Henry Bloch delivers a blockbuster

From left, Michael Song, Henry and Tom Bloch talk with an EScholar graduate.

For the third-ever graduating class of Entrepreneurship Scholars (EScholars), it was a night to remember.

Even for entrepreneurs bursting with potential, who had spent a year in the company of top business experts, it isn’t every day you get to hear from a legend.

The e-scholars had completed a rigorous 12-month certification program and had their ideas and plans evaluated by some of the best in the business. Many of them were poised to start up a business of their own design with some seed money and encouragement.

And the energy took an upturn when Henry Bloch himself walked to the podium.

Henry Bloch addresses the 2013 class of EScholars at their April commencement exercise.

The audience had started their journey a year earlier as eager applicants, intrigued by the offer of support and resources and the chance to launch successful business ventures. The Entrepreneurship Scholars Program, offered by the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is a community-wide program designed to prepare brilliant and promising entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge needed to launch world-class ventures upon graduation.

The applicants had come from the Bloch School, from throughout the UMKC campus, and from the community.

During their year in the program, Henry Bloch had become a familiar and welcome fixture in classes and at campus events, always ready with a thoughtful question or a timely suggestion.

UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton, Henry Bloch, EScholar graduate, Michael Song and Mark Parry.

This night, instead, he gave his audience a blockbuster of a talk.

He began by deflecting all the thanks and praise to Dr. Teng-Kee Tan, Dean of the Bloch School; the faculty and staff, and the students for being the hardest-working bunch he had ever seen. He complimented Kansas City’s business community for helping refine the Bloch School’s vision and direction.

Then he got to the heart of his message:  “I envy you,” he said to the students, “because you are graduating at a very exciting moment in our history.”

He wove the theme of conquering a mountain through his remarks. Describing these times as “the dawn of entrepreneurship,” he compared the students’ journey ahead to scaling a magic mountain – a trek for which they are well-prepared. He mentioned specifically their willingness to learn new things, their readiness to toss out obsolete ideas, and their ability to turn on a dime.

“Modern miracles” he cited – space travel, personal computers, instant communication – were not part of his formative years; but they came from the minds of forward thinkers.

“That’s why I envy you,” he went on. “Your turn is now at hand. As a retired CEO… I can tell you the view from the top is pleasant and satisfying. But the never-to-be-forgotten excitement, the fun and challenge, is in the climb.”

At this point, Bloch turned to the ethics and values on which he built H & R Block, and that will persist:

• The quality of your early work determines your future – so start with quality.
• Don’t try to get by with the minimum – give more than people expect of you.
• Listen – if your customer did not thank you, don’t think him rude. It’s possible you failed to do a satisfactory job.
• You will make mistakes; just make sure you don’t repeat them.

Bloch reminded the audience that it is the habit of thinking things through – not necessarily the information at hand – that will serve them well. Data is fine, he said, but we need to be thinkers; remembering is no substitute for analyzing.

“Success doesn’t fall in your lap,” he said. “You must chase it…but never quite catch it.”

Perhaps his wisest words were reserved for what has become a perennial problem among 21^st century executives:  “Don’t damage the value of your name or hurt your image for any amount of money.”

Details of the EScholars program can be found online. Scholarships are available to all accepted applicants and will cover the majority of program costs. The only out-of-pockets costs for participants will be fees to enroll in one-credit hour course per semester (three semesters total).

Parents frustrated by the difficulty in weaning their child off his “binky.”

A Federal Reserve employee who believes there’s a better way for people to connect with volunteer opportunities in their communities.

An urgent care section chief at Kansas City’s leading children’s hospital who is determined to save people unnecessary trips to the ER.

These are just a few of the inspirational stories that inspired judges at the 2013 Regnier Venture Creation Challenge held on Saturday, April 27 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the UMKC Student Union.

This year, 68 cross-disciplinary student teams participate (of 129 teams who entered). More than 120 judges (business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and mentors) have or will participate in three stages of the competition: business plan evaluation; venture expo judging and investment; and finalist presentations.

A total of 25 winners, including special awards and awards with distinction, were announced on Saturday. These winners will be invited to return in the fall to compete for $5,000 in seed money (per venture) and a spot in the Institute’s Venture Accelerator, an incubator-like set up for ventures with high possibility for rapid success. The Venture Accelerators will office in the new Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, opening this fall.

Special Awards

Outstanding Elevator Pitch: Recognizes the team with the best elevator pitch at the start of the day.

Bye Bye Binky
Millions of parents are challenged with the process of weaning their children from their pacifiers. Bye Bye Binky is a transitional pacifier system consisting of three BPA free silicone pacifiers enclosed in a sterilizer case. As surface area reduces with each stage, maintaining suction becomes more difficult and slowly diminishes the satisfaction received from pacifier use.

Outstanding Founding Team Award: Recognizes the team that is particularly well-suited to their venture.

Bloch School EScholar Jon Kohrs talks to venture judge Tom Bloch about Stand Up for Good, a socially entrepreneurial venture that connects people who want to make a difference with the causes and organizations that need them.

Stand Up for Good
Central to America’s fabric is our ability to join together with each other, our neighbors and our community when others need help. However, there are two major problems in the market. First, the supply of volunteer capital is not maximized given a lack of strong social support networks to encourage participation. Second, groups that demand volunteers can’t immediately measure their engagement, influence or contributions. SU4G’s mission is to revitalize community through collisions of social good. We use technology to put the power of doing good back in the hands of community.

Innovative Business Model Award: Recognizes the most innovative model of sustainable business.

Service-Tool.com
Service-Tool.com is a cloud based software solution designed to solve many of today’s
challenges in the Residential Service Contractor Industry. Service companies can sign up and immediately start entering their customer and inventory data.

Game Changer Innovation Award: Recognizes student ventures with the highest potential for changing a company or market
Bye Bye Binky
K & C Solutions Shamerrific®
Shamerrific provides an environmentally compliant way to wash and detail cars. To date, they have washed and detailed over 500,000 vehicles using the Shamerrific®. Lot washing provides on time scheduled washing and abiding by the Clean Water Act, not using chemicals like other competitors. Detailing is fast and efficient, allowing our staff to find out consumer’s individual needs.

FIRST PLACE AWARD WINNERS

Karen Cox, Executive Vice President and Co-COO of Children’s Mercy Hospital helps AudreySpirit founder Donna Yadrich explain her clothing to judges.

AudreySpirit, LLC
xamtee™ and empowertee™ therapeutic garments are designed, manufactured and distributed by AudreySpirit, LLC. These garments are both hospital friendly and indistinguishable from street clothes. They feature innovative fasteners that allow for the connection of monitoring tubes and lines without interruption. This assists caregivers by reducing the risk of bloodstream infection, which patients routinely face, by reducing the need to remove tubing and lines whenever a patient needs to undress. xamtee™ apparel also decreases caregiver time, reduces risk of hospital-acquired complications and costs and improves the patient experience.

RFP365
RFP stands for Request-for-Proposal and is a term referring to the standard business of requesting a sales proposal from a potential vendor. RFP365 is a web-based platform designed to facilitate the entire Request-for-Proposal (RFP) process. The application benefits both issuers and responders with time saving features, configurable workflow, and insightful analytics. RFP365 provides procurement and business development teams real-time reporting and knowledge management features in a collaborative environment.

Insysiv
A web-based application that allows any number of hospitals to tie their materials management systems together, thereby gaining the bargaining power of one enormous hospital.  With multiple hospitals buying together using unprecedented informatics, they can commit to vastly larger purchase amounts, over longer time spans.  And with locked-in market share and revenue from said orders, suppliers can finally feel safe in offering best pricing.

K&C Solutions Shamerrific

Bloch Executive MBA Tom Tryon (section chief of urgent care at Children’s Mercy Hospital) explains to judges how to cut ER visits using MyHealthAdvisor.

MyHealthAdvisor
MyHealthAdvisor is a web-based, rule-based software application containing the top 600 health concerns. It will provide consumers with a step-by-step reference guide to assist them in determining if their condition needs emergency care, urgent care in a physician office or ambulatory clinic or can be reasonably managed at home. In the hands of consumers then empowered to make educated and accurate healthcare decisions, MyHealthAdvisor will create significant cost savings for public and private health insurance companies, corporations, accountable care organizations and consumers.

Second Place Finalist Awards

The Folioboy team poses for a portfolio picture during the Expo.

Folioboy, LLC
Folioboy enables students to create online portfolios, publish them, and then share them with colleges and employers. Folioboy offers a free service as well as a premium service which starts at $30. The focus of the company is to partner with colleges, which will be the real vehicle for profit. Folioboy is already in the process of partnering with other collegiate organizations and services for marketing among universities.
Envy Gaming,LLC
Envy Gaming, LLC, “Envy Gaming Gear” hand-tailors gaming products that are already manufactured in the video game market. Envy takes the gaming products that the masses already use, and adds the ability to individualize the design. Envy’s focus is on adding cosmetic changes to existing products in the market to help gamers individualize and express themselves.
Bye Bye Binky
Tappecue by Innovating Solutions, LLC
Tappecue is the future of thermometers used by the meat smoking hobbyists who need freedom from the smoke of their smokers yet still need constant monitoring or alerts. Unlike Bluetooth and radio frequency devices that limit the distance you can roam, Tappecue offers no limitations, which provides customers with freedom to work on home projects, get last minute supplies at the grocery store, or play a game of golf without worry.
DYCON Productions, LLC
Dycon Productions, LLC is a new entertainment company in Kansas City that specializes in bringing women’s entertainment to the Midwest. The company will produce music concerts, comedy shows, conventions, parties and other festival and family fun events that feature women entertainers and icons.

Third Place Finalist Awards
Low-Exotherm Bone Cement
Cyument Low-Exotherm Bone Cement is an epoxy compound that anchors artificial joints, such as hips or knees. Unlike other bone cements, Cyument cures at a low temperature and avoids damaging human tissue and imbedded antibiotics, which is a common problem with existing products on the market today.
Smart Rocks
“Bridge scour” is the erosion of sediment such as sand and rocks from around bridge abutments or piers. Smart Rocks provides scour mitigation in safer manner at a lower cost to manufacture and provide real- time monitoring as a preventative maintenance against bridge scour.
PatientsVoices
Most hospitals rely on HCAHPS (patient satisfaction data mandated by the federal government) or other types of survey data to monitor patient experiences. Few hospitals have access to the type of patient feedback they need to diagnose and fix the problems that lead to dissatisfied patients. PatientsVoices™ provides specific, actionable patient feedback that allows hospitals to improve their patient satisfaction ratings, optimize Medicare payments and retain valuable patients.

Kathy Mohn tries to keep up with supply and demand as she demonstrates that you can conveniently pick up her homestyle meals “on the way home”.

On Your Way Home
What’s for dinner? Clients can order and pay for a well-balanced dinner by phone, online, on Facebook or via mobile app…then pick it up at the time of their choice on their way home. Dinner is delivered right to the car door, healthier than fast food and faster than a restaurant.
Mark Medical, Inc.
Mark Medical, Inc. ensures that older adults and individuals with chronic disease can remain living at home (“Age in Place”) and receive the appropriate care reduces the need for older adults to move to more intensive, high-cost care settings.

Fourth Place Finalist Awards
Stand Up For Good

Judy and Joe Roetheli, venture judges, show off their boxing skills to Regnier Institute Executive Director Michael Song using products developed by Jeanette Knittel Apparel.

Jeanette Knittel Apparel
Designed for women who want feminine, classic, comfortable and sophisticated clothes that balance career and casual with challenges of hormonal fluctuations that cause hot flashes and night sweats. Proactive fabric technology adapts and changes based on body temperature, managing heat to reduce overheating and perspiration.

Bloch Executive MBA Justin Guggenmos explains the technology behind children’s learning assessment tool KidSquid.

KidSquid
Online service focused on learning and assessment of play. Children (aged 3-6) are often playing with educational toys and applications but there is no way for parents to know how well their child is developing key skills. KidSquid can map the results, provide suggestions for developmental areas of focus and inform you where your child falls among their peers.
The Soccer Lot
Creating a nationwide chain of adult-centered soccer facilities and striving to become synonymous with 5-a-side soccer in the United States. The first facilities are slated for the Midwest, starting in the Kansas City area.
SECURZ-IT
A patented fastening hardware system with product currently available for sale. SECURZ-IT offers a simpler and more secure solution than what is offered in the market today in two products: the Wall Mount Fastening System, museum quality solution that securely mounts framed art, video screens, and other items to wall and the Furniture Fastening System, an easy-to-install method to repair broken furniture and assemble new flat-packed furniture.

Media requests should go to Victoria Prater, 816-235-5295.
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The Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the UMKC Bloch School inspires and nurtures future generations of entrepreneurs, and delivers transformational entrepreneurship education and experiences university-wide.

The Henry W. Bloch School of Management strives to be Kansas City’s nationally and globally preeminent school of management focusing on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking as the foundation for transforming talent and achieving sustainable growth in for-profit, public and nonprofit enterprises.

• 100 team members (up from 85 in 2012)
• Bragging about: Being named Regional Champions at Chicago Regional Competition (WHICH they’ve won six years in a row now)

• Also bragging about: Earning the “Club 44 Award”, which recognizes UMKC SIFE as one of the largest teams in the U.S. (WHICH they’ve won three years in a row now).
• And bragging (again) about: Winning the “4.0 Club Award” (WHICH they’ve won two years in a row now)!  The 4.0 award is a result of an intensive evaluation on numerous topics such as team accomplishment, number of successful projects completed, impact in the community, recognition received from the community, support from faculty and administration, a 4.0 score places the team among the top 10 percent of teams in the U.S.

On April 12, the Enactus Team represented the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the Enactus Chicago Regional Competitions held at the McCormick Convention Center, where they took the top spot in the competition.

In addition, special honors came at the Sam Walton Fellow luncheon. The team was awarded the 4.0 Club Award. This award is the sum result of numerous, exhausting, evaluations performed on the overall team strengths of all teams. The significance of this award is that it designates the Enactus team as being in the top 10 percent of all schools in the U.S.

Further recognition came when the Club 44 Award was presented, which recognized the team as being one of the largest high performance teams in the U.S.

According to Sam Walton Fellow and faculty advisor Cary Clark “The Club 44 award recognized the management and entrepreneurial skills necessary to effectively enable an organization of this size. The team was compared to a small company. It also reflects the effectiveness of Bloch School faculty in teaching our students the right skills to be successful.”

The Enactus team will go on to compete in the National Exposition in Kansas City on May 22 & 23 at the Kansas City Convention Center.  Approximately 3,500 students and faculty from 180 top schools will be competing. The winner will compete in the Enactus World Cup against winners from 38 different countries.

For more information or to attend the national competition as a special guest, contact Cary Clark, clarkcary@umkc.edu, 816-235-6568.

Pictured, from left, Phil Worden (B.B.A. ’89, MBA ’93), executive vice president, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Ryan Prescott, student; Jacob Willis, student; Ryan Swartzlander, student; Derek Bembry, student; Dr. Nathan Mauck (faculty advisor), Dr. Fred Hays (Chair, Bloch School Department of Finance).

ACG is a major national organization of finance professionals, and the newly developed ACG Cup competition requires students to present their analysis of a business valuation case to a distinguished panel of judges from investment banking, private equity and investment firms. The case itself, a proposed leveraged buyout of an auto dealership, was developed by global investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey.

Bloch School alumnus Phil Worden (B.B.A. ’89, MBA ‘93), senior vice president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, helped organize the ACG Cup competition locally.

The Bloch School team was made up of Ryan Swartzlander, Derek Bembry, Ryan Prescott and Jacob Willis, under the faculty advisement of Bloch assistant finance professor Dr. Nathan Mauck.

According to Mauck, the judging criteria was based on presentation quality, analysis, creativity, and teamwork. “The Bloch team scored high in all categories. They were polished, prepared, and energetic in their presentation,” he said.

Swartzlander said the experiential learning was valuable. “We learned a lot that won’t show up in a text book, because it requires actual experience,” he said. “For example, we learned a lot about the private equity deal process and leveraged buyouts.  Approaching this as though we were pitching to an actual private equity firm’s investment committee was extremely educational for me.”

“In addition to Dr. Mauck’s Valuation/M&A course, which was excellent preparation for this competition, all four members of our team are active members in the Bloch School’s student chapter of the Financial Management Association (FMA),” Swartzlander added. “Through FMA, we had that extra level of exposure to the finance and investment industry.  The numerous accomplished professionals who spoke at our meetings provided us with real-world insight, and various conferences and competitions helped us to develop a level of poise under pressure.”

The victorious Bloch team won $5,000 and will go on to compete at the regional ACG competition in St. Louis this May. They will be introduced and recognized at the ACG breakfast meeting April 19 at the downtown Marriott, where UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton will be the featured speaker.

In addition to their ACG victory, Swartzlander and Bembry were also members of the Bloch School Quiz Bowl team that finished second to Georgetown at the recent Financial Management Association Leadership Conference in New York City.

Click here to learn more about graduate finance education at the Bloch School.

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The Henry W. Bloch School of Management strives to be Kansas City’s nationally and globally preeminent school of management, focusing on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking as the foundation for transforming talent and achieving sustainable growth in for-profit, public and nonprofit enterprises.

A team of students from the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management’s Master of Entrepreneurial Real Estate Program and Kansas State University’s architectural school have won first place in the ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.

Representing the United States and Canada, 149 from 70 universities developed solutions for a site in Minneapolis’s Downtown East neighborhood, near the site of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. After round one of the competition, four finalist teams moved on: UMKC/K-State, Harvard, Yale, and Purdue/Ball State.

The ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, now in its 11th year, offers graduate-level students the opportunity to form their own multidisciplinary teams and engage in a challenging exercise in responsible land use. Student teams have two weeks to devise a comprehensive design and development program for a real, large-scale site full of challenges and opportunities. Submissions consisted of boards that include drawings, site plans, tables, and market-feasible financial data.

In this case, the specific task was to design a plan for Minneapolis’ Downtown East neighborhood, which will eventually become the site of a new planned  stadium for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.

According to Walt Clements, director of the UMKC Bloch School’s Lewis White Real Estate Center, “One of our real estate students, Tyler Knott, was responsible for determining the market demand for a complex parcel of real estate adjacent to the Minneapolis stadium. In addition to researching the market to determine how much and what types of real estate should be developed, he performed an extensive multi-page financial analysis showing the financial feasibility of the project. The architectural team was responsible for drawing the building and siting the buildings on the subject property.”

“I fully credit the hard work and professionalism of my fellow teammates,” Tyler Knott, real estate graduate student, said. “This success is due to the talent, work ethic and professionalism of our team. The K-State Landscape Architecture students formed the ideas and created the work product that led our team to the top of the pack. I also credit the very solid real estate program at the UMKC Bloch School – through the hard work of Walt Clements and Bloch faculty, our school is known around the country for having one of the best real estate programs.”

The top prize was $50,000.

Click here to learn more about real estate education at the Bloch School.

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The Henry W. Bloch School of Management strives to be Kansas City’s nationally and globally preeminent school of management, focusing on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking as the foundation for transforming talent and achieving sustainable growth in for-profit, public and nonprofit enterprises.

The dinner will be held on Monday, Oct. 21 at the brand new Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

This year’s honorees are:

INTERNATIONAL Entrepreneur of the Year
James Sinegal, founder, former CEO, Costco

Costco’s first location (originally named Price Club), opened in 1976 in a converted airplane hangar in San Diego. In 1983, the first Costco warehouse location was opened in Seattle. Costco became the first company ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years. When Costco and Price Club merged in 1993, the combined company had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales. Since resuming the Costco name in 1997, the company has grown worldwide with total sales in recent fiscal years exceeding $64 billion.

REGIONAL Entrepreneur of the Year
David Brain, president, CEO and trustee, EPR Properties

EPR Properties is a specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) that currently invests in three primary segments: entertainment, recreation and education. EPR has more than 180 locations in 39 states, D.C. and Canada with more than 250 tenants and $3.2 billion in total investments.

Marion and John Kreamer Award for SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Jim and Virginia Stowers, co-founders, Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Inspired by their personal experiences with cancer and a desire to use their wealth to help humanity, James “Jim” E. Stowers Jr. and Virginia G. Stowers founded the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in their hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. A physician by training, Jim Stowers switched careers and started mutual fund company  American Century Investments. He pioneered the application of computer power to investment management and, turned a stake of a few thousand dollars into one of the largest mutual fund companies in the country with more than $100 billion in assets.

Proceeds from the dinner benefit the Bloch School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, one of Kansas City’s premiere resources for educating and creating the next generation of entrepreneurs. LEARN MORE ABOUT EOY HERE.

John Norton, Managing Director of the Regnier Institute for  Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of  Management, has been selected for a Fulbright Specialists project in Indonesia  at Universitas Ciputra commencing March  28, 2013, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William  Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.Universitas Ciputra, located in Surabaya, on the island of  Java, is dedicated to training world-class entrepreneurs, a vision it shares  with the Regnier Institute.  Prof.  Norton will work with Ciputra’s leadership to exchange best practices, build  research and teaching relationships between their respective universities, help  connect UC with other American entrepreneurship scholars, and promote the  discipline and practice of entrepreneurship in Indonesia.Norton is one of more than 400 U.S. faculty and professionals  who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Specialists Program. The  Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional  Fulbright Scholar Program, provides short-term academic opportunities (two to  six weeks) to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and  faculty development and institutional planning at post-secondary, academic  institutions around the world.

The Fulbright Program,America’s flagship international  educational exchange activity, is sponsored by theU.S.Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 60  years of existence, thousands ofU.S.faculty and professionals have taught, studied or conducted research abroad, and  thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar  activities in theUnited  States.Over 285,000 emerging leaders in their professional fields have received  Fulbright awards, including individuals who later became heads of government,  Nobel Prize winners, and leaders in education, business, journalism, the arts  and other fields.

Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the  basis of academic or professional achievement. Among thousands of prominent  Fulbright Scholar alumni are Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist;  Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science  (AAAS); Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet; and Craig Barrett, Chairman of  the Board of Intel Corporation. Distinguished Fulbright Specialist participants  include Mahmoud Ayoub,  Professor of Religion at Temple University, Heidi Hartmann, President and CEO,  Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Percy R. Luney, Jr. Dean and Professor,  College of Law, Florida A&M University and Emily Vargas-Barone, Founder and  Executive Director of the RISE Institute.

For further information about the Fulbright Specialists  Program, please contact FULSPEC@cies.iie.org or consult www.cies.org.

The Institute for  Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the UMKC Bloch School inspires and nurtures  future generations of entrepreneurs, and delivers transformational  entrepreneurship education and experiences university-wide.

The Henry W. Bloch School  of Management develops purposeful, entrepreneurial and innovative leaders to  meet changing global demands, and advances knowledge and practice through  excellent teaching, scholarship, outreach and service.

WHEN: Feb. 22, 2013, 3 p.m. (program begins at 3:30 p.m.)

WHERE: Henry W. Bloch School of Management, room 101, on the UMKC campus (5110 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri)

WHO: Terry Bassham, president and CEO, KCP&L, UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton and Bloch School Dean Teng-Kee Tan, and invited guests.

Join Terry Bassham, president and CEO, KCP&L and guests at the official naming of the executive classroom at the Bloch School. The room was recently renovated to better support executive learning. The renovations were made possible through a combination of gifts: an anonymous donor gave $200,000, with the challenge that another Kansas City organization should match the gift in order to fund the renovations. KCP&L accepted the challenge, matching the gift with another $200,000, for a total gift of $400,000.

Bloch 101 will now be known as the KCP&L Executive Classroom.

“As we move forward with our focus on experiential learning and creating spaces that will facilitate that learning in both our existing and new buildings, we look for and encourage partnerships and collaborations that will help the Bloch School reach its strategic initiatives,” Teng-Kee Tan, Bloch School dean, said.

“KCP&L has been a long-time partner with the university and the Bloch School, having put many of their future leadership through our executive programs and through service on our advisory council. I hope their example will inspire other business and civic leaders to support Bloch and be part of our journey to excellence.”

This is a full-time, paid internship, along with a 3-credit hour independent study in leadership.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Any M.B.A., M.S.A., M.P.A., M.S..F, M.E.R.E. or junior/senior B.B.A. or B.S.A. student who:

• is enrolled in a Bloch School degree program in the winter/spring term of 2013, but is not graduating in May 2013 or July 2013;
• has a GPA of 3.0 or higher;
• has strong oral English communication skills;
• is keenly interested in, and committed to, personal leadership development;
• intends to remain in the Kansas City region after graduation;
• can commit to a full-time, 40+ hours per week (paid) program.

Up to five Bloch students will be selected for the program, which will run 10 weeks, from June 3-August 13, 2013.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PROGRAM?
This program offers a full-time, paid internship in a non-profit, community, or government organization, tailored to the organization’s needs and the student’s interests. Past sponsors have included such organizations as Harvesters, Healthcare Foundation of KC, Greater KC Chamber of Commerce, SupportKC, KCPT, LINC, City of Kansas City MO, Toy and Miniature Museum, and KC Transit Authority.

This program also offers a Leadership Independent Study, done concurrently, carrying three elective credit hours. Relevant readings, self-reflection, group discussions, writing, and one-on-one faculty mentoring will help student gain insights about:

• personal strengths and development areas,
• strategies for effective leadership within organizations, and
• The rewards of civic/community service

Significant stipend: $6,000 for the 10-week period, from early June to mid-August.

HOW SHOULD I APPLY?
If you meet the eligibility criteria above and have no other work responsibilities in the summer of 2013, we invite you to submit the application no later than March 1, 2013.

Selection of students will be made by mid-April 2013. Apply now!

Kansas City, Mo. — The United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) recently awarded the University of Missouri-Kansas City the “Best Workshop” award at the 2013 national conference in January.

Pictured, from left: Tony Luppino, co-author and UMKC Ruby M. Hulen professor of law; John Norton, co-author and associate director, UMKC Regnier Institute; Whitney Peake, professor, University of North Texas and USASBE Workshop Chair; and Rebecca White, professor, University of Tampa and president of USASBE. Not pictured: Malika Simmons, co-author and UMKC clinical professor of law

The workshop, titled “Reforming Immigration Law to Allow More Foreign Student Entrepreneurs to Launch Job-Creating Ventures in the United States,” was presented by Tony Luppino and Malika Simmons, professor of law and visiting assistant professor of law (respectively) at the UMKC School of Law, and John Norton, managing director of UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management.

The workshop grew out of a research paper coauthored by Luppino, Norton and Simmons that was published as a Kauffman Paper by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The research sets forth the argument that “improved immigration laws would help foreign student entrepreneurs launch U.S. companies, create U.S. jobs.”

In developing curriculum for a Master of Science in Global Entrepreneurship, a degree program slated for launch at the Bloch School in 2014, Norton discovered legal issues that make it difficult or impossible for foreign students to launch and run businesses in the U.S.

“My vision of the program was to pair foreign and American students together, who would create enterprises that would be positioned to take advantage of markets and resources in multiple countries,” Norton said. “I also thought that most of those enterprises would be headquartered in the U.S.”

“Most foreign students come here to study under an F-1 visa, and are generally not permitted to work without being granted authority. Self-employment is considered employment and not permitted,” Luppino explained. “After graduating, a foreign student may opt to obtain an H-1B visa (a temporary worker visa). This is not really a solution, due to the limited number available and because it’s intended for highly qualified employees, not business owners.”

Norton said that the net effect of current immigration law is that foreign entrepreneurs face such hurdles that they give up or return home to launch their ventures. “We spend taxpayer money and resources to educate these students and prepare them to be competitive, then ask them to leave,” Norton said. “And then we may end up competing with them.”

In the workshop, Norton, Luppino and Simmons explained to entrepreneurship faculty from across the country pitfalls of the current law, describe some proposed solutions under consideration and suggested additional regulatory and legislative changes.

According to USASBE, workshops are selected for consideration on the basis of the proposals and are evaluated by three judges, typically professors at other universities.

One of the judges noted, “The workshop was very informative and really brought to light a topic that is a potential issue for most universities, but I assume most universities are unaware of. I applaud the panel for their dedication in trying to actually get the current regulations changed to allow international students to start their own businesses here in the U.S.”

“It is only recently that people have begun thinking about a university as a place to go to start a business. The Bloch School is one of the schools at the forefront of such thought, and that came about because of the vision of civic and academic leaders here in Kansas City and at UMKC,” Norton said.

“We teach people to create, deliver and capture value, and we need to support them or they won’t be able to do what we have taught them. That means collaborating with legislators and their advisors, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and others around the country to engage people in discussion and drive awareness of the need for legislation that enables foreign student entrepreneurs to create jobs in this community and this country.”
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If you are interested in learning more about this research project, contact Victoria Prater, 816-235-5295, or John Norton, 816-235-2313.