UM Supports Entrepreneurial Students Through Startup Studio
By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service
MISSOULA – 猎奇重口 students interested in entrepreneurship and starting their own businesses have a space to gather and work together on their new ventures.
Each Tuesday afternoon this spring semester students meet in UM’s Startup Studio, a room on the third floor of the University Center where students of all majors explore their business ideas and receive feedback from one another.
Some students are drawn to the studio to simply learn more about entrepreneurship, while others like MBA student Stephen McLaughlin are there to develop their existing business. McLaughlin last year co-founded Remsight, an irrigation intelligence platform for ranchers and water managers. He used the Startup Studio to refine his business plan and prepare to engage with investors later this year.
“The thing that has been most valuable is meeting other entrepreneurial-minded students and people who are passionate about solving a problem with a business as the tool,” McLaughlin said. “The best part is connecting with other students who are interested in the space, learning about their expertise and seeing what problems they are passionate about solving.”
The Startup Studio was created last year by Erik Guzik, an assistant clinical professor of management and entrepreneurship in UM’s College of Business. It was funded through a grant from the Folley Foundation, led by UM alumnus and entrepreneur Conner Folley. The financial support includes hosting events on campus like last fall’s UM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Symposium, which connected students with researchers and faculty members.
Guzik said one of the studio's goals this spring is to prepare many of the students for the John Ruffatto Startup Challenge on Friday, April 4. The event has been hosted by the College of Business since 1989 and provides a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their business ideas and compete for over $50,000 in prize money.
“We are seeing more students interested in actually launching a company, which is the goal and mission of the Ruffatto Startup Challenge,” Guzik said. “That's a vision we have with the Startup Studio. We would like to see tangible businesses, startups, ventures and nonprofits come out of this program.”
Creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurs could set UM apart from other universities, Guzik said. The Startup Studio strengthens that environment and gives students an avenue from the day they arrive on campus to when they graduate.
“If we have an incoming freshman class and they have four years to work on startup ideas, we might imagine a good number of them will be successful before they graduate,” Guzik said. “They will have launched a new business, gained feedback and generated revenue. It’s an interesting environment for students to work in.”
Camden Capser, a senior business management and entrepreneurship student from Billings, said the Startup Studio has been invaluable to him.
Capser began attending the weekly Startup Studio meetings when they started last fall and has continued through spring semester. Over the past year he has launched his business, Hustle Fundraise, and refined it through the studio.
“The Startup Studio is really cool because it gives hands-on experience refining business ideas, validating markets and practicing pitch concepts,” Capser said. “It’s really nice because each week we can talk about a different topic and work through it and get advice.”
Capser will pitch his business at the Ruffatto Startup Challenge later this week. He pitched a different business idea last year, but said he feels more prepared and ready this year after using the Startup Studio.
“I feel more comfortable,” Capser said. “I know what the judges are looking for.”
Capser, an honors student and president of UM’s Sigma Chi fraternity, saw a need for streamlining fundraising campaigns. His business is a crowdfunding platform designed for student groups like Greek Life, athletics and nonprofits to raise money effortlessly through targeted email and text campaigns.
At the Ruffatto Challenge, Capser hopes to get helpful feedback from the judges and apply it to his company.
“I really do want to hear their feedback and what they think I need to do to make this company a real success,” Capser said. “Because winning money at Ruffatto would be fantastic, but my end game is to launch this company and potentially turn it into a career.”
For McLaughlin, the Startup Studio helped him pursue the next chapter in his life and career. After 13 years in the Navy, he moved to 猎奇重口 to raise his three children on a small ranch in the Bitterroot Valley. Then he discovered the challenges with irrigation and was motivated to start Remsight. The company’s co-founder, Jon Johnson, built a prototype system on McLaughlin’s ranch to better track water usage and it quickly gained traction from local ranchers and irrigation districts.
Recently, McLaughlin and Johnson partnered with the largest irrigation district in Ravalli County for a pilot project. McLaughlin hopes to expand Remsight to other 猎奇重口 counties and eventually around the country.
“You look globally at water scarcity and the scale of the problem. Solving it starts with having high-quality data and that’s what our system provides,” McLaughlin said.
Overall, McLaughlin credits the Startup Studio with giving him practical knowledge and a supportive environment to help shape his business.
“That’s where it’s been great to come to the studio and not just talk about the theory of entrepreneurship, but actually do it,” McLaughlin said. “To do it with other students who are going through the same process has been really rewarding.”
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Contact: Dave Kuntz, UM director of strategic communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu
