EWU Entrepreneurship kicked off the new decade by bringing home a prestigious award—the 2020 Top Emerging Entrepreneurship Award. The award is given by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). It is widely recognized as the most coveted among entrepreneurship educators in the United States.

The United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) announced on Nov. 27 that EWU Entrepreneurship has earned recognition as one of the two finalists for the 2020 Top Emerging Entrepreneurship Program Award.

“This is a major international award,” says Bruce Teague, the founding director of the EWU Center for Entrepreneurship. Programs apply from around the world.”

The United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) announced on Nov. 27 that EWU Entrepreneurship has earned recognition as one of the two finalists for the 2020 Top Emerging Entrepreneurship Program Award.

“This is a major international award,” says Bruce Teague, the founding director of the EWU Center for Entrepreneurship. Programs apply from around the world.”

The top three teams received a share of $1,000 prize money, with the first-place team winning $500, the second-place team winning $300 and the third-place team winning $200. College of Business Associate Dean, Shuming “Sherry” Bai presented the winning teams with their awards.

First Place

Mr. Fix-it

Brittney Smith: “My product is designed to send engine codes through an application directly to an independent automotive repair shop in real-time. My product will provide a managerial tool which can help aid in the decision-making process, save valuable time of management, provide an on-demand monitoring system to their customers, and assist them in educating their customers.”

Second Place

Kitchenware Assistant Drawer

Leya Depriest, Eric Eide, Nathan Clark: “The Assistant will help with full utilization of the drawer and its contents. The drawer will be a drop-in unit with no install required. The target market will be anyone with a drawer that needs help accessing it or want a cool upgrade to their kitchen.”

Third Place

The Boozy Bee

Brenna Bayless, Taylor Scott, Mariah Stearns: “The Boozy Bee is a sit-down bar and bakery that is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth, help you unwind from your day, or kick off your night out. We are an innovative bakery that will bring some sugar and spice to the Pacific Northwest, through an array of cupcake and alcoholic drink combinations. Our cupcakes are uniquely designed with creative flavors that taste great for any occasion.”

External Judges

Local business professionals and EWU faculty and staff volunteered as judges for the event:

• Ryan Arnold, Director of Regional Entrepreneurship Strategy at North Idaho College
• Jimmy Wade, Venture Center Program Coordinator, North Idaho College
• Joel Nania, Manager, Spokane Office U.S. Small Business Administration
• Sam Breeze, Partner and Patent Attorney, Lee & Hayes
• Mark Pond, Spokane Public Library
• Chris Wood, Ten X Ventures
• Megan Hulsey, Business Lender, Craft3
• Daniel Clark, Business Expansion Consultancy Partners S.C.
• Michael Ebinger, PhD, Director, WSU Center for Innovation
• Tanner Chaffin, Owner, Purfect Logos, LLC
• Cory Santiago, Founder and Inventor, Bear Minimum
• Charlie Wolff, Business Development Manager, City of Spokane
• Michele Stocking, Assistant Vice President, Washington Trust Bank
• John Dunlop, Whitworth University
• Brian Paul Caffrey, Heartstrings The Phone App, LLC
• Allison Glasunow, PhD, Associate Attorney at Perkins Coie LLP
• Renee LaRocca, Managing Partner Foresight Product Management LLC
• George Tanner, Idaho Entrepreneurship Director and Senior Instructor University of Idaho
• Heidi Medford, PhD, Innovation Advancement and Partnerships Washington State University
• Timothy Ledford, Founder and CEO Safeguard Equipment

EWU Faculty & Staff

• Shuming Bai, PhD, Associate Dean and Professor of Finance
• Taylor Kensel, MFA, Interim Assistant Director for Student Research & Community Engagement
• Patricia Nemetz-Mills, PhD, Professor of Strategic and Operation Management
• Eldonna Shaw-Davis, Management Faculty
• Ken Tucker, Director of Philanthropy
• Duanning Zhou, PhD, Professor of MIS, Chair of Information System and Business Analytics Department

Useful products, strong business plans and the intense scrutiny of a panel of judges—it was almost like an episode of Shark Tank was being filmed on the EWU Spokane campus last week as four teams of some of the university’s brightest, business-minded students gave “final-pitch presentations” for their Technology Commercialization Academy Fellowships.

The Technology Commercialization Academy, open to all Eastern Washington University students, is funded by a grant from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation and a donation from Wells Fargo. Those accepted into the rigorous summer program receive a $1,500 scholarship and valuable experience, know-how that is arguably worth more than the scholarship.

Useful products, strong business plans and the intense scrutiny of a panel of judges—it was almost like an episode of Shark Tank was being filmed on the EWU Spokane campus last week as four teams of some of the university’s brightest, business-minded students gave “final-pitch presentations” for their Technology Commercialization Academy Fellowships.

The Technology Commercialization Academy, open to all Eastern Washington University students, is funded by a grant from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation and a donation from Wells Fargo. Those accepted into the rigorous summer program receive a $1,500 scholarship and valuable experience, know-how that is arguably worth more than the scholarship.

In February, we established the EWU chapter of C-E-O. C-E-O is a global club for university students interested in entrepreneurship. Katherine Bozarth and Ryan Halterman, both fellows from our Technology Commercialization Academy, are the student founders. Prior to starting the EWU chapter of C-E-O, Katherine and Ryan traveled to Kansas City and attended the 2018 Global C-E-O Conference in order to gather knowledge and information as well as to network and form new collaborative relationships within the C-E-O community.
EWU C-E-O offers leadership roles on campus, introduces members to successful entrepreneurs, and prepares members for the challenges they’ll face in starting new organizations! EWU C-EO will help students with their friends, their network, and their career. EWU C-E-O creates opportunities to build connections with students at other universities, to attend the C-E-O Global Conference in Tampa, Florida, and to engage with entrepreneurial students across the Northwest, and around the world! EWU C-E-O is open to all EWU students.