NEWSROOM
Business School students enter the startup world
Over the past four months the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has provided an opportunity for five Business School students to volunteer their time and expertise to help five early stage startups. This unique experience will support their growth and development through being part of a small team tackling large, global problems. It’s an opportunity that will be ultimately beneficial for both the student and the startup.
The five startups involved are the winners of last year’s Velocity $100K Challenge, who have moved on to the Centre’s VentureLab incubator programme. The teams are working on a diverse range of ideas encompassing evidence-based advice for strengthening relationships, to safer and cheaper surgery for bowel cancer.
Samuel Smith a third-year Finance and International Business student has been helping AVASA, a team working on a novel technology to streamline microsurgery. During his time he has been conducting research into go-to-market strategies for this med-tech commercialisation. Having always wanted to be the founder of his own startup this was an unmissable opportunity for him to gain greater insight into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility the role puts on me. I work directly with the CEO, and provide regular updates on the research I’ve been conducting as the process continues. Importantly for me, I’m providing personal recommendations on the actions I think AVASA should take to the CEO, as if I was a strategy consultant for the business.”
Sam says “The biggest thing I’ve taken away from this is that you don’t need to know everything before you start. The act of running a business is an immersive experience in learning, and is part of the fun/risk in going out on your own.”
Similarly Sejal Bhan, a Marketing and International Business major, took up this opportunity to gain more insight into the world of entrepreneurship. “In the future I would be keen to have my own startup but in order to know whether I’m capable of any such venture like that I would like to explore first what it is like to work in an already established startup firm.”
Sejal was paired with Electroclear, a startup working on keeping underwater surfaces growth free. His focus has been on researching for international validation and potential investors. “Working in a startup has been an enjoyable experience for me. It’s quite interesting how research is conducted in order to look for various investors and also I get to learn a lot about the company’s products as it is a new idea which has not been incorporated until now.”
Ken Erskine, Associate Director of Unleash Space, says that “VentureLab aims to help teams move forward by providing funding and expertise to assist them to develop and progress toward becoming viable, valuable, sustainable businesses. Connecting Business School students with the VentureLab teams was a way to achieve this as well as giving students the first-hand experience of being in a startup environment and applying their theory based learning to real-life situations.”
Over the past four months the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has provided an opportunity for five Business School students to volunteer their time and expertise to help five early stage startups. This unique experience will support their growth and development through being part of a small team tackling large, global problems. It’s an opportunity that will be ultimately beneficial for both the student and the startup.
The five startups involved are the winners of last year’s Velocity $100K Challenge, who have moved on to the Centre’s VentureLab incubator programme. The teams are working on a diverse range of ideas encompassing evidence-based advice for strengthening relationships, to safer and cheaper surgery for bowel cancer.
Samuel Smith a third-year Finance and International Business student has been helping AVASA, a team working on a novel technology to streamline microsurgery. During his time he has been conducting research into go-to-market strategies for this med-tech commercialisation. Having always wanted to be the founder of his own startup this was an unmissable opportunity for him to gain greater insight into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility the role puts on me. I work directly with the CEO, and provide regular updates on the research I’ve been conducting as the process continues. Importantly for me, I’m providing personal recommendations on the actions I think AVASA should take to the CEO, as if I was a strategy consultant for the business.”
Sam says “The biggest thing I’ve taken away from this is that you don’t need to know everything before you start. The act of running a business is an immersive experience in learning, and is part of the fun/risk in going out on your own.”
Similarly Sejal Bhan, a Marketing and International Business major, took up this opportunity to gain more insight into the world of entrepreneurship. “In the future I would be keen to have my own startup but in order to know whether I’m capable of any such venture like that I would like to explore first what it is like to work in an already established startup firm.”
Sejal was paired with Electroclear, a startup working on keeping underwater surfaces growth free. His focus has been on researching for international validation and potential investors. “Working in a startup has been an enjoyable experience for me. It’s quite interesting how research is conducted in order to look for various investors and also I get to learn a lot about the company’s products as it is a new idea which has not been incorporated until now.”
Ken Erskine, Associate Director of Unleash Space, says that “VentureLab aims to help teams move forward by providing funding and expertise to assist them to develop and progress toward becoming viable, valuable, sustainable businesses. Connecting Business School students with the VentureLab teams was a way to achieve this as well as giving students the first-hand experience of being in a startup environment and applying their theory based learning to real-life situations.”
EMAIL
CIE@AUCKLAND.AC.NZ
POSTAL ADDRESS
THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL
PRIVATE BAG 92019, AUCKLAND
