Innovation Creativity and Entrepreneurship

“What’s great about Wake is that they challenge you and push you and encourage you to take risk. But at the end of the day, you know there’s a safety net because it is an incredibly affirming and supportive environment for students.

The person that I am now will be able to make an impact on the world in a much more positive way than I think I could have if I had not had, not only the entrepreneurial mindset, but the entrepreneurial skillset of following through and really making things happen.

After being encouraged at such a young age to go out and take risk and make a difference in the world, I think I will carry all that with me as I go into the job market.”

Carrie Stokes ’12

Our  Vision  Every  Wake  Forest  student  will  have  an  innovative,  creative  and  entrepreneurial  mindset  that  empowers  them  to  take  initiative,  be  resourceful,  and  persevere  in  the  face  of  challenge.  

Our  Mission To  create  and  sustain  an  educational  environment  that  inspires  and  equips  Wake  Forest  students  to  become  innovative  thinkers,  value  creators  and  entrepreneurial  leaders.

Progress comes not only from facing forward, but also from having both the drive and support with which to move forward. The program for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University generates and sustains an environment that fosters innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial bias for action across the entire campus community.

Wake Forest University 2014

ICE Program Creates Value Educational, Social, Artistic,

Environmental, Cultural, Scientific, Economic

entrepreneurship.wfu.edu

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Innovation Creativity & Entrepreneurship 2014

Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Minor: The ESE minor is an 18-credit hour minor that can be combined with any major in the college or undergraduate business school. The minor is currently taught in 23 departments offering 33 courses.

Global Entrepreneurship Week: This week-long series of events happens in November each year and includes the Entrepreneur’s Luncheon with students and faculty, the e-Market where student entrepreneurs can sell their wares and

services, the Everyday Innovations exhibition of creativity and innovation.

New Venture Seed Grants: Each Fall and Spring we have an opportunity for students to apply for seed money to research or start a venture. Ventures can be commercial, social, artistic, cultural, scientific, for-profit or non-profit. The students attend a series of four workshops as they go through the application process.

Student Entrepreneurs in Action Group: With the guidance of a faculty advisor, student entrepreneurs meet weekly to discuss the challenges and successes of their ventures, creating a unique support and learning group.

ICE Program Inspires and Equips Wake Students… E-Lab Speakers: Every semester the Center sponsors successful entrepreneurs or innovators to give talks to the students of the ESE minor on how to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship.

TEDxWakeForestU: In February 2012 we held our first TEDx event with over 1,400 attendees. This has become an annual event and one that is eagerly anticipated by both the student body and the community.

Conferences: In the Fall each year, the E-Society sponsors a trip to the Collegiate Entrepreneur’s Organization conference, where students meet and exchange ideas with other current and aspiring student entrepreneurs. Students also attend other conferences throughout the year.

Entrepreneurship Society: The E-Society is a group of students interested in entrepreneurship, many of whom are already entrepreneurs. They sponsor events and encourage each other in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Entrepreneurial Summer Fellows: In the Spring we provide an opportunity for students to apply for stipends to pursue an

What would you design if you had the power to create whatever you wanted?

“Through my minor, Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, I took a class entitled ‘Creativity and Innovation’. This class has been at the forefront of my creative development. I’ve learned so much about what it means to be creative, as well as different ways to grow and develop in my creative process. From partaking in a Transformation Process to creating Everyday Innovations, my creativity is flourishing and gaining new depths and dimensions.”

Lexi Washington, ‘15

New This Year… Innovator in Residence: In Spring 2014, the CICE launched an Innovator in Residence program whereby an innovative entrepreneur is invited to participate in teaching a class and in a series of events designed to highlight the role of innovation in an entrepreneurial endeavor.

Entrepreneur in Residence & Mentorship: Fall of 2014 saw the initiation of the Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) program. The EiR is an experienced and successful entrepreneur who advises students and faculty/staff on their ventures and endeavors, coaches students to compete in business plan competitions and teaches workshops. Importantly, one of the main responsibilities of this role this year is to set up and manage a robust mentoring network, drawing on alumni, parents and the community to support our student entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurial venture over the summer. Students may also work with an entrepreneur or work in an industry in which they want to launch a venture

of their own. The blog of their experiences is under the News tab at entreprenurship.wfu.edu.

Annual Awards Banquet: In April, the year culminates with the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards Banquet where awards are given to those who have excelled in innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

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Innovation Creativity & Entrepreneurship 2014

Computer Science major, David Hughes ’15 and BEM major, Emily Hudspeth ’14 founded 1834 Software. Operated under the non-profit umbrella of WFU, 1834 Software strives to be the student run and staffed solution for all WFU alumni, students and staff web-based needs. This venture will continue to train new web and app developers and pass down leadership through generations of WFU students.

Communications major, Alex MacLellan ‘15 founded Picha KuoKoa, a non-profit organization that sells photography of African culture to help support a Maasai village on the outskirts of Tanzania.

Communications major, Sofian Ahtchi ’14 launched Saha Sauces. Saha Sauces has been on the supermarket shelves since 2012 as a healthy alternative to the existing spicy sauces. Their commitment is to offer the highest standard of ingredients and bold flavor to gluten-free condiments.

History major, Alex Gromer ‘15 and MA Student, Hannah Whitaker ’13 have developed a venture, DeaconVend that is committed to providing 24-hour convenience to Wake Forest students through a vending machine stocked with office supplies, non-perishables, and other sundries placed in the Library.

Spanish major, Jack Zimmerman ’14, English major, Jesse Konig ’14 and BEM major, Ben Johnson ’14 have founded Swizzler LLC, a lifestyle brand and food concept revolving around putting a new twist on a classic dish, literally! Swizzler uses a proprietary spiral-cut technique to change the look and taste of hot dogs. They plan to launch a fast food mobile chain in DC in Fall of 2014.

English major, Alexis Tsavoussis ’15 started a program to teach children in the Bahamas to read through a melodic-learning computer program. The program is now being offered in 30 elementary and middle schools in Nassau and has had measurable educational impact.

Communication major, Ben Smith ’15 has opened a CrossFit gym in Winston Salem in 2014. Top Tier CrossFit, located downtown, provides clients with unparalleled facilities staffed by coaches that are amongst the best in the industry. CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program with the aim of improving muscular strength, cardio-respiratory endurance, and flexibility.

MBA students Kevin Keller ’13 and Allen Shafer ’13 co-

founded Fulton & Roark, a premium men’s grooming product company that is aimed at upper-income men and is sold through men’s boutiques and department

stores. Since launching their business they have successfully

added several new line extensions.

Finance major, Priscilla Garmendia ’13 founded Power Pyramid Training with the intent to improve athletic performance by offering the most comprehensive baseball skill enhancement training in South Florida. Power Pyramid Training has already graduated some players into the minor leagues.

…to become Innovative Thinkers and Value Creators BEM major Austin Evers ’16, owns Appuous Inc. which crafts and publishes utility applications for iOS & Mac. Appuous has one goal – to create applications that help, innovate, game-change, and are a joy to use. Since their first iPhone app over three years ago they’ve been improving their game, watching trends, and releasing great products. Austin is also President of the E-Society.

MBA students Andrew Bowline ‘14, Scott Coldagelli ’14 and Tripp Evans ’14 have founded N^2 Medical Solutions which has a patent protected solution of using weight to passively monitor medication compliance through a real time connection, and notifies patients when a dose is missed and sends notification to caregivers or researchers if appropriate.

Sociology major, Moria Lawlor, ’15 started Franky’s Jewelry – a line of handmade necklaces with forty  percent of proceeds going towards  research of  Cerebellar Ataxia, a rare brain disease with no

known cure.

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Innovation Creativity & Entrepreneurship 2014

Program History

2004 WFU selected as one of eight colleges to receive a Kauffman Campus Initiative grant.

2006 Creation of the minor in Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise – now the most popular minor in the college.

Endowments established to provide seed funding for student ventures.

2007 NSF Partners for Innovation grant expanded programming.

Russell D. & Elfrieda Hobbs Fund established by WFU alum Russ Hobbs.

2008 AV Davis grant accelerated faculty and course development.

2009 National symposium Creativity: Worlds in the Making held at WFU

2010 USASBE National Model Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program Award.

First NCIIA Student Ambassador

2011 Program Chair endowed by the Farr Family.

National Symposium Teaching Creativity in Higher Ed held at WFU

2012 First annual TEDxWakeForestU held February 25, 2012.

Orton Scholarship Fund and Riley Scholarship Fund established.

2014 Creation of Innovator in Residence and Entrepreneur in Residence Programs.

By the Numbers 288 Students minoring in Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise - 100 graduated in 2014

Entrepreneurial Summer Fellows were awarded in 2014 for students to do entrepreneurial summer internships. 154 Ventures funded

since inception

20% Student body was enrolled in an entrepreneurship-related course in 2013-2014

61 New courses developed since program inception

242 New venture proposals since program inception.

Dr. Paul Pauca is an associate professor of Computer Science at Wake Forest. Dr. Pauca teaches Introduction to Computer Science: Mobile Computing and Entrepreneurship, an innovative course that helps Wake Forest students develop apps and websites devoted to social causes. During the Spring 2014 semester, Dr. Pauca worked with a team of students on a Tech Impossible project to create a custom keyboard and mouse to allow a severely motor impaired high school senior to use a computer.

An entrepreneur himself, Dr. Pauca successfully developed and marketed Verbal Victor, an app for the iPhone and iPad for the disabled to be able to communicate their wants and needs to their caregivers, customized with their own voices and languages. Dr. Pauca was recognized in 2012 as one of NBCLatino’s US top 20 innovators for his work with the Verbal Victor APP. In 2014 he was awarded the 2014 Russell and Elfriede Hobbs Faculty Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement by the ICE program.

ICE Faculty Spotlight

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While creativity and entrepreneurship may appear to be unlikely allies, they are increasingly intersecting to produce economic and social value in new and exciting ways. This groundbreaking volume edited by Lynn Book, Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Creativity and Entrepreneurship and David Phillips, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities examines how creativity and entrepreneurship can be used in conjunction to foster positive change and innovation, particularly in areas such as higher education and sustainable global development.

Creativity and Entrepreneurship Edited by Lynn Book and David Phillips

Apps for the Greater Good & Tech Impossible

Polly Black, Director Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Office of Personal and Career Development, 230 Reynolda Hall, Wake Forest University blackka@wfu.edu 336-758-2657