Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/479389
100 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 SPONSORED REPORT CCEI's Innovation Accelerator connects students and faculty advisors with technol- ogy-based startups, helping them shape and refine their ideas and build strong, viable businesses founded on sound man- agement practices. With funding from the state, Connecticut entrepreneurs partici- pate in the Innovation Accelerator free of charge. Students work with startup execu- tives to develop market-entry strategies, evaluate feasibility and create strategic roadmaps. Frog City Fuel gets funded Michael Curtis, CEO of Engineered Car- bon Solutions, was no stranger to UConn when he submitted a proposal to CCEI's Innovation Accelerator in 2013. "I couldn't get it right so I went to UConn three sepa- rate times," he quipped. Curtis earned a BS in environmental biology, and MS and Ph.D degrees in environmental engineering at UConn. He was looking for what he called a "deep dive" marketing assessment for his clean energy startup. "We had decided to go into the pellet fuel market," he said. "The whole question was, what is the best route of entry, who are we competing against, how big is the market, how regional is it, how fast-growing." Curtis and his team of students met frequently. One outcome of their collaboration was the company's product name, Frog City Fuel, named for Willimantic, the Frog City. "It came out of a workshop — we just invented the name," he said. "We've just gotten such a hit from that product name and the logo we created around it." The students defined the market potential for the product, and Curtis cut and pasted their findings right into his business plan. The business plan has been successfully generating capital for the company ever since. "I had four wonderfully bright people working near full-time on my project, and I didn't have to pay for it," said Curtis. A startup to cure hiccups Mallory Kievman, age 15, is the CEO of Hiccupops. She won the 2011 Connecticut Invention Convention at UConn, beat- ing out 700 other students. The top prize included business guidance from UConn MBA students and faculty through CCEI's Innovation Accelerator. Hiccupops, made from apple cider vinegar and sugar, stop hiccups by over stimulating the nerves in the throat and mouth that cause them. "I'm excited about the opportunity to help a lot of people," said Mallory. Hiccupops' one employee is Mallory's father, Adam Kiev- man. "Both the business and engineering schools helped with the core marketing re- search and investigated what opportunities might be out there," he said. "They really helped guide Mallory in the marketplace." "Numbers don't lie" 100 flavors. 40 stores. 30 more in the works. Founded in 2010 by two UConn alumni with an en- trepreneurial dream, Froyo- World is poised to become an internationally recog- nized frozen yogurt brand. "Being educated in account- ing at the UConn School of Business has helped me tremendously," said Dennis Bok '04, co-founder. "Num- bers don't lie." Bok and his brother William '08 (CLAS) opened the first Froyo- World store in New Haven in August 2010. There are now 24 stores in Connecticut alone, staffed by 15 employees each. FroyoWorld is now the No. 1 frozen yogurt in New England and Puerto Rico. "With a strong base of knowledge mixed with some analytical reasoning abilities, your options are endless in this huge global market," said Dennis. Before they ever arrived on UConn's campus the Bok brothers had entrepre- neurial dreams. Their education nurtured those dreams and gave them the tools they needed to take an idea and transform it into a business. A first-generation Ameri- can, Dennis was so eager to prove himself that he didn't want to go to college at all. But his Korean-born parents, operators of a dry-cleaning business in Branford, were adamant that their sons get an education. "I realized obtaining a higher education is the building block for one's success," said Dennis. From wounded warrior to entrepreneur Michael Zacchea took the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, to heart in 2004 in Iraq, refusing to leave his men after he suffered a life-threatening injury. For his actions in combat, he earned the Bronze Star and received a Purple Heart. Today retired Lt. Col. Zacchea carries on the tradi- tion as founder and director of UConn's Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). The program is part of the SCOPE (Sustainable Community Out- reach and Public Engagement) Accelerator and helps vets pursue their dreams and succeed as business owners. Eight busi- ness schools across the country participate in the program. Classes of 25-30 veterans receive all-expenses-paid training and mentorship designed to take their ideas from concept to market. In just four years, 54 veterans have launched 60 for-profit and not-for-profit social ventures. The pro- gram is supported by private donations, and professors donate their time. Recog- nizing UConn's commitment to returning veterans, Military Times named the School of Business one of its 2014 "Best for Vets Business Schools." Nathan Atherley, USAF (ret.) is a graduate of UConn's inaugural EBV Class of 2010. "I was trying to do a startup," he said, referring to Repify, a reputation manage- ment solution. "The EBV program delivered far beyond his expectations. "The teachers would sit down with you for hours working with you on your business plans or your go-to-market strategies," he said. Atherley was equally inspired by his classmates; most overcame significant challenges to pursue their dreams. "Some guys who were rangers jumped out of planes, broke their legs on impact and had to walk 26 miles out," he said, referring to classmate Henry Rivera. Rivera and his wife Dali are both EBV graduates, and both have started their own businesses. Demonstrating the economic impact of EBV grads, today Atherley manages Ranked by Military Times as a 2014 "Best for Vets" business school, UConn is an exceptionally welcoming community where student veterans can continue to strive, succeed and achieve. Michael Zacchea '12 MBA, a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient, leads the School's veterans' outreach and support initiatives and is director of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities. > Continued from previous page