OUR ELEVATOR PITCHWE BUILD ENTREPRENEURS

The Business Builders Club is more than a student organization.  We are a group of passionate students who collaborate with the Columbus Community and organizations around the world to foster entrepreneurship.  The BBC recruits, educates, and funds talented students at Ohio State.  Our members are excited by the challenges and opportunities provided by entrepreneurship.  Some of us are determined to end poverty.  Some of us want to be millionaires.  All of us want to change the world.


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WHAT WE DOWeekly Meetings

Once a week the members and guests of the BBC get together for a weekly meeting. The meetings last one hour and are intended to educate and inspire our members. There are number of ways we engage our members on a weekly basis.
  • Take the Floor - Students and community members are given 60 seconds to pitch their idea, ask for advice, or seek collaboration with a new venture. We strongly encourage startup companies seeking young talent to pitch their opportunity to our members.
  • E-Ship Ed - From the freshmen to the fifth year seniors in the BBC, there's a lot we don't know. How to write an executive summary, incorporating your business, setting up your QuickBooks, and even comparing iPhones and Blackberries is all done during this segment of the meeting. Embrace your inner nerd.
  • IdeaPitch Competition - The IdeaPitch Competition lets students pitch their ideas to a stellar panel of judges. The top three pitches get a big fat check and invaluable feedback from the panel. This event wouldn't be posible without our fantastic partners and sponsors.
  • E-Ship Spectacular - The Entrepreneurship Spectacular brings together dozens of accomplished entrepreneurs from around our community. The event is also followed by a career fair with local startups and small businesses looking for young talent.
  • Guest Speaker - The BBC is very fortunate for the support it receives from local entrepreneurs. Our weekly guest speaker shares with us their past entrepreneurial experiences. We like to hear how they made their millions, but we love to hear how they first broke-even and bootstrapped their business with a loan from their mom.
  • Networking - Every meeting ends with pizza and a cold beverage in Woody's Tavern. We hang out with the speaker, meet the new faces in the club, and continue fanning the entrepreneurial fire at Ohio State.
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OUR CORNERSTONE EVENTS

Quarterly IdeaPitch Competition

Each quarter, The Business Builders Club runs our signature IdeaPitch Competition. The event is simple: you pitch your idea to our stellar panel of judges, they give you invaluable feedback, and, if you have one of the top three pitches, we'll cut you a big fat check. We wouldn't be able to put the event on without our fantastic partners and sponsors.


The Entrepreneurship Spectacular

Entrepreneurship is spectacular. It drives economic growth worldwide and is responsible for the cars we drive, the planes we fly, the smartphones we love, and the beer that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This year, we brought over a dozen entrepreneurs for three panel discussions regarding entrepreneurship, followed by an earth-shattering keynote and a career fair with over a dozen local companies. This event rules.


Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit

The Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit is a dynamic conference that engages students, academics, and community leaders to explore innovative, market-based solutions to poverty. Started in 2009, APTE has grown to a 400+ attendee event, thanks in part to our dynamic speakers who are movers and shakers in their field. Organizations who have been a part of APTE include Ashoka, Acumen Fund, Freshbox Catering, Nuru International, the World Bank, Grameen America, Kiva, Energize Clinton County, FrontlineSMS:Medic, World of Good Development Organization, PassionWorks Studio, and many more.

The best part? This TED-esque conference is absolutely free to attend. RSVP for APTE 2011 at http://bit.ly/RSVPforAPTE


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OUR PARTNERS WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT 'EM

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NCT Ventures
Rich Langdale and the entire NCT Ventures team have played a pivotal role in creating an entrepreneurial culture at Ohio State. Walking through their office in Columbus' Arena District, you'll notice they're very comfortable working with BBC talent. Langdale helped OSU's Center for Entrepreneurship get off the ground and is also a regular supporter of the BBC's mission.
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OSU's Center for Entrepreneurship
Dr. Michael Camp, Nikki Modlich, and Nancy Ray are professionals in the Fisher College of Business who are working hard to lead, educate, and serve aspiring entrepreneurs. By hosting the Center's annual Business Plan Competition, placing students in local startups via the Wheeler Internship Program, and providing work space for startups within the BBC, the Center has successfully enriched the lives of many students pursuing their passion for entrepreneurship.
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Fast Switch
Mark Pukita and Randy Dean of Fast Switch have "walked the walk" by supporting the Business Builders Club with the vision of creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Central Ohio. Their successful business practices and philanthropic generosity are characteristics all of us in the BBC work to emulate.
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The Nicholson Center
During Rob Nicholson's time as President of the BBC, the club met and passed the vertex of the proverbial hockey stick growth model. If you're not sure what that means, email Nicholson and he'll grab coffee with you to explain it. Following that explanation, he'll help you start your first business. Nicholson's dedication to the long-term success of the BBC is a true testament to his passion for giving back. His company, The Nicholson Center, is a great example of using entrepreneurship to better the lives of others.
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Sterling Commerce
Paul Haggard is the Community Affairs and Diversity Director at Sterling Commerce and has been a supporter of the BBC for the past 2 years. His big-picture approach is contagious. Thanks to Paul and Sterling Commerce's efforts, the BBC has been able to fund entrepreneurial-minded students at OSU.
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Tech Columbus
Working with Tech Columbus has helped the BBC host IdeaPitch competitions that fund students' entrepreneurial ideas. Located just a stone's throw away from OSU's main campus, Tech Columbus serves as a major resource of funding and incubation for startups in Central Ohio. Tech Columbus is working to grow Central Ohio into a technology powerhouse.
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Tech Life Ohio
Ben Blanquera is determined to foster a community of technological innovation and entrepreneurship in Central Ohio. He won't tell you his work is done, but if you take a look around, he and his organization Tech Life Ohio have done a great job of bringing together local tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and students. His weekly newsletter, Columbus Startup Digest, is spreading the global entrepreneurship movement one informative email at a time.
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CallCopy
You won't hear a more refreshing speaker than our friend Ray Bohac, the Founder / CEO of CallCopy and winner of the Ernst & Young 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Ray gets entrepreneurship and he gets the mission of the BBC. His enthusiasm and passion for creating a great company culture reverberate throughout our club.
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Tony Wells Foundation
A business and community leader, Tony Wells has provided key support to the BBC in launching initiatives that allow young entrepreneurs to meaningfully engage their communities. His mentorship has led to events such as the Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit and the Seeds 4 Social Change workshop series. In addition to being a great friend of the Club, Tony serves on the board of numerous local nonprofit organizations and runs a private family foundation that provides technology and social entrepreneurship grants to nonprofit organizations.