Focus: Educating Entrepreneur: HCC Celebrates Innovative Thinking

By Susan Kim, MANAGING EDITOR



Wayne Swann, a technology transfer instructor at Howard Community College (HCC), had some wry news for parents of his students: "I'm sorry to tell the parents here that I've taught my students 20 different techniques of negotiating to get what they want."

During the 14-week course, entitled "Technology Transfer From Invention to Marketplace," Swann also taught students the nuts and bolts of starting their own business, from accessing technology that's ready to be commercialized to arranging licensing agreements.

Students were paired with a volunteer mentor from a large agency such as The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others.

By the end of the program, students produced a written 12-page technology assessment report that was returned to the partner agency. Students also created product names as well as a marketing plan.

As the weeks went by, students reported that they caught the entrepreneurial sprit, and that they often developed a strong sense of what their product might mean to the public.

Peter Modlin talked about how his product, a ground-scanning technology he called "Aerocate," could help someone lost in the wilderness. "Hard-to-reach places will be immediately scanned, which could mean the difference between life and death. Maybe, just maybe, it will be available for your loved ones."

(For an explanation of Aerocate and other technology transfer ideas, see sidebar on pg. 9)

The Entrepreneurial Journey

Sharon Schmickley, HCC's chairperson for the business and computer systems division, said that the best part of the technology transfer course was hearing students talk about their concepts. "They take this concept through a journey, and they are able to speak to you about it in a professional manner," she said. "They're going to be able to engage with you."

Being an entrepreneur ultimately means getting to know what's inside yourself, she added. "Students take a skill that they have inside themselves, and they turn it into a business concept."

Increasingly, Schmickley said, people are not going to land jobs simply because they have a college degree. Instead, she added, people will be hired for their ability to create and hone original concepts.

"That's why the culture of this college is very much entrepreneurial," she said.

Ronald Roberson, HCC's vice president for academic affairs, said that innovative thinking is a workforce skill that is already highly prized, and it will only become more important.

"These young people have the will to innovate," he said. "You really can see if you give young people the opportunity to innovate, you'll see what fantastic things they do."



Opportunities Abound

The technology transfer course is just one of an array of courses and resources offered at HCC's Center for Entrepreneurial and Business Excellence (CEBE). Students can choose from nearly two dozen courses, or they can participate as individuals who take advantage of business coaching available at the center.

The most common introduction for students is the Entrepreneurial Assessment course, where students discuss their ideas with a professional coach who makes recommendations.

After this introduction, there are many options for experiential learning in which students partner with volunteers and mentors from the local business community. In addition to courses, the CEBE also offers office space with basic equipment, a business resource library, networking opportunities, assistance with securing financial aid and advisers with industry-specific expertise.

Entrepreneurial events and competitions have also become popular with students. A "Rocket Marketing" event held in fall 2007 was sponsored by Leadership Howard County. In this judged competition, students race the clock to succinctly and persuasively pitch their startup business ideas. (For a look at students' business ideas, see sidebar on page 9.)



'Creative and Impatient'

People who work closely with entrepreneurs often find themselves caught up in the energy of new ideas and big dreams.

Jeff Agnor of Davis, Agnor, Rapaport and Skalny, chair of HCC's Task Force on Developing Entrepreneurs, has been a business attorney for more than 20 years, and his biggest enjoyment comes from helping people create new businesses.

"Entrepreneurs are fun," he said. "True entrepreneurs are creative and impatient. They like to build things. They see opportunity everywhere. They're dreamers. They don't like rules."

Many young entrepreneurs don't know how to write a business plan, he said. "This involves both the ability to articulate the plan verbally and to crunch the numbers. In my view, entrepreneur students should have rigorous training in writing, public speaking, basic accounting and business planning."



Reaching Unrealized Potential

The CEBE is dedicated to developing the person as well as the business, explained CEBE Director Betty Noble. "We want our students to reach their unrealized potential."

Business coaching is an important element in CEBE programs for individuals, and mentoring is an equally important component in the collective classroom setting.

"Each of the student entrepreneurs who are building businesses through the individualized program work closely with a coach who supports them, coordinates resources and holds them accountable," said Noble. "In addition, we utilize a coaching philosophy in the way we work with our students across the curriculum. It is through the eyes of the coach that we often see transformation."

Watching personal transformations within students is one of the most rewarding aspects of business coaching, reported Noble.

Some students develop the courage to speak in front of a group of people from the business community to pitch their business. Others realize the synergy needed between all of the various startup components such as bookkeeping, marketing and legalities. Still others make a first sales call and overcome what they regarded as a first fearful step.

And some students decide that entrepreneurship is not for them, said Noble. "We are able to watch skills like leadership, teamwork, perseverance and business acumen unfold in these students that make them marketable to employers as internal entrepreneurs," she said.