Ray Kinnunen loves to recount how “they all laughed” when he first thought up the plan to teach 18-year-olds how to write business plans for real companies.
Looking back on another year of successful business plan creation with TJX Companies, a discount retailer of apparel and home fashions, he chuckles at how well its gone.
“We’ve been doing this for three years with TJX, and it keeps getting better,” says Kinnunen, known as “Coach K” to his students. “Our class is unique. First of all, how many classes exist that open up lines of communications between freshmen and senior level executives in the real world?
“Second, these students are writing business plans for a real company. Third, they give a high quality presentation, and mostly everyone is surprised that an 18-year-old can stand up there on stage with such poise. We actually teach that.”
This year, the best four business plans were selected from the works of 540 students working with 12 faculty members. The plans were presented Dec. 11 to TJX senior executive vice president, and group president, Ernie Herrman at Blackman Auditorium.
The four plans dealt with health and wellness initiatives, runway promotions, in-house advertising and marketing. Each plan was guided by the advice of TJX executives, who visited Northeastern students at various points in the semester.
Students were given feedback by a marketing vice president, a venture capitalist, human resource management officials and finance personnel as they prepared their plans, Kinnunen explained.
The best four plans, Kinnunen refers to as “the Fab Four,” were unveiled at Blackman. “This is truly a cutting edge class,” he said, explaining that students work all semester on the business plan. “There are only a handful of schools in the country that attempt something like this.”
— By Susan Salk
Students practice delivering their presentations before the TJX executive's visit. (Photo by Lauren McFalls)
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