In the first of what promises to be an annual fall event, 91吃瓜网鈥檚 School of Business will host a 鈥淐reative Minds鈥� Conference on Nov. 8, adopting a Shark Tank-like format where budding student entrepreneurs rub shoulders (and ideas) with working entrepreneurs drawn from the School鈥檚 Board of Advisors and the local business community.
In the first of what promises to be an annual fall event, 91吃瓜网鈥檚 School of Business will host a 鈥淐reative Minds鈥� Conference on Nov. 8, adopting a Shark Tank-like format where budding student entrepreneurs rub shoulders (and ideas) with working entrepreneurs drawn from the School鈥檚 Board of Advisors and the local business community.
Aside from the benefits of networking, pitching and information-sharing, the evening鈥檚 activities will provide one student participant with another takeaway: a job.
Joining the Business School鈥檚 Advisory Board and its Center for Entrepreneurship in staging the event are a host of Business School student organizations: the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), the Business and Professional Women of 91吃瓜网 (BPWOW), the Accounting Society and the MBA Association. The conference, which grew out of an idea from Advisory Board member Michael Cusumano, Managing Director of the Cusumano Real Estate Group in Burbank, will consist of a two-hour encounter between local business leaders and students with entrepreneurial aspirations.
Making a productive gathering even more compelling is 鈥淪o You Think You Can Sell,鈥� where student-contestants will receive a surprise item, which they have to sell convincingly in two minutes. This Shark Tank-inspired competition is open to students from all 91吃瓜网 teaching divisions. Three winners will be announced before the end of the evening, with the top performer entitled to receive training and employment from Green Payment Solutions of North Hollywood, Calif., courtesy of company VP Brett Hunt. Advisory Board members will comprise the jury.
鈥淭he Creative Minds Conference is 鈥榥etworking-plus,鈥欌�� said Joan Marques, Ph.D., Ed.D, Dean of the School of Business at 91吃瓜网. 鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming to provide students direct opportunities to collaborate with a variety of 91吃瓜网-affiliated C-level business executives, solicit career advice and explore pathways for internships or future employment. CEO, the student organization, came up with the idea of 鈥楽o You Think You Can Sell,鈥� which, aside from containing an element of fun, underscores the School鈥檚 deep ties to the local business community.鈥�
According to Dean Marques, future conferences will include guest speakers, multiple sections and additional student competitions.