University of San Diego Entrepreneurship Club

Regardless of the nation’s economic outlook, a good idea is recession-proof

Guest Post by Tom Breitling

The economic news is relentless. Home foreclosures. Teetering mortgage companies. Tottering airlines. Brands that once rode high are going bankrupt. Job losses. Dangerous levels of public and private debt.

If we’re not in a recession, there’s no denying that our economy does not feel good, which means this is not the time to be paralyzed in front of the TV. Look at the world in a new way, and build value for the future.

Which, the way I see it, means it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur.

One of the best moments in my career as an entrepreneur was meeting the singer Tony Bennett. This was a few years ago when my partner, Tim Poster, and I owned the Golden Nugget. Over lunch one day, Tony passed on a bit of wisdom that will never leave me.

It's down to the final four!  There are four teams left in the second annual University of San Diego Business Plan Competition and they will be competing on May 8th (details below) for a share of $10,000 in prize money.  Just how the $10,000 will be split among these four teams will depend on a panel of five judges.  Those judges are Dr. Tom Cooper of Aperture Venture Partners, Dr. Deiter Lange of Capgemini, Tom Breitling of Wynn Las Vegas, Andy Laats of Nixon, Inc., and Michael Gallegos of American Property Management Corp. and American Property Hospitality Management. Teams competing for the attention and affection of the judges are:

Renters Reports.com (Michael Keating and Chirs Beaty) will provide a web-based service to address a lack of decision-making information accessible by renters, and the tedious rental process for both renters and landlords.

Vicar Valet Services (Marianne Cornejo and Benjamin Mayberry) intends to establish a mutually beneficial business partnership with USD to address student and visitor dissatisfaction with parking on campus. They plan to build on a successful pilot at USD to provide valet services on similarly impacted college campuses.

Thinami Fit Dips (Tyler Pinkos, Justin Saks, and Jonathan Hopstetter) combines fresh organic ingredients in a way that makes casual “snacking” a healthy experience.

JShae Instrumental Design's (Jeffrey Givens) initial product eliminates the hassle of unclipping and re-clipping sheet music books to marching band instruments and eliminates potential scratches and dents to the instruments. The swivel lyre will serve as a portal to additional innovative products for professional musicians.

Please join us in this celebration of the entrpreneurial spirit at USD!

When: Friday, May 8th from 8:30am to 12:15pm

Where: University of San Diego, Kroc Institute of Peace & Justice Theater

Location:  IPJ Theater
When:  Friday, May 8th starting at 8:30am:

Presentation Schedule in the IPJ Theater:

0830 - 0840 - Introductions and Overview
0840 - 0915 - JShae Instrumental Design
0920 - 0955 - RentersReports.com
1005 - 1040 - Thinami Fit Dips
1045 - 1120 - Vicar Valet Services

1120 - 1205 - Judges Deliberate

1210 Order of Finish / Cash Prizes Announced

1220 - 100 - Judges provide private feedback to each team

100 - 300 - Reception and Networking on the Olin Hall Patio

The USD E-Club is bringing another great entrepreneur to campus!  Joon Han will be speaking about the role of sales in entrepreneurship.  Being able to sell your ideas is an integral part of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Joon is the founder of Better San Diego, a strategic alignment company committed to forging a better San Diego one organization at a time.  Joon has been developing leaders for over 17 years and implementing strategic systems thinking since 1996.  Joon is an author of five books and a sought out speaker.