The USNH Entrepreneurial Contest

The Project . Team Think.Create.Innovate. (TCI), a team of 9 business students from the University of New Hampshire, was hired by The New York Times and The University System of New Hampshire as part of their marketing workshop class. The student’s mission, was to stimulate an ongoing interest in entrepreneurship among college students in New Hampshire, and promote EntrepreneurshipWeek USA.

The Contest. To fulfill this mission, Team TCI created, marketed and hosted a first-of-a-kind entrepreneurial contest. Named the USNH Entrepreneurial Contest, this event was open to any student attending a USNH institution. Students were encouraged to submit ideas including business plans, product ideas, non-profit ideas, and scientific innovations. The team with the winning idea, determined by a panel of guest judges, would receive $500.

Implementation. To execute this project, Team TCI performed research, created contest guidelines, and implemented a promotional strategy including a print campaign, online advertising, media outreach, and personal marketing.

The Result. On November 30 th, 40 participating students attended the USNH Entrepreneurial Contest at the Huddleston Hall Ballroom in Durham, NH. Encouraged to follow the contest slogan of “Think.Create.Innovate.” these students developed amazing ideas, displaying them creatively. Dressed to impress and armed with evident passion for their projects, the contestants conveyed their ideas to judges, The University System of New Hampshire Chancellor Stephen J. Reno, New York Times representatives, media, faculty, other students, and the public. Some of the ideas showcased included a redesigned beach chair, an adventure tourism proposal, skydiving software simulator, an environmental ethics concept, and a plan to cure the nation's dependence on oil.

Team TCI:

Sheena Foye, Jessica Gardner, Michael Giovinelli, Andrew Hinds, Karlee Horan, Emily King Jenna Maver, Jaime Pruzansky, Katie Scheier Read our bios