I nd e p e nd e nt
Issue no.
S t u d e nt
V o i c e
o f
B o is e
S tat e
S in c e
60
1933
April
25
2013
Volume 25
w w w.arbiteronline.com
Boise, Idaho
First issue free
Top Stories
Blue Yoga
Students can join the upcoming class and stretch out on the blue.
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Trad vs. non Trad student
photos JAKE ESSMAN/THE ARBITER
A day in the lives of the two different types of students.
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Draft
Chalk Art
Top picks for the NFL Draft taking place this weekend.
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Weather
Venture College to begin pilot this fall
Today Emily Pehrson Staff Writer
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What’s Inside News Briefs
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The Arbiter
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The idea came to Mark Rudin, vice president for Research and Economic Development, one night when he ran into senior art student Marshall Sinclair at a metal pouring event. Sinclair talked about his desire to open a foundry, a workshop for casting metal, in Boise after graduation. Boise State, through the Office of University and Industry Ventures, has long offered services to their faculty to help them market and commercialize their ideas. However, after his talk with Sinclair, Rudin questioned why they weren’t offering this opportunity to students as well. “We provide that service to our faculty but there may be as much if not more, I tend to think more, innovation occurring with the students,” Rudin said.
What is Venture College? Venture College is a new program that will enter it’s pilot year this fall. The name may seem misleading, but Venture College is not an academic program. Students who participate do not receive credits toward their degree. Rather, Venture College is an extracurricular activity for students who want to open their own business or start a nonprofit. “They’ll (students) get kind of an abbreviated, but very intense, business education,” Zimmer said. “It’s an extra activity to help you pursue your dream of starting up your own business,” Rudin said. While business students are welcome and encouraged to apply, Venture College enthusiastically welcomes students from all majors. “I think there has been a paradigm at a university that innovation, that starting a business, is for business students,” said Rudin. “One of our tenets of Venture College is that innovation occurs in
all fields.” Ed Zimmer, retired CEO of ECCO group who has been hired as Executive in Residence for the research department and will serve as associate director of Venture College, seconded this thought. “There are a whole lot of people that have to have jobs… and generally business is going to be related to most of them,” Zimmer said. “This is a way to put some business educational opportunities to students who aren’t business majors.” The most famous example of product commercialization from a university is Gatorade which was created at the University of Florida. Similarly the goal of Venture College is to provide student with the resources to market their own idea. “(Gatorade) is kind of the grandfather of all examples,” Zimmer said. “I don’t know if we have a Gatorade here but there are a lot of great ideas.”
How does Venture College Work? The Venture College will be overseen by what is called the “Board of Angels.” Zimmer will serve as the chair of this board. The term “angel” means someone who provides startup funding. It is different from a venture capitalist. An angel is someone who provides a first, small sum of money to get the idea off the ground to the point where venture capitalists might be interested. “When we’re talking about our group of advisors being angel advisors that’s the intention,” Zimmer said. “We want to get these seeds of business planted and sprouting so they can get farther… they can get funded in some other way.” Venture College will be based of Boise State’s new space downtown in the Collier Building. Being downtown in the heart of Boise businesses is one of the strengths of the program.
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Sophomore art education major, Krista Klebenow, chalks on the wall of the Recreation Center as part of the Recreation Services Chalk Art Mural Competition. Ten students were selected to create chalk art murals based on sketched proposals. Online voting will begin April 26 and end on May 10. Winners will be announced on May 13.
The relationship between Boise and Boise State creates a synergy that allows us to do Venture College. There aren’t a lot of other university/ city relationships, this intimate, that would facilitate a Venture College type of relationship.
Students who are participating in Venture College will for a two hour session every week. Beyond that involved students are welcome to put as much time into Venture College as they chose. The strategy will be two fold. The Board of Angels and other community members will discuss what Zimmer calls “common gaps” in the students’ education. These may include any number of topics from accounting to cash to market analysis. Beyond that each student will receive a specialized focus for their plan. As of now there are 245 “friends of the venture college.” These are members of the business community and entrepreneurs in Boise that have agreed to support Venture College. Members will be put into contact and given network opportunities with these individuals giving them real world insight. It is the willingness of these business professional to participate that makes Venture College possible. “The relationship between Boise and Boise State creates a synergy that allows us to do Venture College,” Rudin said. “There aren’t a lot of other university/ city relationships, this intimate, that would facilitate a Venture College type of relationship.” At the end of the program participants have an opportunity to pitch a business plan to the board. Through this pitch they could potentially be given funds to further their vision. “Someone may get a grant from the pool to develop a product. Or to hire resources to take their idea to the next step. Or to take a trip to meet with people in this industry. It could be for prod-
—Mark Rudin
uct development… the students could get a few thousand dollars, or more than a few thousand dollars,” Zimmer said. However this money is not guaranteed just because someone participated in Venture College. “The students are going to compete for this,” Rudin said. “They’re not all going to get the same. It’s going to be real world.”
How to get involved with Venture College Venture College has already accepted all their applications for fall. However, they will be accepting 15 new applicants for spring semester. Any student who wants to apply is welcome. The only requirements are that students be full-time in a degree seeking program. Students who want to apply can find more information on the Boise State website. Having the extra time to prepare might not be such a bad thing. Applicants for fall are currently undergoing a stringent interviewing process. “Nobody’s left bleeding… yet,” Zimmer quipped. All jokes aside Zimmer and his cohort of angels have seen a lot of promise from some of the candidates. One interviewee’s car broke down at The Depot the morning of her interview and she ran, in heels, all the way to the Collier building at 301 Capitol Blvd. She was on time for her interview. “There’s initiative,” said Zimmer. “Talk about passion.” arbiteronline.com