The Baton Rouge startup world keeps gaining momentum, this time with a win by LSU undergrads.
A team of five current and former LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute (SEI) Fellows placed second in the 1st Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Startup Simulation Challenge. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization, CEO, hosted the event, which took place over a two-month period.
With a mission to inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial, CEO aims to give students the opportunities to network not only with their student peers but with fellow entrepreneurs in the business world to promote entrepreneurship at all levels and in all environments. This missions led to the creation of the Simulation Challenge.
Jarett Rodriguez, an associate director of LSU SEI, helped reorganize the LSU CEO chapter, which had been dormant for some time. “Our students did an excellent job of showcasing their entrepreneurial skills and representing LSU,” Rodriguez said. “A tremendous amount of work went into this, including their staying in the building until 4 a.m. to finalize their video, while everyone else headed off for spring break. They were a dedicated group for sure.”
Representing LSU were George Farhat, Harrison Lloyd, Harry Masson, Rip Rittell and Victoria Simoneaux.
Clarkson University placed first in the online business simulation competition, while Quinnipiac University took third. The three teams will be recognized at the 2011 National CEO Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. That event will be held Oct. 27-29. The LSU Entrepreneurship Fellows Program is a year-long work/study program designed to encourage business and entrepreneurial practices in a select group of undergraduate students. The program provides students with the opportunity to network with and be mentored by top executives thereby giving these students an extra edge upon graduation. Fellows are selected from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds across campus and are given the knowledge, skills and contacts to make an immediate impact.
The Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, an integral part of LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business, utilizes the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Fellows, LSU Executive Education and Social Entrepreneurship to address the challenges of entrepreneurship and to positively impact students, the regional economy, the state of Louisiana and the nation.