Lauren Townsend, Co-Founder of Millie's Homemade Ice Cream At Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, we like to keep it real. Real relationships, real ingredients. Building partnerships is core to our mission to #spreadLove in our community through the simple joy of scratch-made ice cream. Whether we’re supporting a local purveyor, local non-profit, or a local brand collaboration, we’ve always strived to be an asset in our hometown (shoutout: Pittsburgh makes this really easy!).
The pandemic has taught us a lot, but in the business world, it reminded organizations (and entire industries) of the benefits of being agile and the importance of hiring innovative and creative talent. Companies that pivoted successfully didn’t do so by relying on the status quo.
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney For Pitt alum Spencer Zacher (SSOE '20), this quote couldn't be any more accurate as he got to live out his dream of working at Walt Disney World as an Industrial Engineering intern! Follow along as Spencer shares his magical experience of what it was like working at the happiest place on Earth, what Disney has taught him about innovation, and what advice he has for those interested in pursuing innovation and entrepreneurship!
Hi there, innovators! My name is Joe Slomowitz, but you can call me “Slomo”. I am the creator of slomo’s, a "Platform to Explore 3D Printing Together"! Picture this… In the future, you want the newest pair of Nike sneakers. Instead of going to a local retail store to buy them, you go online to Nike’s website, buy a file for the sneakers and then load the file into your 3D printer. Within minutes, your new Nike sneakers are made within the comfort of your home and are ready to be worn! The example above highlights just one of the potential ways that 3D printers could revolutionize the way in which goods are produced, sold and consumed in the future. But before we go any further…. what in the world is 3D printing??
Early-stage teams don’t need to lose their momentum as we go into summer break. In fact, there are several things that you can do to help move your project forward. Consider tasking each team member with one of the following:
The ReSolution team (pictured from left to right): Evan Kerin, Lia Franco, Brendan Mostek, and Maggie Daluga. Photo courtesy of Evan Kerin After our 2021 Randall Family Big Idea Competition Virtual Awards Ceremony, we at the Big Idea Center caught up with the grand prize winning team, ReSolution, to discuss how four engineering students became entrepreneurs and what their next steps are to bring to life their idea to eliminate common causes of irritation and infection for contact users through the use of their automatic, self-cleaning, portable contact case.
Photo courtesy of Rice University Not long after receiving a Young Entrepreneur Award from the NFL Players Association, Pitt senior Kunal Gandhi’s startup, SimpL, gained even more momentum when the company was awarded $30,000 in the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition earlier in April.
Today is National Librarian Day! Did you know that Pitt has its own entrepreneurship librarian? In our newest blog article, get to know LaMonica Wiggins (pictured above) and learn what led her to become an entrepreneurship librarian, what her favorite small businesses are, what library resources are available specifically for Pitt student entrepreneurs, and much more! LaMonica is a dear friend of the Big Idea Center and we are excited to feature this awesome lady on a day honoring librarians around the nation! Read LaMonica's full interview below.
Prized for their performance and affordability, single-use plastics are at the heart of the modern health science economy and a necessary tool for life-enhancing innovations. While single-use plastics have accelerated the rate of scientific discovery, they have also increased the industry’s dependence on fossil fuels. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic, the U.S. will dispose of greater than 3 billion lbs. of single-use plastics by way of incineration or landfill. This linear process - whereby laboratory products are made, used, and then discarded - necessitates the continued extraction and emission of carbon in the forms of oil and natural gas.
Hey there! My name is Emily Siegel, and I’m the founder and CEO of Trek Gum, an all-natural chewing gum company that incorporates functional ingredients into every chew. My startup story originated when a childhood idea and a portable oral care dilemma decided to cross paths. As a kid, I always dreamed of having a gum that could clean my teeth on-the-go, because I was horrible at remembering to brush before school yet always had minty gum in my backpack that I tricked myself into thinking was effective. As college student, my oral care routine was the least of my worries while drowning in class work, at least until the cavities started to catch up with me.
