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THE ROANOKE COLLEGE INNOVATION CHALLENGE: LEADING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE COMMUNITY C. Michael Smith Roanoke College Ali A. Nazemi Roanoke College 221 College Lane Salem, VA 24153 (540) 375-2224 [email protected]

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Abstract The Roanoke College Innovation Challenge (RCIC) provides truly integrative learning by bringing together students from multiple academic disciplines to work on an innovative and collaborative project. As an eight-week summer program for students, the goal of the RCIC is to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and community throughout the Roanoke Valley. Three teams of students are given the task to develop a comprehensive business plan for three new product innovations. The research and work is then used by the student teams in the presentation of the new entrepreneurial endeavors to potential investors at the conclusion of the program. This school sponsored initiative is designed to benefit both local business (who provide the ideas) and students from all areas with the development of viable business plans for new product innovations. Executive Summary Roanoke, Virginia has seen a consistent decrease in entrepreneurial activity, according to Stuart Meese, Roanoke City’s Coordinator to attract and retain young people. Roanoke College has worked with the city to attempt to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of young minds with the Roanoke College Innovation Challenge (RCIC). Since 2001, approximately fifteen students from Roanoke College and other top academic institutions from all over the United States (a few examples from the 2009 program include Purdue, Georgetown, Florida State and Minnesota) are offered the unique opportunity to participate in the RCIC, an 8-week summer program that caters to their entrepreneurial spirit. The participants are divided into three teams and given the task to develop a comprehensive business plan for three new product innovations. With the help of faculty and industry mentors, the students research the patent/intellectual property process, organizational structure, production, marketing, financial aspects, funding, and possible exit strategies. At the conclusion of the eight-week program, the student teams put all of their work together into a business plan, and present their ideas to local bankers, venture capitalists, and private investors with the hope of obtaining the necessary financial start-up capital. The program has contributed significantly to the entrepreneurial efforts of the Roanoke Valley by providing local inventors with a viable and inexpensive option to develop a quality business plan. In addition, the RCIC has enhanced the entrepreneurial spirit and leadership of students from around the country. Similar programs, if supported, could increase the efforts of communities to achieve the same goals. Introduction Nestled in the mountains about halfway between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia is Roanoke, Virginia. Inside the city limits are approximately one hundred thousand people, and together with the surrounding communities, about three hundred thousand people call the Roanoke Valley “home”. While the population is that of a small community, Roanoke has the student population of a much larger city. Within a few hundred square miles of the Roanoke Valley are twenty academic institutions, including: Virginia Tech, Radford, Roanoke College,

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Virginia Military Institute, and the University of Virginia. With all of these fine academies nearby, why does the Roanoke Valley lose so many motivated and bright young workers to places like Charlotte, Richmond, and Northern Virginia? When polled, the response most often heard from college students is “to find a good job”. This perception is disconcerting to many in the Valley. Many Roanoke employers have a difficult time finding qualified young candidates; however, many students state that they are unable to find “good jobs” in the area. In addition, according to Stuart Meese, the city’s Coordinator for attracting and retaining young adults, the city is experiencing a relatively low amount of entrepreneurial activities, as most young people seem to only consider large organizations for employment after graduation, rather than start (or work with) a small company. While it is true that Roanoke does not have the abundance of Fortune 500 companies found in Washington or Charlotte, the city and surrounding community does have ample opportunity for small company growth. The student perception is unfortunate, and likely incorrect, as David Birch’s pivotal research (1979) found thirty years ago – most new jobs come from small companies. In an effort to change this perception and enhance entrepreneurial activity, the Roanoke College Innovation Challenge (RCIC) is doing its part to level the playing field, and keep good students from leaving the area after graduation. The program is also attempting to attract more skilled students to the Valley, and increase the intellectual capital available to the area. This document will discuss the successes of the RCIC, and provide insight into how an academic institution can work with the community to increase entrepreneurial activity. Overview of the Program The Innovation Challenge has been established with a creative partnership between Roanoke College and local businesses to form a private industry innovation engine. Each summer, approximately fifteen students from Roanoke College and other top academic institutions are offered the unique opportunity to participate in this innovation challenge. As an eight-week summer program, sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation (CLEI), the goal of the Roanoke College Innovation Challenge (RCIC) is to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and community throughout the Roanoke Valley. The program is designed to benefit both local business and students from all areas with the development of viable business plans for new product innovations. Three product innovations are identified by the Director of the program over the course of the academic year to be divided among the three student teams. Finding good innovation ideas can be difficult, but the CLEI has been able to foster relationships with local innovation and technology oriented companies who have been able to provide the RCIC with some very interesting product and service innovations. All the project ideas come from the local community. Past projects include a machine that greatly prolongs the life of dental burrs and an enzymatic cleaning solution that permanently removes oil from concrete. Local businesses and inventors provide the ideas, and the students work to make the idea a reality. Fifteen upperclassman participants are invited to the Roanoke College campus where they enjoy free room and board. Junior-level students are preferred as they have generally had time to take

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upper-level classes in their respective disciplines. The greater their knowledge, the better they are able to contribute to the business plan. Upon their arrival, the students are divided into three teams and given the task to develop a comprehensive business plan for a new product innovation. Roanoke College faculty and local business leaders guide the teams as they research and develop: • • • • • • • •

Patent/intellectual property process Organizational structure Production Marketing Financial aspects Funding Product design Exit strategies

The students are given a significant amount of freedom in developing their business plans, as long as they follow the broadly defined proper business plan structure as set forth by the CLEI (Overview, Marketing, Operations, and Financials). This freedom is incredibly important to help the students successfully develop the attitude of entrepreneurship. Without the freedom to pursue the work on their own, they see the exercise as academic, rather than enterprising. “Nurturing the skills to start and run a business is a secondary objective compared with developing enterprising attitudes and competencies” (Surlemont, pg 263). However, while freedom is important, the students also need the tools necessary to create their work. To meet this need, approximately five formal classroom activities are provided each week by faculty and business leaders that correspond to the deliverable due that week. For example, a local web-page expert speaks to the RCIC students about web-page design during the “Marketing” week, and a Roanoke College finance professor speaks to the class during the week in which the students are responsible for developing financials. Finding the proper balance between the transfer of knowledge while still providing students with the freedom to explore their own entrepreneurial spirit is a key success factor of the program (Garavan & O’Cinneide, 1994). At the conclusion of the eight-week program, the student teams put all of their work together into a business plan (each team creates approximately 20 bound business plan documents), and present their ideas to local bankers, venture capitalists, and private investors in a formal business presentation held in a conference room on the Roanoke College campus. It is the hope that the presentation will inspire investors to discuss with the inventor the opportunities associated with providing the necessary financial start-up capital. The students practice their presentation skills before the actual business presentation with faculty and mentors who make constructive criticisms and recommendations. The students are generally still very nervous at their final presentations, but they have only ever delivered impressive final performances. After a final presentation in the 2008 program, one banking professional stated: “This work is far superior to what I see in my day-to-day life. These students know their stuff!”

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Adding to the success rate is the fact that students are extensively interviewed before the program to see if they have the qualities and traits generally associated with successful entrepreneurs, including a desire to prove themselves, self-efficacy, and self-reliance (Lucia, 2009). The students learn what it takes to start a business. Some of them realize that starting a business is not what they thought. Many of the frustrations inherent with entrepreneurial efforts are entirely placed on the shoulders of the student teams, and they feel the heat. However, many students seem to recognize that they have the entrepreneurial spirit, and continue to hone the skills necessary to foster that spirit. While this “spirit” is difficult to assess, it can be seen in that several graduates of the program have returned to discuss with the current participants the impact that the program had on their current entrepreneurial endeavors. Many other participants maintain correspondence with their program mentors to ask for guidance and advice on entrepreneurial activities. Formal assessment of these efforts is a future goal of the program, and is currently in development. Benefits to the Community The Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation (CLEI) expends a considerable amount of effort to recruit only the best students to the RCIC program. Students must be gifted academically and posses the necessary interpersonal skills to function effectively in this relatively stressful and competitive environment. Only students with exceptional academic credentials, work experience, and teamwork skills are accepted into the program. This is challenging due to the fact that many of these students could earn a great deal of financial incentives from other internships. The CLEI is only able to provide each student with a $1,500 stipend for the 8-weeks; however, many recognize the experience offered to be invaluable and much more beneficial than that of most internships. Therefore, many highly qualified candidates choose the RCIC over much more financially lucrative summer opportunities. In addition, efforts are made to locate a diverse background of participant knowledge and experience. The CLEI finds the team to fit the project, generally encompassing majors in business, engineering, industrial design, computer science, graphic design, information technology, the lab sciences, and liberal arts. The CLEI is able to recruit participants from institutions all over the country, ensuring a diverse background of thought and academic experience. The recruiting activities are largely accomplished on-line, though efforts are made to attend the internship fairs held by larger institutions. Because of this recruitment effort, supporters of the RCIC are provided with a top-notch product development team. The business plans produced by the RCIC have been described by reviewers as “second-to-none” and “far better than what I see in my day-to-day work”. There is real economic value in these business plans, and given the right opportunity, the Roanoke Valley may capitalize on this effort with new entrepreneurial initiatives. Fortunately, there has been strong student interest in the program, allowing the RCIC access to top-notch students from many different colleges and universities. The careful recruitment of talented candidates also leads to a second benefit associated with the RCIC – the development of a strong employee pool here in the Valley. Participants of the program are exposed to the

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Roanoke Valley and the business leaders associated with the program. This networking opportunity benefits both students and potential employers, as many students find what they seek in a career from the opportunities afforded by the RCIC experience. Without the RCIC, it would be impossible for students from UNC, Duke, USC, etc. to experience Roanoke in such an intensive, yet fostering environment. The CLEI helps the students to enjoy the community by providing fun (yet relatively inexpensive) outings to local events on weekends, hopefully adding to their enjoyment of the area, and perhaps influencing their desire to return. In addition, after the completion of the program, these entrepreneurially-minded students have an understanding of the new product which is unparalleled. They are excellent choices to continue the development of the product for the inventor. For those students who say they have entrepreneurial spirit, but who shy away from entrepreneurial endeavors immediately following graduation, this program provides a unique opportunity to explore entrepreneurialism while lowering the inherent risk of entrepreneurial activities. Last, but not least – the community benefits from the development of the RCIC, because their support demonstrates a strong commitment to the Valley. Due to the innovative nature of the program, and the exciting potential of its work, more and more media outlets are beginning to take note of the excellent work being completed in the program. Support for the program is growing. The RCIC provides unparalleled positive community exposure, which insures continued industry support. Program History and Successes At its conception in 2001, the RCIC program partnered with one company to utilize the creativity of students to conceptualize new product innovations. This design produced some wonderful product ideas, but was incredibly difficult to manage. Some student groups would have an idea on the first day, while other groups would agonize over ideas for weeks into the program. The work was somewhat disjointed and some changes were made. Under the current design, the RCIC works with the community (either innovation-oriented companies or individual inventors) to identify the product ideas that are presented to the students upon their arrival. The newly redesigned “Roanoke College Innovation Challenge” improved upon the former process in several important ways. First of all, the RCIC worked more closely with an expanded list of local business leaders to develop innovation ideas that had already been conceptualized by industry professionals (often times in the biomedical field). This change increased the consistency of the student work, while still allowing for a great deal of creativity and entrepreneurism. The students developed an already existing product idea into a real business, with real economic value to an industry specific innovation company. While it was a concern, there did not seem to be a decrease in the student “ownership” of the projects. The CLEI makes every effort to inform the potential inventors that while they can influence the choices of their student teams; they must let the students develop their own work. Sometimes this has caused some conflict between the students and the inventor, as the inventor believes a particular student recommended strategy isn’t in the best interest of the product, but it must be the team’s choice. It is the belief of the CLEI that since the students have such freedom to explore the product and make their own decisions regarding the best strategic choices, they generally adopt the product as their own.

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Several of the local individuals and companies are able to provide the RCIC with needed industry financial support (each year the CLEI must raise the funds needed for the student stipends), but all have offered their expertise by donating their time to help RCIC students develop their ideas. The list of industry supporters also provides RCIC students with a networking opportunity unparalleled in the Roanoke Valley. Students are exposed to a range of potential Roanoke employers, and Roanoke companies are linked with some of the brightest young minds in the area. Another opportunity that has been fostered for RCIC students is to learn from one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Roanoke Valley. In 2007, the RCIC was able to work with the City of Roanoke to develop a relationship with Cameron Johnson. Mr. Johnson started his first business at the age of nine, and before graduating high school was recognized as one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in the world. The “Cameron Johnson Award” was created for the team with the most entrepreneurial spirit. Cameron Johnson (a Roanoke native) has started twelve successful businesses and written a book called “You Call the Shots”. He has appeared on CNBC and was a contestant on Oprah Winfrey’s “The Big Give” in 2008. The CLEI was thrilled when Mr. Johnson agreed to meet with the “winning RCIC group” to discuss the prospects and opportunities of actually starting their business. The addition of Cameron Johnson has greatly improved recruiting efforts, and his insight may dramatically improve the chances of the student teams in their efforts of creating successful business start-ups. Conclusion The RCIC is one of the best summer programs available for students with an entrepreneurial spirit, and a desire for personal growth. The practical leadership applications for students are unparalleled and the program uniquely addresses the concerns stated by many of Roanoke’s economic development community who have their fingers on the pulse of Roanoke’s economic development efforts - and the program is only getting better. Each year, the student groups surpass the work of the previous year. In addition, the reputation of the program has fostered community support, providing for more and more inventors who wish for their products to be developed by the RCIC teams. With better product ideas, and better projects, the RCIC is collecting momentum as the entrepreneurial incubator of the Roanoke Valley. So What? The Roanoke Valley is not alone in its desire to keep talented young minds from leaving the area after graduation. While many students truly desire to work for larger companies, the entrepreneurial spirit of college graduates has not completely faded away; it just needs to be fostered in a way that provides students with the know-how and confidence to engage in a business start-up. A program like the RCIC can help small towns and cities across the country to increase the entrepreneurial activity of the region, and provide incentives for motivated college graduates to explore their entrepreneurial spirit. The program has been able to contribute to the entrepreneurial efforts of the Roanoke Valley, and increased the entrepreneurial spirit and leadership of students from around the country. Similar programs, if supported, could increase the efforts of communities to achieve the same goals.

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Works Cited Birch, D. L. (1979). The job generation process in 1979. Cambridge, MA: MIT Program on Neighborhood and Regional Change. Garavan, T.N., O’Cinneide, B. (1994), "Entrepreneurship education and training programmes: a review and evaluation – part 1", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol 18 (8), 312. Lucia, T (2009). For young entrepreneurs, some traits are key: Enthusiasm alone is not enough. McClatchy – Tribune Business News, Washington. Surlemont, B. (2007). Promoting enterprising: A strategic move to get schools’ cooperation in the promotion of entrepreneurship. Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurial Education Vol 2. Portland OR, 255-265.