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Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: Engineering Students Win Big in 2003 Business Plan Competition

Aeroquatic team members are (from left to right) Jeff Meyer, Erin Bustamante, Michael Wallden, and Vivien Mo.

Teams led by engineering students placed second and third in the December 2003 Undergraduate Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. The teams, which created a swimming exercise machine and a magnetized snowboard binding, both used technology developed at the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Their success is not unusual. In the past six years, four undergraduate teams that won the competition were either led by engineering students or used a design from the college, says entrepreneurship instructor Frank Moyes.

The competition challenges business and engineering students to create an innovative concept for a product or service and write a business plan around it. They take Moyes" class in Business Plan Preparation to lay the groundwork for the competition.

Engineering students have an advantage because they"re creating a plan based on a real product, Moyes says. "That makes the business planning process much more relevant. And students are required to talk to potential customers, which makes the design process much more effective."

The engineers may lack marketing and presentation skills, Moyes says, but "engineers are very practical people and they pick up what they need to know." Their excellent analytical skills also allow them to understand financial statements quickly, he says.

Engineering and business student Michael Wallden led Aeroquatic to second place and a prize of $1,250. The team's product allows the exerciser to "swim" using pulleys and the resistance of air dynes. Other team members were Erin Bustamante, Jeff T. Meyer, and Vivien Mo.

Engineering student Luke Hollenkamp headed Magnebind, which won third place and a prize of $1,000. The team's product enables snowboarders to remove and reattach their boards in mid-air with the flip of a switch. Other team members were Kevin Bakel, Adam Broetje, and Javier Lozano, Jr.

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