The ECenter is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship at UNH. Our goal is to create the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, we are independent of any one college. |
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The Latest Happenings from the ECenter |
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Leaves are green, the temperature is rising, and students are wrapping up an amazing year to head to their summer plans, or don the cap and gown and graduate. These graduating classes also represent the first cohort of students in the first-year program Idea & Innovation Society. The Society selects up to 30 students who have started a company, a non-profit, or have been active in innovation in high school. The ECenter added some fuel, focus, and fun, and this group certainly soared! This program has proven to be essential to helping students find a like-minded community from day one, encourage them to stay at UNH, and work collaboratively with peers from all majors to take leadership positions, grow ideas, and launch companies. We wish them well and know they will be cycling back through the ECenter as alumni in the years to come.
History was made in April with a first ever national win for a UNH undergraduate student team/company at e-Fest in Minneapolis! Another strong brand building for UNH on the national stage thanks to the efforts of the five amazing students of HydroPhos Solutions. Enjoy reading about their journey.
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We are also excited to see the impactful outcomes of 18 students as they start their paid internships with founders/co-founders. This unique program is made possible by generous alumni and (603) Challenge donors who financially support the program to the benefit of students and start-ups.
Likewise, four eager and innovative ECenter students will be paid through our Summer Seed Grant and will be working on their own ideas this summer. We appreciate the support of Pierce Atwood for that sponsorship.
This month, we welcomed Nichole Jones to the team as Program Support Assistant. We will be working hard this summer as we prepare for next fall. We have a lot in store for UNH students with the launch of two new programs, a second cohort of the Shaw Innovation Explorers, 30 new students in the Idea & Innovation Society, and a jam-packed schedule of workshops, bootcamps, speaker series, and ideathons. #ECenterImpact
Stay curious.
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Ian Grant
Executive Director, ECenter
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Patten Family Foundation Gifts $1 Million to Create the Patten Family Sales and Funding Accelerator |
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The ECenter was excited to announce a $1 million dollar gift last week from Harry Patten ‘58 and the Patten Family Foundation to allow for the creation and launch of the Patten Family Sales and Funding Accelerator program this fall.
The new program, built to increase the probability of successful ventures, will provide sales coaching to ECenter start-up founders/co-founders and be available to both current UNH students and after graduation as young alumni. Among the many facets of the program, the training will focus on building sales skills for new start-ups. Founders will receive a certification and become eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in non-equity/non-recourse loans.
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“I am so appreciative of Harry Patten’s continued support of the Entrepreneurship Center which in turn helps entrepreneurial UNH students succeed,” said UNH President James W. Dean Jr. “This important gift will also increase the recognition of UNH as an innovative and entrepreneurial university for students to attend.”
“I’m sure that every student who completes this groundbreaking program will have a leg up on their future success,” said Harry Patten. “Whether they move into a sales career or not, these students will benefit from the experience. I say this because I firmly believe that everything in life involves selling.”
At the ECenter, we know the demand is already there as many students have been waiting in line to join the program.
ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant explained, “Over the past six years ECenter students have made great strides to develop ideas and launch companies. The two biggest gaps are for student and young alumni founders to learn how to sell their start-up idea/product/services to get paying customers and to secure early-stage funding.”
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ECenter Students Make UNH History at e-Fest |
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From left to right: ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant, Daisy Burns '24, Jason Plant '23,
Derek Long '23, Matthew Oriente '23, and Katie Remeis '23. Courtesy photo.
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In addition to the business plan competitions ECenter students participate in at UNH, they also submit their ideas and start-ups to competitions on the national level. This spring, HydroPhos Solutions submitted to e-Fest, the largest undergraduate business plan competition hosted yearly in Minneapolis, MN. The HydroPhos team made UNH history by not only earning the coveted 1st place prize of $50,000, but also earning a Global Impact Award for an additional $10,000!
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Congratulations are in order for the HydroPhos team and co-founders (all Paul College students): Daisy Burns '24, Jason Plant '23, Derek Long '23, Matthew Oriente '23, and Katie Remeis '23!
The verdict came after the review of nearly 100 submissions from over 60 colleges and universities from across the United States. Expert judges had selected the top 25 undergraduate teams to travel to the University of St. Thomas and showcase their business pitches to an esteemed panel of judges.
As Hydrophos co-founder Daisy Burns '24 said: "We are so grateful for the numerous opportunities the ECenter has helped HydroPhos achieve, including this exciting trip to Minneapolis to pitch our idea at e-Fest."
e-Fest, sponsored by the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation and the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas, is an annual competition attracting applications from the best student entrepreneurs around the country. This year was the sixth e-Fest competition and offered over $215,000 in prizes.
HydroPhos Solutions aims to address two social and environmental problems: destructive mining of phosphorus for fertilizer, and eutrophication in bodies of water caused by excess phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The business aims to take the excess phosphorus from the WWTPs and use it for fertilizer, therefore reducing the need for mining.
HydroPhos has earned many other accolades since its inception. The UNH students won 1st Place Audience Choice & Most Impact Potential Award in the 2020 NH Social Venture Innovation Challenge (SVIC), and were runner-up winners in the ECenter's 2021 Maurice Prize for Innovation.
Additionally, Daisy and Katie also competed in last year’s 2021 Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs and won 3rd Place overall and 1st Place in Service Track. Draper is the largest undergraduate women's entrepreneurship competition in the United States. In 2022, the ECenter had another two teams competing in the competition: Emily Abrusci (COLSA ’25) for Grey-t Water, and teammates Kaiden Bedell (CEPS ’24) and Allison Martin (COLSA ’24) for Tidan. Both teams qualified as semifinalists.
We're inspired by how hard these ECenter coached teams worked to get there. For the 10th year running, the 2022 Draper Competition Semifinalist Class consists of 50 teams, made up of 111 students, from 42 schools and 24 states who competed for $100,000 in prize money.
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The Shaw Innovation Explorers Attend the
2022 SXSW Conference in Austin, TX
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From left to right, starting in the front row: Kaitlin Phair '24.
Second row: Kate Keefe '24, Sydney Crotteau '24, Daisy Burns '24, Allison Martin '24, and Kaiden Bedell '24.
Third row: Carley Dahlstrom '24, Axel Barretto-Rodriguez '24, Tim Sicard '24, and Derek Bobbitt '24.
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The dynamic group of sophomores engaged in the inaugural year of the Shaw Innovation Explorers took a giant leap when they spent a large portion of their spring break at the internationally acclaimed South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin, TX.
“SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together”, said ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant.
The Explorers were offered the opportunity to choose among hundreds of small and large sessions around art, music, technology, innovation, film, and more. Combined with a city full of venues and exciting events from Banksy to block chain, NFT’s and Inc. Magazine Founders lounge, the trip was a remarkable success.
Students were encouraged to select topics of interest that would deepen their knowledge and push their boundaries. Every morning the group gathered for a roundtable to share what has been heard, seen, and experienced. From 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, they were fully engaged in soaking up as much as they could. As if that was not enough, all shyness vanished as they sought out speakers and celebrities from each session to introduce themselves, learn more, and network for future engagements.
This was the top rated trip for the Explorers this year. Allison Martin's (COLSA '24) comments were echoed by all who attended: “I learned independence and confidence during this trip that I don’t think I would have gotten to the extent I did other than by attending SXSW. I also learned so much about innovation in so many different areas of the world (i.e. space, art, business, LQBTQ+ advocacy, climate change, etc.). SXSW was revolutionary for my mind and soul, and I am so incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to explore.”
This program was made possible with the generous support of David E. Shaw '73, CEO Black Point Group, John R. Shaw, CEO of Itaconix (a company built on technology licensed from UNH), and the Shaw family.
If you’d like to learn more about the Shaw Innovation Explorers Program, visit ShawExplorers.com.
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A Celebratory Evening for ECenter Seniors &
Grant Memorial Entrepreneurship Prize Awardees
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What a year it has been! The class of 2022 has had a tremendous impact on the ECenter and we've had an impact on them, too. We've learned from each other through our many events like the Idea Creation Bootcamp and Start-up Speaker Series, our activities like idea coaching, the Entrepreneurship Club, and Makerspace, and our programs like the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program and i2 Passport.
The graduating students who have been the most engaged with the ECenter during their time at UNH were invited to a celebratory dinner on April 27 at Clark’s American Bistro, in downtown Durham, to reminisce on their many tales and adventures. We will miss having them with us every day, but if past graduates have proven anything, it's that the ECenter journey doesn't end with graduation.
We look forward to seeing what great things they'll do, and the ECenter doors are always open to our alumni, to troubleshoot ideas, launch businesses, hire student interns, or whatever else we can help with.
The celebratory dinner was also the perfect occasion for the ECenter team to announce the two recipients of the 2022 William and Joan Grant Memorial Entrepreneurship Prize. Congratulations to:
- Caleb Peffer (CEPS '22)
- Nathaniel Hunt ‘21 (COLA, December '21)
The William and Joan Grant Memorial Entrepreneurship Prize was established last year by ECenter Executive Director, Ian Grant, in memory of his parents who provided him a lifetime of unwavering support of his entrepreneurial, adventurous, and innovative pursuits and in honor of the ECenter’s 5th birthday in 2021.
The intent of the Prize is to be given to the top two graduating undergraduate or graduate students, selected by a committee, who have exemplified the spirit and actions of “in-the-trenches” innovation and entrepreneurship during their years at UNH. A $500 prize and award trophy were given to each student. An engraved plaque at the ECenter also attests to their achievement.
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Caleb has continuously demonstrated his passion for entrepreneurship during his time at UNH. He is currently pursuing his companies SideGuide, FlutterBricks, and HallHub, LLC. SideGuide is a coding course platform designed to help new developers learn and apply concepts at lightning speed. HallHub is a "Digital" Residence Hall that elevates campus communities, and FlutterBricks is a UI toolkit and component marketplace. It offers hundreds of pre-built Flutter widgets and screens that save busy developers time and money.
Caleb has been coached by the ECenter on all these ideas.
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Nathaniel has demonstrated his in-the-trenches entrepreneurial passion by co-founding and growing SPAITR, LLC. SPAITR is an integrated technology platform company delivering lacrosse quantitative diagnostic information. Nathaniel has invested a significant amount of time growing his company and he’s led the SPAITR team in developing a beta version of their product. He is currently identifying manufacturers for a full launch. Nathaniel has shared his start-up story through our newsletter profiles, in UNH publications, and at many UNH events, and the ECenter is excited to honor his achievements. |
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As Ian said, “I couldn’t think of two better students to represent the spirit of this award. Congrats to Nathaniel and Caleb and thank you to the committee for their hard work to determine the two winners. While it is impossible to totally recognize my appreciation for my parents and what they provided me, paying it forward is one small way. I was 23 when my mom died and my dad passed in 2019 at 95—both always encouraged me to live life with as few regrets as possible. That instilled in me my own entrepreneurial and adventurous journeys that included studying and living in Kenya and with the Maasai, traveling overland through much of Sub-Saharan Africa on the Indian Ocean side, founding three start-ups that were fortunate enough to be acquired, and a seemingly endless list of other amazing experiences. While I have no hand in the selection of the annual winners, the committee certainly awarded two well deserving rock-star students in Caleb and Nathaniel. Both embody the spirit of the in-the-trenches entrepreneurship which was the vision of the award." |
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Join us in Celebrating the 2022
Maurice Prize for Innovation Winner!
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On April 6, the ECenter conducted final presentations for the $5,000 Maurice Prize for Innovation. We are pleased to announce that this year, the prize was awarded to Jack Potvin ‘22, a graduating Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics senior double majoring in Entrepreneurial Studies and Marketing, for his idea Project Happy. Project Happy is a nonprofit tech startup on a mission to reconnect young people to their community, in an effort to help them live happier and more connected lives.
Every year the final round gets more competitive, and the caliber of ideas continues to impress us. The Maurice Prize is a competition unlike any other, in that it is a true celebration of the idea journey, rather than the result. It rewards hard work, overcoming obstacles, and insight into success and failure. This year, each of our finalists demonstrated the spirit of this competition, and we know that J. Dolores and Alfred P. Maurice would be proud.
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For their final presentation, students are asked to highlight the growth, learnings, and development that occurred between submitting their idea in the fall and completing their final analysis in the spring. This year was highly competitive, with many outstanding ideas in both the preliminary and final rounds. Jack impressed the judges with the caliber of his idea, the growth that occurred during the competition window, and the thoughtfulness of his final presentation. |
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Our runner-up teams also deserve a special shout-out for the quality of their achievements: Cockatoo Computers, presented by Matthew Laflamme (CEPS '25) and James Sullivan III (Paul ’25), and Electric Vehicle Organization (EVO) submitted by Tyler Wittmann (Paul '24). Both ideas showed exceptional progress and growth during the competition window. We look forward to watching these ideas evolve in the coming years and we're delighted to recognize their efforts with runner-up prizes of $1,500 per team.
Thank you to our faculty, staff, and student judges for supporting this competition!
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UNH Alumni and Innovative Founders
Share Their Stories
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This semester, we again hosted inspiring speaker series events with innovative UNH alumni and entrepreneurs.
On March 28, Bill Seibel visited the ECenter to offer a presentation titled, “Lessons Earned by a Serial Entrepreneur.” The author of Press Go! Lessons Earned by a Serial Entrepreneur and CEO of Gumball, a consulting firm, presented his hard earned lessons for entrepreneurial success. UNH students in attendance also received a copy of Bill's book.
Bill has been CEO of nine start-ups and an operating executive of another four. In a world where 99% of new companies fail within the first three years, where only 1% of start-ups receive VC funding, and where only 8% of those generate good returns for both investors and management – Bill has achieved ten successful exits!
"Bill's wisdom was extremely inspirational and beneficial to hear!" said Ian Lidster (Paul '24), while Anna Madden (COLA '23) mentioned, "It was exciting to learn more about serial entrepreneurship, and I came away with many new insights."
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Our second speaker event, the Alumni Speaker Series "Two Wildcats and Their Unusual Journey to Start-Up Success", was hosted at the ECenter in April. The much-anticipated panel discussion with UNH alumni Tito Jackson '99, founder & CEO of Verdant Medical, and Nancy Splaine '81 founder of Connecting Point, offered a personal inside look at the two successful UNH alumni very different journeys to start-up success after graduation. |
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Tito Jackson '99
Tito is the owner and CEO of Verdant Medical, a medical and recreational cannabis company, and he is the only Black owned medical operator in the state of Massachusetts.
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Nancy Splaine '81
Nancy is the EVP of Connecting Point, a business she launched in 2004, and today she consults for EmeraldX, working for their accelerator team on new business launches.
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The ECenter team received many compliments for the session. "This event was truly one of my favorites" said Kaitlin Phair (COLSA '24). "Listening to these entrepreneurs felt like being engaged in a conversation and they encouraged others to reach for their passions. It was so valuable to learn about their journeys starting from the beginning [...] almost like you're reading a book.“
"The speakers inspired me to be the change that I wish to see in the world!” chimed Allison Martin (COLSA '24).
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We're thrilled to welcome Nichole Jones to the ECenter team as Program Support Assistant! Nichole joined us just this month, and she will, among many other things, apply her talents to support the Shaw Innovation Explorers Program, offer events support, and manage finances.
Nichole attended Manchester Community College with a focus in science. “I was going to be a nurse when I grew up” she said. She has since founded and grown a personal chef business as the owner of Fridge to Plate. The skills she learned as a small business owner will transfer quite well into her new ECenter role.
Next time you're at the ECenter, stop by Nichole's office to say hi and welcome her to the UNH community.
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Venture Plus Level Sponsors |
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Ian Grant
Executive Director
(603) 862-5470
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Heather MacNeill
Associate Director
(603) 862-4959
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Genevieve Brown
Associate Program Manager
(603) 862-1351
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Nichole Jones
Program Support Assistant
603-862-3011
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Sandra Tripodi
Director of Development
603-862-4027
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