Auburn University wants to hear their students roar with business ideas and succeed outside the tiger cage of Auburn University; but first, they must be put in it.
Inspired by the TV show "Shark Tank," the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business teamed up with the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation to give Auburn students the opportunity to advance their business ideas.
Doug Warrington, Director of Business Development Office of Technology Transfer, elaborated on the origins of the competition. "The dean of business has had a desire for this for a long period of time," Warrington explained. "And it's something that he's just recently been able to pull some talent from our alumni group that could actually facilitate something that could make this thing work."
Of that alumni group came Mark Forchette, 1981 graduate of Auburn University's business school, who is currently CEO and president of Delphinus Medical Technologies.
Forchette saw his immersion in business to be extremely valuable experiences, and while talking to the Bill Hardgrave, dean of the business school, the two decided to try constructing a competition similar to "Shark Tank." "Tiger Cage is really business fundamentals: things that students can take as processes on how to start a business and how to commercialize," Forchette stated.
The event launched for the very first time on Sept. 25 at The Hotel at Auburn and Dixon Conference Center. There, mentors welcomed and encouraged student entrepreneurs to learn about the competition's opportunities as well as explain the next steps in the competition process.
Of the students interested was Jasmyn Benford, sophomore in international business. Benford shared her idea of starting a night club targeted towards multicultural students for the purposes of socializing, hosting artistic events, and implementing diversity. "When I found out about this event, I thought that even if I didn't make it to the end of the competition or win the money, getting the advice and having access to all the resources would help me in many ways."
Tiger Cage has a set schedule for all stages of the contest, which ends in April. The winning teams will receive a total distribution of $17,000 in cash, along with several other valuable resources. Detailed information along with future session dates can be found online at harbert.auburn.edu.
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