BUILDING A
WINNING PROGRAM

IT RESOURCES, MENTORING AND CLASSES MAKE A WINNING FORMULA
FOR KELLOGG’S NEW VENTURE COMPETITION TEAMS

Before Tyler Wanke ’15 was part of a medical device startup that won $200,000 in 11 business plan competitions, he was another MBA student in a New Venture Development class learning the art of the pitch.

“Every two weeks you’d go there and pitch your business and you’d practice,” says Wanke, who graduated this spring from the MMM Program. “By the time we went to our first pitch competition, we were relatively prepared and we got better every time.”

Wanke is CEO of Innoblative, makers of a disposable radiofrequency ablation probe for treating surgical cavities like those remaining after excising breast tumors. Usually patients receive weeks-long radiation therapy after such a surgery to ensure residual cancerous tissue is eliminated; with Innoblative’s probe, radiofrequency energy kills potentially cancerous cells in minutes.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital surgeons originated the idea, but Wanke came on in 2013 to assemble an eight-person team that includes students from Northwestern’s engineering, medical, business and law schools. Since then, Innoblative has won or placed highly in notable case competitions. In 2014, it took fourth at the Rice Business Plan Competition, the world’s largest business plan contest, and first at the University of Texas at Austin’s Global Venture Labs Investment Competition.

Innoblative isn’t the only Northwestern University startup to have succeeded in business competitions. Indeed, since 2012, the school has been represented by four different startups at the Rice competition.

What’s the recipe for Northwestern’s success? A combination of financial support, staff resources and new classes — like New Venture Development, a course offered as part of the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (KIEI) — has proved pivotal for Northwestern students.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs have used those resources to develop prototypes, file trademarks, find mentors and streamline their pitch decks prior to arriving at their first business plan competition.

If startups need work on pitching, they see David Schonthal ’09, a clinical assistant professor of innovation and entrepreneurship. If startups need to understand trademark law or incorporate their businesses, they see Esther Barron, director of the Entrepreneurship Law Center at Northwestern Law.

Funding, like the $100,000 for business services available to Zell Fellow recipients, is provided for startups, as KIEI Executive Director Linda Darragh points out. And case competition winners from previous years typically return to Kellogg to mentor student startups, exemplifying Kellogg’s distinct driven and supportive culture. Darragh calls it the “historical compendium of knowledge” that KIEI has put together. Because of that support, students aren’t surprised going into pitch competitions.

“Each of the winners from previous years has come back to coach the next group,” Darragh says. “They’ve shown their pitch decks and have talked about how the judges ask questions and things to be on guard for.”

For Innoblative, that support made the difference. Wanke says the Chicago-based med-tech startup has already raised more than $1 million and is eyeing 2016 for a clinical trial of its device.

He adds: “I think Kellogg has the best entrepreneurship program out there because the curriculum actually lets you work on your company with faculty for credit and build your company while in school.”

This past school year, student teams from Kellogg took first place in 11 competitions, thanks in part to the various services and resources available to them.

HERE’S A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT KELLOGG
OFFERS ITS FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS:

COURSES Core entrepreneurship classes in the “Discover. Test. Launch.” track such as New Venture Discovery give students a chance to build, refine and pitch business ideas.

MENTORSHIP Faculty, alumni and VCs mentor students on the challenges of entrepreneurship.

PITCH REVIEW Student teams get feedback on their business pitches from faculty, alumni and past competition winners.

PITCH AND BUSINESS SERVICES SUPPORT KIEI provides business support such as legal counsel, graphic design and travel support to competing student teams.

INTERNAL COMPETITIONS Kellogg hosts internal competitions based on regional and national competitions that provide feedback from faculty, alumni and VCs. Winners receive travel support toward regional and national contests.

SCHOLAR PROGRAMS Programs like the Zell and Youn Impact scholars provide select entrepreneurship students with additional business support, faculty and alumni review of business plan pitches, and a high-level mentorship to qualifying students.