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Ever have a creative idea for a new product? Ever get an itch to start your own business? Ever want to do both, turning that new product into a new company? If so, you may be an entrepreneur, and KU is about to celebrate the people whose courage – or craziness -- makes the U.S. market economy so dynamic.
Entrepreneurship Week USA is a national observance, planned for Feb. 24 through March 3. KU is participating by hosting an Entrepreneurship Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Relays and Courtside rooms on level three of Burge Union. There’s no charge for attending, and refreshments will be served.
More than 20 KU-related companies, services, and technologies — some still in the embryonic stage — will be on display at the E-Fair, according to Jim Baxendale, director of KU’s Office of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property. Participants will showcase an actual product or an emerging idea with commercial potential. Visitors are invited to walk through the E-Fair and learn more about the inventors and their ideas.
“KU has spun off 11 new companies in recent years,” says Baxendale, “and KU now has license agreements for a number of patents that grew out of KU research. Technology transfer is not the reason we do research, but it can be a very beneficial outcome for society, the university, and the inventor.”
It’s been a good year locally for entrepreneurship awareness, says Baxendale. In September, an “Invention to Venture” workshop at the Kauffman Foundation — co-hosted by KU and the University of Missouri at Kansas City — drew more than 175 participants, many of them students. Also last fall, Lisa Friis, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was named one of 10 members of the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation’s (KTEC) charter class of PIPELINE innovators. The program selects individuals who have shown a commitment to technology innovation in Kansas and matches them with best-in-class training, resources and mentors. Another KTEC PIPELINE innovator is George Laurence, a recent KU M.B.A. graduate.
In November, a multidisciplinary “E-Club” was formed on campus, focusing on developing entrepreneurial skills and networks for KU students, staff, and faculty. Among those working with the club are Friis and Wally Meyer, director of entrepreneurship programs in the School of Business.
Nationwide, Entrepreneurship Week USA observances will include high school competitions, academic gatherings, town hall meetings, and a national policy summit. More than 700 organizations are planning activities in all 50 states. National sponsors are the Kauffman Foundation, the New York Times, and Inc. Magazine.
E-Fair participants include:
