March 9, 2006
UW Bothell launches Center for Student Entrepreneurship
Starting a business can be a daunting challenge, but with help from a new University of Washington Bothell Center for Student Entrepreneurship, the advice and mentoring from faculty and professionals can mean success.
Tonight, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Creek Café at 18115 Campus Way NE, on the UW Bothell campus, faculty member and Center Director Alan Leong, along with students, alumni and entrepreneurs, will officially launch a new venture aimed at continuing UW Bothell’s success at supporting student entrepreneurs. This signature accomplishment for the campus will focus on helping launch actual businesses.
The dedication will follow a competition of students outlining their business proposals and vying for the audience’s “investor” dollars.
“It’s a network built with students and alumni at the core, committed to launching the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs,” said Leong.
In addition, an Entrepreneur Fund will be announced through which grants and guidance will be dispensed to qualified ventures. Initial contributions are already being made to the fund from former students who have been successful as a result of the program.
Leong said the center is the result of several years of entrepreneur courses and activity at UW Bothell. A current network of more than 200 members helps student business owners or the “entrepreneurial minded” by providing weekly meetings, networking and annual retreats. Students come from all program areas, not just business. If you’ve got a good idea, Leong said, the experts could help that idea become a new business.
UW Bothell Vice Chancellor Thomas Bellamy added that the creation of the center recognizes the exceptional achievements Leong and the students have been doing already in their Entrepreneur Network and challenges them to take their efforts to the next level.
In its first six years the Entrepreneur Network produced 26 companies that have been launched, of which 19 are still operating. Those companies employ the equivalent of 91 full-time employees with total wages estimated at $5.16 million. Eighteen of the companies with 52 employees were launched by students while actually attending school. In addition, two student-founded firms were acquired by larger companies after successful start ups.
From landscaping to vehicle tracking, from hip-hop dance to E-commerce, the ventures have spanned a wide range of industries.
The Center is based on a simple idea: entrepreneurs are thinkers and doers. The focus is on launching an actual business, not just dreaming about a pretend plan. To this end, the Center will:
- Create a supportive atmosphere for peer and professional review of business plans.
- Support the existing network of alumni entrepreneurs, professionals and students, and
- Continue to offer courses on entrepreneurship that have a rigorous real-world focus.
“We will be making this announcement as our intrepid students complete a two night competition to determine the most entrepreneurial business among 10 groups offering services,” said Leong.
“Many companies have been launched by our students and alumni of this very special place,” said Leong. “We now have the network and the determination to make it a shining light as we help others.”
The UW Bothell was founded in 1990 to serve King and Snohomish counties and north Puget Sound-area students seeking four-year degrees. UW Bothell offers degree programs in business, nursing, education, computing and software systems, and the interdisciplinary arts and sciences. With the Fall Quarter 2006, UW Bothell welcomes its first freshman class and becomes a full four-year university.
