Utah Student 25 goes Back to School

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Utah Student 25 Seeks Top Student-Founded Businesses in Back to School Crowd

PROVO, UTAH – September 25, 2009– Utah Student 25 ( www.utahstudent25.com ) is accepting nominations for the top student-founded businesses in the State as universities and colleges across Utah have begun the new semester.

Utah Student 25 is an awards program that recognizes successful businesses that are started and  run by students at the college and university levels. Businesses are judged on revenue growth and profitability. Applications and nominations are now being accepted online at www.UtahStudent25.com. 

Student-entrepreneurs spent their summer break growing and maintaining their start-up businesses as opposed to using it as vacation time. Different from student business plan competitions around the state, Utah Student 25 recognizes companies that are making revenue and creating jobs.

“I’m thrilled that Westminster College is participating in the UtahStudent 25 where we can recognize students who are pursuing their degree and operating their own business at the same time,” said Linda Muir, associate director of the Institute for New Enterprise, Westminster College. “The Utah Student 25 provides the platform to recognize such outstanding entrepreneurial leaders who are our economic engines of the future.”

 Many of Utah’s greatest companies were born because of student entrepreneurs including Utah Student 25 co-sponsor, Omniture. Ten years after it’s inception by student entrepreneur, Josh James, Omniture has grown into a leading global provider of online business optimization software.

“Student entrepreneurs are the future of our economy,” states Brock Blake, CEO of event co-sponsor FundingUniverse. “A significant percentage of the venture funding requests we receive come from student founded business. We are pleased to see these visionary students recognized.”

Schools already participating in the competition include University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Weber State, Westminster College, Southern Utah University, Salt Lake Community College, Brigham Young University, LDS Business College and Utah State University. Other schools are encouraged to participate. The Awards Gala is scheduled for Thursday, November 5^th at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City to recognize and announce the winners. Nominations submission deadline is October 12.

Find eligibility requirements here: http://utah25.siliconslopes.com/application

See success stories at:  https://utahstudent25.wordpress.com  

Contact:                                                                                                                                                                     

John Pilmer

PilmerPR

801-369-7535

jpilmer@pilmerpr.com                                                                                                                                                             

Utah Student 25 – The next list of companies to know

Everybody loves lists. And if someone is looking for a top company, there are a few lists that come to mind:

-Inc. magazine’s “Inc. 500” list is a compilation of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

-Fast Company’s “Fast 50” is a list of the world’s Most Innovative Companies.

-Locally, the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF) created the Top 25 Under 5 Awards which recognizes the top 25 businesses under 25 years of age.

 

Like these lists, Utah Student 25 recognizes businesses at the top of their game.  Utah Student 25 lists the top 25 student-run businesses in the state and is one of the best resources to identify the innovative business leaders of tomorrow. Utah Student 25 will be an invaluable source of networking, collaborating and potential employees.

 Keep following the Utah Student 25 and see who is declared Utah’s top student-run business November 5 at the Awards Gala at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake.

 

www.utahstudent25.com

http://twitter.com/UtStudent25

dfullmer@utstudent25.com

Utah Student 25 Nominee Goes Green

James Marshall, a BYU student from Bountiful studying entrepreneurship and business management, took on a sustainability effort when he started One Man’s Trash last fall. One Man’s Trash offers curbside recycling pick-up to apartment complexes near BYU campus.

Wanting to start a small business they could run while attending school, Marshall and a friend found many BYU students feel strongly about recycling, but were frustrated at the lack of recycling services available in Utah.

“We were delighted to find an idea that has turned out to be not only a great learning experience for us, but has also benefited the community and the environment,” Marshall said.

He said although Provo offers curbside recycling pick-up with a similar monthly fee, the city’s program is not available to apartment addresses. Now, thanks to One Man’s Trash, students don’t have to haul their recyclables up to campus.

An apartment or house can sign up for $8/month. Blue recycling bags are provided, and clients fill these bags with plastics, cans, paper, cardboard, newspaper, etc. every week. The clients do not need to sort the recyclables. One Man’s Trash collects the recyclables every Saturday morning and delivers them to a local recycling plant.

One Man’s Trash, also known as The Go Green Initiative, serviced 95 apartments during Fall Semester and is currently serving about 250, Marshall said. At an average of five roommates per apartment, this recycling program serves about 1,200 students.

After finishing their first semester in the business, the company made a goal to recycle 20,000 pounds during Winter Semester. Marshall said they have recycled an estimated 18,000 pounds so far.

“We’ve been impressed with the effort students are willing to make in order to protect the environment,” he said. “We are also impressed with the great job BYU recycling has done on campus. It seems like there are more recycling bins than garbage cans now!”

 

onemanstrash@live.com

www.utahstudent25.com

http://twitter.com/UtStudent25

Student Entrepreneur Resources

Here are some resources that can help student entrepreneurs start their own business or help grow their current business:

 

www.cedo.org  The Commission for Economic Development in Orem is a non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for businesses. They have multiple resources including business plan writing assistance, small-business incubator, and a revolving loan fund.

www.uvef.net  The Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum is a volunteer non-profit support group connecting entrepreneurs to money, markets and mentors. It’s mission is to provide effective tools and create synergy between members and business experts.

www.mwcn.org The Mountain West Capital Network is a networking organization that supports entrepreneurial success through educating and mentoring excellence, fostering the flow of information about capital formation, and recognizing and rewarding performance.

www.growutahventures.com Grow Utah Ventures is directly involved in assisting a number of early-stage Utah businesses in obtaining financial resources and achieving their revenue goals.

www.fundinguniverse.com  FundingUniverse will analyze your companies financial needs and determine the best way for you to fund your business.

http://uvu.edu/sbdc/  The Orem Small Business Development Center offers classes and workshops to help entrepreneurs get started in business, and to help small businesses grow from one level to the next.

 

www.utahstudent25.com

Student entrepreneur creates Fence Defense

Matt Fischer didn’t know that helping around the house would lead to running a successful business. 

After returning home from serving an LDS mission, he started to experiment with different stains on his parents’ old fence. That’s when the neighbors noticed. “My neighbors saw our fence and wanted theirs stained,” Fischer said. “After about the third or fourth house it just became a business.”

Shortly after the neighborhood makeover, Fischer founded Fence Defense without having started a business before. But Fischer gained valuable experience as he helped his friends build the Hogi Yogi franchise as an employee in his teenage years. “I had a pretty good grasp on how businesses were built because I saw Hogi Yogi start from the ground up.”

In the beginning, Fischer split his time between studying Entrepreneurship at BYU and building his business. “It was great to start Fence Defense while I was in school because a lot of the things I was learning applied directly to building a business.”

Fence Defense, based out of Orem, continues to grow in its eighth year of business. Fischer hired a manager for the first time to deal with the day to day operations so he could focus more on expanding the business and re-launching their website.

Fischer’s advertising creativity kicked in when he decided to build a company float after attending the Rose Parade in California. “Business was going well and we had some extra money and needed to do some advertising,” Fischer said with a smile. “So I said, ‘why not build a float?’ and the rest is history.”

What Fischer calls a ‘patio on wheels’ is the Fence Defense float that has made it’s rounds through all the various city parades in Utah county. The float consists of a deck on top for people to stand, while the sides are fitted with both old, untreated wood fencing and newly stained wood fencing to show the before and after effect of Fence Defense.

“Once people see the difference we can make for their fence and decks, that’s when they call,” Fischer said. “We are in the business of making people happy about their yards again.”

Fischer was excited to hear about the Utah Student 25 competition, which honors the top 25 student-run businesses in Utah. “People don’t know that so many of these popular businesses they frequent are run by students,” Fischer said. “To me, this competition seems like a great resource for anyone who wants to hire an innovative thinker.”

While he’s crossing his fingers that he’ll win the Utah Student 25 competition, Fischer plans on doing something he’s already done before: Start a business while in school.  “I just get motivated to start a business while I’m learning all about them in school.”

                Fischer plans to start his new business as he pursues his Masters in Advertising next Fall.

 

 

For more information on Fence Defense, contact them at fencedefense@gmail.com

For more information about Utah Student 25 visit www.utahstudent25.com, follow us on Twitter @utstudent25, or become a fan on Facebook.

Utah Student 25 Launch News

For Immediate Release

Utah Student 25 to Recognize the Success of Student-Founded Businesses

PROVO, Utah – July 3, 2009 – Academic and corporate leaders met this past week to launch the Utah Student 25—an awards program designed to recognize and celebrate the achievements of today’s student entrepreneurs, the businesses they have created, and their economic impact. Hosted at Snowbird, the kick-off event outlined the awards program, nomination process and selection criteria, and was attended by the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, Weber State, and Westminster College. The Utah Student 25 will recognize the top 25 student-founded business in the State based on revenue growth and profitability.

The program was conceived by the BYU Chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization. This group helps students in developing new ideas and writing business plans, while bringing together the resources, access to capital, networking and mentoring necessary to enable students to successfully launch and manage entrepreneurial ventures.

“Exciting student-founded businesses are popping up all around us,” states John Richards, associate director of the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. “The Utah Student 25 list of top student entrepreneurial start-ups will reveal the emerging leaders of tomorrow’s industry.”

Applications for the Utah Student 25 are now being accepted through October 12^th, 2009. Applications can be made at www.UtahStudent25.com. A black tie optional Awards Gala is scheduled for November 5^th at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City to recognize and announce the winners.

The Utah Student 25 is sponsored by: Omniture, Silicon Slopes, Utah CEO, Cornerstone Media, Compass Outdoor, BTJD, Grant Thornton, Utah Fund of Funds, Funding Universe, Picture This, and PilmerPR.

Interested students, sponsors, and schools will find more information at www.UtahStudent25.com

Watch video: Benefits of Utah Student 25 – www.youtube.com/utahstudent25

Become a Facebook fan: http://tinyurl.com/utahstudent25facebook

Join the conversation on our Blog: https://utahstudent25.wordpress.com or Twitter: @utstudent25

About Utah Student 25

The goal of the Utah Student 25 is to encourage growth and entrepreneurial activities in the state. We help student entrepreneurs get the recognition they need to thrive, as well as provide them with resources to contribute to Utah’s economy and their communities. We create synergy between student business owners and Utah’s renowned entrepreneurial leaders.

Press Contact:

John Pilmer, APR

PilmerPR

801-369-7535

jpilmer@pilmerpr.com