Entrepreneurship and Design
(California State University Long Beach)
Over the past ten years, I have been invited by California State University Long Beach to teach “Entrepreneurship & Design” to MBA and Industrial Design students. During that time, I created an eight week task based curriculum for learning entrepreneurship and taught the course three quarters between 2005 and 2012. Each course centered around a business plan competition. Students worked in multi-disciplined teams to develop a production ready prototype or service idea. At the end of the course, they presented their business plans to investors.
Achievements:
• Four student projects have been funded during three quarters
• One student team successfully launched their company, Nimble Scooters, in 2010. Currently they have seven
pending patents, a new building, and market their products in four countries.
Example Student Projects:
This student project was intended to create a secondary use for super bright military led firearm flashlights, by making them attachable to bicycles.
Students: Jorge Baeza, Kelvin Harly, Rian Abraham
Idea: Bicycle Attachment for Military Flashlights
 Investor Recruitment Video |
 Project Poster |
Honestly, “Rolla” is one of the most thorough business plans I’ve had the pleasure of reading. This team of students went beyond expectations when they created the posters, presentation, and business plan. They had a total of eight weeks to go from initial market research to a working prototype & business plan.
Students: Alix Armour, Josh Portinga, Jerry Azurin Jr., Mike Ly
Idea: Fashionable and compact handcarts for urban families with children.
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Links:
• Rolla Poster (pdf, 3.7mb)
• Rolla Presentation (pdf, 7.9mb)
Ren is a tidy cord minder for Mac power cords.
Students: Angela Wang, Prisca Bae, Saerom Kim
Idea: Cozy Cord Minder for Apple Laptops
 Investor Recruitment Video |
 Project Poster |
Here is another great student project. The team created an amazing idea that I’m sure many parents wish was already on the market.
Students: Scott Truong, Armin Ahrari, David Zermeno, Doug Johnson
Idea: Single piece roto-molded stroller that can be flipped over and used as a kids riding toy.
Links:
Business Plan (.pdf, 401k)
Poster (.pdf, 13.4mb)
Presentation (.pdf, 14.5mb)
The student team created a unique twist on the ever popular scooter.
Students: Michael Porter, Isabella Ella, Nick Trumbo, Katherine Wang
Idea: Kid carrying grocery run scooter.
Students: Josue Gonzales
Idea:Cargo Kick Scooter for Industrial & Commercial Companies (eco-friendly transportation in the factory)
Another example student project. I loved their product concept and use of biodegradable materials.
Students: Tania, Thomas, Andrew, Ryan
Idea:Eco-friendly handcart made from recyclable materials and biodegradable compressed wool felt.
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