This Little Piggy Went to Market

The idea gripped Jesse Villanueva and wouldn’t let go.

Could he create a product that allowed campus publications to reach audiences through mobile platforms including iPhones and BlackBerrys?

As advertising director for the Daily Aztec, San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, Villanueva knew firsthand about rising publication costs and declining print readership. Campus publications sorely needed new revenue streams and more cost-effective delivery systems.

Villanueva, a business major on target to graduate in 2011, was confident his idea had traction. He worked 24/7 creating marketing materials to display at the College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers (CNBAM) annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, last March. Within four days, 80 colleges - with a potential audience of 1.6 million students - had signed up for more information on his company, Fourth Estate Mobile.
Returning home exhilarated and inspired, Villanueva entered SDSU’s Lavin VentureStart, a competition launched this year by the Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC) to identify and coach undergraduate entrepreneurs.

The trio of Villanueva, Alan Hadaya and Amanda Akroush bested 20 other teams representing six of SDSU’s seven colleges and just squeaked by The Skate Spot.com, the YouTube of skateboarding videos.

Fusing pieces of ideas

For 20 years, the EMC has augmented SDSU’s academic entrepreneurship program, providing a venue for faculty and students to work collaboratively with local corporate leaders. Leonard Lavin, founding president of Alberto-Culver Company, is a long-time supporter; his gift funds VentureStart.

Mentored by EMC faculty and staff, hundreds of San Diego State MBA students have competed in venture competitions at the major universities. SDSU hosts its own annual Venture Challenge in March. But opportunities for undergraduate entrepreneurs are limited.

 “I saw little pieces of great ideas everywhere on campus,” recalled Bernhard Schroeder, director of EMC programs. “So for us, VentureStart was a way to bring together prospective SDSU entrepreneurs from different disciplines.”

Schroeder blanketed the campus with posters and flyers announcing three “ideation” sessions. A group of 40 volunteers visited 50 classrooms to promote the event. At the sessions, Schroeder explained how to look for consumer trends, translate them into a saleable product, develop a business plan and pitch the product creatively.

Entrepreneurship as a life skill

From those classes emerged 21 teams with ideas for the VentureStart competition. The winners, chosen by successful SDSU alumni, received cash prizes and something more valuable – access to the EMC’s network of entrepreneurs, investors and potential partners.

“We have strong support available for students with entrepreneurial talent,” said Sanford Ehrlich, the EMC’s QUALCOMM executive director of entrepreneurship.

Ehrlich believes all students should understand the basics of entrepreneurship. He wants to create an entrepreneurship minor open to undergraduate students across campus.
 
“The ideation process – how to take an idea to the marketplace – is a life skill that governs how a person looks at his or her career and acts on opportunities,” he said. “It’s a skill all students should learn.”

Meanwhile, Villanueva has met with developers, lawyers and angel investors referred by Ehrlich and hopes to launch Fourth Estate Mobile by the end of the summer.

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