Winners of the Spring 2023 Launch at MCC Pitch Contest

What an outstanding afternoon! Students from all disciplines at MCC had an opportunity to pitch their ideas, business dreams, and innovations to an esteemed panel of judges for a chance to win $11,000 in seed money and a Cummings Scholarship for the Fall. This event was made possible thanks to the Cummings Foundation. Students pitched a variety of ideas and were awarded based on innovation and market opportunity.

Pictured from the left: Muy Ngy Lov (Biology), Shubhav Khurana (Business), Leah Kahare, Lucia Marino (Business), Suzy Eaton (Entrepreneurship), Hajira Niazi (Business), Professor Stacie Hargis, Yassine Benouardia (Mechanical Engineering), on Zoom in back: Emily Puccia (Liberal Arts & Studies), Paul Roberts (Business), Ali Merchant (Business), and Sarah Svay (Business).

We are proud to announce the winners!

Student	Venture	Prize
Hajira Niazi	Ayat Afghan Boutique	First Place – a Cummings Scholarship for 1 semester of learning at MCC & $4,000 in seed funding to advance the idea!
Ali Merchant	Nxus Marketing	Runner Up – $3,000 in seed funding
Paul Roberts	Roberts Finds VNTG	2nd Runner Up – $2,000 in seed funding
Emily Puccia	Left in the Dark Documentary	3rd Runner Up – $1,000 in seed funding
Yassine Benouardia	College Moving Day	Honorable Mention – $500 in seed Funding
Suzy Eaton	Curvaceous	Honorable Mention – $500 in seed Funding

• 

  Dean Judy Hogan and Hajira Niazi, First Place winner for Ayat Afghan Boutique

• 

  Dean Judy Hogan and Yassine Benouardia, Honorable Mention Winner for College Moving Day

• 

  Dean Judy Hogan and Honorable Mention Winner, Suzy Eaton of Curvaceous

Stay tuned for more about our students and their venture growth!

Special Thanks to our Amazing Judges:

• Germaine Vigeant-Trudel from Lowell Financial Development Corporation
• Fay Hourihan, MCC’s Assistant Direct of Enrollment
• Sherri McCormack, MCC’s Dean of Advancement
• Arlene Rodriguez, MCC’s Provost
• Judith Hogan, MCC’s Dean of Business
• Kim Morrissey, Program Coordinator of Hospitality and Culinary
• Ani Vong, Business Counselor at Community Teamwork’s Entrepreneurship Center, owner of Humanity, and alum 2019
• Kathryn Tarlin, founder of Alchemy Publishing, and alum 2019
• Mouli Ramani, serial entrepreneur, including HorsePower Technologies founded here in Lowell, currently CEO and President at Aviwell
• David Gilbert, serial entrepreneur, currently Vice President Of Business Development at Aviwell

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Upcoming Entrepreneurial Activities – Spring 2023

Spring is in the air and we have a lot of opportunities starting to grow this semester. Be sure to sign up for our enews to get the most up to date info.

Launch at MCC Pitch Contest 

• Do you have a business idea?
• Do you have an innovation you want to share with the world?
• Do you want to start a business in the next year?
• Have you already started a business and are looking to grow?
• Do you have a DifferenceMaker@MCC idea? 

If this sounds like you, then this event is for you! 

All MCC students and majors are encouraged to participate. 
Real prizes to help you launch and chase after your dreams!

Prizes

• Grand Prize – 
  Cummings Scholarship for 1 semester of learning at MCC*
  *up to $4500 in tuition and fees 
  PLUS $4,000 in seed funding to advance your idea! 
  *Scholarship must be used in Fall 2023, you will have to sign up for classes by May 24th and confirm with Professor Hargis. If the scholarship is not used, it will advance to the next winner on May 25th.*
• Runner Up – $3,000 in seed funding
• 2nd Runner Up – $2,000 in seed funding
• 3rd Runner Up – $1,000 in seed funding
• Honorable Mentions – $500 in EEVF Funding  
• Honorable Mentions – $500 in EEVF Funding 

Pitch Contest: 
Tuesday, April 25th
1 pm until 4 pm
On Lowell campus and via Zoom
*You must be signed up to participate* 

Sign Up:
By Tuesday, April 18th at 2 pm
HERE 

More specific info and resources at the Idea Center website HERE

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MCC Marketplace – Support student entrepreneurs as they launch their businesses on campus.

The MCC Marketplace will take place on both campuses.
Main St. in the Campus Center, Bedford
Lowell in the Café in the Cowan Building

In Lowell on Tuesdays from 10 am – 12:30 pm on April 25th and May 2nd
In Bedford on Thursdays from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm on April 27th and May 4th

Students will have handmade goods, food, art, photos, and other fun things! 

More specific info HERE 

Interested in exploring entrepreneurship by launching your business?
Students are welcome to apply to be a vendor at the MCC Marketplace.
More info HERE.

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Student Venture Fund

If you have an idea or want to explore starting a business, we have funds for you! You don’t have to be a business student because any discipline at MCC can apply! Open to all students!

Request up to $100 in a friendly loan to give your enterprise the start it needs. We say friendly loan because if you can make profit, we do request you pay us back so that we can continue to offer this fund to other students. But, if you try and don’t make any profit, you won’t be stuck paying us back. More info HERE.

Our best advice… if you think you can do something, BEGIN IT!

Students awarded $19,000 in seed grants to launch their businesses!

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business program – an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed for students to start or grow a business – just wrapped up an intensive semester this Spring semester.

Students had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF awarded $19,000 in non-equity seed grants to 5 budding entrepreneurs to either grow or launch their small businesses.

From left to right: Peta-Gaye Escoffery of Divine Beauty, Schae Simpson of Swangel’s Bakery, Deven Preap of Divine Design Clothing, Amanda Carkin of Thy Crafty Panda, and Sue Boswell of Squared Away

Stacie Hargis, MCC’s Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator believes the program is a perfect fit for students who are not ready for debt funding, but are seeking a “friends and family” round of funding. Some students can even use the award to leverage more traditional lending.

“This grant approach is filling a market need for everyday entrepreneurs within our ecosystem,” she said. “We believe this is a unique value proposition to MCC’s program and makes us a natural partner to the rest of the funding ecosystem. Local small business growth means jobs for local people – our friends, family and neighbors – and our community college.”

During the ceremony, students each had 10 minutes to present their business plans and 10 minutes to answer questions from the EEVF committee. The committee is comprised of MCC administrators and local entrepreneurs and bankers such as Patrick Martin of Martin Insurance in Lowell, Germaine Vigeant-Trudel of the Lowell Development and Finance Corporation, and Reagan Mahoney of People’s United.

Students’ businesses invested in include:

• $5,000 to Squared Away – house clean outs and estate sale company
• $5,000 to Divine Beauty – an Esthetician and permanent makeup professional
• $3,000 to Devine Design Clothing – an up and coming Lowell based designer
• $3,000 to Thy Craft Panda – a graphics and printing shop
• $3,000 to Swangel’s Bakery – an allergy-free small-batch bakery

Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2022. This funding was made possible by a generous grant from the Cummings Foundation. If you are interested in donating to future small businesses, check out more info HERE.

MCC’s 16-credit Launch Your Business Now certificate program was developed for entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business they want to launch – or scale up – within four to 12 months.

Students who complete the Launch Your Business Now coursework are encouraged to pitch their business idea to the funding committee of the EEVF – who can award seed money in the form of competitive grants to support student businesses and help start-ups get off the ground.

EEVF is a committee of the Middlesex Community College Foundation.

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s Launch Your Business Now certificate program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit http://www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

Visit http://www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to register for summer and fall courses at MCC. Discover your path at Middlesex Community College.

As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

Capturing Love: An Exhibit of Peace – a photo show focused on love and peace.

An IDEA Center Project

Students in ENG 102, IDS 117, and BUS 135 participated in a service-learning project where they organized a photo show fundraiser to benefit The Center for Hope and Healing in Lowell which offers free services for sexual assault survivors and their families as well as legal and medical advocacy for refugees, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. The event took place on Thursday, May 12 from 4 pm – 6 pm at the Academic Arts Center @ Middlesex Community College.

The fundraiser was a huge success! The students sold all the photos and raised $1020. Students involved included:

Brooke Levesque Tyler Fleming
Steven Ssepuya Maryam Salih
Victoria Meredith Sara Bruce
Stephanie Marazzo. James D’Innocenzo

Students from ENG 102, BUS 135 and IDS 117 prep the gallery before the event.

Masada Jones from the CHHL was there to offer thanks to the students and
read one of her poems for the crowd gathered.

Special guest jury members offered “Judge’s Pic” awards and those in attendance voted for a “People’s Choice” award.

Special guest judges included:
**Chummeng Soun, Working Artist
**Angela Alés, Professor of Art at MCC 
**President of MCC, Phil Sisson 
**John Perez, Center for Hope & Healing 

Winners were as follows:
JUDGE’S PICs
Sara Bruce “The Sun Will Rise”
Magalloway Gould “…and that made all the difference”
Alisha Giguere “Grandmother and Grandson, a Different Generation of Love”
Jeffrey Lomicka “Lost Loveone”  
People’s Choice
Stephanie Marazzo “Peace Begins with a Smile”

INFO:

Thursday, May 12 from 4 pm – 6 pm at the Academic Arts Center @ Middlesex Community College

FREE to attend! There will also be free food to nibble on.

This photo show fundraiser is organized by a group of MCC students to benefit The Center for Hope and Healing in Lowell which offers free services for sexual assault survivors and their families as well as legal and medical advocacy for refugees, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community.

The photo show will have a jury and winners of “best of show” and “people’s choice” awards will be announced at the event! Special guest judges include:

• Chummeng Soun, Working Artist
• Angela Alés, Professor of Art at MCC 
• President of MCC, Phil Sisson 
• John Perez, Center for Hope & Healing 

4 – 5:30 Photo Show
5:30 Remarks and Awards
5:45 Take home art

Fundraiser: Photos for sale will be in 8 x 8 picture frames with mats and sold for a sliding scale of $20 for students and $30 for others. 

If you have any questions, please email Professor Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu or Professor Gamache at GAMACHEK@middlesex.mass.edu.

The MCC Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center is located at 240 Central Street, Lowell MA

Directions: Google
Visitor parking is available at:
Early Garage
135 Middlesex St., Lowell, MA 01852
Directions: Google 
See the Lowell Campus parking map for details.

This project is thanks to the MCC Foundation and MCC Student Activities!

CALL FOR PHOTOS:
Calling all hobby photographers and anyone with a smart phone! Take a photo that captures love in some way then submit it to the Capturing Love: An Exhibit of Peace here: https://tinyurl.com/y8bh7p62 

Must submit by April 26th. The entire MCC community is welcome to participate!

Upcoming Entrepreneurial Activities – Spring 2022

Spring is in the air and we have a lot of opportunities starting to grow this semester. Be sure to sign up for our enews to get the most up to date info.

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MCC Marketplace – Interested in exploring entrepreneurship by launching your business?
Students are welcome to apply to be a vendor at the MCC Marketplace.
More info HERE.

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IDEA Center – Conscious Capitalism Speaker Series 
Tuesday, April 5 from 11 am – 11:45 am via Zoom

Dr. Masachs J. Boungou

Register in advance HERE

Join the IDEA Center for the Conscious Capitalism Speaker Series: Dr. Masachs J. Boungou will host a discussion about the appropriation of our past in the context of social entrepreneurship. Dr. Boungou will share his experiences and illustrate why (social) entrepreneurs invoke the inspirations of their lived adversity to lead their business with social impact.

Dr. Boungou J. Masachs is a recent Ph.D. holder from the U-Mass Lowell where his thesis looked at how immigrants from post-conflict countries create businesses and succeed as entrepreneurs. He holds a dual Master’s in Coexistence and Conflict Studies and Sustainable International Development as a Fulbright scholar alum from the Brandeis University and is also a recipient of the Social Change Award grant from the Pollination Project 2020 and New Leaders Group Award of the Institute of International Education in 2018. Dr. Boungou J. Masachs also founded a social enterprise called the Nunga Program back in the Republic of the Congo, focusing on the intersection of youth, entrepreneurialism, peacebuilding and leadership. 

For more information, please contact Professor Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu

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IDEA Center – Black History Tour with focus on diverse businesses in Downtown Lowell, a collaboration with Free Soil Arts Collaborative
Tuesday, April 26 from 9:30 am – 10:45 am

Details to be announced, please sign up by emailing Professor Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu

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IDEA Center – Student-Led Photo Show Fundraiser to benefit a local nonprofit
Thursday, May 12 from 4 pm – 6 pm at the Academic Arts Center

Details to be announced, please sign up by emailing Professor Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu

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Student Venture Fund

If you have an idea or want to explore starting a business, we have funds for you! You don’t have to be a business student because any discipline at MCC can apply! Open to all students!

Request up to $100 in a friendly loan to give your enterprise the start it needs. We say friendly loan because if you can make profit, we do request you pay us back so that we can continue to offer this fund to other students. But, if you try and don’t make any profit, you won’t be stuck paying us back. More info HERE.

Our best advice… if you think you can do something, BEGIN IT!

3 MCC Students Receive $15k in Funding to Help Launch Businesses

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program – an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed for students to start or grow a business – wrapped up another intensive semester.

Graduating students had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF committee gave out $15,000 in non-equity seed funding on December 22, 2021.

EEVF funding benefits students who are not ready for debt funding, but are seeking a “friends and family” round of funding. This unique program is a natural partner to the rest of the local funding ecosystem.

Suzy of Curvaceous, Abby of Abalou Designs, and Den of AnnaCalisa

Students each had 10 minutes to present their business plans and 15 minutes to answer questions from the EEVF committee.

Students’ businesses invested in include:

• Curvaceous – an online clothing boutique specializing in curvy options
• Abalou Designs – retail and wholesale unique home décor
• AnnaCalisa – retail customized children’s clothing and other accessories

Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2022.

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s Launch Your Business Now certificate program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit http://www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge – Fall 2021

On December 7, 2021, students gathered in Bedford for the annual DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge pitch competition. After last year’s online version, it was great to meet up with students again in Café East for the event.

Professor Hargis, Thomas Rua, Thomas Kerkhove,
Derek Rodman, Nicole Antonoff, Travis Burns, Christopher Swift, and Cynthia Muchugia

Fascinating community-based and innovative ideas were pitched, making it difficult for the judges to decide. Congratulations to all!

First Place: the Stem Club (Thomas Rua & Thomas Kerkhove) with an idea for a StemFinder app to make finding STEM related opportunities even easier for students

Second Place: Cynthia Muchugia (from IDS 117 class) with an idea to curb the spread of deep fake social media accounts and postings

Third Place: the Sustainability Club (Derek Rodman & Nicole Antonoff) with an idea to make the community garden area more assessible to community members at large

Honorable Mentions: Travis Burns for his idea for a community-based web application and Christopher Swift for his idea to curb gang violence in Chicago

IDEA Center – Visiting Entrepreneur Speaker Series Oct 7, 2021

The IDEA Center hosted a visiting entrepreneur speaker series with video speed dating app, Filter Off‘s co-founder & CEO, Zach Schleien. Filter Off has hosted over 1,000 virtual speed dating events during the pandemic and has created over 200K virtual dates. 

Zach shared a great presentation and was a hit with students. Check out it out!

Upcoming Entrepreneurial Activities

We are so excited to be back on campus and are looking forward to sharing many entrepreneurial happenings this Fall 2021 semester. Be sure to sign up for our enews to get the most up to date info.

MCC Marketplace – Support entrepreneurship students as they launch their first businesses. Tables located in Bedford on Main St. in the Campus Center and in Lowell in the Café in the Cowan Building.

Upcoming Vendors:
More info HERE.
Interested in being a student vendor? 
More info HERE.

IDEA Center – Visiting Entrepreneur Speaker Series 
Oct 7, 2021 from 11 am – 12 pm via Zoom

Register in advance HERE

Join the IDEA Center for the visiting entrepreneur speaker series with video speed dating app, Filter Off‘s co-founder & CEO, Zach Schleien. Filter Off has hosted over 1,000 virtual speed dating events during the pandemic and has created over 200K virtual dates. Zach will chat about entrepreneurship and growing Filter Off during the pandemic. Learn more about how opportunities can present themselves at the most unusual times and how entrepreneurs act on those opportunities.

For more information, please contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu

It’s pitch competition time!

DifferenceMakers…

• Have an idea
• See a problem that needs solved
• Want to make a difference in the community or world

Does this sound like you?

Then join the DifferenceMaker movement at MCC! The DifferenceMaker@MCC is an Idea Pitch Competition where you can share your idea on your own or with a team. Build your resume AND win awesome prizes at the Idea Challenge Pitch Contest.

What kinds of ideas …. 

• Solutions can help solve challenges around healthcare, technology, energy, homelessness, climate change, food security, veterans, etc…
• It can be an innovative business, non-profit, product, or service. 
• The possibilities are endless!

Everyone is welcome no matter what major.

Fall 2021 Dates

If interested, sign up for our enews to get the most up to date info.

• Kickoff – Tuesday, Nov 16th 2:00 – 3:00 pm Virtual & Recorded
• DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Competition – Tuesday, December 7th 2:00 – 4:00 pm
  More info HERE

Student Venture Fund

If you have an idea or want to explore starting a business, we have funds for you! You don’t have to be a business student, any discipline MCC student can apply.

We have funds for you to request up to $100 in a friendly loan to give your enterprise a start. We say friendly loan because if you can make any profit, we do request you try to pay us back.

More info HERE.

Maybe you want to sell a product you make on campus for extra money? (learn more about selling on campus HERE)

Or maybe you have a dream to start a business?

Our best advice… if you think you can do something, begin it!

Fall DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Winners

On December 1st, students and judges gathered for a virtual DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Pitch Contest.

From top left, Thomas Rua, Professor Hargis, Kailey Sumner. Bottom left, Judge Dean Judy Hogan, Judge Franky Descoteaux.

A partnership between UMass Lowell and MCC, this competition is an opportunity for students from across disciplines to practice innovative thinking while honing problem solving and critical thinking skills. Traditionally, students will form a team to focus on a problem they want to solve that makes the world or their community a better place. Through the process of design thinking, they develop a solution to this problem. Students also flush out the idea through a series of workshops to determine market opportunity either through a business or mission based model. They then prepare to pitch their awesome idea at the Idea Challenge Pitch Contest. 

Past winners have tried to solve all sorts of social problems like traffic, healthcare, pollution, safety, and have put together such ideas as an app to pull together non-partisan information about candidates to make informed voting decisions, an app to help commuter students meet to form study groups, a specially designed helmet to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, and many more.

2020 has been a challenging year, many people, including our students, have experienced some level of intense disruption and loss. In turn, this year has been filled with a variety of new problems that many entrepreneurial thinkers have been actively trying to solve both through science and social measures. It has been a year full of innovation to say the least. It is no surprise then that innovative ideas were prominent at the pitch contest as well.

Winning FIRST PLACE was Biodegradable Face Mask, led by Kailey Sumner. Showing great potential as a game changer in the face mask marketplace, this team will get to move on to the UMass Lowell Spring DifferenceMaker Idea Challenge in the Spring. There they will have an opportunity to compete for up to $4500 in funding and a spot at the summer DifferenceMaker Boot Camp to implement the idea.

Winning SECOND PLACE was Thomas Rua with Free-Aid Afghanistan, an app to target fundraising efforts for NGO’s in Afghanistan with the opportunity to scale up globally.

The DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge happens each fall. For more info, click here.

MCC Students Receive $50k in Funding to Help Launch Businesses

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business program – an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed for students to start or grow a business – just wrapped up an intensive semester.

The students had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF committee gave out $50,000 in seed funding in a virtual ceremony over Zoom on May 14, 2020.

Stacie Hargis, MCC’s Associate Professor of the Business Division, believes the program benefits students who are not ready for debt funding, but are seeking a “friends and family” round of funding without having access to it.

“This grant approach is filling a real market need for low to moderate-income everyday entrepreneurs within our ecosystem,” she said. “We believe this is a unique value proposition to MCC’s program and makes us a natural partner to the rest of the funding ecosystem. Local small business growth means jobs for local people – our friends, family and neighbors – and our community college.”

During the virtual ceremony, the students each had 10 minutes to present their business plans and 15 minutes to answer questions from the EEVF committee.

Students’ businesses invested in include:

• $17,000 invested in Fleek Beatz Beauty – seller of beauty products and services
• $10,000 invested in MoooWing Wings & Bar –fast/casual café & sports bar
• $7,500 invested in LoWellNess – wellness center
• $7,500 invested in WholeSoul Wellness – personal health coaching
• $5,000 invested in Kai Photography – photography studio
• $3,000 invested in Mello Bookkeeping – financial bookkeeping and consultancy for small businesses

Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2020 and 2021.

Gabrielle Rodriguez is the owner of Fleek Beatz Beauty. While this was her first class at Middlesex, she is interested in taking more after her experience.

“MCC has not only provided me with the knowledge and skills needed to launch and grow a business, but the mindset that is required,” she said. “I highly recommend the course to anyone that is trying to start a business but doesn’t know how or where to start. The value within the education you receive in this accelerated course is priceless – completely changed my life.”

For Kai Rodriguez, of Kai Photography, she needed a boost to her business because she wasn’t ready to give up.

“I went and got exactly what I expected – more knowledge and hope in my future with my business,” she said. “MCC helped me reach my potential by allowing me to continue my business and put me on the right track as an entrepreneur.”

Aleksa Wilk, owner of WholeSoul Wellness, has been looking forward to taking the Launch Your Business Now course. She says although it took her three business ideas to find the one she wanted to pursue, she’s excited and proud to share it.

“Stacie Hargis has been working with me since the beginning,” she said. “She has been a wonderful resource to reach out to for classes, my career and this program. Franky [Descoteaux, an MCC adjunct faculty member] also very much inspired me on the first day I enrolled. I loved her energy and wanted to work with her.”

MCC’s 16-credit Launch Your Business Now certificate program was developed for entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business they want to launch – or scale up – within four to 12 months.

Students who complete the Launch Your Business Now coursework are encouraged to pitch their business idea to the funding committee of the EEVF – who can award seed money in the form of competitive grants to support student businesses and help start-ups get off the ground.

EEVF is a committee of the Middlesex Community College Foundation.

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s Launch Your Business Now certificate program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit http://www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

Visit http://www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to register for summer and fall courses at MCC. Discover your path at Middlesex Community College.

As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

MCC Students Receive $50k in Funding to Help Launch Businesses

MCC Students Receive $50k in Funding to Help Launch Businesses

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program were awarded $50,000 in seed funding by the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF) on Dec 19 at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell. From left to right: Katie Tarlin of Dover, MA; Tara Oslan of Lowell, MA; Michelle Roose of Brockton, MA; Cristina Hernando of Lawrence, MA; Franky Descoteaux, Adjunct Professor; Colleen Doucette of Billerica, MA with Baby Doucette; and Stacie Hargis, Professor. Photo credit: Romany Photography of Lowell

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program, an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed for students to start or grow a business, just wrapped up an intensive semester and had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF committee gave out $50,000 in seed funding on December 19th at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell. Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2020. 

• Invested $10,000 in Allure Mobile Styles – future mobile hair salon for Greater Lowell 
  • https://www.declareyourstyle.com/ 
• Invested a $10,000 match in EkoBon – a future sustainable packaging manufacturer 
  • ekobon.com 
  • Follow on Instagram @eko_bon
• Invested $15,000 in HER Massage Therapy – massage therapy clinic in Lawrence, MA 
  • https://www.hermassagetherapy.com/ 
  • Follow on Instagram @hermassagetherapy
• Invested $15,000 in What the Fork Catering – catering and future cafe in Billerica, MA  
  • HERE
  • Follow on Instagram @what_the_fork_catering

In Spring of 2018, MCC was 1 of 4 community colleges in the nation to receive a $250,000 grant to create a unique venture fund that offered non-equity seed grants called the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund (EEVF). We split the fund over 4 semesters, creating a $50,000 pool each semester (Fall 2018 – Spring 2020). 

The EEVF funding committee is comprised of members of the MCC Foundation, members of the business community, and MCC administration whom decide distribution of the seed money. Our local ecosystem has a strong group of institutions providing access to debt funding.  What is missing, particularly for students attracted to our program, is the “friends and family” round of funding. They are not ready for debt funding, and do not have the friends and family resource network to come up with the initial investment required to get their businesses off the ground. This grant approach is filling a real market need for low to moderate-income everyday entrepreneurs within our ecosystem. We believe this is a unique value proposition to MCC’s program and makes us a natural partner to the rest of the funding ecosystem. 

Launched in the Fall 2018, MCC has completed three semesters which resulted in three cohorts (17 businesses)

• 15 of those students requested funding from the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund
  • 7 were Pre-Start-Up (within 1 year of start-up)
  • 5 Start-Up (business operating/generating revenue)
  • 3 were Established (is/was profitable and employing at least 1 FTE)

73%, (11) of those students who completed were women, 52% (8) were minority and 47% (7) were minority women. 60% (9) of the businesses that were launched or grown over the course of the year were located in Lowell.

MCC’s 16-credit Launch Your Business Now certificate program was developed for entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business they want to launch – or scale up – within four to 12 months. “Someone who is naturally entrepreneurial just wants to get started,” said Stacie Hargis, MCC’s Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator. “This is why we’ve designed the program to be completed in one intensive, action-oriented semester, to support students developing a business concept with a solid foundation for success.”

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s new Launch Your Business Now Certificate Program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit: www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program were awarded $50,000 in seed funding by the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF) on Dec 19 at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell. From left to right: Franky Descoteaux, Adjunct Professor; Stacie Hargis, Professor; The Doucette Family of Billerica, MA. Photo credit: Romany Photography of Lowell

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program were awarded $50,000 in seed funding by the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF) on Dec 19 at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell. From left to right: Stacie Hargis, Professor; Franky Descoteaux, Adjunct Professor; Cristina Hernando of Lawrence, MA. Photo credit: Romany Photography of Lowell

MCC Marketplace

For Intro to Entrepreneurship (BUS 130) class, students focus on actively going through the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation and opportunity evaluation to planning and launch of a business. Students partake in a 3-week long competition then pitch at the MCC Shark Tank. This project also supports student’s service learning project because all net profits will be donated to a local organization!

Their microbusinesses are part of the MCC Marketplace, students can set up at school or sell online. MCC_Marketplace Flyer.

Check out all the businesses here! 

They donated a total of $1419 to the community in net profits!

Below: M & I Candles selling at the MCC Craft Fair in November.

2019 DifferenceMaker@MCC IDEA Challenge

DifferenceMakers…

• Have an idea
• See a problem that needs solved
• Want to make a difference in the community or world

Does this sound like you?
Then participate in the DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge. Join a team to pitch your awesome idea that solves a problem that will make a difference in the world!Build your resume AND win awesome prizes to help you put it into action at the Idea Challenge Pitch Contest.

Any MCC student can participate!
FREE Food at all workshops an events

Workshops start Oct 30th Idea Pitch Contest on Nov 20th * do not have to attend workshops to participate

Learn more here

Check out where last year’s winning team ended up! 

EEVF awards LYBN students $50,000 in seed money

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program, an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed for students to start or grow a business, just wrapped up an intensive semester and had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF committee gave out $50,000 in seed funding on May 16th at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell.

Spring 2019’s Launch Your Business Now program students. From left to right: Jocelyn Pedraza of Lowell, Ani Vong of Lowell, Stephanie Quezada of Lawrence, Mitch Nesteruk of Andover, Professor Descoteaux, Professor Hargis, Romany Meas of Lowell, and Eric Sack of Lowell. Photo credit: Humanity Boutique of Lowell 

• Invested $15,640 in Second Chance – a future non-profit focused on changing at-risk young women’s lives
  • Follow on Instagram @secondchance18
• Invested $13,000 in Humanity – a Lowed based fashion boutique
  • http://www.humanitystyle.com 
• Invested $10,000 in Pedraza Performance – a female-owned and operated auto repair shop
  • Follow on Instagram @Pedraza_Performance
• Invested $8,790 in Mass Media Man – an audio and video installation and maintenance company
  • http://massmediaman.com
• Invested $2,570 in Nic Clip – an accessory company
  • https://nicclip.com/

 

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Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2019 and 2020. Students receiving funding will also be paired with 3 mentors who will check in with them throughout the first year of operation.

MCC’s 16-credit Launch Your Business Now certificate program was developed for entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business they want to launch – or scale up – within four to 12 months. “I’ve been able to gain confidence as the course progressed. I am now equipped with the proper knowledge, moving forward in my journey. I will continue to utilize my tool box with content I was able to learn from the curriculum.” said Jocelyn Pedraza, Spring 2019 program participant.

Students who complete the Launch Your Business Now coursework are encouraged to pitch their business idea to the funding committee of the EEVF, who can award seed money in the form of competitive grants (ranging from $1,000 to $20,000) to support student businesses and help start-ups get off the ground. EEVF is a committee of the MCC Foundation. 

The EEVF Funding Committee is comprised of MCC’s Foundation Board members and key administration and staff from MCC. Their continued efforts to support the Launch Your Business Now program are greatly appreciated. Additionally, we would like to give a BIG thank you to mentors who give their time and significantly impact the success of our students. Thank you! For more info on them, please click here.

 

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From left to right: President Jim Mabry, Judy Mabry, Professor Hargis, Ani Vong of Lowell, Mitch Nesteruk of Andover, Professor Descoteaux, Jocelyn Pedraza of Lowell, Stephanie Quezada of Lawrence, Eric Sack of Lowell, Dean Judy Hogan, and MCC Foundation member David Basile. Photo credit: Romany Photography of Lowell

From left to right: Ani Vong of Lowell, Stephanie Quezada of Lawrence, Mitch Nesteruk of Andover, Jocelyn Pedraza of Lowell, and Eric Sack of Lowell. Photo credit: Romany Photography of Lowell

Download press release file here.

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s new Launch Your Business Now Certificate Program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit: www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

VotEd – winners at UML Difference Maker Contest

Congratulations to VotED, the winning team from the Fall DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge who advanced to the DifferenceMaker at UMass Lowell contest on April 24th.

They thoroughly impressed the crowd and judges with their innovative idea of a nonpartisan, voter education app to assist busy people with their civic duty.

VotEd walked away with $4500 in funding under the Social Impact Award. They will work this summer at an UML Boot Camp to develop the idea. We are so excited for them and their entrepreneurial work!

Find out more about VotED here. 

Spring 2019 Student Businesses

For Intro to Entrepreneurship (BUS 130) class, students focus on actively going through the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation and opportunity evaluation to planning and launch of a business. Students partake in a 3-week long competition then pitch at the MCC Shark Tank. Students also donate their net-profit to the Lowell Boys and Girls Club.

In total, students this semester are donating $1,539.77

This brings our overall donations over the years to $10,722

OUTSTANDING!!!!

The students work so hard and really make MCC proud. Businesses included baked goods, jewelry, soap, chap stick, phone cases, and much more! Check out some of the awesome work they’ve done below.

This year we had 2 MCC Shark Tanks where students were able to pitch what they did – what kinds of marketing they pursued, what traction they had (revenue, customers, net profit, feedback, financials), and what they learned overall. At each contest, 3 winners were chosen. 
From left to right: Guest Judge Lianna Kushi from E for All; Guest Judge Gail Lucozzi, co-owner and operator for ASA Photographic; 2nd place winner Gabriel Veronese Nano of Be Great Journal; 1st place winner Richard Merrifield of Helping Hands Soap & Co.; 3rd place winner Olivia Donahue of Avenir Vert; Guest Judge Kristen McBride-Silva; and Guest Judge Business Dean Judy Hogan. From left to right: Guest Judge Franky Descoteaux from the Merrimack Valley Small Business Center; 3rd place winner Marleyna Mejia of Bake N Go; 1st place winner Ben Rivet of 3 on 3 Tournament; 2nd place winner Lilibeth Curiel of Butter Smooth; Guest Judge Kristen McBride-Silva; and Guest Judge Colleen Gordon from UMass Lowell.

Learn more about the businesses and their success below! Check full financial details here. 

Bedford:

• Shorty’s Cookies
  Instagram
• Heavy Equipment Solutions
  Website 
• Healing Tea Bags
  Facebook Page 
  Instagram 
• Party Shades
  Instagram 
• Helping Hands Soap
  Instagram
• Twi-Light Jewels
• IsabellaQDesigns
  Etsy 
• Cole’s Brownie Co.
  Instagram 
• Murray’s Munchies
  Instagram 
• Coco’s Cookies
  Instagram 
  Facebook 
• Be Great Journal
  Instagram
  Facebook 
• BMEL Clothing
  Website 
• Leks Design
  Website
  Instagram
• Luthtorious
  Instagram 

Lowell:

• Kalpana’s Jewelry
• Olympia’s Brownies
• Custom Cases MCC
  Instagram  
• First 28
  Instagram 
  Website 
• Starlin’s Stars
• Grand Pretzel
• Butter Smooth
  
• 3 on 3 Hockey Showdown
  Website 
• Kole’s Cookies
  Instagram 
  

Online:

• Avenir Vert
  Instagram 
  Website 
• Jessica
• Fay Diamond Thrift
  Instagram
  Website 
• Chris
• Nick
• Five a Tie
  Instagram 

 

MCC Students Receive $50k in Funding to Help Launch Businesses

Congratulations to 6 of our recent Launch Your Business Now students who received $50,000 in seed funding to launch and grow their businesses!

Middlesex Community College students enrolled in the Launch Your Business Now program, an innovative applied-entrepreneurship certificate program designed to encourage students to start or grow a business, just wrapped up an intensive semester and had the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund (EEVF). The EEVF committee gave out $50,000 in seed funding on December 19 at an awards ceremony in downtown Lowell.

 

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Student businesses invested in include:

• $10,000 invested in Body Fuel Café, a nutritious snack and café concept founded by Jessica Salani of Burlington.
• $10,000 invested in The Sweet Spot, a sustainable clothing, jewelry, gifts and home goods store in downtown Lowell founded by Hilary Clark of Lowell.
• $9,000 invested in Beautiful Psalms, a spiritual gifts ecommerce company founded by Dali Diaz of Lowell.
• $8,000 invested in Barber on the Run, a mobile barber service founded by Juan Cintron of Lowell.
• $8,000 invested in Natural Journey’s, a natural and kinky hair boutique founded by Alison Njoroge of Lowell.
• $5,000 invested in Good Wood Restoration, a restoration construction company founded by Dave Clark of Lowell.

Students will use this seed funding for operations as they continue to grow their businesses over the course of 2019. Students receiving funding will also be paired with 3 mentors who will check in with them throughout the first year of operation.

MCC’s new 16-credit Launch Your Business Now certificate program was developed for entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business they want to launch – or scale up – within four to 12 months. “Someone who is naturally entrepreneurial just wants to get started,” said Stacie Hargis, MCC’s Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator. “This is why we’ve designed the program to be completed in one intensive, action-oriented semester. It’s a great way for students to work solely on developing a business concept.”

Students who complete the Launch Your Business Now coursework are encouraged to pitch their business idea to the funding committee of the EEVF, who can award seed money in the form of competitive grants (ranging from $1,000 to $20,000) to support student businesses and help start-ups get off the ground.

MCC is looking for students who already have an idea for a small business, or are looking to grow a business that they have already started. Students will learn how to evaluate market opportunity, validate assumptions about their business, and set up all the systems required to launch a successful small business. This program is ideal for students with innovative and conventional business ideas, such as main street, community-based businesses like retail stores and food products, as well as consultants, bookkeepers, caterers, plumbers, yoga-studio operators or personal trainers.

For more information about MCC student businesses, MCC’s new Launch Your Business Now Certificate Program, or the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund, visit: www.launchatmcc.com or contact Stacie Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

To register for MCC spring-semester courses, visit: https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

It’s a fresh new year! Time to work on your business dreams.

Prepare.

Fund. 

Launch. 

Are you an everyday entrepreneur? 

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Apply now for our Spring cohort in the Launch Your Business Now program. Classes start Jan 22nd and run Tuesday mornings from 9:30 am – 10:45 am and Thursdays from 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm. These classes give you the chance to pitch to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund for seed money to get started or to grow!
Learn more at our website www.launchatmcc.com.

This program is financial aid eligible.

Timeline:

< Register for 3 classes by January 14th (BUS 211, BUS 218, and BUS 216)

< January 22 – May 9th Take courses that help prepare you to launch your grow your business within the next 4 – 12 months

< May – Prepare for you opportunity to pitch to the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund committee if you qualify

< Late May – Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund committee makes decisions about seed money

< June – continued support from our LYBN program through the IDEA Center and if funded, through the Everyday Entrepreneurs Venture Fund program

 

DifferenceMakers make an impact!

The DifferenceMakers at MCC made a major splash at the IDEA Challenge Pitch Contest on Monday, Dec 3rd. Five teams competed to win the top prize of $1,000 to help turn their idea into a reality. The ideas were outstanding! The problems addressed included voter apathy, driver safety, treatment for seasonal affective disorder, treatment for sensory processing disorder, and innovative resources for students.

17 students from across disciplines competed on 5 teams.

1st place winners ($1,000 prize)
VotEd (Olivia Reposa, Michael Dignan, Gillian Inglis – Business)

2nd place winners ($500 prize)
Omni Sense (Christopher Bonaccolta, Brandon Laplante, and Stephen Gakuya – Mechancical Engineering)

3rd place winners ($300 prize)
HUSH (Ash Whiting, LAS and Katherine Schirpke – Business)

Congratulations!! We will keep you updated as things move along with their ideas.

Pictured below are winning teams with our judges.

A big thank you to our community Judges:

• Jeanne L. Osborn, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at LifeLinks, Inc.
• Colleen Gordon, Social Media Coordinator at University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Peter J. Bagley, Managing Director at Commonwealth Leadership Institute

And our MCC Judges:

• Phil Sisson, Provost
• Judy Hogan, Dean of Business, Legal Studies, and Public Service
• Michele Stein, Computing and Engineering Department Chair

Interested in learning more? Check out our DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge page here. 

Fall 2018 MCC Shark Tank

For Intro to Entrepreneurship (BUS 130) class, students focus on actively going through the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation and opportunity evaluation to planning and launch of a business. Students recently finished a 3-week long competition and pitched their businesses at our MCC Shark Tank.

Student businesses included t-shirts, car detailing, hair extensions, baked goods, handmade blankets, and more.

Check out some of the awesome work they’ve done!

• Ghost Buck Coffee 
  Instagram 
  Website
• Locality Connections
  Instagram 
  Facebook
• JLMA Custom T-Shirts (Darcy in chart)
  Website 
  Instagram 
• Art Greeting Cards (Ran in chart)
  Website 
  Instagram 
• Dave’s Blankets
  Etsy Site 

Competition Results 

Students from 3 classes will be donating over $570 to the Boys & Girls Club of Lowell!

This brings our total donated to the community over the years to $9,182!

Here are our winners from the Online BUS 130 class:

1st place: Joe Foresteire
2nd place: Darcy Gervais
3rd place: Rene Harris
Honorable Mention: Logan Chou 

A big thank you to our judges!

• Ray Wrobel from Align Credit Union
• Michael Breda from Salem Five Bank
• Pete Bagley from Commonwealth Leadership Institute
• John DeNyse from MCC’s Student Venture Fund and Business Major

One of the classes work:

 

Final Results – Fall 2018

DifferenceMaker@MCC IDEA Challenge – Fall 2018

DifferenceMakers…

• Have an idea
• See a problem that needs solved
• Want to make a difference in the community or world

Does this sound like you?

Then participate in the DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge. Join a team to pitch your awesome idea that solves a problem that will make a difference in the world!

Build your resume AND win awesome prizes to help you put it into action at the Idea Challenge Pitch Contest.

1^st place $1000

2^nd place $500

3^rd place $300

What kinds of ideas …. 

• Challenges can be about healthcare, technology, energy, homelessness, climate change, food security, etc…
• It can be an innovative process, product, or idea.
• The possibilities are endless.

How does it work?

1. Form a student team
2. Attend 3 workshops to help you prepare
3. Compete in the IDEA Challenge Pitch Contest on Monday Dec 3^rd

Find out more details and apply here!

Flyer 2018

Are you an everyday entrepreneur?

Do you want to start a community-based, local business? 

Retail store, beauty supply products, barber, fishing charters, natural food for athletes, historic home restoration, the ideas are endless… these are just some of our current Launch Your Business Now student ideas.

If so, the Launch Your Business Now program may be able to help you make your dream a reality! Not only will it help you get a foundation to start or grow your idea into a business opportunity, but you can pitch  your idea to a funding committee for seed money! 

Click here to learn more.

Our Fall 2018 Cohort …

Unique gifts store in downtown Lowell, beauty supply products boutique, a barber “on the run”, fishing charters, natural food for athletes, historic home restoration… these are just some of our current Launch Your Business Now student ideas….

and the ideas are endless…

Spring 2018 MCC Shark Tank

MCC Entrepreneurship students are amazing! They are donating over $2100 in net profits back to the community!

For Intro to Entrepreneurship (BUS 130) class students, the semester was focused on actively going through the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation and opportunity evaluation to planning and launch of a business. Students took part in a 2-week competition to get the most sales. During that competition, students voted on a non-profit organization to donate all their net profit. This semester’s non-profit donation is going to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell.

Student businesses included t-shirts, face scrub, food, wallets, audio files, shoe cleaning, decorative pillows, and a painting service. More info about the businesses and competition here!

Congratulations to all the students who worked so hard!
Lowell Night Class Net Profit: $774
Bedford Day Class Net Profit: $1346
Students are donating a TOTAL of $2120 

Students also pitched at the MCC Shark Tank. Each class pitched their business, the work they did, and results to three guest judges.

Lowell Night MCC Shark Tank
Thank you to our special guest judges!

• Juan Boungou, PhD Student at UMass Lowell
• Susu Wong, Founder, Tomo360 – Marketing Strategies
• Professor Ashli Ree, Fashion Merchandising Program Coordinator at MCC

First place winner:
Trott’s Tees, Rachael Trott with guest judge Susu Wong

Second place winner:
Driany’s Decorative Glass, Driany Cruz with guest judge Juan Boungou

Third place winner:
Joel’s T-shirts, Joel Tatis with guest judge Ashli Ree

Bedford Day MCC Shark Tank
Thank you to our special guest judges!

• Rich Denio, VP Operations, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
• Dean Judith Hogan, Division of Business, Legal Studies and Public Service
• Kristen McBride-Silva, Administrative Assistant, Division of Business, Legal Studies and Public Service

First place winner:
Humanity for the Homeless, Jack Stavro with guest judge Rich Denio

Second place winner:
Holy Churros, Andrea Patino Galindo with guest judge Kristen McBride-Silva

Third place winner:
Thrift Flip23, Sarah Donahue with guest judge Dean Hogan

DifferenceMaker@MCC winner

Last fall, we launched a new partnership with UML to provide DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge programming. This pitch contest is for students from all disciplines. Last fall, the first place winner from our Idea Challenge was eligible to compete in the UML Spring Idea Challenge. Ten student teams pitched their innovative ideas to a panel of judges. Eleven teams in total received a portion of $50,000 in prizes.

The MCC team did an amazing job! Congratulations to ClassRoots for winning the Significant Social Impact award of $4,500!!!

“A peer learning platform that aims to bring classmates together in order to make friends and utilize each other as tools for academic success.”

MCC student Kevin Seery is graduating this semester and will be attending UMass Lowell in the fall. This summer, Kevin will be at the university going through the DifferenceMaker Boot Camp for ClassRoots.

Everyday Entrepreneurs Program Launch!

The entrepreneurship program at MCC is very pleased about a new amazing opportunity!

The Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund recently awarded Middlesex Community College a $250,000 grant to help student entrepreneurs start or grow a small business. EEVF founders Chip Weismiller and Stuart Weismiller attended a meeting of the MCC Foundation Board of Directors to formally announce the award.

The Weismillers established the million-dollar venture fund to provide seed grants to community-college foundations for community-based new business start-ups. MCC is one of four colleges in the U.S. to receive an EEVF grant. The award is the first venture-fund grant in Massachusetts to be used exclusively to launch small community-based entrepreneurs. It will be administered through the MCC Foundation.

The EEVF grant was based on MCC’s work with community-based entrepreneurs and serves as a testament to the quality and growth of the college’s Entrepreneurship Program and faculty. Grant funds are limited to current students and qualified alumni.

Want to find out more?!! Check out the program website: Launch at MCC 

Spring 2018 Entrepreneurship Courses

For Intro to Entrepreneurship (BUS 130) class students, the semester was focused on actively going through the entrepreneurial process, from idea generation and opportunity evaluation to planning and launch of a business. After launch, students took part in a 2-week competition to sell, sell, sell! During that competition, students voted on a non-profit organization to donate all their net profit. This semester’s non-profit donation is going to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell.

Student businesses included t-shirts, face scrub, food, wallets, audio files, shoe cleaning, decorative pillows, and a painting service. Find out more specifics below.

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Competition Results
Congratulations to all the students who worked hard during this competition!
Lowell Night Class Net Profit: $774
Bedford Day Class Net Profit: $1346
TOTAL $2120

Because of our students hard work, total donations being made are
$1808 to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell and
$312* to the Under the Oak Homeless Outreach Program
*this was a special social entrepreneurship project completed by Jack Stavro, see below for more info…

In the Bedford Day class, a special congratulations to Jack Stavro and Andrea Patino Galindo for making the two highest net profits. Andrea’s Churro business had $513 in sales.

In the Lowell night class, a special congratulations to Mickey Le and Rachael Trott for making the most net profit. Mickey’s photography business had $420 in sales.

Learn more about what the students were up to below.

BUS 130 – 01 (Bedford Day)

 

A special social entrepreneurial project, Humanity of the Homeless helped educate people around the issues of homelessness. This project raised $325 in donations to the Under the Oak Homeless Outreach Program in Lowell.

Fresh Off the Boat Apparel

• FOB Instagram 

Authentic Bath Bombs by Amy 

Para-cords key chains 

Wonder Wallets 

Sweet and Smart MCC 

Jelly 

Churros 

Thrift Flip 23

The Art of Paint 

• Facebook 

Boston Lanyards 

Overall, this class earned $1,302 in net profits to donate. $990 to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell and $350 to the Under the Oak Homeless Outreach Program in Lowell. 

Check out BUS 130-80 (Lowell Night)

Trott Tees 

King Churros

Thebrightstyledkind 

• Thebrightstyledkind Pamphlet

Overall, this class earned $804 in net profits to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell.

Final Results

Slide Show MCC Shark Tank Spring 2018

 

Entrepreneurial Events in April

Join the IDEA Center at
entrepreneurial events in April:
All are welcome to participate and the events are FREECONNOR BEEBE, product designer
learn about the importance of a professional brand
and how to navigate from college to career.
MONDAY, APRIL 2ND
11:00 AM- 12:20 PM
FEDERAL BUILDING, ASSEMBLY ROOM, LOWELL

KEVIN WILLETT, founder Friends of Kevin & New England B2B Networking
hear one entrepreneur’s story then learn about the importance of networking and how to do it!
TUESDAY, APRIL 3RD 
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
CAFÉ EAST, BEDFORD

HOSPITALITY CAREER PANEL
Thomas Storr, Owner of Swiss Bakers
Leslie Cregg, Owner of Planned Perfectly Events
and Zoe Wakefield, Trip Advisor
hear from professionals in the hospitality, culinary arts, restaurant and events industries on their careers, educational experiences and career advice.  
TUESDAY, APRIL 10TH
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
FEDERAL BUILDING, ASSEMBLY ROOM, LOWELL

Flyer

Spring Newsletter

Check out our Spring Newsletter with upcoming events and opportunities.

Spring 2018 Newsletter 

Help support the MCC Student Venture Fund

What does the MCC Student Venture Fund do? We help students start businesses! Our students often need help with startup costs, so our fund allows them to apply for up to $100 in funding to get going. Find out more. 

Help support the MCC Student Venture Fund by purchasing a beautiful $20 t-shirt designed by the legendary Eyeformation. Check out more of Eyeformation’s work. 

Want to buy a shirt? Stop by the IDEA Center!

 

 

Lowell Makes

Lowell Makes is a community workshop and laboratory located in downtown Lowell. Led by a group of artists, engineers, makers, and thinkers, Lowell Makes can provide the tools and environment for you to succeed! As entrepreneurs, you may need access to equipment to help make your dream a reality, or the right machines to create your first prototype. Lowell Makes is a member driven organization that stands ready. As a MCC student, you may be able to utilize their tools and space. Interested? Contact Professor Hargis for more info.

Lowell Makes
47 Lee St
Lowell, MA 01852
http://lowellmakes.com/

Upcoming Events

There are a lot of fun pitch contests and events coming up that MCC students can attend.

Wed Feb 7 – UML’s DifferenceMaker $50K Idea Challenge Kick-Off
As a MCC student, you can join an UML team that will be participating in a string                   of workshops leading up to the final pitch.  Definitely come by to support our                       DifferenceMaker@MCC IDEA Challenge winner from last semester as he                               competes for $5,000!

Thurs Feb 15 – Mass Innovation Nights

Thur Feb 22 – E for All’s #ShopLocal Pitch Contest @ Mill No.5 

Wed April 25 – UML’s Difference Maker $50K Idea Challenge Kick-Off 

Coming Soon – a Spring event at MCC for entrepreneurial thinkers! Stay tuned.

Click on the links to find out more. Some of them require RSVP. Hope to see you there!

Entrepreneurial Thinking IDEA Pitch

Students participating in the Entrepreneurial Thinking, a 1-credit IDS course were tasked with coming up with a problem they wanted to solve then a solution for that problem. This is based off our DifferenceMaker@MCC programming.  Ideas ranged from troubled youth needing dance in their lives to dog collars that helped locate animals faster.

The students pitched at an IDEA Challenge as part of their final. MCC community members were the judges:

• Prudhvi Chandu, Student DifferenceMaker@MCC 3^rd place winner
• Jo Mucci, Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies
• Kendall Yasi, Student DifferenceMaker@MCC 2nd place winner
• Donna Maturi, Lowell Librarian Specialist

The winning team, comprised of Rachel Love and Victoria Moore, came up with a concept to better treat mental illness through an Art Therapy Center. Congratulations!

Pitch – Check out the winning presentation

The whole class with our guest judges.

Fall 2017 Student Business

After a semester of evaluating opportunity and then planning to launch a business, students took off running during a 4 week competition to sell, sell, sell! Students in two Intro to Entrepreneurship courses (BUS 130) gave final business pitches to a panel of community judges at two separate MCC Shark Tanks. Overall, teams ended up with net profits of $2, 497! All of which was donated to various non-profit organizations.

In the BUS 130 Night class, judges included:

• Ralph Hammond, Billerica Rotary Club
• Jerry Pinsky, Founder of the Veterans Administration, Veterans Business Gym
• Andy Jacobson, Founder of Brew’d Awakening 

The stakes were high and the competition was tough!

First place winners:
Wicked Good Spices – Maureen Simolaris and Denise Richards

Being presented gift certificates by Andy, Jerry and Ralph from left to right, in the middle is Denise, then Maureen. (See their commercial below)

Second place winners:
Crystal Soaprise – Sidney O’Brien, Nicole Smith, and Erin Cox

Here is Crystal Soaprise presenting a check for over $500 to the Clean River Project. (From left to right: Rocky, Sidney, Nicole, and Erin)

Honorable mentions:
Simply Essential Scrubs – Samantha D’Amelio, Anam Ali, and Madison Meyer

Here they are (L:R Anam, Maddy, Bethany from Catie’s Closet, and Sam) presenting a check for almost $200 to Catie’s Closet.

 

 

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In the BUS 130 Day class, judges included:

• Tory Thompson, Business Development Manager, Horsepower Technologies Inc.
• Rachel Chandler, Founder, Red Antler Apothecary
• Mariann O’Brien, Vice President, Jeanne D’arc Credit Union
• Beth Fontaine, Office Manager, Nobis Engineering

First place winners:
Sky Tea – Kerianne Riley, Yen Nguyen, and Selina Wedding

Pictured with our judges from L:R, Mariann, Rachel, Selina, Ye, Kerianne, Tory and Beth

Here is Yen, Kerianne, and Selina presenting a check of $200 to the Epilepsy Foundation

Second place winners:
M R Jewels – Rosemary Medina and Maria Andrade

Pictured with our judges from L:R, Mariann, Rachel, Rose, Maria, Beth and Tory

Fan Favorites:
The Melts – Brad Richardson, Jasmin Colon, and Jasmin Wright

CONGRATULATIONS to all the student businesses!

Learn more about each business here!

DifferenceMaker@MCC IDEA Challenge Pitch Contest

9 student teams pitched innovative ideas at the DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Pitch Contest on Thursday, 11/16. Students from various disciplines, including business and engineering, presented. Ideas included technology, energy, agriculture, food, and product innovations. The first place winners will go on to pitch at UML’s IDEA Challenge in the spring.

Thank you to our amazing panel of guest judges: 

• Judith Hogan, Dean of Business, Legal Studies, and Public Service
• Diana Coluntino, founder of New Vestures Co-Working Space
• Raymond Hamilton CTO & Co-founder, invisaWear
• Susu Wong, founder of Tomo360

Congratulations to the winners:

1st place: ClassRoots, a social networking application that organizes assignments by class, offers discussion forums, and has an integrated messaging platform for seamlessly communicating with peers.

Kevin Seery
Nicolas Norcross

2nd place: ScribbleNotes, a structured doodle solution for note taking.

Kendall Yasi
Daniel Iknaian

3rd place: Ah-Ha, an informal learning service for young adults that provides a
variety of easily digestible multimedia content addressing critical life lessons and important topics that aren’t covered in formal schooling.

Prudhvi Chandu
Stephen Collins
Cameron Jacobs

Babson Entrepreneurship Forum

MCC students enjoyed the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum in Newton on Nov 10th. Guest speakers included “The Man Who Saved Twinkies”, Dean Metropoulos and Tiger 21 Founder Michael Sonnnenfeldt.

“All the panelists were impressive and to listen to their journey really put in perspective the tangibility of entrepreneurship. Their struggles, failures and successes are all part of the adventure. Thinking outside the box and being creative to overcome challenges, staying focus and having a vision of their business are all things we have been talking in class. So, it was great to actually witness in person what we have discussed in class. I was also glad to met other students from the Lowell campus, getting to know them and sharing our hopes and dreams of the future as entrepreneurs. By the end of the day I felt inspired and energized to with my ideas reshape my world and the world of others.” – Maureen Simolaris

Jasmin Colon, Maureen Simolaris, and Kerianne Riley  

Student Businesses

Students in BUS 130 – Introduction to Entrepreneurship launch their businesses! Please check them out:

 

The Melts – Facebook

Meme ShUrTz – Facebook 

MR Jewels – Facebook

Waffle Donuts – Facebook

Coffee N Mugs – Facebook

Bucket – Facebook

New Leaf – Facebook

Sadaf Empire- Facebook

Fire Department Coffee – Facebook

Sky Tea – Facebook 

Commonwealth Accessories – Facebook 

---

 

Crystal Soaprise – Facebook
Website

BeStrong – Facebook
Website

Peace United – Facebook

Wicked Good – Facebook 

Convenient Cases – Facebook 
Website 

Simply Essential Scrubs – Facebook 
Website 

Final Team Project

Stoklosa Pop Up Shop

Student Randy Nguyen volunteered at the first Stoklosa Pop Up Shop held at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. This student-led social enterprise sells student and faculty created goods. All profits benefit the Stoklosa After School Program, Stoklosa’s sister school in Cambodia, and a scholarship fund for future Stoklosa MCC students.

Student Venture Fund Fundraiser

A big thank you to Student Venture Fund committee members Kevin Seery and Gillian Inglis for organizing an extremely successful Student Venture Fund (SVF) fundraiser that brought in over $130 dollars. A special thank you to James Quilty who also helped out.

Students sold delicious Halloween themed baked goods as well as SVF t-shirts. Do you want a t-shirt? Contact hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

Would you like to contribute to the fund? Donate here and select “The Entrepreneurship Fund” as the designation.

From left: Gillian Inglis, Kevin Seery, and James Quilty

 

IDEA Week – Nov 2017

IDEA WEEK
Nov 13 – 17

The IDEA Center celebrates International Entrepreneurship Week by hosting several activities during IDEA Week Nov 13 – 17. This week is about celebrating ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship across MCC by hosting contests, panels, workshops, and special guests. Thank you to the MCC Foundation for helping fund this week!

• 2017 Idea Challenge Application Closes
  11/ 13
  Submit your application to compete
• UMass Lowell iHub Tour
  Interested in going to UMass Lowell? Learn more about their iHub, a co-working space in downtown Lowell.  
  11/13     12 pm – 2pm
  Lowell meet @ Cowan Bldg, Lobby
• Lowell Maker Space Tours
  Interested in making a prototype? Small-batch manufacturing? Need space and equipment to do it? Learn more about Lowell Makes, a membership driven organization that gives you access to everything you’ll need! 
  11/14     9:30 am & 11 am
  Lowell  meet @ Cowan Bldg, Lobby
• IDEA Week Marketplace
  MCC Student entrepreneurs will be selling their products! Please support them by stopping by the Marketplace. 
  11/14     9am – noon
  Lowell Cowan Bldg, Lobby & Cafe
• Finance & Entrepreneurs Talk
  Learn more about what investors are looking for in a business and how Leader Bank encourages entrepreneurs to be successful in entrepreneurial ventures.Special guests will include:
  Jay Tuli:  Executive Vice President
  Eric Prue: Business Process Manager
  Darryl Caffee: Associate Counsel11/15     12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
  Bedford, Student Lounge
• DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Pitch Contest
  Attend the Pitch Contest to hear innovative ideas from MCC Students. Students are competing for the following prizes:
  1st Place:    $1,000
  with a chance to head to UML for the Spring IDEA                                                    Challenge and a chance of $5,000
   2nd Place:   $300
   3rd Place:    $150
  11/16     2pm-4pm
  Lowell Federal Bldg, Assembly Room

DifferenceMaker@MCC

Looking for DifferenceMaker@MCC info? Click here! 

IDEA WEEK – Coming in November

IDEA WEEK
Nov 13 – 17

The IDEA Center celebrates International Entrepreneurship Week by hosting several activities during IDEA Week Nov 13 – 17. This week is about celebrating ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship across MCC by hosting contests, panels, workshops, and special guests. Thank you to the MCC Foundation for helping fund this week!

Stay tuned for more info as it unfolds! Join our enews if you have not already.

• 2017 DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Application Opens 
  10/9
• Babson Entrepreneurship Forum
  11/10  @Babson
  Inquiry to Professor Hargis by Oct 18
• 2017 Idea Challenge Application Closes
  11/ 13
  Submit your application to compete
• UMass Lowell iHub Tour
  11/13     12 pm – 2pm
  Lowell meet @ Cowan Bldg, Lobby
• Lowell Maker Space Tours
  11/14     9:30 am & 11 am
  Lowell  meet @ Cowan Bldg, Lobby
• IDEA Week Marketplace
  11/14     9am – noon
  Lowell Cowan Bldg, Lobby & Cafe
• Finance & Entrepreneurs Talk
  11/15     12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
  Bedford, Student Lounge
• DifferenceMaker@MCC Idea Challenge Pitch Contest
  11/16     2pm-4pm
  Lowell Federal Bldg, Assembly Room

Babson Entrepreneurship Forum

Join a small group of students from MCC at the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum.

Nov 10th from 9 am – 5 pm.

A limited number of tickets are available. If you are interested, please email hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu with your name and a 200 word response as to why you want to attend the conference.

Students attended the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum  in Wellesley with Professor Stacie Hargis and Professor John Femia in Fall 2016.

“Having the opportunity to hear a personal story from a successful woman truly inspired me to do more. She had stated that she had a child when she was young and used the issues from child care and healthcare to create a solution. It made me think that a young mother like myself can pursue big dreams and goal regardless of what comes alone the way.” – Marlena Chau

“It was great to see entrepreneurs from both ends of the spectrum, those who were very successful and those who were just starting out, and to realize that they had all been through their own ups and downs.” – Andre Gitei

 

Student Venture Fund

Are you interested in finance? How about getting involved more entrepreneurial activities?

The MCC Student Venture Fund is looking for volunteers to help us fundraise to grow our fund and to serve as a committee member.

The IDEA Center has a Student Venture Fund which is available to any MCC student to help launch a business. This is a “friendly” loan that we expect to be paid back. We are currently trying to grow this loan fund so more students can access more start-up funds. To do so, we some fundraising strategies we would like to implement. We are looking for people to join our committee to do 1 of 2 things:

1. Sit on the SVF committee to review loan applications. This would take 2-3 hours of your time each semester. An hour of prep reading the applications before the meeting and about 2 hours for the meeting.
2. Fundraise for the fund. We have some t-shirts for the IDEA Center we would like to sell to grow the fund. The t-shirts are already made, just need help selling them around school, to business students, and to others. The time this would take would depend on how many and schedules. Just spit balling here, but maybe this could count as a service project for the club?? I don’t know.

If you are at all interested in this kind of work, please send me an email directly with the days/times of the week you are on campus (and which campus)

Serving on the SVF Committee looks great on a resume. And you’ll learn about the loan process. Any questions? Just ask! Email hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

First meeting is 9/27 at 3pm in Henderson Hall, Room 117. Food provided!

 

Stoklosa Pop Up Shop

The Stoklosa Pop Up Shop is looking for volunteers to help us run the pop up shop. Find out more about the Pop Up Shop project here. This is our first semester getting the pop up shop out in the community.

10/15 @ Mill No 5 Farmers Market Lowell 10 am – 3pm

11/12 @ Mill No 5 Farmers Market Lowell 10 am – 3pm

11/18 @ MCC  Bedford 11 am – 4 pm

Can you make any of these times and want to give back to the community? If so, please email hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu for more info.

DifferenceMaker@MCC

Want to see a difference in the world? Then make the difference.
Engage in creative problem solving, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Join DifferenceMaker@MCC activities to help make an impact in the world.

Difference Maker@MCC workshops and contests will help support students in solving problems through innovative and entrepreneurial action. These activities are open to the entire school. Everyone is welcome no matter what major!

How does it work?

1. Form a student team to develop a real solution to a real problem.
2. Apply to the 2017 Idea Challenge via the Application on the IDEA Center website.
3. Attend workshops to help you create concept proposals that address a real world challenge.
4. Compete in the pitch contest. Prizes will be awarded to teams that present the best ideas and strategies for addressing various social and business challenges.
5. You could also win a chance to pitch at UMass Lowell’s DifferenceMakers Preliminary IDEA Challenge in April 2018 with an opportunity to win $$$ to help launch your idea.

What kinds of challenges?

• Challenges can be about healthcare, technology, energy, homelessness, climate change, food security, etc…
• It can be an innovative process, product, or idea.
• The possibilities are endless.

Why attend workshops?

• Teams should attend workshops to receive support to develop their concept… from idea generation to opportunity evaluation to value proposition to pitch.
• Workshops will help you develop an idea, refine it, and perfect a pitch for it.
• You do not have to attend workshops in order to participate in the Idea Challenge but it is highly encouraged. Resources will be provided on the IDEA Center website.

Visit the DifferenceMaker@MCC page to learn more! 

Register to participate HERE.

Learn more: contact Professor Hargis at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu

 

Entrepreneurship in Small Business Management

Students in Entrepreneurship in Small Business Management pitched their business ideas to a special panel of community judges.

First place winner was Jessica Salani with here business plan and pitch for …

BodyFuel Cafe 
“Real Deal” Protein Shakes and Coffee to keep you healthy, fueled, and unstoppable!

Thank you to all the community judges that came to MCC to support our students.

• Bob Union of Transene Corporation
• Colleen Gordon of UMass Lowell
• Rich Denio of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

Spring Social Entrepreneurship Class

Students enrolled in Social Entrepreneurship get out of the classroom and head to a local middle school in Lowell to assist students with the startup of a social enterprise, a pop up store. The pop up store sells products made by students in the afterschool program. Profits from the store divide into a 3-way split: to a sister school in Cambodia, back to the middle school, and 1to a MCC Scholarship fund for these future middle school students entering the business department at MCC.

There will be opportunities to support this Pop Up Store as the summer rolls along. If you are interested in buying a good or offering space to pop up, please contact hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

Find out even more here!

MCC students teaching Stoklosa Middle School studentsOur first day coming together. 1 of 3 Fridays.

MCC Business & Economics Club

Congratulations to the MCC Business & Economics Club for an amazing year!

• Hosted a successful pitch contest attended by students from across programs
• Won Club of the Year
• Won Program of the Year for the pitch contest

Pitch Contest 1st Place Winners:

Sopaul Choer, Stephen Collins, and Prudhvi Chandu for their innovative solution for recycling fiberglass

Other Contest Winners:

Randy Nguyen, Kendall Yasi (2nd place), Forest Lovett (3rd place), Pritesh Mistry (Honorable Mention), and Erika Gorman (Honorable Mention)

Video by Randy Nguyen of the Pitch Contest:

LTC Film

Thanks to Soumita Acharya, Community Producer

Lowell Telecommunications Corp.

Spring 2017 BUS 130 Team Businesses

Students enrolled in Introduction to Entrepreneurship start a team business, putting into action the concepts learned in the classroom. Student teams participate in a project-based learning competition to prove traction with a real business. Traction is based on sales, profits, advertising, and a pitch to a panel of judges at the end of the semester. Teams donate all their profits to a local non-profit organization.

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This year, students will be donating over $1572 to community organizations! Including over $600 to the Lowell Human Society!

Thank you to all the community judges that came to MCC to support our students.

• Ray Wrobel of Align Credit Union
• Bob Union of Transene Corporation
• Jared Blake of GiveBackTime.org
• Colleen Gordon of UMass Lowell
• Brian Hanehan of Lowell Community Health Center
• Jeanne Osborne of LifeLinks
• Jose Cruz of Enterprise Bank
• Donna Corbin of MCC
• Lianna Kushi of E for All

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Find out more about the teams and businesses below:

BUS 130-01 Class Competition

The Teams:

Vineyard Vinyls
Created vinyl stickers capturing the essence of New England
Donating to $79 to the Wounded Warrior Project

Title Town
Designed and made “Title Town” t-shirts to highlight Boston’s winning sports teams

Love Potion
Manufactured delightfully smelling perfumes

H2Go
Invented a gel capsule to provide dogs with much needed water while on walks 

MCC Boston Calendars
Photographed and created beautiful scenes of Boston in a small calendar
Donating $90 to Artists for Humanity

ScribbleNotes
Designed and invented the first notebook paper and coloring book
Donated $281 to Lahey Clinic Research
 

Simple Fit
Supplied health snakes and fitness plans
Donating $294 to Boys and Girls Club of Lowell

 

BUS 130-80 Class Competition

The Teams:

Elsie’s Treats
Hand crafted dog treats
Donated $365 in profits and a total of $500 to Lowell Human Society

Tasty Treats
Homemade dog and cat treats
Donated $86 in net profit and a total of $114 to Lowell Human Society
https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=qr9EZR 
 

Stigma Sucks
Manufactured bracelets to spread awareness about suicide and drug addiction
Donated to $377 to Learn to Cope

Dinner With…
Created an unique dinner service with local celebrities 

Sweeets
Homemade delicious sweets
Donated $96.72 to MCC Student Venture Fund

Heavenly Yoga
Provided meditation and yoga during busy student times

Competition Details

Business Club Pitch Contest

Join the Business Club Pitch Contest! All are welcome! Any discipline, come pitch your ideas!!

APRIL 18th From 2:30pm-4:00pm
RM 212 in Henderson Hall, Bedford Campus

Business Club April 2017 Pitch Contest

Sign up here! 

Women in Tech Pitch Contest

This video shares the inspiration and energy evident at the Women in Tech Pitch Contest in Lowell on March 8th. Created by entrepreneurship student Randy Nguyen. 

Visions of Cambodia: a Photo Show

Visions of Cambodia: a Photo Show to benefit Cambodian Living Arts

UnchARTed Gallery in Lowell will host a pop-up photo show to benefit Cambodia Living Arts on Friday March 31, 2017 from 5 – 7 pm.

Fulbright-Hays Fellows from Middlesex Community College and Lowell Public Schools traveled to Cambodia in July 2016, capturing the beauty of Cambodia and its people through photographs. Please join us as we raise awareness and funds for Cambodia Living Arts.

https://mccfulbright2016.org/

Cambodia Living Arts is a non-profit organization based in Cambodia dedicated to preserving arts and culture. Founded by Arn Chorn-Pond, this organization has been providing community arts education and promoting creative industries in Cambodia since 2009.

http://www.cambodianlivingarts.org/about-us/history/

Appetizers and open bar.

103 Market St.
Downtown Lowell

RSVP Here
goo.gl/GXVKl4

 

Lowell Women’s Week, Women in Tech Pitch Contest

As a part of the annual Lowell Women’s Week, join us for the first ever Women in Tech Pitch Contest on Wednesday, March 8 @ 6pm at the Umass Lowell Innovation Hub. Eight startups will face off for the chance to win cash prizes and recognition for their idea! RSVP HERE: http://bit.ly/WiTPitchRSVP

Judges for the Evening Include:

• Massachusetts State Senator Eileen Donoghue
• Anita Worden, Co-founder & CEO of Yaskawa Solectria Renewables
• Sheila Narayan, Managing Director at Golden Seeds
• Jill Drury, Department Head of Mitre Center and Adjunct Professor at UML
• KateSokolnicki, Product Marketing Specialist at Rockwell Automation

The City of Lowell, The Innovation Hub at UML, The Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, and Middlesex Community College’s IDEA Center join forces for this awesome event!

Social Entrepreneurship Project

While enrolled in social entrepreneurship, Judy Rubio spent the Fall semester working on Chispa Tech, an online resource for Spanish speaking, English language learners with K-12 aged children. This project was inspired by her own life and work experiences with the goal of educating adults with basic computer skills.

After completing her project, we were able to catch up with Judy to find out more about what motivated her to work on this project and how the class helped her.

1. What inspired you to be interested in this problem in particular?
   “Working as tech support for a K-12 publisher, I have a small view into K-12 education. I speak to people of all levels of education, and also parents, some of which who speak Spanish, or little very English. I hear the elation when I respond in a language they are familiar with, and are extremely appreciative. I think about my own parents, who moved here from El Salvador, not being familiar with the culture or the language. Not only do parents today have these obstacles, technology has become another obstacle. So I was inspired to try to find a way to provide more resources to those who need it.”
2. How did the course help you with working toward solving this problem?
   “I am happy to have taken this course during the election, as terrible as it is, because it’s clear anyone has the power to introduce an answer to a social problem, if they have the passion to do so. This course introduced [me] to a new part of business that I would like to explore further.”
3. Where do you see this project in the future?
   “I hope to continue to practice Spanish, and adding to the website for someone to benefit from it.”

Fall 2016 MCC Shark Tank Competition!

Fall 2016 MCC Shark Tank Competition!
Students in the BUS 130, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, pitched their businesses and presented commercials at the **MCC Shark Tank** in front of special guest judges: Lydia Blanchard, founder of Sweet Lydia’s in Lowell and Boston and Angela Mastrogiacomo, MCC Alum and owner of MUDDY PAW PR. Here are the results!

Congratulations to all the students who worked very hard to earn $1,313 in profits to be donated to organizations from the area! 

The wining team, LaBeL, with judges.

Pictured from left to right: Tom, RJ, Jeanly, Angela, Lydia, and Hannah

Local Culture group members, Jack, Bill, and Gilberto present a t-shirt and a check to UTEC, Untied Teen Equality Center of Lowell’s Dimitrios Booras.

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David Hall from Lowell General Hospital of accepts checks on behalf of TeamWalk for Cancer Care 2017.

Pictured from left to right: Jake, Patrick, David, Christin, and Marlena

Pictured from left to right: David, Mike, Siwei, Kyle and Max

Our gracious judges!

Students getting ready for the pitch contest to start.

A special shout out to Student Activities for funding the food for our celebration!

Student Teams

Heal Me Softly donating $365 to D’Youville Senior Center

Bandzz & Shadezz donating $97 to LGH Team Walk

Secure Shrink donating $46 to Lowell Makes

Heart Heathy Coffee donating $140 to LGH Team Walk

LaBeL donating $536 to Disabled American Veterans, Tewksbury chapter

Local Culture donating $90 to UTEC – Untied Teen Equality Center of Lowell

Tom & Brian Hats donating $40 to Lazarus House

Results
 

Watch some of the commercials:

Local Culture

CoffVee

Secure Shrink

Heal Me Softly:

Bandzz and Shadzz

Tom & Brian Hats

Label

Upcoming Business Contest

Upcoming DECA 2017 Northeast Region Competitive Events Conference in Providence, RI on February 10th. Show off your skills and knowledge either in business simulations (individual), case studies (individual / team), or via prepared business presentations (individual / team).

Participate in a team of 1-3 people in the Entrepreneurship – starting a business category.  Interested? Contact Professor Hargis before January 15th at hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu.

 

Profiles Magazine

This Fall, the IDEA Center and the Entrepreneurship program were the focus of MCC’s Profiles magazine. Check it out here!

It features students and alums as well as interviews with faculty.

Thank you to Kathy Register, Tura Linderholm, Jennifer Myers, Tory Germann, and MCC’s Marketing Department for putting together such a wonderful piece of work about the entrepreneurial spirit here at MCC!

 

IDEA Week Activities

The IDEA Center celebrated International Entrepreneurship Week by hosting several activities during IDEA Week which ran Nov 10-17^th. This week is about celebrating ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship across MCC by hosting contests, panels, workshops, and special guests. Thank you to the MCC Foundation for helping fund this week!

Highlights include:

• Students attended the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum  in Wellesley with Professor Stacie Hargis and Professor John Femia
  
  “Having the opportunity to hear a personal story from a successful woman truly inspired me to do more. She had stated that she had a child when she was young and used the issues from child care and healthcare to create a solution. It made me think that a young mother like myself can pursue big dreams and goal regardless of what comes alone the way.” – Marlena Chau”

  It was great to see entrepreneurs from both ends of the spectrum, those who were very successful and those who were just starting out, and to realize that they had all been through their own ups and downs.” – Andre Gitei

• We hosted a panel of inspiring entrepreneurs. From left to right, Lydia Blanchard, founder of Sweet Lydia’s in Lowell and Boston; Angela Mastrogiacomo, MCC Alum and owner of MUDDY PAW PR; and Rachel Walker, MCC Student and creator of The Rachel Review.
  
  

  
• We hosted a Pitch Contest with prizes! 8 students presented innovative ideas. Winning ideas included an app for getting cars fixed by mechanics bidding (1st), a non-medical home health care organization (2nd), and homemade hand cream(3rd). Pictured below are the winners of the Contest with our judges (also our panel!).A big thank you to our judges and to Professor Franky Descoteaux for doing a fabulous job hosting the contest.
  

  Congratulations! 
  

  1st Place $100: Randy Nguyen and Andrew Basbas
  2nd Place $50: Heather Laguerre
  3rd Place $25: Marynissa Huggins and Shanita Ahmed
  Audience Favorite $25: Randy Nguyen and Andrew Basbas

• The Fashion Club organized a Fashion Show. It was very creative, well attended and a blast! So grateful our students are energetic and so entrepreneurial!
  Check out all the action on their website! 
• Students attended workshops bringing so many great ideas!

Students at the “Business Plan” Workshop

Students at the “How to Pitch” Workshop

Thank you to Professor Franky Descoteaux and Professor Vikram Sharma for organizing and presenting the workshops!

• The DECA IDEA Challenge was a hit this year! This year’s mystery material was water bottles. Student teams of 3-5 were then challenged to find an innovative new use in eight days. They then pitch their invention in a creative, 3-minute YouTube video.
  

  Congratulations! 

1st Place $100: Alec Marchand, Sean Horan, Jordan Miles
2nd Place $50: Chornai Pech, Danech Sao, and Sopheavin Sin
3rd Place $25: Jennifer Dube, Philip Kim, Xavier Robbins

Winning video:

Thank you to Professor Kim Morrissey, Professor Ashli Ree, and Professor Halye Sugarman for helping judge the videos!

Student Venture Fund

Randy Nguyen, Guillermo Blanco, and Gillian Inglis (left to right) pose outside of the IDEA Center on the Bedford campus after reviewing applications to the Student Venture Fund. This meeting, there were five applications. Over $350 was awarded to student ventures. Good luck! Stay tuned to hear how the student ventures are doing!

Students hard at work reviewing.

 

 

National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship

Professor Hargis, Assistant Dean Deb Walsh and Dean Judy Hogan attended the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Conference in Sacramento, California over the Columbus Day weekend. Committed to providing the best entrepreneurial tools and resources, this conference is an opportunity for MCC to focus on growing our local entrepreneur ecosystem.

Professor Hargis presenting “What are you waiting for? Let them start!”at the conference.

Awesome events in November!

Got Ideas? Share them! Win $$$$!
Everyone is Welcome at IDEA Week

IDEA Week is Nov 10^th – 17^th 

This week is about celebrating ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship across MCC campuses, no matter if you are a business major, an artist, or an engineer… we want to celebrate being creative, thinking big, and being innovative. Join us as we host contests, panels, workshops, and special guests.

LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE

IDEA Panel –
Meet these successful entrepreneurs, ask questions, get advice!

Angela Mastrogiacomo, MCC Alum and owner of MUDDY PAW PR
Lydia Blanchard, founder of Sweet Lydia’s in Lowell and Boston
Rachel Walker, MCC Student and creator of The Rachel Review

11/17         11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Assembly Room, MCC Federal Building, Lowell

CONTESTS with PRIZES!!!

DECA IDEA Challenge –
Each year, DECA announces a material that you and a team of at least 3-5* must re-purpose in an innovative way. The team submits an engaging 2-3 min max video describing the innovation via You Tube. Participants who enter will have a chance to win up to $200 in prizes provided by MCC!

The material will be announced on 11/10. You have until 11/17 at midnight to submit to the IDEA Center & DECA.

*See official rules at DECA Website. Submit to the IDEA Center by clicking here.

Examples of videos:

Cardboard 2015

Cans 2013 

Newspaper 2014

IDEA Pitch Contest – Have a great idea? No idea is too small or too big!

Do you know a better way to approach a social problem?
Do you have an idea for an innovative product?
Do you have an event in mind for the school?
Are you an artist with amazing art to sell?

Then come pitch your idea for a chance to WIN $200 in prizes! Then use that money to make your idea a reality!

You will have 1 minute to present an elevator pitch about your idea to a panel of judges. The judges will then have a minute to ask you questions. At the end of the contest, the judges will announce the winners.

Check back here to see official guidelines about the pitch contest. If interested, please sign up here.

11/17         1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Assembly Room, MCC Federal Building, Lowell

WORKSHOPS to PREPARE

IDEA Pitch Workshop – Learn more about how to do an elevator pitch and practice for the competition!

11/10          1 pm – 3 pm
Lowell, LF 205

Make a Video Workshop – Participating in the DECA Challenge? Learn best practices for making a video.

11/14          2 pm – 4 pm
Lowell, TBA, hargiss@middlesex.mass.edu to sign up

Business Plan Workshop – want to learn how to work through an idea? Or write a business plan? Join us as we go through the importance of why you need one, how to create it, and then get started in this workshop!

11/15        2 pm – 3:30 pm
Bedford, AR 108

Also enjoy a Fashion Show
Hosted and created by Fashion Club Students

Contact REEA@middlesex.mass.edu for more info

11/17         12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Assembly Room, MCC Federal Building, Lowell

MCC Pop Up Shop
It’s almost the holidays, get all your shopping done in one day while supporting MCC Students!

11/15       11 am – 6 pm
@ the COOL Store
122 Merrimack St
Downtown Lowell

Do you have a business? Then sell your goods at our pop up shop!
Fill out the application by Nov 7th.

MCC Pop Up Shop

MCC Pop Up Shop
It’s almost the holidays, get all your shopping done in one day while supporting MCC Students!

11/15       11 am – 6 pm
@ the COOL Store
122 Merrimack St
Downtown Lowell

Do you have a business? Then sell your goods at our pop up shop!
Fill out the application by Nov 7th.

Got an IDEA? Come pitch it!

Have a great idea? Think you want to start a business? Then this event is for you…. Join the IDEA Center as we welcome E for ALL to our campus for an IDEA Pitch Contest. Win money to help make your idea become a reality…. Learn more! 

All Ideas Pitch Contest:
Event Date: Thursday, October 27th
Event Location: Assembly Room, MCC Federal Building, 50 Kearney Square, Lowell, MA
Event Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Deadline to enter: October 11th @ Midnight 
Apply here!

Did you start a business?

Did you start a business either while at MCC or after graduating? Help us collect really important data so we can better serve our MCC students and community!

This survey should take less than 5 minutes. Click here.

Students attend Next Gen Summit in NYC

Four students attended the Next Gen Summit in NYC over the June 3rd weekend. The conference kicked off with an opening from Ryan Williams and Porter Braswell who started a diversity recruiting platform called Jopwell that recently raised over $3 million in capital. The amazing stream of entrepreneurs continued over the weekend as students attended conference panels.

Student Impressions:
Andre was particularity energized by entrepreneur Benjamin Stern who has created a bottle free shampoo in the form of disintegrating balls. Benjamin was recently on Shark Tank. Andre had an opportunity to chat with him extensively and was very impressed with his passion and commitment to sustainability.

“It was quite inspirational to hear all of the success stories from accomplished entrepreneurs who were in the same position as us just a few years ago”, said Danny.

“I’m really glad I went, the people there were so inspiring they made me want to start something, also I was able to make a lot of really good connections with people and got some sage advice from some of the more experienced people”, said Jason.

Other highlights included the opportunity to mingle with fellow entrepreneurs at a social gathering at the Lucky Strike bowling alley and a debriefing about the whole experience over a classic diner breakfast.

Students: William Seitzinger, Jason Mandel, Andre Gitei and Danny Witham (from left to right).

New Course! Social Entrepreneurship

Are you interested in economic, social, and environmental issues? Are you concerned about sustainability? Want to learn how to solve social problems via business? Then this is the course for you!

Social entrepreneurship runs in Lowell Tuesday and Thursdays at 11 am this fall. Learn more here. Counts as a business elective.

Want to learn more? Email Professor Hargis

Student’s Pitch at Competition!

Students in the BUS 130, Introduction to Entrepreneurship class pitched their businesses and presented commercials at a competition in front of 3 judges. Judges included Dave Perry of Vinyl Destination in Lowell, Joanna DePena of Top Notch Scholars, and Deb Walsh, Assistant Dean at Middlesex Community College.

Student businesses raised an overwhelming $1,110 for 6 different community organizations! Congratulations to all of them for their hard work. As their professor, I am truly proud of the amazing effort and results these students produced.

The judges selected Certified Prints as the overall winner of $100 – congratulations!!

They also participated in a month-long competition, earning points for number of customers, business plan components, sales, and revenue. The team that won the competition and $75, which they immediately donated to their organization, was Heroes and Neighbors – congrats! 

Bank in Sweetness – presenting a $211 check to Sue Zacharer of the Merrimack Valley Food Bank


Band for Life – earning $369 for the Megan Durand Foundation 

Heroes & Neighbors – earning $310 for the Fisher House Foundation 

Live, Love, Compassion – earning $28 and donations of children’s books for the Moses Youth Center is Cambridge (apology for no photo)

La Bahia Beach – earning $86 for Catie’s Closet in Lowell 

Certified Prints – presenting a $106 check to Joe Hungler of the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell


Again, congratulations to all the students!

MCC Students Launch Businesses

MCC Students Launch Businesses
All profits earned donated to local charities

Lowell and Bedford, MA (April 20, 2016) – Middlesex Community College students enrolled in Introduction to Entrepreneurship this semester are not only learning about what it takes to think entrepreneurially but are also getting out of the classroom and actually doing it. Teams of students have just launched six businesses in a competition against each other, with the goal to earn the most points. Points are earned by getting customers, making sales, and earning profits. Each team has selected a charity to donate profits from the competition.

Products include sweets, business card design, bracelets, sarongs, duffle bags, and t-shirts. Each business has paired up with a charity to donate all their profits. For example, the sweets business, called Bank in Sweetness will donate to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. The business card design company will donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell. The competition will run for a month. You can support these student businesses via Shopify websites.

La Bahia Beach 

Heroes and Neighbors 

Bands for Life 

Certified Prints

Bank in Sweetness

Live Love Compassion 

Students also get an opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs from the community. Last week they pitched about their businesses in front of a panel of judges. This semester, judges included Franky Descoteaux (former Humanity and Mambo Grill owner), Rich Bolton (former CEO of Sage Bank and owner of startup Waggish Life), and Dave Perry (owner of Vinyl Destination). This panel of judges will be joined by the charities and other community members at a final “Celebration Day” on May 12^th, where the winner of the competition will be announced, a judge’s choice will be selected, and the teams will announce donation amounts to their charities.

La Bahia Beach on the left. Bank in Sweetness on the right.

Bands for Life on the left. Certified Prints on the right.

Heroes and Neighbors on the left. Live Love Compassion on the right.

 

Business Fair!

Support our student businesses! Stop by the Student Lounge in Bedford on Tuesday, April 19th from 9am – 11am.

Shop local and with a cause!
Products include:
duffle bags, cupcakes, beach gear, bracelets, business cards, apparel and more!

All profits go to a charity….
Stop by to learn more.

April 19 2016 Business Fair FLYER

We just went into business!!

BUS 130 Entrepreneurship students are launching businesses this weekend! We decided to do so at the same time. Shopify Website

March 29th – Networking Workshop

Tues, March 29
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM

Networking Workshop
Campus Center, café East, Bedford

Meet New England B2B Networking Group
Founder and CEO, Kevin Willett

Learn about networking and why it matters to you and your future!

March 29 2016 Networking Workshop w Kevin Willett FLYER