Registration Deadlines Nearing for Fall Competitions

Student Entrepreneurs, Inventors & DifferenceMakers! Don’t miss the registration deadlines for three exciting College–based Innovation Competitions underway this fall! Below are the Competitions:

Digital Federal Credit Union Innovation Contest | Sponsored in collaboration with the Manning School of Business and DifferenceMaker – top prize of $500 per team member (register by Oct. 24).

Francis College of Engineering Prototyping Competition | $1,000 first place team award (register by Oct. 24).

Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Creative Venture Competition | $5,000 first place team award (register by Oct. 31).

Application and registration details for each competition are available on the DifferenceMaker College Competitions page. If you have questions please contact DifferenceMaker@uml.edu, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @DifferenceMakerUML. Also, feel free to stop by DifferenceMaker Central at Lydon Library on North Campus (next to Starbucks).

Entrepreneurial Speaker Series: Tech Start-ups

Last night, DifferenceMaker kicked off its Entrepreneurial Speaker Series. The topic for discussion was Tech Start-ups. Steven Tello, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Entrepreneurship & Economic Development and founder of the DifferenceMaker Program introduced the event. Following his introduction, Steven Geyster, Vice President of ESTECH,and Daniel Sullivan, Faculty of College of Engineering, spoke about the challenges and lessons of being involved in tech start ups.

Speakers

Above is a photo of the speakers, Steven Geyster (left) and Professor Daniel Sullivan (right).

Geyster said that there are four “keys to success” for starting a new business, as listed below.

1)   Protect Your Work: In order to make sure that you aren’t building a business based on something that is already invented, and to make sure that no one can copy your work, you need to research patents and find a way to protect your invention/s. Entrepreneurs can protect their work and intellectual property through Trademark Protection, Patent Protection, and/or Trade Secrets.

2)   Build a Team & Network: Building a team and network is crucial. Geyster credits much of success to networking at events and in his daily life. Also, a crucial part of building a team, Geyster emphasized, is seeking help from a financial advisor that has experience and has some “skin in the game”.

3)   Plan & Plan Some More: Geyster says that as a rule of thumb, everything takes twice as long as you expect, and costs three times more than you initially estimated. He also says that if you want to meet your goals and expectations, you need to have a plan to direct you. Finally, he suggests that entrepreneurs learn practical skills such as accounting, project management, and quality management to help them reach their goals.

4)   Have a Customer Focus: You may have a good idea, but do you know who will pay money for it? Geyster emphasized that getting feedback from as many people as possible is important to improving your product before officially putting it on the market. He also mentioned that ease of use is vital. It doesn’t matter how great your product is; if customers cannot use it easily, they won’t continue to use or purchase it.

Professor Daniel Sullivan concluded the evening by saying that it takes more than just a good product to succeed as an entrepreneur. He told the audience that you need everything from a set of morals and beliefs for your company, to brand development and knowledge of your market.

Students

Above is a photo of engineering students who attended the event.

To see photos from the event, and to stay in tune with future DifferenceMaker events, connect with us via email at differencemaker@uml.eduFacebookTwitter, or Instagram @differencemakeruml.

Press Release | Entrepreneurship Month Kicks off at UMass Lowell

DifferenceMaker Program awards startup funds to students for best new ideas

October is Entrepreneurship Month at UMass Lowell, when students will learn entrepreneurial skills from business professionals, faculty mentors and alumni and put their ideas to the test in a variety of competitions.

Students will be introduced to the DifferenceMaker Program at an event on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. Now in its third year, the initiative challenges them to work in teams to develop a product or service that answers a real-world need in business or the community. Teams then pitch their ideas to expert judges, vying for seed money for their ventures. Last year, 70 teams participated in these contests.

Event speakers are expected to include Glenn Morgan ’86, co-owner of SkyWorld Interactive; David Araujo, vice president of Information Systems for DCU; the program’s founder, Steven Tello, UMass Lowell’s associate vice chancellor for entrepreneurship and economic development; and student winners of previous DifferenceMaker competitions. The event will be held in the Perry Atrium of the university’s Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center on North Campus at 40 University Ave., Lowell.

In the coming weeks, teams will gain inspiration from the DifferenceMaker Entrepreneurial Speaker Series, which will explore a variety of topics from intellectual property to venture funding. It will begin on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. with a session on how to launch startups in engineering fields.

Beginning this month, student teams may enter one of three semester-long competitions that align with their interests. The final rounds of these contests will be held in December. They are:

  • The DCU Innovation Contest, for students who have developed innovative ideas in banking and finance. Last year’s winners took home $1,500 for their idea to develop a hybrid credit and debit card that allows users to build credit without banks assuming risk. The contest is presented by UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business and DCU.
  • The Creative Venture Competition, for students who have developed products, programs or business ventures that provide a social service. Last year, the contest awarded $2,500 to the student whose idea for a web platform called DreamLink. The contest is presented by UMass Lowell’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
  • The UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering Prototyping Competition, a new contest this year that seeks the best prototypes for electrical and mechanical devices, software applications or integrated systems.

In December, students will also have a chance to enter the 2015 DifferenceMaker $35,000 Idea Challenge, which will award cash prizes for winning ideas in a variety of categories during the spring semester.

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Contacts: 

Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

Season Kickoff | October 9, 2014

kickoff

October is Entrepreneurship Month at UMass Lowell & the DifferenceMaker Program is celebrating with our Season Kickoff Event! We invite current DifferenceMakers, prospective students, friends, alumni, faculty, and staff to join us on October 9th at the Saab Emerging Technology and Innovation Center on North Campus from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Below is a list of activities that will take place during the event.

  • Student teams will showcase their posters
  • Networking will take place between students, alumni, faculty and staff
  • The UMass Lowell Mentor Program will be launched
  • Three college competitions (Manning School of Business, Francis College of Engineering and Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) will be announced
  • Winning DifferenceMaker student teams; Nonspec, Bright Future Generation, and Support our Students, will discuss their successes since winning funding from the 2013 and 2014 Idea Challenge events
  • Refreshments will be served
  • And MUCH more!

We look forward to seeing YOU there! For more information, connect with us via email at differencemaker@uml.edu, FacebookTwitter, or Instagram @differencemakeruml.