New program fosters student innovators

A new program at the Beacom School of Business is aiming to create an innovative environment that will foster future entrepreneurs like junior Michael Helgerson.

The Entrepreneurs in Residence Program, which began in January, is designed to help student innovators on campus solidify their ideas and bring them to the open market. The program is part of a new strategic vision which places an emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Helgerson said that through the program he has been able to be mentored by Ben Hanten, one of the University of South Dakota’s two entrepreneurs in residence and a serial entrepreneur who left college after one year to start a magazine in Fort Collins, Colo.

“(Ben) is a wealth of information since he’s already been there,” Helgerson said. “He’s a well networked person, so he’ll put you in contact with individuals who have more information to present to you than he does.”

Hanten said having an entrepreneurs in residence program goes against the traditional hierarchy of the business world and how innovations make it to the market.

“A lot of my role is at odds with traditional teaching. I want to try to find those shortcuts so that I can introduce them to investors, competitors and customers quicker,” Hanten said. “If they work through the university they will get a good theory, but what I can do is introduce (innovations) to people, which they can combine with their institutional knowledge.”

Hanten and Helgerson have been working on a business plan concerning a business that would increase student engagement at universities through the use of smart device app. He will be traveling to Sioux City to participate in an entrepreneurship competition at Briar Cliff University Saturday.

Helgerson said Hanten does more than help make business connections.

“He gives me experience by making me practice my pitches,” Helgerson said. “He’ll ask me questions about revenue generation and different perspectives about things I haven’t considered.”

Venky Venkatachalam, dean of the business school, said he wants the program to be a resource for students with innovative ideas and hopes it will foster the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“The whole idea behind the entrepreneur in residence is to not learn it from the professors — they will teach you the foundations of finance, marketing, accounting —  but the entrepreneur in residence is here to help students move their ideas to another stage, toward a possibly successful market launch,” Venkatachalam said.

The entrepreneurs in residence program is not just for business students, however. Students from all areas of study are welcome to bring their ideas for review to entrepreneurs who can help them move their ideas along.

“(I want it) to be a source of mentorship and coaching guidance to students across the campus, across multiple disciplines to help them with the deep thinking process and research for it, to take their creative ideas potentially into the open market,” Venkatachalam said.

Hanten said he wants to be a resource for people interested in starting their own businesses.

“I hope that having a resource like that will encourage students to pursue the path of entrepreneurship,” Helgerson said. “It could be rewarding, and who knows what solutions lie dormant in students.”

(Photo: Senior Michael Helgerson is working with Ben Hanten, an entrepreneur in residence, to create a business plan for a startup business that will involve the development of a new smartphone app. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)