Entrepreneurship:
Concept to Commercialization
Springfield Technical Community College
Facilitator:
Diane Sabato, Assistant Professor, School of Business & Information Technology
A National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Grant Project
About the Class…
This honors course promotes, enhances and supports innovation
through the use of guest speakers, workshops, lectures, field trips,
laboratory experiments, professional advice and group dynamics.
Student teams from a variety of disciplines work on projects, centered
on real-life designs and ideas, with emphasis on creativity and
ingenuity, culminating in a marketable innovation.
Areas of special interest are; safety, adaptive (universal) design,
comprehensive application, flexibility and environmental impact.
How the class was developed
 One year planning grant from the National
Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
 Meetings with Vice Presidents and Deans to
gather input to build course content and
promote across campus
How the course was funded
 National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators
Alliance, Lemelson Funds
 STCC in-kind contributions of staff support,
facility and lots of pizza in the early years,
through collaboration with the Entrepreneurial
Institute
How did we implement it?
 Run as pilot for first two semesters, free to students,
supported by grant
 File course request through the Honors Department
to formalize the course offering
 Curriculum committee course approval as Honors
Program Humanities elective, three credit class
Guest Speakers: Key to Success:
Paul Thornton, Author, “Leadership”
Michael Garjian, Innovators Resource Network, “Inventors Journaling,
Invention to Business Startup”
John Reynolds, Beyond Brackets, Inventor, “Idea to Patent”
Wes Downey and Glen Carlson, Inventors, Defiant Wheels, “Working your invention business”
Tommy Goodrow, Vice President, Economic and Business Development, “Making It Happen!”
James Page, Page Product Design, “Prototyping”
Dennis Kunkler, Designed to Sell, Author, “Product Positioning”
Gayle Hsiao, Entrepreneurship Educator, “Idea Building”
Arlene Rodriguez, Faculty, “STCC Honors Program”
Diane Doherty, Mass Small Business Development Center Network Director, “Business Plans”
Kris Kozuch, “Adaptive Technology and Universal Design”
Carol Farley, Office Information Technology Faculty, “Creating PowerPoint Presentations”
Tori Pleasant, Business Consultant, “Personal presentation skills.”
Gary Bogoff, Owner, Berkshire Brewing Co., “Owning and running your own business.”
The Inventions:
“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and
thinking what nobody else has thought.”
- Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi, Hungarian Biochemist
Some of the Inventions…
The Beverage Keeper prototypes
Motor Mouth –
tracks engine run time
Sandy Q
Disposable tools
for fine
woodworking
(made with recycled
road sand)
Glasses with built-in repair kit
L.L. Knights- for nighttime activities
Multiple Prototypes
It’s a
rapid
load
paintball
gun
Children’s clothing innovation
Three ideas in one group
Ideas and More Ideas
Hot or Cold Lunch Keeper
Multi-head Hammer
Convertible
shoes
Some of the Process
Including CAD and Rapid Protoyping!
The Inventors and Facilitators
Entrepreneurship: Concept to Commercialization
Section I - Innovation and Opportunity
Program Description and Purpose.
Assembling a Comprehensive Team, Choosing Roles and
Responsibilities.
Seeking & Recognizing Opportunities.
Brainstorming, Development and Pursuit of Project Item.
Section II – Team and Concept Viability
Set Individual E-Team Objectives.
E-Team Project Development.
Creative Problem Solving Skills for Entrepreneurs.
Evaluating and Certifying Viability.
Entrepreneurship: Concept to Commercialization
Section III – Marketing, Management and Legal Considerations
Intro to Small Business Management.
Small Business Marketing Seminar.
Researching the Market for Your Idea.
Developing Marketing Skills for Your Idea.
Research Skills for Patents and Copyrights.
Legal Environments for Business.
Section IV – Business Plan Development
Academic Problem Solving Skills in Academics.
Business Plan Development of Objectives.
Developing Business Plan Timelines & Strategies.
Project Safety Considerations.
Project Design Considerations.
Create the Project Business Plan.
What worked…
 Guest speakers
 Creativity exercises
 Hands on activities
 Diverse group interaction
 Group meeting outside of class time
 Students setting timelines
Challenges…
 Grading – created new criteria
 Attendance
 Diverse group interaction
 Group work outside of class
 Idea generation early in the process
 Building multiple prototypes
What’s next?
 Regenerative feedback,
continuous course improvement
 Ongoing marketing and
promotion
 New class, open to all students
 Entry level innovation class:
“Exploring Innovation for the 21st
Century”
Exploring Innovation for the 21st Century
 This course provides direct theoretical and practical
expertise in innovation and design. It will utilize the E Team concept (Entrepreneurship Team) to promote,
enhance and support innovation through the use of
field studies, group dynamics, design, prototyping,
professional advice and guest speakers. Students will
be recruited from a variety of disciplines to enhance
the E-Team composition and dynamics.
Exploring Innovation for the 21st Century
 Student projects will focus on redesign of real-life
existing products.
 The class will explore the relationship between Art
and Engineering. Emphasis is given to the students’
creativity and ingenuity, culminating in a marketable
innovation. Areas of special interest are;
comprehensive application, flexibility, environmental
impact, adaptive and universal design and safety.
Exploring Innovation for the 21st Century
Course Objectives: Through reading, lectures, lab
projects and problem solving, students will be able to:
1. Analyze a device or product and redesign it based on the latest
materials and technologies available.
2. Work effectively in teams to explore product/project viability and set
individual objectives.
3. Be able to storyboard and evaluate ideas and concepts for prototypes.
4. Develop a final design, fabricate prototypes and demonstrate their use.
5. Communicate effectively through discussions and written documents.
6. Finalize the product and present it to a group.
The Deep Dive
 Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THz6kbcg
w9E&feature=related
 The Tower of Babel Challenge
“…conflict is the primary engine of creativity and innovation.
People don’t learn by staring into a mirror,
people learn by encountering difference.”
~ Ronald Heifetz
Director of Leadership Education Project, Harvard University
The journey has been incredible.
Contact Information:
Springfield Technical Community College
One Armory Square, Ste. 1
P.O. Box 9000
Springfield, MA 01102-9000
Diane Sabato, Assistant Professor, School of Business
dsabato@stcc.edu 413.755.4836