IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator was featured on MSNBC’s ‘Your Business’, presented by American Express OPEN Forum. The five minute segment, which aired on September 23, featured members of the IDEA management team, as well as ventures influences@, Annie Mulz, and Willō Cocktails.

The MSNBC crew visited Northeastern this past July when they interviewed IDEA CEO Chris Wolfel, Faculty Advisor Dan Gregory, and founders of several IDEA ventures over a period of three days.

After airing nationwide, the segment was published on American Express’ YouTube and OPEN Forum channels. They highlighted IDEA by saying:

Each week MSNBC’s Your Business features experts to share their secrets for improving your business. This week, there are quite a few educational opportunities available for current and future entrepreneurs, but one program in particular stands out. It’s a venture accelerator at Boston’s Northeastern University that’s run entirely by college students. The organization has the right idea when it comes to advising small business owners and getting them some funding to grow their companies.

Click here to view the segment!

“There’s nothing we would rather do than escape the day-to-day routine, take off into the unknown, and travel.”

Sounds like a dream, right? Escaping from everyday life and into the wonders of the universe has become a daily reality for the creators of Off The Grid Excursions.

After graduating from college, OTG founders – Jaclyn, Jen, Nick, and Charlie – found themselves settling into what they describe as the “real world.” They soon found the thing they cherished most was missing: travel. Sharing a passion to show other young Americans that traveling off-the-beaten-path is a necessity for life, the five founders left their day jobs and made a huge leap of faith: to create an exotic travel company.

Off The Grid Excursions was born.

They jumped head first into creating the business – literally. The founders selected four of their favorite destinations and spent a month in each one tasting the food, meeting locals, and discovering the top sights and hidden gems. This set the stage for crafting the best experience for their future customers.

Three key components set Off The Grid apart from other tour companies:

Truly local experiences: Local leaders who were born and raised in the areas lead all trips. With the expertise of the tour guide, travelers have the opportunity to visit the best places to eat and sites to see – those that only locals know of. OTG makes sure the experience isn’t just visiting, it’s getting the “inside scoop” and exploring!

Small group sizes: To maintain the incredible experience travelers receive, groups sizes are kept between 4 to 16 people. OTG wants to provide a close group setting and ensure an “off-the-beaten-path” vibe.

Making travel affordable: OTG works directly with a variety of vendors in each of their exotic destinations. All restaurants, hotels, and transportation are coordinated individually by OTG. This way, prices are kept lower by bypassing travel agent fees and commission. And because this is group travel, it’s more cost efficient than adventuring alone.

Off The Grid Excursions was officially launched this year on July 25. To celebrate months of hard work and exciting opportunities to come, they held a launch party and gave away a trip for two to one of the four destinations. The event proved successful as they acquired nearly 2,500 new customer leads and sold 30 trips.

OTG says that none of this would have been possible without IDEA’s unparalleled support and resources.

“IDEA has been an instrumental part of the process in getting Off The Grid Excursions up and running. We have not encountered any other organization that provides holistic help for startups. IDEA introduced OTG and other entrepreneurs to sources of capital and secure financing. They also provided a network of business contacts, one-on-one coaching, opportunities to gain brand awareness, and a community of entrepreneurs to share ideas. Where else can you get all that!”

Off The Grid Excursions is currently offering a $100 discount per person for those traveling in 2013. Current destinations include Thailand, Belize,Peru, and Morocco. Visit Off The Grid Excursions to learn more!

Encore Realty, officially launching from IDEA yesterday, was built with a focus on educating undergraduates and young professionals throughout the real estate process.

As CMO Brian Kitchens explains, these groups are traditionally left unheard throughout the rental process, as many Boston real estate offices are “ineffective in relationship building within this target demographic.

While other offices may take advantage of these inexperienced renters, Encore sees the value of transparent real estate transactions.

In further contrast to their competitors, Encore has developed exclusive relationships with landlords throughout Boston, who are “pleased to accept educated clients, as expectations are clearly defined…avoiding any foreseeable problems.”

Encore’s relationship with IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator began in the early stages of planning after another venture recommended IDEA’s services. Brian describes IDEA as demonstrating a “clear understanding of launching businesses”, as well as offering access to a variety of helpful resources. In fact, Encore’s team decided at that point to “stitch IDEA’S methodology into the fiber of their business.”

While confident with the talent of their team members, Encore was initially inexperienced with incorporating this talent into a working business plan. IDEA guided the team through a formal planning process that broke down the business into fundamentals, allowing the whole team to fully understand the business and thus learning to manage it efficiently.

Furthermore, the framework from the IDEA business-planning guide challenged the team to address and find answers for every facet of their business. Finally, working with IDEA allowed the team to “solve their role definition challenges,” forming the foundation for “sustainable and cohesive business operations.”

Since working on their launch, Encore has successfully completed their first season, “surpassing many milestones and further building the brand.” Their team of talented agents continues to contribute to their efforts. However, competing businesses and changes in the market environment can arise. For Encore, IDEA has become a “sounding board to help manage this challenge.”

With the help of IDEA, Encore’s team of motivated and ambitious business professionals was able to not only establish clear goals and objectives, but also to meet these goals within a much quicker time frame than they had originally anticipated.

Encore Realty was born when Brian and his team “identified an achievable industry opportunity.” IDEA served as a “catalyst” to help make this opportunity a reality and continues to provide support and guidance. As such, the Encore team is “quite excited” to continue working with IDEA throughout the next stages of their business and beyond.

Next month, Boston will be the center stage for the 3^rd annual Boston Regional Entrepreneurship Week (BREW). The 12-day event, hosted from October 15-26, is organized to involve and connect student entrepreneurs and professionals in the Greater Boston community.

BREW began in 2010 as a celebration of the entrepreneurial sector Boston has to offer. In October, nearly 100 events will be held during BREW, varying from breakfast sessions to panel discussions and networking sessions to ceremonies. All events with an entrepreneurial focus can be included on the BREW calendar.

IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, will be hosting NEXPO on October 17 at Northeastern’s Cabot Athletic Center. NEXPO is a great way for IDEA ventures to showcase their own work and bounce back ideas from other entrepreneurs – ventures will be on the floor, previewing their businesses to industry professionals and fellow peers. This event brings together not only those from Northeastern, but students from other schools and professionals in the Boston area. Visit nexpo.eventbrite.com to learn more!

IDEA is also helping coordinate the BREW CEO Lunch program. CEOs from Boston-based companies are invited to participate in a one-on-one session with a student or entrepreneur – this includes executives from Panera Bread, Constant Contact, Zipcar, and many more! Those interested can review the list of CEOs and submit a form to have the chance to learn from successful entrepreneurs!

BREW is also highlighting companies that are assisting local businesses succeed by introducing the Spotlight program. This year, they are recognizing Interise, NFTE, and Merrimack Valley Sandbox Initiative. On October 15, BREW will host a fundraiser with Contact Contact to benefit these three organizations.

The Boston Regional Entrepreneurship Week is dedicated to bringing the local entrepreneurship community together and cultivating the minds of young entrepreneurs. Keep up-to-date at brewboston.org for continuing updates and remember to mark your calendars for October 15!

When there isn’t a solution to the problem, invent it. That was the mindset of Johann Barlach and Casey Flynn when they created Cobar Systems. The idea for their venture began while Johann was on co-op in the business continuity department of a large financial services firm located here in Boston.
Johann Barlach

“While working [at this large financial services firm], I realized there was a huge demand for new products,” explains Johann. “Not only are a lot of the current product offerings outdated, but the industry is rapidly growing and in need of new software solutions.”

One of Johann’s responsibilities was to compile reports from various departments that tested their business continuity strategies. After finding the process time consuming and current software ineffective, Johann saw a value in developing a solution himself. From there, Johann reached out to his friend, Casey, and they began developing Cobar Systems.

Cobar’s first application, Themis, is what Johann envisioned while working on his coop, designed to combat the business continuity problems companies can often face.

“Themis is a management system for business continuity exercises, providing tools to prepare, execute, and record exercises, which improves and validates recovery strategies in organizations as a result,” says Johann. “The concept for Themis is a combination of work experience, market research, and workability.”
Casey Flynn

Themis’ unique feature is compatibility. Many of Themis’ competitors are windows-based, but while technology continues to develop, Johann and Casey believe there must be more options available. Themis can be utilized on all browsers, smartphones, and tablets to ensure exercises facilitate more efficiently.

Business development has also proved to be a learning curve for both Johann and Casey, soon discovering that startups don’t appear overnight. After joining IDEA this past March, Johann, a Business Administration major at Northeastern, and Casey, a Computer Science and Business major, have been working full-time to make Cobar a success. As young entrepreneurs, this requires both to be involved in all areas of the business.

What’s next for Cobar? Themis is currently in the development stage and will be tentatively launched this fall. Keep your eyes out for great things from Cobar!

Today, July 16th, IDEA has officially “launched” its first round of successful ventures. Each of the six ventures have completed IDEA’s “Ready, Set, Go” program to become investment ready or self-sustaining. They will remain in the IDEA family with access to its investor network and any relationships they have established, but they will no longer have an assigned coach or be eligible for Gap/prototype funding .

The ventures include:

Akrivis Technologies

Akrivis is a biotech company committed to the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening disease. They have been an IDEA venture since January 2012 and have received $10,000 in Gap funding.

influencers@

influencers@ is an influence marketing agency that increases brand awareness and boots sales through street and web marketing campaigns driven by our gen-y and gen-x community of influencers. They have been an IDEA venture since November 2011 and are becoming a service provider.

Mini Pops

Mini Pops manufactures a unique and delicious addition to the snack food industry: air-popped and seasoned organic sorghum grain, organically farmed in the USA. They have been an IDEA venture since November 2010 and have received $10,000 in Gap funding.

 Moniker Guitars 

Monkier Guitars is the first custom guitar maker to allow customers to design and purchase a new electric guitar online. They have been an IDEA venture since August 2011 and have received $20,000 in Gap funding.

Pure Pest Management 

Pure Pest Management is a service company that specializes in safe and natural control of mosquitoes, ticks, deer, and indoor bugs in residential, commercial, and recreational areas. They have been an IDEA venture since November 2010 and have received $10,000 in Gap funding.

 Tuatara Corp.

Tuatara is the first Digital Learning platform designed to leverage the shift from paper textbooks to eTextbooks in order to focus on the unique learning styles of end-users. They have been an IDEA venture since February 2011 and have received $10,000 in Gap funding. Additionally, Tuatara has raised over $2 million in friends and family funding.

This is an incredibly significant milestone because each of these successful ventures are proof that the student-led model is indeed lucrative. Additionally, they are testament to the value of IDEA’s services and resources. These ventures have worked incredibly hard for their accomplishments and IDEA is excited to see what’s in store for them next!

Featuring VisibleGains, Joppa Global Marketing Partners, & Accounting Management Solutions

IDEA provides ventures with coaching, connections to resources, and funding. One key aspect of IDEA, however, are our service providers. Our providers consist of public relations firms, financial and accounting groups, marketing and media strategy agencies, and legal offices. These professionals dedicate their time and services to assist our ventures throughout the business development process. And, as an added bonus, their services are free of charge for IDEA’s ventures to utilize!

Most of IDEA’s service providers have an affiliation with Northeastern. Regardless of whether they are a former graduate, professor, or parent of a student, they all share the hope of being able to give back to the entrepreneurial community at Northeastern. In the past year, Boston’s ownVisibleGains, Joppa Global Marketing Partners, and Accounting Management Solutions were some of the service providers introduced into the program, each eager to start!

Cliff PollanVisibleGains
Cliff Pollan’s goal is to create better communication between the business and the client. As founder, president, and CEO of VisibleGains, Pollan joined IDEA over a year ago and was blown away with the concept of IDEA and by how involved the students are.

Two months ago, VisibleGains launched Postwire, a software which they call “a dead simple way to collect and share videos, photos, web links and documents on a private page you create for each client in a minute.” This program allows the business to virtually share projects and documents with the client to review and provide feedback – doing away with lengthy email chains and typical file sharing. Postwire was launched in April at New York City’s TechCrunch, where Pollan and his team finished in the top 30 out of 6,000 applicants.

Postwire will help IDEA ventures earn business, generate funding, and communicate internally, says Pollan. In addition, ventures will receive free access to the program.

Pollan is thrilled to be part of the service providers program and working with student entrepreneurs. “Having the service provider network is a huge asset,” explains Pollan. “But most importantly, the students are the best asset. And I think it’s a great opportunity for the service providers to learn from them.”

Dick AndersenJoppa Global Marketing Partners
Joppa is a strategic marketing consulting firm, specializing in marketing technology products and services. Dick Andersen, a partner at Joppa, received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern (’71) and is a former adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Business (1975-1995). New to IDEA last year, Andersen and Joppa came on board to give back to the university and the students.

Joppa provides their clients guidance and operational oversight for their marketing strategy, plans and activities, beginning with an assessment and analysis of the company’s current marketing plan. Following that analysis, Joppa assists their clients with a full range of services to plan and execute marketing and product programs insuring they get the most out of their marketing investments.

Andersen has experience in running multiple startups and in the past, has held positions in marketing, product management, engineering, and operations. He uses his past venture knowledge to help clients establish business structure, evaluate finance alternatives, conduct market research, and build industry connections. With Joppa, Andersen will be working with IDEA ventures to provide these services, along with marketing planning and program execution.

Andersen explains that marketing plays a crucial role in the startup venture process. “Having a focused marketing plan, executing it, and adapting it to changing market conditions is critical for a company to establish itself in the market and grow. Our services can help ventures create the plan, put the right team in place to execute the programs, and fine tune the programs to maximize the results.”

Accounting Management Solutions
As a leading providers of outsourced account and financial management services, Accounting Management Solutions helps for-profit and nonprofit organizations with financial modeling, software selection, and account infrastructure. And as organizations grow, AMS can be the “financial eyes and ears” for their clients.

Jim BourdonJim Bourdon is CEO & founder of Accounting Management Solutions and a former Northeastern undergraduate (’73) and MBA student (’84). As the newest service provider to join IDEA, AMS has already had the opportunity to work with a student venture, KeeWee Listings. KeeWee is a social platform that allows college students to post and search for sublet openings. In April, KeeWee founders Brandon Beneduce and Andrew Rodriguez met with Bourdon to discuss their revenue strategy; Bourdon then assigned KeeWee with one of AMS’ senior consultants. From there, AMS worked to build an extensive financial model, develop a sustainable budget, and clarify financial assumptions.

“It’s hard enough coming up with a concept and by having service providers in different fields, it helps them come up with a better model,” explains Bourdon. “Particularly for students, it’s hard to have the answers and to have professionals available, it helps them make the best decisions.”

Beneduce says that without AMS’ help, KeeWee would not be where they are today. “When we had gone through the IDEA gap funding application rounds in the past, the investment committee had indicated to us that our [Profit & Loss], assumptions, and overall revenue model were not clear enough. AMS was able to help and improve our models so that we operated as a better business and were able to solve the errors that the investment committee had found.”

The service providers program plays a vital role in each venture’s success. Because all of IDEA’s service providers are distinguished in their individual fields, the program is immeasurably beneficial to ventures.

“No matter what kind of founder you are, you will not have expertise in every aspect of running a business,” says Beneduce. “At some point in your company’s lifespan, you will need help from someone with professional experience in that area you are not proficient in, which could run your company thousands of dollars. This is where our service providers step in, and I think they are an invaluable resource to its ventures.”

After all, each and every service provider has one common priority: to help IDEA’s student ventures succeed the best they can.

To view all of IDEA’s service providers, click here.

Throughout the summer months, college students nationwide spend their days resting, relaxing, and recuperating for the year ahead. Many student entrepreneurs, however, do not afford themselves these same luxuries. After dedicating countless hours to their entrepreneurial work throughout the school year, these students continue working during a season traditionally void of responsibilities for their peers. In order to get a glimpse into the summer lives of these student entrepreneurs, I reached out to Northeastern students Andrew Rodriguez and Mike Behan.

Andrew is the founder and CEO of KeeWee Listings, a social platform that allows college students to post and search for sublet openings in local apartments. Mike is the co-founder and CEO of Njabini Apparel. Njabini employs disadvantaged Kenyan mothers to handcraft apparel using locally sourced materials, and empowers these women through micro-business development programs. KeeWee Listings and Njabini Apparel are two ventures within IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator.

Both Andrew and Mike have spent the first half of their summers in Boston, with Mike taking classes and Andrew on co-op working full time for KeeWee. For the remainder of the summer, Andrew will be splitting his time between meetings and events in Boston and working remotely from his home in Connecticut. Mike will spend the rest of his summer in Boston to work full time on Njabini.

For KeeWee, this summer is critical. As Andrew explains, “this is a very important time in the company’s life cycle…it’s a bit slow on the customer side, but it’s very busy on the business development side.” KeeWee launched two months ago to a great response during the busiest time of the year for Northeastern subletting. As they expected, they have seen use drop a bit over the summer. This allows Andrew and his team time to focus on building the business, as they work heavily throughout the summer to prepare for the upcoming fall sublet rush.

The KeeWee team will be working closely with their IDEA venture coach, Ryan Johnson to “round out” their business plan and take some “large, but necessary steps.” They currently have a beta version of their service launched, so they hope to use the summer to get user feedback, make changes to the site, and “work towards producing a better product.”

Conversely, according to Mike, Njabini is “sales heavy” throughout the summer months. As a result, many of the “time intensive operations” occur between May and August. Between meetings, sales events, and markets, Njabini will be busy throughout the summer “continuing to carve out a customer base in the greater Boston area” and launching a few new products.

From a business development perspective, Mike and his team will be making a big push throughout July and August to solidify their board of advisors and to establish better retail connections.

One major challenge student entrepreneurs face when working over the summer is communicating with their team. Both Andrew and Mike, however, seem to have found solutions to stay connected. KeeWee utilizes weekly team meetings via Skype, as well as bi-weekly meetings with their venture coach. Andrew and his team also make use of programs such as HipChat (a group instant messaging service), Dropbox, and Trello (document sharing and collaboration services).

Due to the nature of Njabini, their team is spread “across the country and around the world” at all times – not just during the summer months. Mike and his team have structured their operations around this and as a result, it is relatively easy for everyone to “stay on the same page.

Beyond working on their ventures, these student entrepreneurs also find the time for more traditional summer activities. Andrew will be working a part-time job in Connecticut, while Mike hopes to enjoy a couple weekends on the water in Rhode Island. (Oh, and to find some time to train for his upcoming ultra-marathon in September!)

Andrew and Mike are hopeful for what the rest of the summer will bring. Both agree that the summer is a crucial time for their ventures. “It’s the first time I’ll have a chance to work on [Njabini] outside of classes,” says Mike. “Hopefully we can make some serious progress.”

In a ceremony held Tuesday, June 12^th, the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange recognized IDEA: Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, and the Entrepreneurs Club for their contributions to innovation in higher education.

Christopher Wolfel, CEO of IDEA, with Cory Bolotsky, Entrepreneurs Club Director of StrategyMITX is a nonprofit trade association for the digital marketing and Internet business industry. Their annual event, the MITX Innovation Awards, is a competition that “celebrates the innovations powering the future of marketing and revolutionizing the way we work and play.”

IDEA and the Entrepreneurs Club competed against Harvard’s I-Lab and BC Tech Trek East in the category “Best Contribution to Innovation by a University or College.”

For full coverage of the win, including reactions from Chris Wolfel, CEO of IDEA, and Matt Bilotti, President of the Entrepreneurs Club, click here.