DePaul's Version of 'Shark Tank' Gives Students Taste of Entrepreneurship

DePaul's Version of 'Shark Tank' Gives Students Taste of Entrepreneurship

The intensity of DePaul University's two-year Weekend MBA program was upped a notch on March 5 when students presented business plans to five local entrepreneurs, trying to sell them on their new venture ideas. Although the event mirrored TV's "Shark Tank," it was more than just a show to the students whose presentations and the judging of them would impact their final grades.

"This is the core course in the entrepreneurship program for the MBA degree, designed to expose students to concepts, experiences, and practices that are related to entrepreneurial firms that they may not otherwise learn in other courses," said Raman Chadha, Executive Director and Clinical Professor at DePaul's Coleman Entrepreneurship Center.

Five teams of 18 students total revealed their plans at DePaul's Rolling Meadows, Ill., campus. Each team made a 12-minute presentation, followed by a 10-minute question and answer session between the team and the judges. Business plans ranged from a supplemental educational program to a product labeling initiative.

"It was like Shark Tank,'" said Jim Nowakowski, President of Interline Creative Group, Inc. and one of the judges of the event, "only it affected their grades and the awarding of venture capital was theoretical. We judges posed real-life questions about their business ideas from our perspectives as investors and based on our business career experiences. Then we judged the presentations, ranking them according to categories such as ability to deliver a persuasive articulation of the business opportunity; validity of their claims, arguments and conclusions; and demonstration of awareness of risks, challenges, needs and gaps. It was intense."

In addition to Nowakowski, a DePaul alumnus who runs Interline Creative Group, Inc. (www.interlinegroup.com), a Palatine, Illinois, marketing company in the business-to-business sector, other judges were:

Brent Allen, co-founder of Falkor Group, an information technology staffing and consulting services firm in Chicago.

David Bean, who runs eAccess Solutions, a leading provider of mobile data hardware, software and integration services with satellite offices in Houston and Trenton, N.J.

Steve Johns, CEO/co-founder of Beyond Live, a company connecting "Bands, Brands and Fans" to increase the reach and revenue potential of concerts through webcasting.

Tom Walter, CEO/co-founder of Tasty Catering, an Elk Grove Village, Ill., corporate catering and event planning specialist serving Chicagoland's premier corporations.

"The amount of thinking involved in developing these ideas was clearly evident," Nowakowski added. "Students demonstrated the ability to not only conceive of a new business idea, but to articulate it in a way that was meaningful and interesting. They all represented a clear picture that American entrepreneurship is alive and well. It was an energizing experience for all of us in that room, students AND judges."

Judges' scores comprised one-third of the students' final project grade.

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