TEC

For an aspiring student entrepreneur, the Technology Entrepreneur Center makes things happen. Ask Keith Schacht.

A senior in engineering, Schacht met his future partner through the Dale V. Cozad Business Plan Competition sponsored by the TEC. Though working on different projects, he and Zach Kaplan, a U of I graduate, immediately saw they shared a commitment to develop a company that tapped into web-based technology.

"We both had a desire and the energy to make something happen," Schacht said. After several months of planning, they launched Lever Works Inc. in December 2000. Today, the Urbana-based company has four employees and more than a dozen customers. It installed an online system for distributing engineering forms for Flex-N-Gate, a Midwest automotive parts company, and recently launched MyDayWorks, which offers time-management software to businesses, individuals, and students.

Lever Works is exactly the kind of savvy startup that Raymond L. Price, the director of TEC, hoped for when the College of Engineering opened TEC in January 2000. The center expands on the engineering college's curriculum by offering science and technology undergraduates exposure to the business planning, finance, and marketing skills necessary to bring new technologies to the marketplace.

"The idea was to bring together the resources of the university to help students who were interested in entrepreneurial ventures," said Price, who holds the William Harrison Severns Chair in Human Behavior in the College of Engineering. "It's part of the university's overall commitment to encourage economic growth in the state and to better equip our students to go into the work world."

TEC combines traditional classroom course work with hands-on projects. It offers courses on such topics as technology opportunity assessment, product development, legal issues, and business plans. The courses are taught by a core engineering staff and visiting faculty members with expertise in startup ventures, including David E. Goldberg, director of the U of I Genetic Algorithms Laboratory, and Brian P. Lilly, president of Smart Solutions.

Although the courses have attracted mostly engineering and computer science majors, "we are getting students from the other colleges; business majors most definitely, as well as students from fine arts, LAS, agriculture, and education," said Laura L. Hirschfeld, TEC program director. The center's courses and other activities are open to all interested students.

A year ago, TEC broadened its base with two new courses—an entrepreneurship speakers' series and a class on the valuation and planning of new products. This spring, Jay Kesan, a U of I law professor, will teach a course on legal issues in entrepreneurship.

Schacht, from Chesterfield, Mo., said the center gave invaluable guidance when he and Kaplan were starting their company and continues to provide support and networking opportunities.

"Professor Price has a knack for inviting interesting, experienced business people to campus, many of them alumni," Schacht said. In informal conversations, Schacht and other students have the opportunity to talk to the speakers about issues involved in developing and managing startups.

"The center is really plugged into entrepreneurs," said Gregory Baugues, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who started an online sales firm in his freshman year that he subsequently sold. Through an internship arranged by the center, he spent last summer in the U of I Office of Technology Management working with MBA and engineering graduate students on technology-transfer issues.

"This job opened my eyes to many new ideas," said Baugues of Indianapolis. "Most definitely I want to get involved in entrepreneurial ventures, if not immediately in my career, then down the road."

The two-year-old center also has inspired the formation of a student-run group, the Illinois Student Entrepreneur Education and Development Society (iSEEDS). The group has an online newsletter and participates with TEC and local venture capitalists in encouraging student entrepreneurship.

Eric Han, an engineering graduate student from Naperville, Ill., who is president of iSEEDS, said the Cozad Business Plan Competition is an important event for student ventures. The first Cozad Competition attracted 38 entries with 97 students participating from 21 departments throughout the university.

By Mark Reutter, reprinted with permission from Postmarks, University of Illinois.

Visit the Technology Enterpreneur Center on the Web at http://www.ge.uiuc.edu/tec/.	For an aspiring student entrepreneur, the Technology Entrepreneur Center makes things happen. Ask Keith Schacht. A senior in engineering, Schacht met his future partner through the Dale V. Cozad Business Plan Competition sponsored by the TEC. Though working on different projects, he and Zach Kaplan, a U of I graduate, immediately saw they shared a commitment to develop a company that tapped into web-based technology. "We both had a desire and the energy to make something happen," Schacht said. After several months of planning, they launched Lever Works Inc. in December 2000. Today, the Urbana-based company has four employees and more than a dozen customers. It installed an online system for distributing engineering forms for Flex-N-Gate, a Midwest automotive parts company, and recently launched MyDayWorks, which offers time-management software to businesses, individuals, and students. Lever Works is exactly the kind of savvy startup that Raymond L. Price, the director of TEC, hoped for when the College of Engineering opened TEC in January 2000. The center expands on the engineering college's curriculum by offering science and technology undergraduates exposure to the business planning, finance, and marketing skills necessary to bring new technologies to the marketplace. "The idea was to bring together the resources of the university to help students who were interested in entrepreneurial ventures," said Price, who holds the William Harrison Severns Chair in Human Behavior in the College of Engineering. "It's part of the university's overall commitment to encourage economic growth in the state and to better equip our students to go into the work world." TEC combines traditional classroom course work with hands-on projects. It offers courses on such topics as technology opportunity assessment, product development, legal issues, and business plans. The courses are taught by a core engineering staff and visiting faculty members with expertise in startup ventures, including David E. Goldberg, director of the U of I Genetic Algorithms Laboratory, and Brian P. Lilly, president of Smart Solutions. Although the courses have attracted mostly engineering and computer science majors, "we are getting students from the other colleges; business majors most definitely, as well as students from fine arts, LAS, agriculture, and education," said Laura L. Hirschfeld, TEC program director. The center's courses and other activities are open to all interested students. A year ago, TEC broadened its base with two new courses—an entrepreneurship speakers' series and a class on the valuation and planning of new products. This spring, Jay Kesan, a U of I law professor, will teach a course on legal issues in entrepreneurship. Schacht, from Chesterfield, Mo., said the center gave invaluable guidance when he and Kaplan were starting their company and continues to provide support and networking opportunities. "Professor Price has a knack for inviting interesting, experienced business people to campus, many of them alumni," Schacht said. In informal conversations, Schacht and other students have the opportunity to talk to the speakers about issues involved in developing and managing startups. "The center is really plugged into entrepreneurs," said Gregory Baugues, a junior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who started an online sales firm in his freshman year that he subsequently sold. Through an internship arranged by the center, he spent last summer in the U of I Office of Technology Management working with MBA and engineering graduate students on technology-transfer issues. "This job opened my eyes to many new ideas," said Baugues of Indianapolis. "Most definitely I want to get involved in entrepreneurial ventures, if not immediately in my career, then down the road." The two-year-old center also has inspired the formation of a student-run group, the Illinois Student Entrepreneur Education and Development Society (iSEEDS). The group has an online newsletter and participates with TEC and local venture capitalists in encouraging student entrepreneurship. Eric Han, an engineering graduate student from Naperville, Ill., who is president of iSEEDS, said the Cozad Business Plan Competition is an important event for student ventures. The first Cozad Competition attracted 38 entries with 97 students participating from 21 departments throughout the university. By Mark Reutter, reprinted with permission from Postmarks, University of Illinois.
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