Quiet, quiet on the mountain. . . hike to yoga and beyond

  This semester the Quinnipiac University community helped to  develop their health and wellness programs by inviting students and faculty to participate in a yoga “retreat.”  Participants hiked up the Tower Trail of Sleeping Giant Mountain, right across from the Mount Carmel Campus, and spent their hiking time releasing stress and focusing on the idea that some failures create a “roadmap to success.”  School of Business professor of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Dave Tomczyk, who lead one of the well-attended  workhops, kicked off the series.  As he noted, “If you always try to succeed, then the best you can do is just a bit better than average.   If you want to do incredible things, you have to risk failing– and failing spectacularly.”  Dave lead students on exercises designed to help students feel less fear about shortcomings, and ways to learn from what we recognize are the pitfalls and how to manage a positive.  After the sessions, students were encouraged to take time to reflect on their experience in a writing journal. A few hours later, all came back to campus more focused and less stressed.

Giraffe Design at the Business Model Competition

Quinnipiac students Alex Lazerowich and Forrest Dwyer

In April, Quinnipiac University hosted the Entrepreneurship Business Model Competition.  QU winners, Alex Lazerowich and Forrest Dwyer, recently traveled to Harvard to present their business model, “Giraffe Design.”

While Alex Lazerowich and Forrest Dwyer and their company Giraffe Design did not go on to the finals the judges were impressed with their business model and the quality of their presentation.

The Business Model Competition focuses on identifying and precisely defining the assumptions of the new venture, testing those assumptions in the field and then changing (pivoting) based on lessons learned. This innovative competition requires students to send in a multimedia presentation of ten minutes or less. Presentations must showcase the four key steps, 1) identify your assumptions, 2) get outside the building to test those assumptions, 3) validate the facts with customers or pivot, 4) identify lessons learned.

The Business Model Competition prides itself on rising above a normal business plan competition to challenge students to take a business plan and adapt it to work with real customers using lean startup practices, adaptability (pivoting), and strong problem solving skills.

Constructing success and managing to rise

Quinnipiac University is driven to prepare students to excel in all business situations. This preparation extends beyond the walls of the classroom to the academic and career services provided to support students. Management major, and Junior, Kenneth Herlichy gives a strong testimony to this with his recent internship.

As Kenneth describes, “I am currently a junior business major focusing on management at Quinnipiac University. My three years so far at Quinnipiac have been the best three of my life. During my time at the university I was able to establish an internship at a multibillion-dollar construction management company in New York City.” He continues, “While applying for this internship I received a lot of help and advice from the professors here and could not be thankful enough for all they did. I don’t believe I would have made it without them. Thanks to these professors I was able to experience many eye opening activities while interning. Quinnipiac University helped give me the tools to excel in the field for StructureTone that helped me stand out and be one of the 5 interns asked to come back for a second summer.”

Quinnipiac Climbs the Rankings

Kyle Cook, Senior Entreprenuership Major, Sean Reid, Associate Dean of School of Business, and Matthew O’Connor, Dean of School of Business

On April 25th faculty, students and staff gathered at the Alumni Gardens to celebrate another year of excellence.  Quinnipiac’s School of Business was again named in Bloomberg Businessweek’s “Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2013.” “Businessweek’s Top 100 is a sign of a high quality business education and an important information source for prospective students and recruiters,” said Matt O’Connor, Dean of the School of Business. In 2011, Businessweek ranked Quinnipiac as 91st.  In 2012, it had jumped to 72nd. This year Quinnipiac was rated 61st out of 124 universities. This prestigious rise is a result of outstanding faculty, student involvement, and course organization. The School of Business’ eye toward mentorship has been a roadmap to the university’s success. The School of Engineering is making great strides in its course development and implementation and looks forward to welcoming the  incoming class of 2017. The School of Business has also been recognized as a national leader in online MBA education. Earlier this year, the School of Business was featured in the 2013 edition of the Princeton Review’s “The Best 296 Business Schools.”  Quinnipiac University has once again been named among the nation’s best universities providing a full range of undergraduate and master’s level programs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 America’s Best Colleges issue.

IB Society delegation to represent QU at the ASECU Youth Conference in Kotor, Montenegro

The István Széchenyi Institute is delighted to sponsor the International Business Society’s first international business mission. A delegation will represent Quinnipiac University at the ASECU Youth Conference (Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region), from July 15-20^th, in Kotor, Montenegro.

Throughout the years the International Business Society has been looking for ways to help its members extend their global opportunities, experiences and cultural diversity awareness. With a totally new e-board that focuses on providing more international and multidisciplinary academic and professional experiences to its members, the student organization has believes that such achievements will only be a result of hard-work added to excellent partnerships.

Italo Alves’15, Alyssa Thomas’13 and Michael Graziano’16, Presidents and Vice-President of External Affairs, respectively, were selected to go to the 3^rd ASECU Youth Conference, which focuses on “Knowledge Economy- Impact on Sustainable Development of the Countries from East and South East Europe”.  The conference will cover a range of topics such as economic growth, human capital, digital economy, research and development, intellectual property, financial market innovations, and global marketing challenges.

“For the International Business Society, this presents a unique opportunity on multiple fronts. First off, it exposes our members to different perspectives on the very business practices we study every day. Secondly, it is an opportunity to learn from scholars and students alike. … It aids to our development not only as business professionals, but more specifically as international business professionals,” highlights Alyssa Thomas, current President of the club.

“This is just the perfect opportunity for us to establish even more partnerships with student clubs in Europe and narrow down the distance between academics and professionalism in international business. Hopefully, the results of this representation will be enormous to our club, and we will be able to attend even more conferences like this in the future,” says Italo Alves, Co-President of the IB Society.

“This conference will not only encourage us to focus on the economic concerns of the world, but give these three students enough information, knowledge, and confidence to bring everything learned back to our home at Quinnipiac University, which is our ultimate goal through this trip,” affirms Michael Graziano, VP of External Affairs.

The IB Society thanks Quinnipiac University and all its supporters for making this student dream a reality!

Learn more about the István Széchenyi Institute here.

Professor Robert Porter Consulted on the Increasing Use of Prepaid Cards

Prepaid cards either issued by a bank or credit card companies are quickly replacing checks and even traditional credit and debit cards. Even the government is moving to prepaid cards over mailing checks. On March first the Federal government finished converting all Federal benefits checks to direct deposit or prepaid cards from traditional mailed checks. Through 2006 to 2009 prepaid cards were the fastest growing electronic payment method and by the end of 2013 prepaid card use is expected to be up 200 percent since 2010.

The shift to prepaid cards is thought to be, at least in part, to the Durbin Amendment that was recently passed. These new regulations put a cap on debit card fees and other fees banks used to generate revenue, costing the banking industry an estimated $8.4 billion in annual revenue. Prepaid cards however, are not regulated by the government allowing banks to make up revenues by issuing them more frequently with more favorable terms for the banks. Professor Robert Porter of the Finance department at Quinnipiac was asked, “How has the role of prepaid cards changed throughout the years?” Professor Porter responded, “Prepaid cards were traditionally used by consumers with weak credit who were unable to qualify for a traditional credit card and did not have a bank account that would support a debit card. The fees associated with these prepaid cards were often quite high; especially when you consider that no credit was being extended to the card holder. It has been suggested that banks have recently been offering prepaid cards to their debit card holders due to the limits placed on debit card fees by the Dodd-Frank Act. Due to the limits on debit card fees, prepaid cards are a more profitable product for the banks.”

Start me up: students simulation in national challenge excels

The Quinnipiac University team of CEO Christopher Conlin (sophomore entrepreneurship major) and CFO Keith Kito (sophomore finance major/entrepreneurship minor) finished second in the 2013 CEO Startup Simulation Challenge.  CEO is the national Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization and the Quinnipiac chapter has performed at the national level in past competitions including the simulation and elevator pitch contests.

The simulation required Chris and Keith to start a new company and compete against other companies both in their industry (retail) and in other industries for sales, profits, employees and customers.  It ran for six weeks and required almost daily supervision to keep up with changing market conditions and customer demands.  Faculty advisor Dr. Dale Jasinski , commented that neither student received any course credit for participating in this contest and that the student’s efforts reflect well on their entrepreneurial abilities and skills.  They will be going to the national conference in the fall, 2013 to be presented their certificate of achievement in front of the over 1,000 students and faculty who attend the annual conference in Chicago.

Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) is the premier entrepreneurship network with chapters on university campuses across North America and beyond it was established in 1997. CEO currently supports entrepreneurship on over 240 chapters in over 43 states. The organization sponsors one national conference and five regional conferences yearly, and in addition holds the National Elevator Pitch Competition. Many companies, like Northwestern Mutual, now support the CEO organization. As a sponsor they are able to see potential hires from over 8000 participants in the CEO programs.