Two days after setting the clocks forward we got whipped with the third nor’easter in two weeks. I can think of few better analogies for start-up life! 

 

We are half-way through the semester in Durham and the energy is amazing as students focus on a variety of opportunities between now and the end of the school year. Four students will get a paid internship at a start-up for the summer, three students will win $3,500 each to work on their idea over the summer and be mentored, one student will win $5,000 in our first award of the Maurice Prize, plus many teams being coached at the ECenter are prepping for the Holloway Prize Competition that concludes on May 9 ^th.

Likewise, students are rapidly engaged in many offerings on campus to accumulate enough Visa Stamp Credits for the $20,000 of cash and prizes for the i2 Passport Program.

 

We are appreciative for the financial support from Peter Paul, the University, and many other alumni who provide our base level funding for the next several years. We have ambitious goals as we continue to build the culture on campus as the heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship. 

Please consider giving for the June (603) Challenge Campaign and your time as a mentor. 

 

Onwards and upwards!

This semester, the ECenter decided to do things a little differently with our classic Start-up Speaker Series. Partnering with UNH Career and Professional Success (CaPS), we’re demonstrating that innovators come from all colleges and majors! Entitled “Game Changers: Creating Change and Innovation from all Majors,” this three-part series welcomes many UNH alums back to campus. The first event took place on February 12 ^th. If you couldn’t attend, here is what you missed. You can also watch the full video here on our YouTube page.

 

Financial Underwriter and Health Care Analyst starts luxury brand vegan and natural cosmetics company called Lust V Cosmetics. Illustrator becomes successful owner of 14 Planet Fitness franchises and creates high-end barber shop called Blind Pig Barber Company with high double-digit growth. Wait. What? This is not the academic background I thought was required to be a successful entrepreneur! This is the premise of the Speaker Series that the ECenter and CaPS wanted to share. Innovators and entrepreneurs come from all academic backgrounds.

To start, Samara Walker ‘13 (a health management and policy major from COLSA) shared stories about her journey, leaving years in the corporate world as a health care financial analyst to start Lust V Cosmetics, a luxury, natural, and vegan cosmetics brand. From product chemistry and packaging to maximizing social media, Sam has done it all. In fact, she was in between trips going back and forth from Boston to New York for Fashion Week when she visited Durham for the Speaker Series. Sam shared many great insights with the captive audience. “A mentor is essential. My uncle is my mentor. As a fellow entrepreneur with a financial services background, he is why I am successful. I would never be where I am now without one.” Continued Sam, “I don’t have lots of funding so I use social media to make my connections. I’ve been persistent, but I have been lucky to have Essence and other high-end brands find me and promote me to their readers. You never know who you are talking with—so always be friendly and engaging.” She explained how she outlined the entire idea on a board—from brand competition, to pricing, to bottle size and luxury market requirements. You can now find Lust V Cosmetics on Amazon!

Next, Bryan Pappas described how he started off as an art/illustrator major at UMass Dartmouth, worked in graphic design at a newspaper for three years, and then moved to selling line ads in the newspaper, going through the Yellow Pages cold calling every small company. Then he heard about a company, MicroArts, that needed a sales rep for design services. It combined his two skills sets. The company was later acquired for $88 million, and Bryan was out of a job. “What do I do now? What’s my next gig? I wanted to be my own boss. I thought, if I am going to build something, I want to build it for myself,” Pappas shared. At the time, Planet Fitness was new. He and his business partner were customers and they thought this was a good opportunity to be one of the first franchisees. “I was making a six-figure income to now being a gym owner standing behind the desk with a name tag. It was scary… I am plunging the toilets, painting… I signed my house and everything I owned as collateral.” The hard work paid off. They expanded to own 14 Planet Fitness locations, and with another business partner, he’s opened a new concept, high-end business called Blind Pig Barber Company in Portland, Maine. In conclusion, Pappas noted how lucky UNH students are to have the ECenter. “The ECenter is like spring training. You can practice being an entrepreneur. Start with no consequences. It’s not like you will get kicked out of your dorm if it doesn’t work out.”

 

Other key take-aways shared with the audience and moderator Trudy Van Zee, Associate Vice Provost of Career and Professional Success, were:

 

Please join us for the third and final Speaker Series of the semester on April 23 ^rd. For more information and to RSVP, visit our Eventbrite page.

After providing the initial support to launch the  Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter) , entrepreneur and philanthropist Peter T. Paul ’67 has renewed his support based on student demand and the center’s success with a $400,000 gift.

“We are grateful for Peter’s ongoing support,” said UNH President Mark Huddleston. “The ECenter is a great asset and helps us to attract students who are curious to learn and understand more about problem solving, idea creation, and the start-up process.”

Paul’s new gift was structured to include additional support from the university, including a commitment to help secure other alumni financial support. Overall, the funding will allow the ECenter to flourish until 2022.

“I always have high expectations for outcomes based upon financial gifts I make to UNH,” said Paul, “but even those were widely exceeded within two years of the ECenter’s launch. The speed at which the ECenter grew, the tangible impact it has already had on students from every college and the national recognition it has received in such a short period of time makes me proud to have been the catalyst. While my gift helps sustain the current structure, the center is looking for philanthropic entrepreneurs to help support additional new and innovative programs. Every dollar has a significant impact.”

To learn more about the impact of Peter Paul's gift to the ECenter, check out the UNH Today story here .

Chip Linton , a 2017 graduate of the Peter. T. Paul College of Business and Economics, was an inaugural member of the Rines Angel Investment Fund and a finalist in the Holloway Prize Competition. He's also the founder and CEO of CocoChew LLC! ECenter intern, Devin McMahon (Paul College '19), recently caught up with Chip.

Tell us about your current company/project.

CocoChew is a company that manufactures and sells 100% all natural dog chew toys out of coconut husk (fibers). As dogs chew on the material, it does an amazing job of brushing away a lot of unwanted plaque buildup which can lead to other health issues later in the dog’s life. Our toys are free from any dyes, plastics, or chemicals that could be harmful for dogs. We had the idea for CocoChew on the beaches of Maui, HI where I was visiting a friend and we noticed all the dogs running up and down the beaches with coconuts in their mouths. We decided to ask some local veterinarians on the island to see if there were any benefits to the dogs chewing on the coconuts. Many vets informed us that the coconut fibers were great for dogs’ teeth and acted as a natural toothbrush of sorts. This was the beginning of CocoChew.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

When I was younger I sold Yu-Gi-Oh cards with a friend of mine to parents in my neighborhood. We had so much fun with this that we then transitioned to a ridiculously cheesy t-shirt business. Both businesses didn’t last very long, but we made some money for ourselves in the process. I loved the feeling of supporting myself through my efforts and my efforts alone. The more I worked the more I made, and that was amazing. This passion led me to the Mel Rines Angel Investment Fund my junior year at UNH, where I was able to focus on everything in the startup world. The more I learned during my time with the fund, the more confident I became that I could create a business for myself.  

What inspires you to innovate? 

For my team at CocoChew, we start with a problem that has affected one of us. While chewing on coconuts is a cool concept, I would not have the same passion for CocoChew without having a pet who was seriously affected by poor pet products. It is hard to point out something specific that inspires me or anyone on the CocoChew team to innovate. One thing we speak a lot about is this idea that we are always being chased. There is always someone out there who is trying to beat us and get to the finish line before we do. This idea that "we want to cannibalize ourselves before somebody else does" really helps us to stay on our toes and consistently asses what we are doing and how we could be doing it better. As we meet and discuss these concepts as a team, we find various inspiration that stems from brainstorming.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur today? 

Keep working day after day at the idea. One thing we always try to remember at CocoChew is that our journey will be a marathon, not a sprint. We had very big aspirations for CocoChew's first year that proved to be unrealistic. We quickly realized that this was going to be a long and rigorous adventure filled with ups and downs. I have found it incredibly important to celebrate all of the small "wins" that you and your team have on a daily or weekly basis. This keeps moral high and shows progress has been made.

If you are not satisfied until you are an industry leader, then you will find yourself trapped with an overwhelming feeling of stress and disappointment. While big picture thinking is very important, it is also critical to break down your goals into smaller pieces.

Who has been an influence in your work and life? 

My team has been the biggest influence in my work. We are so lucky to have a team that is intelligent and incredibly motivated. In life I would say my parents have influenced me and my decisions more than anyone else. They have always been incredibly supportive of me and have continued to help pick me up when I am at a low point in the business or in life.

What does the future look like for you and your company? 

We have a lot of really exciting things to look forward to for CocoChew. We expect to see continued expansion nationwide into retail stores around the US as well as continuing to increase our online sales. Our biggest opportunity stems from the CocoChew brand. We put a lot of time and energy into our marketing to capture new customers. We want brand loyalty and we are beginning to notice our efforts translate into recurring customers and positive feedback. We expect continued brand growth as we expand to other parts of the country, which is very exciting for us!

Anything else we should know?

Regarding entrepreneurship, I would suggest spending as much time in the ECenter as possible to be surrounded by like-minded individuals. We did all of our work for CocoChew in the ECenter and are much better off as a business because of it. The connections and helpful staff you find in the ECenter will provide you with invaluable information that will give you an advantage after you graduate. Anyone considering the entrepreneurial path should learn from the staff at the ECenter and the other students who work there. If you have a passion for something, run with it! You have the best tools at your disposal to help make your dream a reality. Good luck!

To learn more about CoCoChew LLC, or to pick up a treat for your favorite dog, visit https://cocochewllc.com/.