More Colleges Nuture Business Aspirations
Two years ago, Arizona State University graduate student Greg Peterson and a friend hatched plans for a TV show that would instruct homeowners how to renovate in environmentally and socially responsible ways. But the two didn’t have enough money to cover the production costs, or the expertise to market the show.
They submitted their idea to a new campus program helping students bring business concepts to life, called the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative. The program gave them $15,000 in seed money and access to on-campus office space, along with training seminars devoted to student start-ups on topics like product development, intellectual property and finance. It also hooked them up with the chief executive of a local e-commerce business, whom they met with every other week to discuss online marketing tactics.
Peterson and his partner recently finished the pilot show and are trying to sell it to various cable networks.
Small business is becoming a big deal on college campuses these days. The Arizona State program hands out $200,000 to student ventures annually, accepting about 15 to 20 of the roughly 100 submissions that are made each year.
And hundreds of other U.S. colleges and universities also have awakened to the fact that many of their graduates are likely to work for themselves someday. Many are bolstering their courses and extracurricular activities for aspiring entrepreneurs and helping students create businesses before graduation.
Photo by Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative.
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