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What a blast!!! The Quest for Innovation was an outstanding success with over 100 teams of 3 to 7 people competing to complete a scavanger hunt around Boston. The STE team assembled early and was ready to go on Friday afternoon with overcast skies and drizzle here and there. Dispite the weather, we were off and running at the start. Cell phones were used to get clues about events and places in Boston that were in some way or another significant demonstrations of Boston's entrepreneurial prowess. Up and down streets looking following clues had us on the 31st floor in the financial district, touring Quincy Market, and racing throught the old textile district (near Chinatown). See some of our photos. |
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The School of Technological entrepreneurship is proud to be a sponsor of THE QUEST. This is destined to be an event to remember for Boston area entrepreneurs. THE QUEST is a high-tech scavenger hunt that will bring together leaders of the New England innovation economy to celebrate a heritage of entrepreneurship and innovation in Boston on October 9th. Proceeds generated from THE QUEST will be used to help assist not-for-profit organizations and local university programs (including the STE) that focused on advancing entrepreneurship in the region. Be sure to register on-line and be there. |
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Two STE Master's of Technological Entrepreneurship graduates of '08, Ken Macharia and Amir Karim formed a On-Line
everything paint ball website called 280TV. They recently entered a business plan
competition organized by the Hellenic Business Network (HBN) and won third prize and $2,500.
According to Ken and Amir, "Paintball is one of America’s fastest growing extreme sports with participation level surpassing 4.9 Million individuals in the US only. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, paintball has seen a 74.9% increase in participation since 1998 and continues to grow. Despite the continuous growth in popularity, paintball enthusiasts still do not have an efficient way to receive high quality paintball footage, news, and information. 280TV is solving this problem by creating an Internet delivered “television” channel.
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The Robert J. Shillman Trustee Professor of Entrepreneurship Fund was established with a generous gift from Bob Shillman in 2006.
We are proud to announce that the Professorship was awarded to our very own Professor Marc Meyer. Marc teaches and conducts research in new product, systems, and services innovation. He is the Director of the High Technology MBA. Dr. Meyer also manages the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group in the College of Business.
In research, Dr. Meyer has published numerous articles in leading academic journals, with an emphasis on managing architecture, developing product line strategy, and linking innovation to enterprise growth. Dr. Meyer is co-author (with Alvin P. Lehnerd) of The Power of Product Platforms (The Free Press, NY, NY, 1997), a book widely used in the product development community. His latest book with Oxford University Press is titled The Fast Path to Corporate Growth: Leveraging Knowledge and Technologies to New Market Applications, which provides concepts and methods used by leading corporations to develop new product lines and services. He serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Product Innovation Management, The Journal of Mass Customization, and The Journal of the Academy of Business Education.
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| Dr. Meyer is a graduate of Harvard and MIT. He was the 2002 recipient of the Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute, the association of R&D executives. He also holds the position of Scientist in the Engineering Systems Division at M.I.T and is an Academic Fellow in the Center for Innovation Management Studies, N.C. State.
In addition to his impressive credentials, Marc is an avid fisherman. |
Shafik Bahou, who entered the business plan that he developed in his Spring TENU450 class has been selected a finalist in the WPI Pitch Competition.
On April 21st, students in STE’s TENG250 Technology Based New Product Development presented the results of a semester long technology development project held in conjunction with Mass Art. Prof. Tucker Marion’s class was segmented into four teams, with each team having two Industrial Designers and six STE students from various technology backgrounds. Each team was given the option to explore two technology opportunity spaces, wireless fitness solutions and solutions for the mobile office. Through design strategy brainstorming sessions, each team selected an opportunity space and developed several concepts and user centered story boards. Winning concepts were then selected and refined. To foster development of functional prototypes and look and feel models, each team was supported with a budget of $2,500 from a NCIIA grant received in 2008. These funds were used to purchase competing products for tear down, outsourcing of electrical breadboard prototypes and production-level computer-aided design, and the purchase of stereo lithography prototypes. The teams were empowered to make decisions on the product’s design, specifications, technical testing, and project management – in essence providing them with a hands-on entrepreneurial environment to learn the process of fast and lean ‘garage-style’ new product development. Several of the projects are scheduled to be evaluated to continue development in STE’s I-Cubator this fall – so stay tuned!
Click here for the
project presentations.
The ability to commercialize new technology rapidly and effectively is the key to reinventing organizations and establishing innovative technology ventures.
Our Master of Science in Technology Commercialization prepares graduates with the necessary business and project management skills to translate technical ideas into commercial successes.
The one-year, 100% online degree is delivered through Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, in collaboration with the School of Technological Entrepreneurship.

Former STE Graduate Students Sergei Darda and Tanapat Kitudomkul have continued working on their I-cubator venture after their graduation this past September. Rather than taking 2-D pictures, Darda and Kitudomkul saw an opportunity to take technology developed by a company located in Burlington (Z Corporation) and marry it with 3-D scanning technology to create "3-D" portraits; sculptures really. Determined to validate their idea, they arranged for a live test with real customers. Supported by the School of Technological Entrepreneurship and Z Corporation, the two conducted a live test at the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here is what they said about their results:
"The results of the test were positive. We had more cusumers than we expected and our best seller was not a less expensive monochrome sculpture, but a more expensive color sculpture. This was a suprise for us. On the negative side, we spent more time than we expected on editing the 3D files for production."
Download their video advertisement (High Tech.wmv).

The School of Technological Entrepreneurship co-sponsored the second ever MassEntrepreneurship, along with the NCIIA, (MTTC and the State Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The event was held at the Massachusetts State House and Governor Deval Patrick delivered the opening address. The focus of the conference was on mentoring of young entrepreneurs and methodologies to encourage and help young entrepreneurs to achieve success in the state. This focus resulted from information revealed in a recent report generated by Babson College (Babson Entrepreneurship Monitor) showing a sparcity of start-ups by young entrepreneurs. Participation in the event was by invitation and included leaders in entrepreneurship around the state and from universities, colleges and other nonprofit support groups. The event was well attended with over 100 and included two panels discussing aspects of mentoring.
Northeastern University emersed itself in entrepreneurship
during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). GEW was promoted by the Kauffman Foundation as a world wide
coordinated series of events held at University Campuses around the globe. Northeastern's School of
Technological Entrepreneurship organized an extensive week of activity on its campus. We held seminars,
panel discussions and receptions. It's all documented on our Global
Entrepreneurship Week website. For the opening event, we invited participation for all the colleges and universities in the region. Several attended including MIT, Babson, BU, Bunker Hill College and provided banners which were mounted on the walls around the alumni center where the event was held. Over 250 attendees including Northeastern Alumni, students, friends and colleagues participated. President Aoun made a brief welcome and introduce Tom Ruhe from Kauffman who made the first public announcement of the Kauffman State Entrepreneurship Index results revealing that Massachusetts ranked number one. Alumnus Bob Davis (BSBA '79) gave a key
note address which you can listen to at the GEW website along with videos and audios of all the events
during the week.
The School of Technological
Entrepreneurship was formed to foster education and research for
high-technology entrepreneurship with the imperative to develop
multi-disciplinary programs. With this in mind, Professors T. Marion
(PI) and J. Friar teamed with Prof. Sagar Karmarthi (College of
Engineering) on a proposal entitled "Development of a Multi-Disciplinary New Product
Development Course Curricula."
"Reviewers were enthrusiastic about the proposal; they liked
the approach and the plan for implementation." The award brings
$29,000 of support.
A proposal written by Professors
John Friar and Tucker Marion entitled, "Cases for a Multi- Disciplinary
New Product Development Course", was awarded by the North American
Case Research Association (NACRA). The proposal will receive $10,000
grant funding for the 2008-2009 academic year. This proposal was
one of two proposals, out of 31 received, that were selected for
funding this year. The proposals went through two rounds of review.
Each was reviewed independently by two reviewers. The finalists
from this round were then reviewed by another committee, which made
the final decisions. The STE proposal 'greatly impressed our reviewers
at all levels,' according to NACRA.
From the Mass Technology
Leadership Council Press
Release:
The Mass
Technology Leadership council, Inc. announced the first group
of finalists of the Council's annual Technology Leadership Awards
honoring Massachusetts companies and individuals who best exemplify
leadership and excellence in business and techology. Unlike most
tchnology awards, The Technology Leadership Awards recognize outstanding
achievement in both the development and deployment of information
technologies that address critical business issues. The first
group of Finalists for the Awards program, announced June 26,
2008, were in the following categories: CEO, CXO, Innovator, Private
Sectory Company, and Public Sector Organization of the year. Dean
Zavracky is among four Innovators including Jay Bhatt (Autodesk),
Nicholas Carr (Author), and Paul Graham (Y-combinator).
Assistant Professor Tucker J. Marion of the School of Technological Entrepreneurship (STE)
has just been named as a recipient of Dell's Design Educator Award. The reward is a result
of efforts in 'Managing a Technology-Based Business,' a core course of STE's Masters program.
Four student multi-functional teams were formed to develop conceptual designs for Dell's
ReGeneration Competition. Students were given the task of conceptual design and development
of sustainable computing systems. The teams were given a budget and were able to manage outside
industrial designers, simulating the start-up environment. Projectd included energy efficient
laptops and home power management solutions. The spirit of the project competition will continue
next year in STE's Product Development class which will include collaboration with Mass Art.
In time for Earth Day 2008,
STE students recently submitted projects to the Dell
Regeneration Design Competition. The students formed cross-functional
teams and worked throughout the semester to develop green, sustainable
concepts for Dell. During the course, Managing a Technology-Based
Business, students selected a project manager and were able to work
with industrial designers outside Northeastern, learning how to
effectively manage a technical start-up in the early stages of product
design. Concepts were refined, renderings and CAD models developed,
and power consumption analyzed. Concepts ranged from Tween laptops
to home power management tools. Click below to view some of the
projects.
The graduate MSTE class
of '08 organized a night out with the faculty and staff from the
School at Whiskey's, a local pub and eatery on Boylston Street in
Boston's Back Bay. The event was a great success with the Dean,
faculty and staff participating. See the photo
page.
The graduate MSTE class
of '07 spent the year developing their skills learning how business
principles apply specifically to high growth high tech ventures.
During their summer semester, three of the projects they worked
on during the year were selected for business plan development.
Students formed teams to write and present their businesses. Angel
investors Joseph Caruso['65 BSEE], Sam Altschuler ['58 MBA] and
John Martino volunteered to listen to the presentations and provide
feedback to the teams. See the photo
page.
The EntreTech
Forum is being launched this Fall with a regular schedule of
monthly meetings. Each will feature a moderated panel providing
technology-innovation presentations. These will focus on entrepreneurial
and corporate accomplishments along commercialization pathways with
discussions of technology transfer and incubation from universities
and industry. The subject of financing and deal structure will be
included along with presentations of emerging academic research.
The open meetings will be held in Waltham at the Emerging Enterprise
Center of Foley Hoag and at campus locations.
The EntreTech Forum will
be an affiliate of Northeastern University’s School of Technological
Entrepreneurship (STE) and will be directed by an executive board
of business principals, investors, and researchers. The Forum will
serve entrepreneurs and investors, commercial-industry and academic
communities, inventors and technology researchers within a framework
of technology-market collaboration and networking. In addition,
a brand recognition and community visibility will accrue to the
School of Technological Entrepreneurship.
A Working Group/Leadership
Team is being formed now to help organize the forum events. Larry
Grumer [’74 BSME, ’85 MBA] a Northeastern University
alumnus and entrepreneur has agreed to direct the organizing activities
and lead the execution. The Leadership Team’s participation
will take the form of working on and leading committees such as
Alliances, Programs, Communications, Industry Liaison, Meeting Logistics,
etc. and become the governing board of the forum.
The EntreTech Forum meetings
are going to be held on the third Tuesday of each month 6:30-9:30pm
at the Emerging
Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag Suite Number: 4000, North Entrance
1000 Winter Street Bay Colony Corporate Center Waltham, MA 02451.
On-campus special-event meetings are planned to be held at the new
Northeastern University Alumni Center. The first meeting is scheduled
for October. Please attend.
Volunteers working on the
program are listed below:
PROGRAMS
Nick Pulsone Randall Seed Joe Shamon Gerry Lorden Karim Nurani
Larry Grumer Andrew Fairbairn Joe Caruso Val Livada
WEB/IT
Brian Colandreo Yigal Banker Mitchell Hebert Larry Grumer
PR/ COMMUNICATIONS
Dick Shock Karim Nurani Bill Gately
ALLIANCES/
PARTNERS Bill Gately Val Livada Gerry Lorden Georgia
Stavroupolis Peter Stavroupolis Andrew Fairbairn
SPONSORS
Paul Zavracky Bill Gately Joe Sabatini Peter Stavroupolis Larry
Grumer
LOGISTICS
Maureen McNamara Gerry Lorden (BC) Andrew Cordner
If you are interested in
helping organize this event, please contact Larry Grumer (lgrumer@taacorp.com).
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| Tucker Marion graduated Bucknell
University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering; then spent the
next seven years at Ford Motor Company and Visteon Corporation launching
new automotive electronics. During that time he completed a Masters
at the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School in Technology
Management. In 2001, he co-founded the Innovation
Factory, where he headed product development and operations.
He left the Innovation Factory in 2004 to begin FlashPoint
Development, a small product development consulting firm based
in Philadelphia. Tucker began Ph.D. work at Penn State in late 2004,
and upon completion in early 2007 he was enlisted by the School
of Technological Entrepreneurship where he will teach and continue
his research in product development and innovation.
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The Deans and faculty of
the School of Technological Entrepreneurship and the College of
Business Administration plan to re-energize and restructure the
original, but dormant, Northeastern University $60K business plan
competition. To get the ball rolling, we engaged a visiting scholar
for the summer. Larry Bennett, who is the Whitman Professor of Entrepreneurial
Practice at Syracuse University, formulated our approach. The new
model for the "Northeastern $120K Venture Creation Competition"
will revolve around identifying high growth new businesses from
among the NU alumni, faculty, student body, as well as other aspiring
entrepreneurs from around the world.
By all measures, the EntrepreneurshipWeek
USA series of events held at Northeastern University during the
week of February 26th was a major success. Planning for the event
was overseen by Professor Anthony De Ritis, Chair of the Music Department
and active participant in the formation of the STE and its programs.
Learn about all the activity through podcasts and vodcasts at www.neu.edu/eweek.
This event was made possible with generous
support from :
The National
Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), Massachusetts
Technology Transfer Center (MTTC) and Northeastern University
(NEU) sponsored the first ever state-wide Mass Entrepreneurship
event, as the Massachusetts kick-off to EntrepreneurshipWeek USA.
Mass Entrepreneurship is the first-ever gathering of technology
entrepreneurship programs and organizations within the state of
Massachusetts. The event was held at the Langham Hotel, Boston,
on Monday, February 26th at 1:30pm. Senator Kerry and Mayor Thomas
Menino presented the keynote address.
Immediately following, the results of a survey
taken of the Entrepreneurial support organizations and centers throughout
the state was presented. That was followed by a panel discussion
with panelists Roger Marino (NU E’61, Hon.’96), Founder,
EMC and Angel Investor, Dr. Richard Lester, Founding Director, Industrial
Performance Center (IPC), MIT, and Representative Dan Bosley, MA
State Legislature & co-Chair of Technology Economic Development
Committee moderated by Dean Zavracky. They responded to the survey
that assessed the collective assets, needs and potential for collaboration
to improve our state's effectiveness in supporting new technology
startups.
 
The Kauffman Foundation is launching EntrepreneurshipWeek
USA -- along with a group of sponsors including the New York
Times and Inc. magazine – to ignite the nation’s consciousness
around the importance of being entrepreneurial. The initiative will
be designed to stimulate on-going interest from individuals and
organizations serving as an educational kick-start for the uninitiated,
and an inspiration for young people to begin a journey to fulfill
their potential as self-starters and entrepreneurs.
The School of Technological Entrepreneurship,
in partnership with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators
Association and the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, is
organizing a state-wide event planned for February 26, 2007 in which
participants from entrepreneurship programs and organizations around
the state will have the opportunity to network. This event will
be followed by a week of activities at Northeastern University and
other universities around the state. For more information see upcoming
events.
The grant from the Keel Foundation will help
launch the STE’s newest initiative; an experiential program
component dubbed an I-cubator. An I-cubator is a company-like organizational
structure with thematic focus comprising a Chairman, a professional
manager, a board of directors, and student teams lead by student
leaders. Teams focus on innovative ideas, vetting them both technically
and from a market perspective while creating prototypes and generating
business plans. This grant will enable the school to create two
I-cubators; one focused on Digital Media and the other on BioTechnology.
Northeastern has successful research centers in both areas.
Are entrepreneurs born or are they bred?
A recent national survey conducted by Northeastern University’s
School of Technological Entrepreneurship (STE) goes directly to
the source to find out. The survey results, released in conjunction
with the launch of the STE, self-assess the personal experiences
and attributes that have contributed to entrepreneurs’ success.
Click
here to view the complete results.
The STE is planning a panel discussion on
the topic of entrepreneurs: Born or Bred (see Upcoming
Events). We have also posted and plan to continue posting podcasts
on this and other topics of interest to aspiring entrepreneurs.
We are working with fellow alumnus and entrepreneur Steve Cody,
whose PR firm, PepperCom, has been interfacing with Northeastern's
marketing team on this project. See what Steve had to say about
the born vs. bred issue on September 29 here.
One of the blogs we’ve been reaching out
to, Mind Petals, has posted
a story on the born v. bred debate and included links to STE’s podcast
series and the survey. Mind Petals is designed to connect entrepreneurs
from all over the world, with the goal of creating the most effective
Entrepreneur Network on the internet. You can see the story he posted
on September 29th here.
A second very interesting entrepreneurial
blog site is SportsLizard
Entrepreneurial Blog. Read what Adam McFarland had to say on
September 30th here.
The School of Technological Entrepreneurship
welcomed it's first class of graduate students with a 'Meet and
Greet' comprising STE faculty, the Dean, Susan Lawless and a good
showing of the new graduate class. The Dean introduced the program
and the participating faculty members. Then each faculty member
provided a brief background and if teaching this semester, a description
of what they intend to accomplish. Subsequently, everyone attending
had the opportunity to mingle.

A gift from George and Ellen Kariotis establishes
an endowed scholarship fund for the STE. This fund will provide
support to students projects. In its implementation, students will
submit ideas for evaluation by a committee consisting of representative
each from the STE, Engineering and Business. The selection committee
will select worthy and deserving recipients for awards based on
their submissions. Projects will be evaluated for originality, technical
feasibility, and market potential. Students will be required to
present their ideas and will be judged based on their enthusiasm,
determination and salesmanship. Two $5,000 scholarships will be
available to undergraduates and one $5,000 is available for graduate
students.
A panel discussion held on April 27th involving
successful alumni Bob Davis, Roger Blethen, Dennis Shaughnessy and
middler Jason Evanish was by all accounts a spectacular success.
Held as part of the NU Today Alumni Event, an audience of over 100
alumni and friends attended the event. The presentation kicked-off
with Jean Tempel's public announcement of The Jean C.Tempel Professorship
Fund, to which Dean Paul Zavracky will be the designated inaugural
holder. The panel responded to four prepared questions each with
his own particular perspective. Bob Davis held the audience captivated
talking about how his firm and other VC firms identify opportunities,
focusing heavily on the quality of the management team before assessing
the idea being presented. Bob noted that entrepreneurs want to swing
right into their pitch, but his firm starts with a more general
discussion so that they can evaluate the team. Roger Belthen, in
answering a question about what entrepreneurs need to know observed
that these days running out of money wasn't highest on his list
and wonder if learning Chinese might be more important in today's
world. To a question regarding finding technological ideas at universities,
Dennis noted that the difficulty and time involved in identifying
the research strengths at universities can be a potential barrier
to getting university IP commercialized. Our student panel member
was very articulate in expressing the student perspective and noted
the importance and value he found in meeting successful alumni and
listening to them present their experiences. Numerous questions
were raised by the audience including President Freeland who wondered
what was the special DNA in NU students and alumni that produced
so many successes.
The next advisory board will be held on
May 23, 2006 at 8:00 am. A room is currently being secured and will
be posted as soon as that information is available.
Robert (Bob) Shillman has agreed to endow
a chair in the School of Technological Entrepreneurship. A long
time friend of Northeastern and alumnus (E'68), Bob is the founder
and CEO of Cognex Corporation. Bob also holds a position on Northeastern's
Board of Trustees. Bob's generousity will help the school attract
an outstanding faculty member to the school and further the school's
objective of being the leader in Technological Entrepreneurship
education and research.
The School of Technological Entrepreneurship
will offer two undergraduate courses during the summer 1 session.
The courses will be TEN301 Opportunity Assessment taught by Professor
Crane and TEN310 Business Basics taught by Professor Clark. For
further details see the undergraduate elective flyer.
The School of Technological Entrepreneurship
will offer its first masters courses this fall. Its faculty are
working diligently to finalize the course syllabi and complete the
paperwork necessary to get them approved by the Registrar. The program
expects to assist students in developing ideas into marketable products.
Students will learn how to assess opportunities, establish small
company operations, protect intellectual property, create a quality
business plan and pitch investors. The program will comprise 10
courses of three credits each and take a minimum of one full year
to complete. Given the response from students from differing backgrounds,
the School has decided to accommodate recent graduates, experienced
technologists, and part-time students. Four courses will be offered
in the fall, accommodating the needs of the full time students.
As the founder of The School of Technological
Entrepreneurship, Jean Tempel challenged the University to create
a school that taught students from a variety of disciplines what
it takes to start high growth technology-based companies. Jean’s
background as a Venture Capitalist gives her significant insight
into the issues facing young entrepreneurs. Jean saw the need for
formal training and the value Northeastern brings to the table.
As a Northeastern University Trustee Jean understands the strengths
of the University and its unique position in New England, the United
States and the world. Jean is continuing her support by providing
the dean with an additional endowment that will help fund programs
for the school.
This semester, the undergraduate program
has rebounded from a slow start to the year in the fall semester.
Forty four students are currently enrolled in two courses offered
this semester by the School. The course taught by professor Fred
Crane addresses the methods used to assess opportunities for technology-based
products. The second course is taught by Professor Ben Compaine
and focuses on business basics. A total of about one hundred and
forty students have taken part in the program since its inception
in the spring of 2004. The School will begin a more active marketing
campaign and hopes to increase student enrollment to about one hundred
students within the next two years.
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