1. Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship
Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship
THECB Presentation
April 23, 2015

2. Our mission and methods
Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Our mission and methods
WCE has a student-centered mission to promote entrepreneurship for the benefit of our students and our communities
We use experiential, real-world activities with mentoring and community interaction to develop personal as well as business skills

3. Why entrepreneurship matters
Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Why entrepreneurship matters
“Over the last 25 years, almost all of the private sector jobs have been created by businesses less than five years old” (Forbes/US Census)

4. Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
What we do
Intro courses to plant seed with widest possible audience
Undergrad major to build potential entrepreneurs
Grad courses to serve graduate students
STEM/cross-campus outreach
Wide range of extra-curriculars and mentoring programs

5. Experiential activities include
Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Experiential activities include
Business plans for Industrial Design student products
Business plans for UH IP
Business plan competitions
Term sheet negotiations
Internships
Wolffest
3 Day Startup
RED Labs pre-accelerator and accelerator
Bayou Startup Showcase
Cougar Venture Fund (early stage investment fund)
And more…
All supported by >250 mentors from our community

6. Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Evidence of success
Rankings
Princeton Review: #2, #1, #2, #1, #1, #3, #2, #2 BBA program
Mashable.com: “15 Colleges with Powerhouse ENTR Programs”
(Babson, BYU, Cal-Berkeley, Chicago, Harvard, UH, MIT, Michigan, UNC, Penn, Princeton, USC, Stanford, UT, Wash U)
Business plan competitions
29 podiums in 13 years
In 2014:
4 wins in first 4 competitions with 4 different teams
9 podiums, 6 wins in total
Winner at DOE Clean Energy Competition

7. Agenda Item V-A: Recognition of Excellence
4/23/2015
Some winning teams