Spring Break
Budding entrepreneurs present business ideas to industry judges at Neat Ideas Fair
Ya-an Chan
Issue date: 12/8/08 Section: News
A group of students gathered around and gazed at a not-so-ordinary-looking skateboard as Jeff Gibboney, a mechanical engineering graduate student and a team member for the "Segboard," explained the design concept.
A skateboard, a wheel from a go-kart, a motor and battery pack from an electric scooter, a circuit board from a computer and sensors from a Nintendo Wii remote can constitute a new form of personal transportation.
It was one of 75 business ideas presented to judges and visitors at the fifth annual Neat Ideas Fair on Thursday.
"It's a bit overwhelming, and I wanted to see what all of them are," said Veronica Malki, an SJSU alumna who visited the fair.
Malki said she went to the fair for the first time as a student, and this year she is impressed to see more involvement and more enthusiasm.
In his fifth year participating in the fair as a judge, Chuck Erickson, the executive director of San Jose Software Business Cluster, said every year the business ideas presented at the fair tend to shift with how the marketplace changes. Compared with five years ago when the market was heavy in information technology and the Internet, being environmental friendly as a social responsibility has become the current market trend. He said he expected to see ideas involving clean water, clean air, energy saving and energy utilization.
"It's never a disappointment, and it's always very exciting," Erickson said.
Jeff Cutuli, a management consultant for 10th Mountain Venture Consulting and who works in industries such as semiconductor and clean energy, said he looks for whether the idea is feasible or not and if there is any supportive data that shows the technology is worth pursuing.
"And answering the number one question is 'So what?'" he said. "'What is this technology supposed to do for me?'"
For the poster board and visual display that won the best exhibit, Erickson said the visual presentation must convey the team's mission and vision quickly and identify the customers and benefits.
A skateboard, a wheel from a go-kart, a motor and battery pack from an electric scooter, a circuit board from a computer and sensors from a Nintendo Wii remote can constitute a new form of personal transportation.
It was one of 75 business ideas presented to judges and visitors at the fifth annual Neat Ideas Fair on Thursday.
"It's a bit overwhelming, and I wanted to see what all of them are," said Veronica Malki, an SJSU alumna who visited the fair.
Malki said she went to the fair for the first time as a student, and this year she is impressed to see more involvement and more enthusiasm.
In his fifth year participating in the fair as a judge, Chuck Erickson, the executive director of San Jose Software Business Cluster, said every year the business ideas presented at the fair tend to shift with how the marketplace changes. Compared with five years ago when the market was heavy in information technology and the Internet, being environmental friendly as a social responsibility has become the current market trend. He said he expected to see ideas involving clean water, clean air, energy saving and energy utilization.
"It's never a disappointment, and it's always very exciting," Erickson said.
Jeff Cutuli, a management consultant for 10th Mountain Venture Consulting and who works in industries such as semiconductor and clean energy, said he looks for whether the idea is feasible or not and if there is any supportive data that shows the technology is worth pursuing.
"And answering the number one question is 'So what?'" he said. "'What is this technology supposed to do for me?'"
For the poster board and visual display that won the best exhibit, Erickson said the visual presentation must convey the team's mission and vision quickly and identify the customers and benefits.
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