GEORGIA S STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS Thema Monroe-White * September 2010 Summer Intern for the Program in Science Technology & Innovation Policy (STIP)
Research Topic To assess both formal and informal college and/or university interventions that encourage student entrepreneurship in Georgia. To explore the economic outcomes of student entrepreneurship in Georgia.
Outline Background Data Collection & Methods Findings US Top Ranked Entrepreneurship Institutions (by State) Georgia Map of Georgia Institutions Breakdown of Georgia s Entrepreneurship Interventions Student Case Profiles Review of Successful US Student Entrepreneurs Georgia s Student Case Profiles Conclusions & Recommendations
Background United States U.S. entrepreneurial activity reached its highest levels in 14 years in 2009. 1 Georgia Georgia experienced the largest increase in total rate of entrepreneurial activity in the past decade. 1 Students Most students wait to start their businesses (>50%) and entrepreneurial activities among students has historically been low (<4%). 3 Over a 400% increase in entrepreneurship course offerings since 1974. 2 Filling in the Gap Targeting both informal and formal interventions as well as students. Sources: 1 Kauffman Foundation (2010); 2 Gartner & Vesper (1994); 3 Lüthje & Franke, (2003)
Data Collection & Methods Data Collection Formal: US Department of Education s National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Post Secondary Data System (IPEDS Database) US Department of Commerce s ReferenceUSA Database Informal: College & University Websites Newspaper & Magazine Articles Social Networking Groups (e.g. Linked-In, Facebook) Alumni Association Message Boards Interviews & Case Studies Methods Analysis of 17 Georgia institutions Assessment of formal and informal entrepreneurial interventions Document case studies of successful student entrepreneurs Compare of Georgia to the broader US
Findings: United States
Entrepreneurship Interventions: US Less than 6% of US institutions offer a major in entrepreneurship 1 The top 10 US institutions offering the entrepreneurship major (2007-08): 1 University of Iowa, IA (225) American intercontinental, FL (191) Northwestern, IL (146/43) University of LaVerne, CA (168) Valencia Community College, FL (146) Indian River State College, FL (127) Central Michigan University, MI (106) University of St Thomas, MN (79) Chattahoochee Technical College, GA (77) Southern Methodist University, TX (34/40) US News & World Best Colleges Report on Entrepreneurship (2010): Babson College, MA University of Pennsylvania, PA University of Southern California, CA Indiana University- Bloomington, IN Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA Syracuse University, NY (47) University of Arizona, AZ UC-Berkeley, CA University of Texas--Austin, TX Ball State University, IN 1 Source: IPEDS Database (FY: 2007-2008), by number of completions
Entrepreneurship Interventions: State State Rank: The top 10 states for number of institutions offering the entrepreneurship major 1. California 2. Michigan 3. Florida 4. Pennsylvania 5. Georgia 6. New York 7. Illinois 8. Ohio 9. Washington 10. Minnesota Award Rank: Institutions offering the entrepreneurship Major (1 st or 2 nd ) classification by degree type 224 126 Entrepreneurship Majors 115 US GA Under 14% of all Georgia institutions offer majors in entrepreneurial and small business operations. Most are small, rural, 2-year institutions. 21 Certificate Below Bachelor s Degree Associates Degree 28 6 0 2 1 0 1 0 Bachelor s Degree Master s Degree Certificate Above Bachelor s Degree Doctoral Degree Source: IPEDS Database (FY: 2007-2008)
Findings: Georgia
Map of Georgia Institutions Albany State Chattahoochee Technical College Clark Atlanta University East Georgia College Emory University Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia State University Georgia Southern University Griffin Technical College Gwinnett Technical College Lanier Technical College Kennesaw State University Medical College of Georgia Morehouse College Southern Polytechnic University Spelman College University of Georgia Source: Google Maps, created July 5 th, 2010
Georgia University Entrepreneurship Interventions Scholarship 1% Alumni Group 1% Other 4% Club 5% Center 5% Business Plan Competitions 5% Certificates 6% Programs 9% Courses 54% Degrees 10% Both formal & informal interventions Programs: e.g. TI:GER (GT), Start Me Up! (UGA), VentureEat (UGA) Other: Symposiums, Conferences, Workshops, Camps, Speaker Series Clubs: Student based organizations Source: 17 Georgia college & university websites
Findings: Student Entrepreneurs
US Successful Student Entrepreneurs The popular media has profiled several successful student entrepreneurs. Company Name Student Name State Year Est. University Attended Sales Volume Employee Size Graduation Status Facebook Mark Zuckerberg CA 2004 Harvard $500 million 1,201 Dropped out Sergey Brin & Larry Google Page CA 1998 Stanford $24 billion 19,835 Dropped out Yahoo! David Filo & Jerry Yang CA 1994 Tulane & Stanford $7 billion 13,900 Graduated Dell Michael Dell TX 1984 University of Texas $53 billion 96,000 Dropped out Apple Steve Wozniak CA 1976 Univ. of California $43 billion 34,300 Stopped & came back Microsoft Bill Gates WA 1975 Harvard $59 billion 93,000 Dropped out FedEx Fred Smith TN 1971 Yale $35 billion 280,000 Graduated Source: ReferenceUSA, last updated January 2010
Georgia Student Case #1 Name: Institution: Enrollment Status: Degree / Major: Company Name: Christopher Klaus Georgia Institute of Technology Dropped out Computing Year founded: 1994 No. of Employees: 350 Financials: Sales Volume Intervention Product or service Internet Security Systems Sold in 2006 to IBM for $1.3 billion $55 million unknown Internet Security Chris Klaus has become one of Georgia Tech's most visible contributors, giving a $15M naming gift to build the College of Computings new home, the Klaus Advanced Computing Building. Source: ReferenceUSA, last updated January 2010
Georgia Student Case #2 Name: Institution: Enrollment Status: Degree / Major: Company Name: Year founded: 2006 No. of Employees: Financials: Intervention Website: Product or service Patrick Whaley Georgia Institute of Technology 5 th year Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Whaley Ventures, LLC / Omega Wear, Inc. 4 partners 1 st Place and People s Choice Award in the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize competition He won: $15,000 for his invention and also received the People's Choice Award of $5,000 Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) @ Tech http://patrickwhaley.com/ OmegaWear Apparel Source: www.patrickwhaley.com & www.gatech.edu
Georgia Student Case #3 Name: Institution: Sean Belnick Emory University Enrollment Status: Graduated 2009 Degree / Major: Company Name: Year founded: 2001 No. of Employees: 110 Sales Revenue: Intervention: Website: Product or service Business Management Belnick, Inc. / BizChair.com $37 million unknown http://www.bizchair.com/ Office Furniture BizChair.com was one of the first large online-only office furniture retailers. BizChair.com is operated by Belnick, Inc. Their corporate headquarters is located in Canton, Georgia. Source: ReferenceUSA, last updated January 2010
Georgia Student Case #4 Name: Institution: Enrollment Status: Degree / Major: Company Name: Year founded: 2004 No. of Employees: 8 Jasmine Lawrence Georgia Institute of Technology Sophomore Computer Science Eden Bodyworks, LLC Sales Revenue: Over $1 million (2008) Intervention Website: Product or service Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) www.edenbodyworks.com Hair Care Products (developed when she was 11 years old) She put her business on hold to study computer engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is quoted as saying: I could not have done this without [NFTE]. Source: Personal Interview on July 19 th, 2010
Cross Case Analysis Georgia s student entrepreneurs represent a range of academic and entrepreneurial backgrounds, disciplines and levels of motivation. Student entrepreneurs see the dual value of strong academic and entrepreneurial careers. Student entrepreneurship is a two-way street.
Conclusions The benefits to promoting student entrepreneurship in Georgia outweigh the costs. Students are often forced to choose between their business and their academics. $
Recommendations Increase promotion of existing entrepreneurship programs. Create a bridge program that promotes both entrepreneurship and academics for students. $
Thank You!