FOR ASPIRING I N N O VAT O R S A N D ENTREPRENEURS
LU D DY I N N O V AT I O N
Innovation sits at the heart of everything at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, and the Shoemaker Innovation Center houses an academic program focused on teaching creative approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship. The center hosts workshops and talks from technology innovators and entrepreneurs from around the country, and provides the space needed to network and develop ideas. STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM:
• Mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs • Networking and educational events • A creative, collaborative work environment • Co-working space • Shared conference rooms
Travis J. Brown, M.B.A., Ph.D. Senior Executive Assistant Dean Executive Director, Shoemaker Innovation Center Academic Program Director, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Cross-curricular Education Co-Director, Grant Thornton Institute for Data Exploration for Risk Assessment and Management
The Shoemaker Innovation Center collaborates with other entrepreneurship programs across campus. It also is home to a number of opportunities for students to build their experience as entrepreneurs and bring ideas to life. • The Shoebox is a startup incubator which helps student entrepreneurs build, launch, and sustain their businesses. Student startups can apply for 24/7 access to the Shoebox’s office space, located in the Shoemaker Innovation Center. • The Shoebox Scholarship Program offers an array of scholarships to current clients of the Shoebox designed to encourage activities that support a viable, energetic, university-based student incubator. • The Cheng Wu Innovation Challenge is a student-based competition that provides a total of $20,000 in funding for innovations that use technology to address compelling problems. Ideas for the competition need not be immediately commercially viable. Instead, Cheng Wu Innovation Challenge winners have the opportunity to take their innovations into further development. This program is funded by a generous gift from Cheng Wu, a serial entrepreneur, general partner at Taiwania Capital Management, and IU alumnus (MS, Computer Science, 1977). • The Cheng Wu Innovation Fellowship is awarded annually to a student inventor and allows the recipient to commit a summer to developing their technological innovations. The fellowship includes a $5,000 scholarship. • The Velocity Conference in Silicon Valley, a collaboration with the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the Kelley School of Business, provides an opportunity for graduate students studying in the Luddy School to meet and network with other aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs.
• StartupIU, comprised of a website and newsletter, is an initiative of the Shoemaker Scholars which aims to grow IU’s campus-wide entrepreneurial and innovative community by serving as a clearing house for information about resources, programs, and competitions for student innovators and entrepreneurs. • The Hoosier Hackers are a group of students who help aspiring entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition by organizing events, providing access to resources, and supporting the development of start-ups and projects. • The Product Management Club is dedicated to furthering students’ interest in product management as a viable career path through engagement via fall recruitment interview preparation, a speaker series, and brand development, encouraging a focus on the intersection of engineering, business, and design. • A Certificate in Entrepreneurship provides students with an in-depth understanding of the process and pitfalls of entrepreneurship. A collaboration with the Kelley School of Business, the Certificate in Entrepreneurship provides the tech skills and business knowledge that allow students to hone their entrepreneurial thinking. • The Shoebox Startup Fund is an investment fund which supports viable, early stage IU student-led companies which have been a Shoebox client for at least one semester and are in the initial product development stage.
ADVISORS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Shoemaker Innovation Center thrives not just through its programs but also through its experienced advisors who can guide budding entrepreneurs and innovators through the startup landscape. The Shoemaker Innovation Center Advisory Board consists of leaders from some of the top firms in their respective fields. Members of the Advisory Board include: • Liam Bolling, project manager with Google • Craig Cumberland, principal consultant at Credera • Dustin DuBois, partner at the Indianapolis law firm of Ice Miller • Stephanie Ragozzino, chief product officer at OneCause • Donna Shoemaker, philanthropist and student advisor • John Shoemaker, chairman of board of directors at Extreme Networks, Inc. • Brad Wisler, founder and CEO of Periodic and co-founder and managing partner at SproutBox • Cheng Wu, general partner at Taiwania Capital Management • Cynthia Zimm, regional medical director at PM Pediatrics
THE SHOEMAKER INNOVATION CENTER PROVIDES RESOURCES FOR PASSIONATE PEOPLE TO JOIN A COMMUNITY OF DREAMERS WHO SEE A PROBLEM THAT FORCES THEM TO TAKE ACTION. HAYDEN WERTZ COMPUTER SCIENCE M.S. MAJOR
THE SH O EM A K E R SC H O L A RS The Shoemaker Scholars is a scholarship program that offers opportunities and experiences that allow students to grow as entrepreneurs and innovators. The scholarship is worth $3,000 per year and is funded through a generous gift from John and Donna Shoemaker. The goal of the Shoemaker Scholars is to enhance students’ knowledge of and experience with innovation and entrepreneurship. Shoemaker Scholars meet weekly to develop and host activities, they collaborate with other IU entrepreneurship groups (such as the Ideation and Creation Entrepreneurs), and they promote opportunities for innovation at the Luddy School. The Shoemaker Scholars are about embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship to its fullest. Students who earn this exclusive scholarship come from a variety of academic backgrounds.
ME NTO RI N G PRO G RA M S Student entrepreneurs and innovators need the drive to succeed and create their own future, but being successful is about more than just ideas. The Shoemaker Innovation Center provides mentoring programs that guide entrepreneurs past obstacles. Shoemaker entrepreneurship mentoring sessions Experienced entrepreneurs meet with students monthly to provide feedback on business concepts. Ice Miller startup law advisory sessions The law firm Ice Miller, one of the largest in Indianapolis, provides free initial consultations for student innovators to guide them down the path to protect their intellectual property without losing their rights. Elevate Ventures capital counseling sessions Indiana-based venture fund Elevate Ventures provides free initial consultations for student entrepreneurs to advise them on their options for raising start-up capital. DeveloperTown technology counseling sessions DeveloperTown, an Indiana-based technology and product development firm, provides free guidance to student entrepreneurs about what they should be considering when building the technology inherent in the concepts they are developing.
D O T H I N G S T H AT H AV E N EV E R B E E N D O N E B E FO R E
I N TH E CL ASS ROO M Beyond the multitude of programs, mentoring opportunities, and experiences offered by the Shoemaker Innovation Center, the center also offers classes which help students learn the skills needed to effectively invoke meaningful change in the world. Workshops are offered on topics such as: Design strategy Teaches students to apply the design process to better understand the factors affecting the success or failure of a design beyond the target audience and problem space. Product management Exposes students to product management, a multidisciplinary profession that demands a holistic perspective to shepherd a product from inception to implementation. Technology entrepreneurship Students learn the importance of systems and design thinking as they relate to building and managing a startup. Technology innovation Students ideate technological concepts given a set of constraints and an opportunity space in order to learn the process of technological innovation.
luddysic@indiana.edu