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Fiber optic light-up ski poles and an affordable analog software for musicians and sound engineers were among the startup business models presented by students on the final day of Harvey Mudd College\u2019s new Entrepreneurship Workshop class. Student teams develop an innovative idea for a product that solves customers\u2019 unmet needs and then create a scalable business model for their startup. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The course is a hands-on, practical class that helps students create a model for their startup with significantly less money in a short timeframe. The class is taught by Kash Gokli, founding director of entrepreneurship initiatives and professor of manufacturing practice and engineering economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll of the presentations were great, and each student brought an interesting perspective to their product and company,\u201d Gokli said. \u201cNot everyone here will go on to start a company, but they\u2019ll at least learn how it is done and how to set the building blocks if they ever have an idea they want to run with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six groups presented various products and services, including a college-experience enhancement platform, a college-based marketplace mobile application, fiber optic light-up ski poles and an affordable analog software for musicians and sound engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe started off creating an analog synthesizer, but after talking to potential customers at music stores, we found that people really don\u2019t care all that much about them,\u201d Xander Fries \u201924 said. \u201cWe took that feedback and shifted to talking to customers in active markets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fries said that the chip and software he has developed with his classmates Devon Overbey \u201925 and Pierce Gruber \u201925 will help cut down by hours the time it takes for sound engineers to reset high-quality studio mixing consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis class taught us how to approach and talk to our target audience to gather information that would help us shift accordingly,\u201d Gruber said. \u201cAnyone thinking about getting into entrepreneurship needs to be comfortable with getting out and talking to everyone in their target audience. It is one of the most important steps when getting started with a product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayman Abdellatif \u201924 teamed with fellow classmates Ammar Fakih \u201924 and Lucas Welch CMC \u201925 to create a mobile application that aspires to enhance the undergraduate college experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAthena Network is a one-stop shop that provides college students with all of the resources they may want,\u201d Abdellatif said. \u201cOur goal is to connect students with other students, staff, faculty and, most importantly, their community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Athena Network team discussed its initial hypothesis, showcased a full application overview and presented a three-year forecast for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, even when I didn\u2019t know what that meant,\u201d Abdellatif said. \u201cAfter hearing about all of the things that Josh Jones is doing as an HMC alumnus, that really inspired me to text Ammar, my childhood best friend, to get something going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being an entrepreneur (DreamHost founder) and investor, Josh Jones \u201998 and Gary Evans, professor of economics emeritus, co-founded HMC INQ (a finance company that invests in HMC alumni and their startup companies) and Harvey\u2019s Angels, a network of HMC alumni who invest in Harvey Mudd-related companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jones also helps teach the Entrepreneurship Workshop class alongside Gokli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love seeing these teams\u2019 enthusiasm as they go through this semester-long journey and how they have to pivot and adapt with their idea,\u201d Jones said. \u201cStudents getting into entrepreneurship shouldn\u2019t think too hard and just go for it. A few years down the line they may be breaking even and be happier than if they were somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n