Kellogg student wins top honors in national case competition

	Stan Mandell '66 (L) presents award to Howard Green '01

Howard Green '01 took first-place in the inaugural Kauffman/Angell Center for Entrepreneurship National Case-Writing Competition. The competition was open to students who participated in the Kauffman Entrepreneur Internship Program and awarded the student who wrote the best teaching case based on his internship. The competition's finals were held at Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management on Jan. 26-27.

Many of the cases submitted will find use in MBA classrooms to teach entrepreneurial concepts. The cases focused on resolving conflict within start-up and high-tech companies, deciding when to start a new venture and obtain financial resources, and dealing with fast-growth issues when a business approaches bankruptcy. Stan Mandell '66, director of the Angell Center, said the process of writing teaching cases based on their internships allowed students to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Green received $5,000 for earning first place. He wrote his teaching case about his internship at Sourcelight Technologies, Inc., a software development company located in Evanston, Ill. The company developed a collaborative filter that can recommend products based on the preferences of consumers and ratings of other products. Recently, the company's CEO was fired. Green's case study focused on why and how the shareholders made this change, and it allowed students to decide what they would do if they were in the situation.

Green said he used the same methodology that he observed being taught in Professor Steven Rogers' Entrepreneurial Finance class. Green also interviewed the ex-CEO of Sourcelight, taking his cue from Rogers' practice of bringing in CEOs to discuss their companies.

Upon receiving the award, Green noted his pride in being associated with Kellogg. "Representing Kellogg was an honor I can barely do justice to. I have learned so much from the faculty and fellow students here, and knowing that I had them in my corner gave me confidence to take on the challenge."