Entrepreneurship Week Winner Takes Second Place in Tom Tom Founders Festival
The spirit of entrepreneurship is thriving at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
That was the reaction of those who participated in the inaugural Entrepreneurship Week series of activities at the b-school in late February. The Mason School’s student-run Alan B. Miller Center for Entrepreneurship Fellows developed and presented an extensive series of programs throughout the week highlighted by an intense team competition to design web-based businesses.
More than 65 students, making up 9 teams, participated in the competition. Each team proposed an idea and was given a $100 budget to develop the concept into a website for the proposed business. At the end of the week, all of the teams presented their business ideas and websites to four venture capitalist judges.
In addition to participating in the competition during Entrepreneurship Week, all of the William & Mary students took part in workshops that allowed them to meet and connect with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship experts while discussing and sharing tips about web design and starting businesses
The Miller Center Fellows group, which organized Entrepreneurship Week and oversaw all of the activities, was delighted by the student turnout and enthusiasm. Students who participated also said the experience was unique and valuable.
“The competitive nature of Entrepreneurship Week brought the best out of our team,” said Asher Smith-Rose, one of the team competitors. “I’ve never seen a school event get so many students to voluntarily participate in workshops during midterms."
The winner was Candid Campus Tours, a service that aims to provide personalized and honest tours of colleges by real students. Candid Campus Tours was awarded $1,000 by the Miller Center and won the right to represent William & Mary in Charlottesville at the recent Tom Tom Founders Festival this month. Candid Campus Tours placed 2nd overall! The annual festival, which draws an audience from across the country, celebrates entrepreneurs, civic leaders and creators who are shaping cities and communities nationwide. This exciting win netted the team a $5,000 cash prize!!!
“This was such a great experience and something I will never forget. We truly would not be here without Professor Graham Henshaw and all that he does for us. I am extremely lucky to have taken his class my first semester at William & Mary because he has been one of my biggest supporters and influencers on campus,” remarks Trevor W. Jackson a senior Marketing Major and co-founder of Candid Campus Tours.
