From Class Project to Business Venture

Here is the copy of the press release that MU CAFNR has done. We are hoping to do more guerilla marketing with this. What do you think?

A.

From Class Project to Business Venture
Entrepreneurship competition win leads to real-life application

It’s one thing to do well in class and another to win a campus-wide competition. It’s something else to take your class project and turn it into a real-life entrepreneurial effort to help the community.

A three-person team in the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship class co-taught by Peter Hofherr, assistant director of the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Ken Schneeberger, professor of agriculture economics at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, took the grand prize in the Non-Profit Category of the fourth-annual MU College of Business’s New Venture Idea Competition. The competition drew 68 teams from across campus.

Team members Abby Berndt, Whitney Middleton and Andrew Van Engelenhoven shared a cash prize. Sarah Mayo, a freshman studying horticulture, is also part of the team.

The CAFNR team presented a business plan for a subscription-based produce operation to the judges who played the part of venture capitalists looking to fund a new project. The students’ idea, named Tiger Town Community Supported Agriculture, calls for 25-30 subscribers to prepay for vegetables grown by the entrepreneurs. Any food left over would be made available to low-income people who would buy the goods with food stamps. Any produce surplus after this would be donated to a local food bank.

In their presentation, the students provided data to the judges proving the subscription plan is economically viable and that there is a real need for it in the community. The judges asked questions about how the team would market their plan, pay taxes and develop a planting schedule.

The students are not stopping with accolades from the judges, but plan to take their cash award and make their ideas a reality. The team members are working with Dave Trinklein, associate professor of horticulture, and Tim Reinbott, superintendent of the Bradford Research Farms, to use eight hoop-greenhouses to plant produce this spring and see if their business plan can survive in the real world. The first planting will take place in February.

“The significance of this project to me isn't just the idealism, but that eight judges from the business world agreed that we have something of value and that it should be done,” said Van Engelenhoven. “That’s a lot of validation, even for skeptics. It lends credibility to this project, and shows that students can have real world solutions to real world problems.”




The Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship class is co-taught by Peter Hofherr, left, assistant director of the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Ken Schneeberger, right, professor of agriculture economics at the University of Missouri. Students in the class are, left to right, Whitney Middleton, Andrew Van Engelenhoven and Abby Berndt.



Members of the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship class are Abby Berndt, Andrew Van Engelenhoven and Whitney Middleton.

MU Student Gardens & CSA -- WINNERS of the 4th Annual MU New Venture Idea Competition!

Well the big news is that we are the grand prizewinner of the fourth Annual MU New Venture Idea Competition in the Non-Profit category. The purposes of the competition are: to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Missouri by celebrating the creation by the Kauffman University-wide Entrepreneurship Education Initiative of three FIGs with an entrepreneurial theme during Fall, 2006, including Business Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Through the Arts; and to introduce the Flegel-Source Interlink Academy for Aspiring Entrepreneurs to the campus community.

We had to come up with a brochure, and our presentation needs some more work but we still won. There were 65 applicants. There were 2 prizes we won. The first prize we won was first place in our class(undergrad) category (non-profit). Then we competed with all the non-profit class winners (3) for and additional $1100. The total prize was $1500 to be split among the team of 4, payable to our student accounts. The judges seemed really interested and the first 3 minute presentation turned into 15 with their questions. The second presentation was 5 minutes and the same happened again, going about 10-12 minutes, with lots of questions. We were able to answer ALL of their questions, with none of the 'I don't know' or 'hadn't thought of that' answers. The judges were really excited about it and talked to us more afterwords. They really loved our brochure. The brochure was just a prop and not meant to be final or anything yet, but I am attaching it so you all may see our work. Please let me know what you think.

I went to the National Small Farm Show here in Columbia and attended a seminar on SPIN (Small Plot Intensive) Gardening with Tim Reinbott, we both thought it would be helpful to this venture. Then I went and met with Tim Reinbott and Leslie Shaw and walked over areas we will be responsible for in the coming growing season. It looks like a total of three tillable acres. All I can say is wow! Lots of work. Sally is working plant production and guide for when to plant, and what to plant where for the next growing season.

MU Student Gardens CSA & 4th Annual MU New Venture Idea Competition

O.K. it’s been three weeks, but what a three weeks! I have met with Dr. Spain and have a list of people that I need to see, trying to see them all before Thanksgiving break. Received the demographic data from Dr. Martz; I think it’s helping. Still looking for students to join this great project.

Completed our Competitive Analysis on Friday and received the reviews of our Industry Analysis. We’ll need to rework the Industry Analysis since we earned somewhere in the B to B- range on our first attempt.

Turned in our project to the 4th Annual MU New Venture Idea Competition. We’re finalists in the non-profit category. Yea!!! We present at 9:50 AM Cornell Hall Room 15, Friday, November 14, 2008. If we do well enough we could win $1500 total between the four of us. The team is Sally Mayo, Abby Berndt, and Whitney Middleton and myself.

Hoping to be done with as much of the business plan and feasibility study before Thanksgiving break so we can write up for a Federal SARE Grant for our project on break, the deadline is Dec 1st . If it proves too much, it will just have to wait. That’s it for now.

MU Student Gardens CSA

I am going to be keeping a blog on this project so comments can be posted as way to facilitate with communication. If people would post comments on the blog instead of email it would help all to see exactly where we are. It is Chasing-Sustainable-Farming at blogspot.

I will be meeting with Dr. Spain on Friday to help us with getting some more students involved. Mary, are we still on for the pizza party tonight? Or do we need to reschedule?

We are still working on our paper for Entrepreneurship class, didn’t quite make our goal, but we are trying. I will be getting some demographic data from Dr. Martz tomorrow (Wednesday). Hopefully that will help, or at least give us a place to start. He has given me some names of people that I need to contact. I will get that done hopefully before this Friday. Sally is working on the production potential capability problem so I can focus on the rest of the feasibility study.

On a different track, I read an article from Ron Macher in Baker Creek Seeds about how he was growing corn with green manure of winter rye and vetch and achieving spectacular results. 2 pounds of seed per ear and two full ears per stalk, if I recall correctly. I would like an introduction to meet him, can anyone help facilitate this introduction? If so, I think his personal research would make a great addition to this project on a sweet corn patch, if we are allowed a patch. A way to grow corn without the chemical N input.

I have bought 4 books and they are filled with so much information that they are truly great books. They are:

Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture, Revised and Expanded

Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses

The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener (A Gardener's Supply Book)

Rebirth of the Small Family Farm: A Handbook for Starting a Successful Organic Farm Based on the Community Supported Agriculture Concept

The last two are going to be particularly helpful to Sally, and Tim Reinbott. They are more on management of the plant capability, etc. I am speeding my way through the third one which is by Eliot Coleman. It is amazing the amount of useful information he has put in one book.

We also want to fill out the application for MU's 4th Annual New Venture Idea Competition and that needs to be turned in on Friday by 5 p.m. Lots of work not much time.

I need to keep moving,

Andrew Van Engelenhoven

University of Missouri Student Gardens CSA

I just thought I would drop a line on what is going on in regards to the Student Gardens/CSA. We are working on the CSA in my Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship class. We have finished our one pager on our proposed venture model (grade still pending). Our group is planning to have our progress report on our venture plan development – the 'company description' of this CSA in this Friday before Homecoming. That will be one week early before the deadline!

I am hoping to talk with individuals this week and get some specifics on feasibility study issues that need to be worked out.

Does anyone who receives this email, know of anyone else that should be added? If so, please let me know.

My goal is to try to give a once a week update, just to keep the emails to a minimum.

Linneus Grazing School

Well, my dad and I are at Linneus attending the grazing school. We are excited! Some of the things they have taught I have already learned on my own, which tells me that I am on the right track. School is going well, well kind of crazy at times. I have so many people to contact, so much work to do, I don't know how I will get it all done this semester. It all seems to be coming to a head. I'm so tired today with so little sleep. I will sleep well tonight.