA '98, worked around the clock to have the business up and running since October 2009.
2008
BuyStonesOnline, Inc., led by MBA student Divy Chaurasia, is awarded First Place in the Eleventh Annual UC MBA New Venture Competition.
The Ecenter and Cincom Systems, Inc. again partner to host the fourth annual UC Spirit of Enterprise MBA Business Plan Competition in February. The First Place $10,000 Cincom Spirit of Enterprise award goes to ArmyProperty.com from the University of Michigan; First Runner-Up (Spirit of Excellent award $3,000) to ProactiCare, LLC from the University of Wisconsin; Second Runner-up (Queen City Angels First Fund award $2,000) to Adora Interactive Corporation from the Indiana University; and Third Runner-up Championship Round Excellence Award ($500) to TakeShape LLC, University of Oregon.
University of Cincinnati (UC) part-time MBA students Shannon Rappach, Michele Phelps and Jennifer Bellin — under the guidance of UC Prof. Charles H. Matthews — bring home the first-place prize for their field-case consulting project for Cincinnati public broadcasting system television station WCET (channel 48). The Case of the Year competition is sponsored by the Small Business Institute®. The team took First Place in the 2007 Cecil Boatright Business Plan Competition in order to move on to the national round.
The 2008 winner of the Undergraduate New Venture Business Plan Competition was The Food Truck; Jordan Brewer, Daniel Cremons, Anthony Fedele and Gregory Lutz.
The Undergraduate SBI Case of the Year Competition saw MD Anderson and Ashley Burke, ExamGrader, LLC, take second place.
With the CET Connect team taking first place in the 2007-08 Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition, over the past eight years, UC teams have earned four first place finishes, two third places and one Honorable Mention.
UC's first undergraduate entrepreneurship team went on the road entering the Tepper Venture Challenge at Carnegie Mellon University. Grandeur Medical, a platform medical device company, led by Phil Gettinger, Biomedical Engineering, CoE, finished in the top six out of 25 teams competing.
Dr. Charles H. Matthews, Executive Director, UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research, was honored to receive recognition as one of the top Entrepreneurship Educators in the U.S. from the Acton Foundation.
David Roth, CoB '09, received a $1,000 scholarship from the Acton Foundation as part of the award ceremony in Austin, TX.
Dr. Charles H. Matthews, Executive Director, UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research was asked to testify before the U.S. House Small Business Committee on the reauthorization bill pending before Congress on the Small Business Innovation Research program.
The Fourth Annual California Scents Entrepreneurship Scholarship was awarded to Kristin Mikkelson.
The Albert Goering Memorial Entrepreneurship Scholarship was awarded to the following students: Jennifer Masyln, Ryan McMullen, Jeremy Reed, and Amy Stroh.
The Ecenter hosts the 10th Anniversary Annual UC Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet May 15. Award recipients included: Oscar Robertson, UC Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Ken Oaks, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Dr. Fred Beyette, Emerging Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award; and Ms. Lisa Holstrom, Established Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award.
The following student entrepreneurs received Bearcat Bridge Fund awards: Grandeur Medical – Philip Gettinger; Buy Stones Online, Inc. – Divy Chaurasia; Guerrilla Grub – Stephen Norman; and Jellyfish Network – Tyler Weaver.
In September 2008, UC's entrepreneurship program was ranked 21st by Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review in their sixth annual ranking of the top graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation.
2007
Bioinformatics, led by MSIS student Ralph Brueggemann, is awarded First Place in the Tenth Annual UC MBA New Venture Competition.
The Ecenter and Cincom Systems, Inc. again partner to host the third annual UC Spirit of Enterprise MBA Business Plan Competition in February. The First Place $10,000 Cincom Spirit of Enterprise award goes to Anson Enterprises from the Loyola Marymount University; First Runner-Up (Spirit of Excellent award $3,000) to RJS, LLC from the University of Louisville; and Second Runner-up (Queen City Angels First Fund award $2,000) to Optimal Vision Corp from the University of Illinois-Chicago.
The Winton Place Community Council SBI team, Sarah Ramsey, Christopher Roesing, and Stephanie Trautwein, took First Place in the 2006 Cecil Boatright Business Plan Competition and goes on to take 3rd Place in the 2007 National Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition.
The 4th cohort of Cincinnati Creates Companies (CCCIV) begins with 10 new technology driven ventures. In the fourth CCCIV Business Plan Competition, the first place team overall was Aero Surgical Systems, presented by company founders Ravi Samy and Al Bosse, taking home the $10,000 first place check. The 2nd place team was HOPS Technology, Inc., presented by company founder Pamla Winther, taking home the $7,500 prize check. The third place check for $5,000 went to Tradicom LLC Chef 24/7, presented by founders Jean-Francois Flechet and Johan Kars. This cohort closes out the $600,000 NSF Partners in Innovation grant focused on Technology Entrepreneurship.
The Fourth Annual California Scents Entrepreneurship Scholarship was awarded to Ryan McMullen.
The Albert Goering Memorial Entrepreneurship Scholarship was awarded to Kristin Mikkelson.
The Ecenter hosts the 9th Annual UC Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet in May. Award recipients included: Elroy E. Bourgraf, UC Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Jean Inkrot, David Lima, and Tillie Hidalgo Lima , Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Ricardo Higgs, OCIR & Co. LLC received the $5,000 Bearcat Bridge Fund award.
The 14th Annual Young Entrepreneurs Seminar (YES) was held Dec. 7th. A record attendance of over 190 high school juniors and seniors from 12 schools attended the day long event featuring a morning keynote address by Mr. Cliff Bailey, founder of TechSoft.
2006
Progressive Cooling Solutions, led by Engineering student Ahmed Shuja, is awarded First Place in the Ninth Annual UC MBA New Venture Competition.
The Ecenter and Cincom Systems, Inc. partner to host the second annual UC Spirit of Enterprise MBA Business Plan Competition in February. The First Place $10,000 Cincom Spirit of Enterprise award goes to Sano Gene Therapeutics from the University of Illinois – Chicago; First Runner-Up (Spirit of Excellent award $3,500) to Neurolife from Carnegie Mellon University; and Second Runner-up (Queen City Angels First Fund award $2,000) to Progressive Cooling Solutions from the University of Cincinnati.
The Winton Place Community Council SBI team takes First Place in the 2006 Cecil Boatright Business Plan Competition, while the Corryville Suzuki Project team receives First Runner-up in the graduate division. The LeanCor LLC team took top honors in the undergraduate division.
The 3rd cohort of Cincinnati Creates Companies (CCCIII) begins with 12 new technology driven ventures.
Progressive Cooling Solutions goes on to take 1st Runner-up honors in the Stuart Clark New Venture Competition and takes Best New Technology award in the 2006 MOOT Corp Competition.
The Third Annual California Scents Scholarship was awarded to Hailey J. Werthasier.
The Ecenter hosts the Eighth Annual UC Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet in May. Award recipients included: Dr. Dane A. Miller, UC Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Mr. Neil Van Uum, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Dr. Estel D. Sprague and Mr. Robert T. Voorhees, Emerging Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award; and Dr. Steven T. Boyce, Established Faculty Entrepreneur Achievement Award. Progressive Cooling Solutions receives $5,000 Bearcat Bridge Fund award.
In August, the E-Center in concert with the Global Center of Cincinnati, International Visitors Council and World Affairs Council, hosts another Community Connections delegation welcoming a group from Maikop, Republic of Adigea, Russia.
2005
Center faculty hosts a 10 member delegation from Tyumen, Russia in cooperation with the Greater Cincinnati International Visitors' Center, as well as an International Executive Education group from China.
Pizzeria Fresco is awarded 1st Place in the UC CoB-MBA Business Plan Competition and Orinoco Studios receives 1st Runner Up.
The E-Center together with Cincom Systems, Inc. hosts its inaugural invitational business plan competition: The UC Spirit of Enterprise New Venture Competition. Top schools from across the country compete for nearly $20,000 in cash prizes, including the $10,000 Cincom Spirit of Enterprise Champion Award donated by CoB alum Tom Nies, founder of Cincom. The University of Oregon claims 1st Place and UC's Pizzeria Fresco receives the $5,000 Key Bank Award for 1st Runner Up.
Brownstone Gallery takes 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition. Two undergraduate teams, Mission Controls and Clovernook Country Club, receive additional recognition.
The 2nd cohort of Cincinnati Creates Companies (CCCII) begins with 12 new technology driven ventures.
The E-Center receives a $103,000 grant from the Coleman Foundation to sustain the Bearcat Bridge Fund and create the UC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network (AEN).
Plans are announced for the creation of the Charles L. Barngrover Professorship for Entrepreneurship & Family Business.
E-Banquet award recipients are announced: Mr. Tom Humes, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Mr. Tom Nies and Dr. Leland Clark, UC Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Dr. James Hillard, Established Entrepreneur Award; and Dr. Wim Van Ooij, Emerging Entrepreneur Award.
The E-Center announced its second undergraduate scholarship for business students with an entrepreneurship concentration to Jenna N. Lucius, CoB '07, made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Gus Doppes.
The E-Center partners with the UC Career Development Center, UC Main Street, UC Small Business Development Center, and the Ohio Statewide Minority Business Development Center to present the 3rd Annual Careers in Business Ownership Workshop.
The eleventh annual Young Entrepreneurs Seminar (YES) attracts nearly 150 tri-state high school seniors from over a dozen high schools for a day-long event held in the newly refurbished Donald Core Tangeman University Center. The program features both industry experts and a panel of young entrepreneurs sharing their experiences with the next entrepreneurial generation. YES is co-sponsored by 5/3 Bank, the UC Small Business Development Center, the CoB and the UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research, and the U.S. SBA.
2004
Center faculty host two delegations from St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as a third from Turku, Finland.
Apartmentfrog, inc. receives 1st Place in the UC CoB-MBA Business Plan Competition; Agri-Solutions, LLC receives 1st Runner Up, and Quarkboard, LLC is named 2nd Runner Up.
Apartmentfrog, inc., BabysitEase, and Coleross Corporation are Bearcat Bridge Fund recipients.
HyTek Coatings, Inc. is awarded 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition, and lands 3rd Place in the National SBI Graduate Comprehensive Competition.
E-Banquet award recipients are announced: Mr. Donald “Buddy” LaRosa, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Mr. Ed Wedbush, UC Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Dr. Eric Gruenstein, Established Entrepreneur Award; Dr. David Melvin, Emerging Entrepreneur Award; Dr. Christy Holland, Honorable Mention.
The E-Center announces its first undergraduate scholarship for business students with an entrepreneurship concentration. The inaugural California Scents Scholarship, made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Gus Doppes, is awarded to Mr. Derek Brown.
Mr. Everett F. Telljohann and Mr. William J. Keating, Jr. join the E-Center Advisory Board.
Cincinnati Creates Companies (CCCI) is launched, thanks to a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Innovation Program. Center Director, Dr. Charles Matthews, designs the curriculum for the ventures and the inaugural group of 16 new technology focused ventures graduates from the program and 5 are awarded nearly $200,000 in start-up capital.
2003
Center faculty host visiting delegations from Baku, Azerbaijan in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati International Visitors' Center.
Marcato Percussion is awarded 1st Place at the UC CoB-MBA Business Plan Competition and Medeven receives 1st Runner Up; Marcato advances to the IU MBA Business Plan Competition. Both Marcato and Medeven receive Bearcat Bridge Fund awards.
Coupon Management Systems, Inc. receives the CEO NCIIA Technology Entrepreneurship Award Honorable Mention/Runner Up.
Kelley's Custom Framing (1st Place, Cecil Boatright Competition) and Genomatix USA (1st Runner Up, Cecil Boatright Competition) both advance to the regional SBI Field Case Competition. Kelley's Custom Framing receives Best Graduate Case in the Specialty Category; Genomatix receives Best Graduate Case in the Comprehensive Category, and 1st Place in the National SBI Competition.
The 5th Annual E-Banquet award recipients are announced: Dr. Donald Harrison and Dr. Jason Lemon, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Dr. George Rieveschl, Jr., Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Dr. Frank Zemlan, Inaugural Emerging Entrepreneur Award; Dr. Jaingesh Sekhar, Inaugural Established Entrepreneur Award.
The E-Center partners with the UC Career Development Center, UC Main Street, UC Small Business Development Center, and the Ohio Statewide Minority Business Development Center to present the 1st Annual Careers in Business Ownership Workshop.
CoB is named “One of the Top Tier Entrepreneurial Colleges” by Entrepreneur Magazine. UC placed in the top tier (13 colleges) of all regional entrepreneurship programs, out of 700 evaluated nationwide.
2002
Center faculty hosts a delegation from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China on turning entrepreneurial ideas into action.
Physiomics places 1st in the UC CoB-MBA Business Plan Competition and ISETEK receives 1st Runner Up. Physiomics advances to compete in the University of Oregon New Venture Championship and receives 1st Place in the Lightning Round, as well as 2nd Place in the Dayton I-Zone Competition. ISETEK enters the MBA Jungle Business Plan Challenge in NY and is named a finalist, one of only 8 out of 225 teams.
Tri-State Plastics receives 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition; the team goes on to take 1st Place in the National SBI Case of the Year Competition.
Mr. Christopher Bergen and Dr. Candace Kendle receive the Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the 4th Annual E-Banquet.
The E-Center receives a $50,000 grant from the Kauffman Foundation.
Physiomics, ISETEK, PIG-E-BANK.com, and Solano Interiors receive the first Bearcat Bridge Fund awards.
2001
E-Center faculty presents Strategic Lessons for New Venture Formation to a visiting delegation from Inner Mongolia.
Generatrix receives 1st Place in the UC CoB-MBA Business Plan Competition, and the City of Montgomery team takes 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition.
Mr. Tony Shipley and Dr. Timothy Johnson receive the Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the 3rd Annual Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards Banquet.
The E-Center is ranked “One of the Top 50 Schools for Entrepreneurship” by Success Magazine.
The E-Center receives a $50,000 grant from the Coleman Foundation. Thanks in part to the Coleman grant, the Bearcat Bridge Fund is established to award seed money to students for new venture launch.
2000
CoB enters the IU MBA Business Plan Case Competition and Britech, Inc., a joint effort between CoB and Engineering students, takes third place out of 12 teams. Britech also enters the University of Oregon New Venture Championship and finishes in the top five out of 20 teams.
Fascinating, Inc. receives 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition and 1st Place at the SBIDA National Field Case of the Year Competition.
CoB and the U.C. Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research hold the second Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet. CoB alum, Mr. Jeff Wyler, receives the second annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
The fourth annual Young Entrepreneurs Seminar (YES) attracts over 100 tri-state high school seniors from over a dozen high schools for a day-long event held in Donald Core Tangeman University Center. The program features both industry experts and a panel of young entrepreneurs sharing their experiences with the next entrepreneurial generation. YES is co-sponsored by 5/3 Bank, the U.C. Small Business Development Center, the CoB and the U.C. Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research, and the U.S. SBA.
1999
Horizon Health Care & Fitness places 1st in the UC MBA Business Plan Competition; the team advances to participate in the Midwest Regional Business Plan Competition.
CD World, Inc. takes 1st place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition.
Visiting delegations from the Middle East, South Africa, Russia, and the Ukraine learn about entrepreneurship education programs at E-Center in the College of Business.
CoB and the U.C. Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research holds first Entrepreneurship Recognition Banquet. Dr. Charles L. Barngrover receives the inaugural Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
1998
CoB enters its first external MBA Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition, The Midwestern Invitational Business Plan Case Competition. CoB team, Made to Order Marketing, takes second place.
Matdan America receives 1st Place in the Cecil Boatright Field Case Competition hosted by SCORE and the UC SBI Program.
Three delegations representing 7 Arabic speaking countries, guests from the University of the Orange Free State, and a Business for Russia delegation from Yaroslavl, Russia visit the E-Center.
1997
Dr. Charles H. Matthews formally founds the U.C. Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research in the CoB.
CoB unveils new undergraduate integral concentration in Entrepreneurship/Family Business.
CoB and the U.C. Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research hosts the first annual UC MBA New Venture Competition in Carl H. Lindner Hall. The winner of this competition will represent U.C. in regional and national competitions.
1996
CoB receives $25,000 Entrepreneurial Education Awareness Grant. CoB establishes an Integral Concentration in Entrepreneurship/Family Business at the undergraduate level.
1995
Over the past decade, the SBI program under the direction of Professor Matthews generates over $140,000 in grants from the U.S. SBA to further small, entrepreneurial, and family business education and research mission in the CoB.
CoB begins to host its annual mentoring program for delegations from the Business for Russia/Community Connections Program.
1993
The E-Center hosts the 1st Annual Young Entrepreneurs Seminar.
1992
Dr. Charles Barngrover offers first undergraduate Entrepreneurship New Venture Creation Class.
1991
CoB hosts delegations from the Soviet Union and Africa; participants learn about entrepreneurship, corporate venturing, strategic planning, and small business education in the U.S.
1990
Dr. Sidney L. Barton named first Director of Goering Center.
MBA SBI team wins first place in the SBIDA Field Case Competition Region V and goes on to become a national finalist.
1987
John Goering founds the Goering Center for Family and Privately Held Firms.
1984
CoB forms coalition with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) to help small businesses in the Greater Cincinnati area.
1982
Charles H. Matthews becomes Director of the SBI Program. Revitalizes the program from four cases per year to over 30 per year over the next decade.
1974
Professor Tim Johnson offers first graduate entrepreneurship course.
1973
"How to Create and Manage Your Own Business Empire" seminar offered in TUC, April 28-29.
1972
CoB offers first course in Small Business Planning; becomes charter member of the Small Business Institute (SBI) Program. John Goering is the first SBI Director.
