The Olin Cup Competition is a cross-campus entrepreneurship competition that began in 1988 and has been providing seed investment for teams that are affiliated with Washington University, either as students, alumni, faculty or staff. The competition is organized by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

This year, four of the six teams are composed of current students while the other two are made up of alumni.

The Olin Cup awards $75,000 annually, and awards are typically split $50,000 for the first-place team, $20,000 for the second-place team and $5,000 for the top student team, regardless of rank.

II Luscri, student services coordinator at the Skandalaris Center, says that the cross-campus aspect of the competition allows medical students, law students and business students to come together to form a cohesive business plan.

“Teams that are formed that are interdisciplinary are really fun to see,” Luscri said.

The competition has grown from 38 entries in 2008 and 45 entries in 2009 to 49 entries this year, an all-time high.

“It’s good to see the number of entries up. But what’s more important is the quality of entries has gone up as well,” Luscri said. “Because the entries are better, it’s harder to decide.”

Human Canvas, the group behind creating a semi-permanent tattoo that would fade after a period of time, is among the six finalists.

The team consists of doctoral students, professional MBAs, an MBA and an undergraduate engineer. Lucy Li, a doctoral neuroscience student in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences of the Washington University School of Medicine, says that she was inspired by a process she came across in her work: Dye can be injected through the mouth to the brain, where it can spread.

Li thought that this idea could be applied to the concept of tattoos.

Li says that the diverse backgrounds of her team members have allowed each teammate to bring his or her own strength to the project.

“I’m really appreciative of the big team because they all have their special insights into this venture. For the MBA students, they [know] how to do marketing, how to do sales, how to do financials, how to do business models,” Li said.

But she said that she was also surprised by her teammates’ wide breadth of knowledge.

“My other teammates, besides knowledge in their fields, know a lot about business,” Li said. “We have to learn so fast and have picked up so many things in this competition.”

Luscri says that the quality of the entries reflects the seriousness of the intentions of the entrants. Many past winners have gone on to start their own companies or are in the process of starting their own companies.

QuadConnect won the $5,000 student prize in last year’s competition and will be launching next semester. QuadConnect is a platform that offers an event filtering and searching system for campus communities.

Morgan DeBaun, QuadConnect’s co-founder and chief operating officer, says that the experience of writing a business plan and of pitching the business before an audience of CEOs and business members is invaluable.

“The competition really allowed our company to get guidance and seek feedback on our idea and concept,” DeBaun said.

DeBaun says that the cash prize was helpful in alleviating funding pressure since many start-ups are often funded out of the founders’ own pockets.

“$5,000 gives a lot of flexibility in being able to hire lawyers and with outsourcing the technical or design work we needed,” DeBaun said.

Teams are now preparing their business plans, which are due Jan. 4, 2011, and their final presentations are Jan. 20. Winners will be announced Feb. 3.

Matt Lanter | Student Life

The Schoology website combines social networking with learning management, offering resources for K-12 classrooms. Schoology was founded by Wash. U. graduates Jeremy Friedman, Ryan Hwang and Timothy Trinidad and was recently featured in Entrepreneur Magazine.

In 2008, Friedman, Hwang and Trinidad launched the project as part of the “Hatchery” entrepreneurship course with Professor Clifford Holekamp, a class they agreed was “helpful and eye-opening.” Their platform was based on the idea of note sharing, complete with a tutoring aspect to appeal to university students. Ad-supported revenue from the system was returned to users as an incentive to participate.

By May 2009, the founders of Schoology decided to take the leap and pursue their project full time.

“We never imagined that we would be doing this after we graduated; even right up until graduation, a couple of us had job offers or were going to grad school,” Trinidad said. “It was definitely not something that we pictured when we originally founded the project.”

In a time when most seniors are worried about picking up their cap-and-gown combo, they raised a seed round of funding a week prior to graduation.

After securing funding, it was only a matter of time before the next generation of technology-focused users began to discover Schoology: high-schoolers. It was then that Schoology decided to rethink their approach.

“We saw that there was a really big need in K-12 that wasn’t being addressed,” Trinidad said. “Why not focus on a level that’s being underserved?”

Rather than mimicking the nature of other learning management systems, such as Blackboard, the founders wanted to stay away from a repository feel. Instead, they decided to develop Schoology for its interactive and collaborative potential. Helped along by an “angel donor,” venture firm Meakem Becker, and $1.25 million in Series A funding, Schoology expanded to combine the feel of social networking with an academic purpose.

It was through this community-minded environment that K-12 clients started responding to their product, suggesting features that might be more appropriate to schools at an individual or system-wide level. Although the majority of features are more applicable to post-secondary education, the dialogue between Schoology and their clients has allowed them to develop a user-friendly interface that could develop in the same manner as Twitter or Facebook.

“We’ve adopted a business model that is very different from the bigger players,” Friedman said.

Individual teachers can come on for free and then build from a school platform. Because ads are often blocked at the K-12 level, revenue is generated when schools purchase add-ons, such as custom branding. Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School and Clayton High School are two area schools among the approximately 2,400 Schoology clients across the nation.

The young founders are continually surprised by the outcomes of their venture, including a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine.

“It’s not quite a success yet; we sit here every day and work really long hours because we love it,” Friedman said. “The most rewarding thing is not just creating a platform, but watching it grow and people use it.”

“It is kind of funny that my relationship with Jeremy, Ryan and Tim really blossomed after they delivered a pretty lackluster midterm rehearsal of their business plan pitch for Schoology in the Hatchery class. When they showed that they actually wanted the toughest criticism that they could get, I realized that these guys were going somewhere,” Holekamp wrote in an e-mail.

They are still in contact with their former professor, whom they consider “a great resource,” close friend and mentor.

“From their first elevator pitch in class to their full-page profile in Entrepreneur magazine, I have been tremendously proud of them,” Holekamp wrote.

To those budding entrepreneurs here at their alma mater, Hwang offers some advice: “When you’re in college, you have your whole life ahead of you; now’s the time to pursue what you really want to do.”

Have you ever wanted to start your own business? Did you let your age, experience, knowledge or savings limit you from beginning your own venture? Like many students involved in the Student Entrepreneurial Program here at Washington University, freshman Sam Franklin has just launched a company, and he did it from his Seattle home. Greenvelope, LLC, an online wedding invitation site, has finally arrived. Curious and wanting to know more about him, I sat down to hear his story.

Student Life: Tell me about your background.

Sam Franklin:I’m from the Seattle Area and have always liked entrepreneurship. Though I graduated from high school with the class of 2008, I deferred a year from entering Wash U. During my year off I ran a pressure washing company during the day and delivered pizzas at night.  The remainder of my time was spent working on Greenvelope.

SL: What are you most passionate about?

SF: Since I’m from the Pacific Northwest, I’ve always been involved in outdoor activities, as well as lacrosse. Seattle’s all about being green, and I’m glad I get to take a part in that.

SL: What are you currently studying at Wash. U.?

SF: Possibly Entrepreneurship and Marketing. I’m also thinking about minoring in Communication Design.

SL: What do your parents do?

SF: My dad’s an orthopedic surgeon and entrepreneur. He owns a surgical center.

SL: So, how did you come up with such an idea?

SF: I was reading an article by USA Today about people who have done e-vites. It sounded like a cool idea.

SL: Why wedding invitations?

SF: I identified an issue: people want formal wedding invitations but also want to be environmentally friendly. With Greenvelope, they can get the quality they need and save the environment at the same time.

SL: How did you come up with the name Greenevelope?

Actually my Project Manager, Zak, came up with it and I’m very grateful.  Our vision has evolved

SL: Was it necessary for you to take a year off?

SF: Definitely. It’s a full time job. Luckily there are lots of resources here, and practicing what you learn makes classes more relevant.

SL: Who is your target demographic?

I feel that young couples who have grown up in this internet age are more likely to use the service.

SL: How did you fund the company?

SF: During my high school years, I ran a pressure washing company and saved a lot of the money I made. Also, while I was at home I had two jobs, one of which was selling pizzas.

SL: What was one of the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome when creating a company of your own?

SF: Working on Greenvelope was very time consuming. I worked with two developers and two designers. This project taught me about time management and how to make difficult decisions. I also took out some loans for my initial funding.

SL: What sets Greenvelope apart from other e-vite Web sites or companies?

SF: My Web site’s very interactive, and there are no annoying advertisements. Usually with other sites you find many ads and tacky and limited [template]options. Greenvelope offers a wide range of traditional wedding templates. Save time. Save trees. Save money.

SL: How many employees do you currently have?

SF: Just two; I’m working with a designer and a developer. Later when the company expands, I’ll probably add more people to the team.

SL: How has business been looking so far? Are you working on any other projects?

SF: It looks great. I’ve gotten very positive feedback from some family, friends and young couples. With my course load, I’m unable to take on any other projects, but I do have many ideas for the future.

SL: Where do you see your company going in the next five years?

SF: I want to expand into other types of invitations—bat and bar mitzvahs, business and corporate events, etc.

SL: What advice do you have for entrepreneurial-minded college students like yourself?

SF: There are so many good ideas out there. Usually people are scared their ideas will get stolen. However, they need to talk to people. Don’t be paranoid that people will take your ideas. Being young definitely helps, and it also doesn’t mean you’re incapable. Effective communication and surrounding yourself with like-minded passionate people will help you succeed.

With that being said, go out and talk to people. We’re fortunate enough to have a great support team and to go to school with many talented and gifted students.

If you are interested in learning more about Greenvelope, go to http://www.greenvelope.com.

Each year, the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) awards between $25,000 and $35,000 to winning business teams that present innovative business solutions to social problems.

Four years ago, YouthBridge, a 135-year-old foundation supporting youth-focused social ventures, partnered with the Skandalaris Center in the Olin Business School to found the SEIC and create the YouthBridge Award. YouthBridge committed half a million dollars over the course of five years to facilitate the creation of innovative business solutions that can benefit the St. Louis community.

“This is the first year YouthBridge became the name sponsor of the competition. They were the organization that, four years ago, got the SEIC up and running, and now they’re committed to help us continue that program,” said II Luscri, student services coordinator of the Skandalaris Center.

Other sponsors include the Incarnate Word Foundation, Deaconess Foundation and the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis.

Although the business school offers many entrepreneurship courses that help students develop their business plans, the competition is not only for business students. In fact, unlike the Olin Cup Competition—which requires at least one member of the team to be a University alumnus or student—the SEIC is open to anyone.

“The SEIC allows people to not only have ideas but to have support and realize their ideas,” said sophomore Atima Lui, owner of the student-run business Salon 40.

The SEIC launched last week with a team formation workshop. Later events include workshops on executive summaries, elevator pitches and business plans. Three rounds of competition involve a panel of more than 30 judges, all experts in various fields and industries. The first-place team is awarded $50,000 and the second-place team $20,000. An individual student award of $5,000 is also given out each year.

As in previous years, the competition began on ideabounce.com, an online forum where students can post and discuss potential business ideas.

“We already have 15 people declaring interest in the competition,” Luscri said on Monday, only three days after the competition began. “We have more students and organizations involved than ever before.”

This May, Rupununi Learners, an organization dedicated to bringing modern libraries to Guyana, received $25,000 as one of the five winning projects of 2009.

“I had maybe some of the right instincts, but I didn’t have any of the skills,” said Alice Layton, a former social worker who founded Rupununi Learners. “[The SEIC exposed] me to a knowledge base that I didn’t have, connected me to people with skills that I didn’t have and helped me develop ideas into plans.”

Other teams are similarly appreciative of gains from the competition.

“SEIC [gave us] that framework for finding out that [The Exchange] was a good idea. We didn’t enter to win; we entered to find out if it was good idea or not,” said Melanie Scheetz, founder of The Exchange project. “There is no way we could have come up with our plan without SEIC.”

Despite its successes, the Skandalaris Center continues to look for ways to expand and improve the competition, Luscri said. The Investor Presentation and Team Formation workshops are new additions to the SEIC this year—a response to the participant feedback from previous years.

“It would be better to have the center establish topics and ask [experts] to speak specifically on one topic,” Layton said. “I wanted fewer topics and more focused topics.”

A suggestion by Scheetz is to have more student involvement on teams that are not coming from the University community.

“I absolutely would have loved student involvement to help write up the plans,” she said. “We have to recruit Wash. U. students versus having them available to us.”

With YouthBridge Community Foundation now a name sponsor of the SEIC, the initiative to better the St. Louis community has continued to grow and evolve.

“The vision that business skills can improve social organizations needs to be matched with the vision that social organizations can improve business,” Layton said. “It has to be a two-way street. The nonprofit world should be impacting the business community.”

Racing—and riding—throughout the greater St. Louis area, students took pictures of sites important to the St. Louis “entrepreneurship ecosystem.” Set up in “Amazing Race” style, the race teams—two racers under names such as “The Abracadabras”—could travel by bus, MetroLink, foot or other type of public transportation to reach sites determined by a clue pack. Each site was worth a specific amount of points, determined by how easy it was to reach the site from Washington University.

The clues gave students a MetroLink stop and a cryptic description for each checkpoint. In case they were stuck, the teams were encouraged to “phone a friend” and keep a third friend at a computer during the four-hour-long race.

“The goal is to help people understand entrepreneurship and see the places instrumental to entrepreneurship in St. Louis and Illinois,” said Brenda Bradford, the business division chair and associate professor of business at Missouri Baptist University.

The St. Louis Region Entrepreneurship Educators, a collection of 12 colleges and universities, are using the race as a chance to allow students interested in entrepreneurship to come together and collaborate as well as a kickoff for the Global Entrepreneurship Week in St. Louis.

According to II (pronounced two) Luscri, the student services coordinator at the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, collaboration is  important for “getting our [Wash. U.] students exposed to students at other colleges. We tell students the best thing they could do is collaborate.”

Collaboration and competition between schools, and even within the Wash. U. community, led to an exciting race atmosphere. Students from the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Engineering and of course, Business, had representative teams in the race.

“It’s something to do,” said Joe Cavanagh, a senior in Arts & Sciences. “I find myself with not enough excuses to use the MetroLink.”

The planning team for the event, while emphasizing “innovation and creativity and all that stuff,” hoped to use the event as a jumping-off point to help spark a commitment to entrepreneurship  throughout the St. Louis community, especially in the face of the current economy.

“We hear about the big companies…having trouble, but we don’t really get to hear about entrepreneurship,” Luscri said. The race, combined with the rest of the week, will continue to increase the commitment to St. Louis as an entrepreneurial community.

While some were enticed by the competition and some by the idea of a fun race, others, like Eric Gendal and Nathan Sokoll-Ward, were hoping to win the prize, an iPod Touch for each team member. No matter what the incentive, everyone was impressed and surprised by the high turnout.

“We thought there were going to be about five people,” juniors Gendal and Sokoll-Ward explained.

As the teams filed out to begin their own amazing entrepreneurial race, and according to Luscri, to learn some history and information about the community, the teams were given one last set of instructions.

“Get your package; get moving. This is a race!”

Brindak got the idea for the Web site from doodles she and her younger sister, Olivia, started drawing. The blonde cartoon, Miss O, is based on Brindak’s sister. The girls’ mother, a creative director, made large cut-out drawings of Olivia and her friends for her birthday one year, and their reactions showed Brindak that the idea of the Miss O cartoon could go somewhere.

“I was 13 and leaving my tween years. I knew how hard those years were so I wanted to create something for my sister and her friends that could help them,” Brindak said.

With the help of her parents and a web team, she began researching what young girls were interested in through focus groups.

“What they said, we did. And what they said they wouldn’t like, we didn’t put on our site,” Brindak said of the development process of Miss O and Friends. “There wasn’t anything out there like this for young girls where they could have fun on the Internet in a safe, wholesome, yet hip and cool way.”

As it stands now the Web site has five characters, including one named Juliette; each character has different interests and personalities. It also features games, music playlists and contests offering prizes like tickets to a Jonas Brothers concert. It also has a “scoop” section that includes articles, some written by Brindak, on celebrities, environmental issues, advice and anything else a pre-pubescent female heart could desire.

Because of the success of Miss O and Friends, Brindak has learned a lot about the business world.

“I’ve been to big companies such as Proctor and Gamble, Yahoo and Colgate and presented at all of them, which is scary. But I learned a lot about how to comport myself in front of adults and large groups of people.”

And while she said had no idea that Miss O and Friends would get as big as it is today, Brindak said, “When girls tell me that something on Miss O has helped them, that’s probably the best feeling in the world.”

This is the third in a series of four articles about student entrepreneurship on campus.