Tag: 1846 Incubator

Baylor Entrepreneurship Helps Student Business Owners Dream Big with Oso Launch

kathy_carrOso Launch

 

“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem,
or a wrong that you want to right.
If you’re not passionate enough from the start,
you’ll never stick it out.“

-Steve Jobs

Dictionary.com defines an entrepreneur as a person who organizes and manages a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. To take a leap of faith knowing that risks are unavoidable, substantial and even catastrophic requires a huge amount of passion.

But is passion enough? What if the rainy-day funds run dry or simply weren’t there to begin with? What if a speed bump becomes a bonafide road block? What if a big dream is overshadowed because of a lack of experience and know-how? 

The complexity of risks can be daunting to student business owners and could even change the direction of their journey. Without a doubt, student business owners have an abundance of passion. While that passion is important and absolutely necessary, the risks can be overwhelming when trying to juggle an entrepreneurial spirit with the demands of a collegiate student.

The Entrepreneurship department at Baylor University serves as a bridge-of-sort that helps students with dreams of owning a business become successful entrepreneurs in their own right. The Baylor Entrepreneurship department is dedicated to the study, teaching and practice of new business creation. With more than forty years of experience, the department is an academic leader, consistently ranking as a top-ten program nationwide. 

Realizing that incoming freshmen who aspire to be entrepreneurs are a captive audience for the next four years, it became evident that this was an untapped group that could benefit from the expertise of the Entrepreneurship department. Oso Launch was designed to provide this niche group of incoming freshmen with a program that could provide guidance, mentorship and networking for the next four years. Through Oso Launch, students not only build an entrepreneurial foundation with unique challenges in a learning environment, but they also have the opportunity to raise much-needed capital.

The program is now in its second year and has proven to be an engaging and fun platform for students to network with both peers and alumni who share a common interest in entrepreneurship. Eleven students were chosen to participate in the Fall 2020 Oso Launch freshman cohort. Each student will receive a Spring 2021 semester award of $500 upon completion of required program milestones.

The second-year, sophomore cohort is made up of twelve participants who have continued with the program. The Fall award will be up to $250 matched against capital raised during the semester. The Spring 2021 semester award will be up to $350 matched against capital raised, but is also dependent on the completion of required program milestones.

Three students from the sophomore cohort will be selected as pre-incubator participants. The 1846 Business Incubator was created with the purpose of helping student entrepreneurs develop feasible, sustainable and profitable businesses. The focus of the program is to work with early-stage student businesses through entrepreneurship programming and education, hands-on support from faculty, a network of mentors and office space in the incubator. The Fall award for pre-incubator participants will be up to $250 matched against capital raised during the semester. The Spring 2021 semester award will be up to $500 matched against capital raised. 

Shaun Limbers is the Associate Director for the Baugh Center and also oversees Oso Launch. He explains, “There really isn’t another program like Oso Launch that offers support for entrepreneurial students from the first day they step foot on campus; this is an exceptional program designed with exceptional students in mind.”  

With Oso Launch, Baylor Entrepreneurship helps student business owners turn passion and big dreams into the reality of successful entrepreneurship.

For more information on Baylor Entrepreneurship, please visit our website at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneurship/.

Bradley Heidebrecht, Long Run Solutions, Inc.

kathy_carr1846 Incubator

 

“Patience and perseverance are the key towards results.“

-Bradley Heidebrecht

Imagine walking to the bike rack and your bike is gone. Now, imagine looking at this inconvenient and frustrating event as life changing. Is it really possible for something so annoying and relatively small to actually be considered life altering? According to Baylor student Bradley Heidebrecht, it is possible. Yes, something so small can definitely make a big impact. Yes, a million times!

Originally from Southlake, Texas, Bradley moved to Waco to attend Baylor in Fall 2019. Bradley’s parents both studied business and he followed in their footsteps and enrolled as a pre-business major. While neither parent studied entrepreneurship, they encouraged Bradley to follow his passions and pursue entrepreneurship throughout his college experience. 

Adjusting to freshman life on campus had its ups and downs, but Bradley immersed himself in all of the freshman traditions that Baylor has to offer. Meeting new friends, football games and hanging out at Common Grounds made the transition a little bit easier. Bradley also made a point to plug in with Oso Launch and the 1846 Incubator. Oso Launch and the 1846 Incubator are programs designed to foster an environment of teaching and learning for students who own, operate or are launching their own businesses.

When Bradley’s bike was stolen early in the fall semester, it was kind of an eye-opening, ah-ha moment. He questioned why there weren’t better security systems in place. He did everything right. He secured the bike on a rack with a u-lock, but someone was still able to easily saw through the lock and steal the bike. To Bradley, this was actually a blessing in disguise. 

Bradley started researching and found that smart bike racks were nearly non-existent. Ah-ha! What a cool opportunity to create a solution to a real and very personal problem. Bradley made good use of the 1846 Incubator white board. He says, “Without that white board, I wouldn’t be where I am today with my company.” He also connected with Shaun Limbers, Assistant Director of the Baugh Center and advisor for Oso Launch. With Shaun’s mentoring and open-door policy, Bradley felt confident to continue down an entrepreneurial path.

And ah-ha! The blessing in disguise…  Long Run Solutions, Inc., a smart bike rack company with a mission to integrate secure infrastructure solutions for micro-mobility devices while protecting the safety of riders. According to Bradley, Long Run Solutions, Inc. “replaces the typical bike rack with a smart bike rack that has a built-in locking mechanism and alarm sensor.” 

The overall vision of Long Run Solutions, Inc. is to place the product on college campuses nationwide, in front of apartments and outside urban businesses. There have been a few challenges with developing the company quickly enough and securing adequate funding. With such a high-tech product, sampling is extremely important but is also very expensive. COVID-19 also tossed in a couple of challenges. Meetings just weren’t the same without the infamous 1846 Incubator white board. However, software development wasn’t directly affected. Currently, Long Run Solutions, Inc. is developing a website, an app with Apple Wallet features and a software application.

With all of the economic uncertainties involving COVID-19, there are concerns with the official company launch in the Spring of 2021. But Bradley continues to be optimistic. He says, “Patience and perseverance are the key towards results.” 

Sic’ Em, Bradley!

For more information on Baylor Entrepreneurship, please visit our website at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneurship/.

 

ENT Buzz | Gib Reynolds

kathy_carr1846 Incubator

Gib Reynolds, Director 1846 Incubator Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation

 

WHO IS GIB REYNOLDS?

Is it possible to bleed green and gold? As an undergrad I studied Entrepreneurship at Baylor and then received an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the Acton School of Business. I married a fellow Baylor grad this past December and we just bought our first home in Waco. I’ve worn a lot of hats in my career, from lettuce farmer to crepe food truck owner. Currently, I’m in the high-end collegiate apparel business. In my free time, I enjoy doing anything active with the potential for unintentional broken bones or bruises –  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, cycling, hiking…


WHAT DO YOU DO AT BAYLOR?

I’ve worked for Baylor in a variety of roles for more than seven years, from an Adjunct and teaching the Accelerated Ventures program to serving as the Director of the New Venture Competition. I am currently the Director of the 1846 Student Incubator. In this role, I coach students of all majors who want to launch their own businesses. Deep down, I’m both an entrepreneur and an educator who is passionate about empowering students to start their own companies.


WHAT’S SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT WORKING IN THE ENT DEPARTMENT?

I’ve had a really unique experience here at Baylor. I’ve transitioned from student to co-worker with some of my favorite professors. I appreciate how approachable our faculty were when I was a student, but to be able to form personal and mentoring relationships as co-workers has been incredibly rewarding. 


WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BAYLOR TRADITION?

How can you not love the University-wide Thanksgiving Dinner on Fountain Mall? It’s awesome to see students, staff and faculty come together and celebrate the season and to reflect on how blessed we all are. It’s the perfect way to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday.


WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW ENT MAJOR?

Just do something. Start and then learn by doing. You will learn so much more by taking a risk and testing yourself. Entrepreneurship is not an easy calling, so start early and take advantage of the resources around you while you’re on campus.

For more information on Baylor Entrepreneurship, please visit our website at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneurship/.