The university’s E-Society will be encouraging innovation across campus during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009, which runs from Nov. 16-22. These four student-run ventures show that balancing a hectic school schedule while starting a new business is possible.

Terrafinity:

Originally, senior Wesley Johnson, junior Afton Vechery and graduate Lacey Robinson set out to build a biodiesel reactor to improve sustainability at the university. A few years later, that project has morphed into their current non-profit venture Terrafinity. Through Terafinity the students aim to facilitate and disperse research on sustainability to college campus communities. Johnson said, “Right now lots of schools have sustainability student initiatives underway, but each group is trying to reinvent the wheel.

Through Terrafinity we hope to compile open access research and resources to make sustainability initiatives easier on each of the schools and allow students to really focus on coming up with new ideas that will propel us into the future.”
Thus far, Terrafinity has made initial contacts with several nearby universities and networked with members of the more faculty-oriented Association for the Advancement of Sustainability and Higher Education (AASHE). Once established, Terrafinity plans to market itself mostly toward students.

At Wake Forest, the biodiesel reactor was put on a back burner for a while and the group formulated its plan for their non-profit venture. The university has agreed to lend support for a large scale reactor when a small scale model proves feasible.The university has also formed an Office of Sustainability this year, which will be extremely helpful in aiding on campus sustainability movements.

The founders of Terrafinity strongly believe that sustainability solutions must come from interdisciplinary thought processes.

The university has taken some steps toward seeing this through by creating interdisciplinary sustainability seminar classes and by sending three Wake Forest students, one of whom was Johnson, to Boston this past weekend for a seminar at Harvard University’s Art and Science Research Center.

Johnson, who hopes to continue the business after he graduates next year, is thankful of the opportunities the entrepreneurship department has provided him with while at Wake Forest, and says that because of his experiences here, he has surprised himself with his creativity. “I can’t stop creating business concepts. I constantly come up with new ideas,” he said.

With two of its three founders currently abroad, Terrafinity has faced challenges but with persistence, luck and social capital, they are confident in their pursuits. “This industry is just being born, but just because our company is not the norm, doesn’t mean it cannot work,” Johnson said.

WakeCakes:

Juniors Dave Motta, Chris Class, Matt Kaden and Stacey Graf wanted a way for freshmen parents to make an easy connection with their kids who were away at college for the first time. What was their solution for that need? WakeCakes. WakeCakes will be a service for parents to send birthday and other special occasion cakes to their students. The founders of WakeCakes will coordinate with local bakeries and hand-deliver each cake for a personalized touch.

Right now, WakeCakes is in the research and devolvement stage as they try to gage interest and find the best way to get in contact with Wake Forest parents, which they admit has been quite a challenge to figure out. They think their best outlet will be using freshman resident advisors to contact students’ families. The group plans to have their venture up and running by next semester and then really expand it and find new employees next year.

Graf looks forward to getting the venture up and running and said, “Hopefully I will be able to deliver a lot of cakes!”

The entrepreneurship department has been extremely helpful to the members of WakeCakes with faculty such as John Ceneviva and Bren Varner offering consulting and useful insights on everything from their name to who to contact in their research. WakeCakes was also awarded a new venture seed grant in October. During the seed grant presentations, the panel of business leaders threw lots of things at them that the founders of WakeCakes had not thought of yet. “That really showed us the importance of being able to take constructive criticism and the value of perseverance,” Class said.

Wake Cakes ultimate goals are to make a profit, make sure their venture is sustainable after graduation, provide a service that did not already exist and make an impact on the university.

What is their advice to other Wake Forest student entrepreneurs? Motta first said, “Don’t sell cakes,” then followed it up with a more serious response about the importance of designating specific meeting times and setting benchmarks and goals to accomplish before each time the group reconvenes. “Treat it like another homework assignment,” Motta said.

Kaden adds that no matter how excited you may be about your new venture, “you have to slow down, take a step back, and plan. Think of every alternative and possible obstacle before taking action.”

For more information on WakeCakes or to voice your interest in the venture, please email wakecakes@gmail.com.

Sew Preppy LLC:

Chelsea Dougherty has always loved fashion and, as she puts it, “all things preppy.” She also loved to sew and was getting positive responses from friends and family members with the custom made accessories she would give as gifts. With such positive responses, Dougherty started to think that maybe her hobby could be turned into a business. So, as only a freshman in high school she, with the help of her mother, started her own business selling custom made belts, tote bags, key chains and other accessories adorned with various patterned ribbons.

Now as a freshman in college, Dougherty has expanded her business to the point where she now has a seamstress on staff. Though she has slowed down business a bit to adjust to the rigors of college life, she hopes to expand into doing sorority jerseys and accessories next semester. Sew Preppy LLC has previously filled large orders for sororities at Florida State University near Dougherty’s home, and she hopes to move that market up to North Carolina next semester.

One of the biggest challenges Dougherty has faced with her business has been how to balance inventory and sales and of course stay out of the red. “I’ve learned perseverance and the importance of building contacts wherever you go. Most of my sales have come from word of mouth at local shows, lacrosse tournaments and with families and friends across the country,” Dougherty said.  Dougherty has also begun a breast cancer line because she believes strongly in “giving back for what people give to you.” Dougherty offers this advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “If you don’t love what you are doing, it is not going to be worth it. It can’t all be about the money; the venture has to be interesting and fun for you too.”

As only a freshman, Dougherty has already gotten involved with the Wake Forest E-Society, traveling to Chicago recently to represent the club and her business at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization conference. Dougherty plans on entering the Calloway school of business and also pursuing a minor in entrepreneurship.

BioBotz LLC: freshmen Jane Lee and Sara Branson took a first year seminar entitled “Harnessing Life’s Molecular Machines” taught by Professor Jed Macosko. As an optional assignment, students worked together to form a business plan that taught kids about cell structures in an interesting way.

That original class project has morphed into their current venture, BioBotz LLC. The founders of BioBotz looked at the popularity of television characters and then decided that the most effective way to teach children about cell processes would be by creating Protein characters, each with different personalities that described their functions and abilities.

Originally their venture design was to make plush toys of each of their characters, but since then their idea has moved to target an older age group. With a North Carolina BioTechnologoy Grant, BioBotz has partnered with Atkins High School, a local magnet school, to create an interdisciplinary curriculum where students make video animations of chemical processes within cells using the BioBotz characters. The Atkins students call their story “Cell Side Story” and though they use the scientific knowledge BioBotz provided them with, the have taken the original BioBotz characters and put their own spin on them.

Lee and Branson spent this past weekend at Harvard University brainstorming ideas for the future of the venture and they now have lots of ideas in the works. Branson, who graduates this December, plans of working full time on the venture next semester.

She said, “We hope to get more involved in the community and extend to more high schools. We also hope to get other Wake Forest students involved in this initiative and even spread into teaching kids other subjects through inter-displinary collaboration.”

Both Lee and Branson have taken up entrepreneurship minors in addition to their biology majors. Lee said, “The entrepreneurship minor really helped us build our business and understand the financial end of getting a venture started. It was great for us to get to apply coursework to our actual venture.”

Branson agreed and added this advice to aspiring student entrepreneurs: “Definitely take advantage of the resources the school gives you. The university and entrepreneurship department have been so supportive of our venture that I think it would be a wasted opportunity for a student with a good idea to not start a business while at Wake.”

Olivia Boyce is a sophomore from Dacula, Ga.