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News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Franz Center for Leadership Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Get Ready for the Pilot Venture Challenge 2021

The 2021 Pilot Venture Challenge, UP’s premier invention, business and social venture competition hosted by the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is now accepting applications from students across all majors and disciplines. Pilot Venture Challenge will again be held virtually on Saturday, April 17 and Saturday, April 24.

To help students learn how to register, get help, prepare and participate there will be a virtual Informational Meeting on Tuesday, March 9 from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. To learn more about the Informational Meeting and the Pilot Venture Challenge, watch the Pilot Venture Challenge promotion video, and visit the Pilot Venture Challenge webpage.

For questions, contact Kay Molkentin, business, at molkenti@up.edu. 

2020 Invent Oregon State Finals: Second Place Finish For Ryan Jarvis ’21

Ryan Jarvis ’21 took second place at the 2020 Invent Oregon State Finals on September 18, 2020. Jarvis, an accounting major and Entrepreneurship Scholar, presented his venture idea Dose, a device to organize, store, and safely dispense prescription medications at home and on the go.

Jarvis represented the University of Portland after winning first place at Pilots Venture Challenge – Invention Track held April 18, 2020. Ernesto Zurita Ruiz ’21, who took second place, also represented UP at Invent Oregon with his Accord-On invention. Student teams from 13 colleges/universities across Oregon participated in Invent Oregon’s virtual boot camp that provided them with workshops to help the students gain skills and access to resources to help them take their inventions and ideas to the next level.

Jarvis has been passionate about preventing the far-reaching problem of medication drug abuse ever since several people he knows experienced serious consequences from unintentional misuse. His next steps are to use his $7,500 cash prize to further develop the Dose prototype and to enter several other national pitch competitions.

Invent Oregon is the state’s only college-level prototyping competition that focuses on inventions, provides students with grant funds, and helps guide students in taking their ideas through all stages of prototyping.

For more information contact Kay Molkentin, director of entrepreneurship programs, at molkenti@up.edu.

Pilot Venture Challenge 2020 Results: New Name, New Format, New Winners!

It was a year of firsts for The Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation’s annual venture pitch competition. This year the event launched with a new name. Formerly known as the $100K Challenge, it has been rebranded as The Pilot Venture Challenge. The other first was a move to holding the competition as a live, virtual event due to the COVID-19 situation.

The competition is separated into three tracks – Invention, Social, and For-Profit. The Invention Track, which highlights creativity, invention, and innovation, was held on Saturday, April 18. The Social Track, which encourages students to use entrepreneurial and business principles to organize, create, and manage a sustainable enterprise that has a positive social impact, and the For-Profit Track were held on Saturday, April 25.

Students, judges, and guests joined online to hear and see 10-minute presentations by a total of 14 entrants. All entries were judged by expert panels of alumni and community business leaders. The winners are:

Invention:

  • 1st Place: Dose One Pill+, a controlled substance dispensing system to lower therisk of abuse and overdose of highly addictive medications, by Ryan Jarvis ’21
  • 2nd Place: Accord On!, an interactive learning device to aid in learning to play the diatonic accordion, by Ernesto Zurita Ruiz ’21

Both winners move on to represent UP at the statewide InventOR Semi-Final Competition in June.

Social Venture:

  • 1st Place: Blossom, a curated feminine hygiene subscription service providing woman with products that are sustainable, natural, and ethical, plus a buy-one-give-one model to provide products to women’s shelters in the Portland area, by Kristen Wisneski ’20
  • 2nd Place: Race for Change, a running and walking event service hosting fun runs and races to raise money to restore and preserve the environment and combat climate change, by James Parker ’21 and Griffin King ’21

For-Profit Venture:

  • 1st Place: Backyard Brews, a craft beer brewery and taproom that offers a unique customer experience through an emphasis on local beers, food, artists, and community, by Cameron Lyons ’21 and Thomas Vogl ’21
  • 2nd Place: Force Baseball, a high-tech baseball that provides analytics to maximize training and improve pitcher output, by Henry Cheney ’20, Christian Peters ’20, and Connor Knutson ’20
  • 3rd Place: EcoFloss, an antibacterial and sustainable bamboo dental flosser, by Cooper Moore ’21, Travis LaFrance ’20, Kayla Benson ’21, and Trevor Baek ’20

For more information contact the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation at franzcenter@up.edu.

 

Have You Considered Becoming a Leadership Fellow with the Franz Center?

The Franz Center is providing free leadership training and development during the 2020-21 academic year for faculty and staff who want to learn more about their leadership gifts and habits and about becoming a Leadership Fellow. There have been over 150 faculty and staff from across the University who have been trained as Leadership Fellows thus far, and the Franz Center is seeking to include 30 additional faculty and staff who will begin their training next fall. In addition to engaging in what some who have gone through the training describe as a “transformative experience” in which faculty/staff develop a deeper awareness of their leadership strengths and practice leveraging those strengths in service of the common good, after completing the leadership training, Leadership Fellows can serve as leadership instructors and coaches in the Leader Certificate program. Instructors in the Leadership Certificate program earn a stipend of up to $2,500/semester for their teaching or coaching.

All full-time faculty are eligible to participate. Because of certain restrictions, we are able to include only exempt (salaried) staff in the program. Please contact Dave Houglum, director of leadership for the Franz Center, at houglum@up.edu if you would like to participate, nominate a colleague, or need more information, by Friday, May 8.

Peter Rachor’s Farewell Gathering, May 14

Please join the Pamplin School of Business and the Franz Center as we say goodbye to Peter Rachor, Director of Entrepreneurship. The gathering will be held on Tuesday, May 14, from 4 to 6 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120.  All University employees are invited to extend their good wishes to Peter.

If you have any questions, please contact Christine Naylor at naylor@up.edu.

2019 $100K Challenge Venture Competition: April 27

The Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation will present its annual $100K Challenge Venture Competition on Saturday, April 27, on the third floor of Shiley Hall. This competition provides students with the opportunity to receive feedback on their proposed ventures from within the local entrepreneurial community, win cash awards, and move on to the opportunity to acquire seed funding that will help advance an entrepreneurial opportunity to the next stage. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend and watch student presentations.

The $100K Competition includes flights focused on For Profit Ventures, Social Enterprises and Inventions. The Invention flight winner moves ahead into the InventOR Statewide student invention program.

Students and judges can join for an informal lunch beginning at noon. All flights begin at 1 p.m and should finish by 3:15 p.m.  A reception and announcement of winners takes place from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Prizes include $1,250 for first place (for-profit, non-profit and invention); $750 for second place (for-profit) and $250 for third place (for-profit). Sponsors include VTM Group, Cinder Staffing, LivePlan, A to Z Wineworks, and the AARP Foundation.

For more information contact Peter Rachor, Director for Entrepreneurship, at rachor@up.edu.

Have You Considered Becoming a Franz Center Leadership Fellow?

The Franz Center is providing free leadership training and development during the 2018-19 academic year for faculty and staff who want to learn more about becoming a Leadership Fellow. There have been over 100 faculty and staff from across the university who have been trained as Leadership Fellows and the Franz Center is seeking to include 40 additional faculty and staff who will begin their training next fall. After completing the leadership training, Leadership Fellows serve as leadership instructors and coaches in the Leader Certificate program and earn a stipend of up to $2,500 for their teaching or coaching. We are able to include only exempt (salaried) employees in this program at this time. Please contact Dave Houglum, Franz Center, at houglum@up.edu if you would like to participate, want to nominate a colleague, or need more information, by Friday, July 27.

2018 $100K Challenge Venture Competition, April 28

The Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation will present its annual $100K Challenge Venture Competition on Saturday, April 28, in Shiley Hall room 301. This competition provides students with the opportunity to receive feedback on their proposed ventures from within the local entrepreneurial community, win cash awards, and move on to the opportunity to acquire seed funding that will help advance an entrepreneurial opportunity to the next stage. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend and watch student presentations.
Returning this year, the $100K Competition includes a special track focused on “Invention,” allowing students to highlight products or services they developed and can take further with the support of the InventOR Statewide student invention program.
Preliminary rounds start at 9 a.m., lunch is noon to 1 p.m., and the finals round is 1 to 3:30 p.m. The Invention round will take place from from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.  A reception and announcement of winners takes place from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Prizes include $1,250 for first place (for-profit, non-profit and invetion); $750 for second place (for-profit) and $250 for third place (for-profit). Sponsors include VTM Group, Cinder Staffing, LivePlan, Schlesinger Companies,  A to Z Wineworks, AARP Foundation, and the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN).

For more information contact Peter Rachor, Franz Center, at rachor@up.edu.

Have You Considered Becoming a Franz Center Leadership Fellow?

The Franz Center is providing free leadership training and development during the 2018-19 academic year for faculty and staff who want to learn more about becoming a Leadership Fellow, according to Dave Houglum, Franz Center. There have been over 100 faculty and staff from across the university who have been trained as Leadership Fellows and the Franz Center is seeking to include 40 additional faculty and staff who will begin their training next fall. Leadership Fellows serve as leadership instructors and coaches in the Leader Certificate program and earn a stipend of $2,500 for their teaching or coaching. Only exempt (salaried) employees can be accepted at this time. Please contact Houglum at houglum@up.edu if you would like to participate, want to nominate a colleague, or need more information, by Friday, April 27.

Have You Considered Becoming a Leadership Fellow with the Franz Center?

The Franz Center is providing free leadership training and development during the 2018-19 academic year for faculty and staff who want to learn more about becoming a Leadership Fellow, according to Dave Houglum, Franz Center. There have been over 100 faculty and staff from across the University who have been trained as Leadership Fellows and the Franz Center is seeking to include 40 additional faculty and staff who will begin their training next fall.

Leadership Fellows serve as leadership instructors and coaches in the Leader Certificate Program and earn a stipend of $2,500 for their teaching or coaching. Only exempt (salaried) employees can take part in the program at this time. Please contact Houglum at houglum@up.edu if you would like to participate, want to nominate a colleague, or need more information, by Friday, March 9.