December 2020 Newsletter - Issue 47
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35th Chapter Approved at Iona College!
Dear ,
Sigma Nu Tau continues to grow in a number of ways in spite of the pandemic! I am happy to report that we are growing in terms of the number of chapters, the number of members, and the number of programs!
- Iona College petitioned to establish a Sigma Nu Tau Chapter, and it is the 35th school to be approved to receive its charter!
- Our membership now stands at 2086 members!
- We are putting the final touches on a new program entitled the "Outstanding Chapter Awards Program!" The purpose of this new program is to motivate and recognize active and excellent Sigma Nu Tau chapters.
- Sigma Nu Tau was an exhibitor at the virtual CEO Conference on November 6 & 7.
Read on to Benefit from Articles in this Newsletter
We hope you'll read further in this newsletter to learn about competitions and grant opportunities for students and faculty members, as well as useful articles, an app, a competition platform, and exciting podcasts.
Big Congratulations to our 2020 Scholarship Winners!
Congratulations to the following 4 students, who will each receive a $1250 check made out to their university in mid- to late December:
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Caden Hansen from Sierra Nevada College (Nominated by Faculty Advisor: Prof. Jonathan Breiter)
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Katherine Moronta Rodriguez from Susquehanna University (Nominated by Faculty Advisor: Dr. Emma Fleck)
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Mackenzie Bonvallet from High Point University (Nominated by Faculty Advisor: Prof. Kathy Elliott)
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Chloe Burns from University of Scranton (Nominated by Faculty Advisor: Professor Gerry Loveless)
The first alternate is Nicholas Anzalone from Penn State University (Nominated by Dr. Jeanette Miller) and the second alternate is Olivia Forcino from SUNY Plattsburgh (Nominated by Dr. Laurent Josien). If one (or two) of the 4 scholarship recipients does not attend a college or university in the spring 2020 semester, then that scholarship will go to the first (and second) alternate.
Do You Know About our Chapter Referral Incentive?
Are you aware that when a current Sigma Nu Tau chapter refers another school to apply to start a Sigma Nu Tau chapter, the chapter making the referral can earn between $250-$300 if the new school is approved? Please follow this link for more information:
Finally, If you would like to establish a chapter of Sigma Nu Tau at your school so that you can recognize outstanding students, faculty members, entrepreneurs or honorary members, please visit our website (SigmaNuTau.org) or our Facebook page to learn about the process. Or feel free to give me a call to discuss it!
Wishing you all a joyous holiday season & a happy COVID-free new year,
Nancy J Church, Ph.D.
President and Executive Director
(518)564-4169
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Business Competitions & Other Opportunities |
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(1) The eix e-Fest Competition
Undergraduate students in North America are encouraged to form teams and submit their venture pitches for a chance at a quarter million dollars in prizes. After passing the online round, the Top 25 Finalist Teams will be invited (all expenses paid) to e-Fest® 2021 at the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship in Minneapolis! The action-packed 3-day celebration of undergraduate entrepreneurship features workshops, networking and four separate competitions awarding up to $215K in prize money.
In order to participate, your school must be registered. The dates for school registration is from Oct. 15, 2020 - Mar. 1, 2021.
Once your team is established and your school is registered, the online round of submissions opens Feb. 12, 2021. Online submissions should include:
- A Pitch Video (up to 7 minutes)
- A Slide Deck (Up to 16 Slides)
- Team Details (Undergrads only!)
- The deadline for submissions is March 7, 2021 at 11:59pm
(2) Draper Competition
The Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs is an event geared towards providing an opportunity for undergraduate women seeking access to entrepreneurship opportunities, capital and networks. This year’s competition provides more than $100,000 in cash and prizes, including a $25,000 cash prize as well as a Draper University Scholarship for the Grand Prize winner. The competition is for new, for-profit, independent ventures in the seed, start-up or early growth stages. An existing business is eligible only if, as of 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2020, it has received less than $25,000 in funding and earned less than $100,000 in gross revenue. A team member who graduates any time during the 2020–2021 academic year is eligible to compete in the 2021 competition. Each team must have at least one eligible team member who is an undergraduate woman at any accredited not-for-profit college or university located in the United States.
Online Submissions should include:
- An Executive Summary (Template provided on website)
- A Business Model Canvas
- An application must be submitted in one of the following categories: Product, Service, Web/Mobile app, Social impact, General.
- Each team must provide contact information for a faculty member at their school who is familiar with the team and the venture.
(3) Rice Business Plan Competition
The Rice Business Plan Competition is the largest and richest graduate student startup competition. In total, more than $1.3 million in investment, cash and in-kind prizes was awarded to the teams at the 2020 Virtual Rice Business Plan Competition. Prizes for the competition in 2021 are expected to mirror those of the previous year. A team account must be created before you can apply, and only one team member will need an account to apply for the Competition. Applications have been open since October 12, 2020 and are due by Sunday, January 17, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST.
In order to be eligible, the venture and teams must:
- be student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed
- have at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one of those students is a current graduate degree-seeking student
- be from a college or university anywhere in the world
- have not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital prior to July 1, 2020
- be seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months)
- be a potentially viable investment opportunity in the following categories: Energy, Cleantech and Sustainability, Hard Tech, Life Sciences, Digital Enterprise, or Consumer Products and Services)
On Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 12:30 PM CST - RBPC will announce 42 teams to compete via live video, email and phone. Those teams will have a week from the announcement date to confirm their commitment to the competition. For additional information, visit: https://rbpc.rice.edu/content/eligibility-and-how-apply
(4) SCG Bangkok Business Challenge
SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin 2021 is a global, intercollegiate startup competition. In 2008, this competition was launched globally, becoming Thailand’s first (and only) global intercollegiate startup competition. Last year a record of 208 teams representing 83 institutions from 24 countries/regions across 6 continents joined as first-round participants. This competition will be held virtually, where students from all over the world will compete for H.M. The King of Thailand’s Trophy, as well as cash prizes of over $60,000!
Advocating for sustainable development and innovation engagement, SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin 2021 cordially invites undergraduate and postgraduate student teams in all disciplines (business and non-business) to submit a business plan that is proactive in sustainable development and innovation.
- All full-time and part-time students enrolled in the 2020-21 academic year are eligible to participate.
- Submissions are being accepted from December 1, 2020 to January 3, 2021.
- Each student team must complete and submit an application form with a pitch deck, available on their website: http://bbc.sasin.edu/
(5) Online Entrepreneur Summits
Eventbrite offers hundreds of summits entrepreneurs can attend. All of the summits are online and most are free. All you have to do is select the summit you are interested in and register. Take a look at all of the events offered in December on many many different topics! A few summits include topics about managing a creative business, entrepreneurial bootcamp, reset and refocus your business, online global startup pitching, and many more. Enhance your skills and your resume by attending!
For more information visit:
(6) Best Small Business Grants for 2020
The links above, are websites listing grants that businesses might be eligible for during these unusual and uncertain times. There are corona virus business grants, federal business grants for small business, state government grants for small business, corporate small business grants, etc. These websites can be a great resource to aid struggling entrepreneurs.
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Videos & Podcasts for Entrepreneurs |
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"STUDENTPRENEUR Podcast"
Featuring Debra Zerr
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Meet Debra Zerr, a Missouri State University junior and young entrepreneur that has been working on her business to sell her costume and wedding dress designs. |
Ted Talk - Scott Lesnick
Scott Lesnick exemplifies the attributes of the Never Give Up guy in many areas of his life. This talk proposes that we start from the understanding that resourcefulness requires consideration of multiple perspectives of the same resources.
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Ted Talk - Morgan Waller
Morgan Waller is a two-time graduate of Northern Michigan University who now works in public affairs in Chicago. In this Ted Talk Morgan shares tips and tricks on how to use networking to land your first big job!
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"Studentpreneur"
Featuring Adam Stone
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In this weekly podcast, we are introduced to Adam Stone, a 20 year old, Commerce and Law student at Monash University and an entrepreneur with Speedlancer in Melbourne, Australia. |
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Practical Articles for Entrepreneurs |
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"How to be a Fierce Entrepreneur in a time of crisis"
Being an entrepreneur is hard enough. In the best of times, it can feel like skydiving without a parachute. So just imagine what it’s like during continued lockdowns, economic uncertainty, and the news about the COVID-19 pandemic changing every day.
1- "Work your butt off"
When your business rebounds, you’re going to find that you can reach new heights if you continue to drive forward at this time. And while it’s almost impossible to create “normal” working conditions while trapped at home, I can tell you one thing—it can spark a whole lot of creativity.
2- "Communication is more important than ever"
Everyone is drawn to strong leadership right now. It brings us comfort. Step up and be one of those leaders, opening your heart and your mind to those that rely on you. If you give them a sense of direction and purpose at this moment, they’re going to be more devoted to you than ever before. Stay positive and resilient and you’ll put stakeholders at ease. Inspire confidence.
3- "Keep the passion alive"
Passion is what gives us the courage to do the impossible. It’s the force that drives us to new heights. Don’t let go of your passion! Make it deeper, fiercer, and more focused. We all have more time on our hands. Even in busy households, some lulls allow you to use your imagination. Make a dream board for where you want things to go. Start planning what your passion project is going to look like in the future.
Keep learning, growing, and innovating, and feel free to consider yourself one of the greatest badass entrepreneurs out there.
AllBusiness. “How To Be A Fierce Entrepreneur In A Time Of Crisis.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2020/05/23/fierce-entrepreneur-in-time-of-crisis/?sh=269f6c5e7511.
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"3 ways to BUILD and GROW a successful business in 2020"
“Going to college, working for a big corporation and climbing the ladder used to be the route to success,” Sumpter says. “These days, entrepreneurs are changing the game. Stats show that people don’t relate to learning from big names or four-year colleges anymore. They’re more interested in a workshop to master email marketing than spending four years in school.”
1- "Be relatable"
When I make a video, I recall emotions of when I went through a challenging time in my life, personal situations in which I’ve cried many times. It gets me into the right frame of mind to be relatable. That’s why so many of them have over a thousand shares almost immediately! As an entrepreneur, ask yourself this question: How do you make your story more relatable and how do you relate it to your service or product?”
2- "Focus on 'warm traffic' "
“People are addicted to how many ‘likes’ and followers they have on social media. We’re so consumed with our posts and who commented or liked them, we’ve moved into wanting to be famous rather than being successful. Build your business by focusing on warm traffic: referred traffic, affiliate traffic and by building something called ‘buyers lists,’ which you can get from others in your niche.
3- "Control your business by controlling a sales department"
If you can take someone whose life you’ve changed, and make them an offer where they will make incredible money and have a great experience working for you, it’s a win-win. If you control your sales in-house, you won’t worry about cash flow. And whenever there’s a hiccup in the market, you put yourself in a great position because you control your money.”
Garn, R. (2020, April 14). 3 Ways to Build and Grow a Successful Business in 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348223
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eSign Contracts... Safely!
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You can sign and send any type of document (PDF, Word, Excel, etc.). Simply upload the document whoever needs to sign, assign the signature field and send off your request. It also includes reusable documents. Reusable documents make it easy to set up your most commonly signed documents. Create a template for easy completion and create a unique, reusable link that can be hosted on your site or sent via email.
By downloading the HelloSign App, you can have the functionality of HelloSign with any file in your Google Drive folder. After integrating with HelloSign, you’ll get a HelloSign folder in your Google Drive account. This folder will be automatically populated with your signed documents and signature requests. In addition to Google Drive, HelloSign is also integrated with Dropbox, Box and Evernote. Click here
-> Available for iOS, Android, Google; Free
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The global pandemic and economic crisis have reshaped nearly every aspect of American life, and the holiday season will be no different. That's why Amazon Smile is here to help as a simple way to donate a small percentage of your purchase to any of your favorite charitable causes this holiday season! With Sigma Nu Tau being a non-profit organization and a registered charity, AmazonSmile would donate 0.5% of your purchase to support our student programs.
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Peaqs – A Digital Platform Built for Entrepreneurship
Peaqs is a new system made for higher learning in entrepreneurship that allows teachers and faculty to create blended or hybrid learning experiences for their students.
Apart from being designed for learning outcomes, its 4-stage development process can move a product from concept to pitch-ready business plan in an efficient and engaging way, making it ideal for virtual or hybrid pitch competitions as well. Peaqs was recently the chosen platform partner for its first US pitch competition at the 2020 CEO Virtual Global Conference with contestants, faculty and judges from all over country.
The platform is highly customizable allowing the teacher or program coordinator to timebox game-phases according to course progression and define headlines that match curriculum and method of approach. This way, all processes are aligned and student projects are at level state of progress at all times for maximum comparability across projects on the platform. Also, projects are displayed in a way that gives students, teachers, program coordinators and outside business mentors (if they are invited) an easy and instant overview.
Everything takes place in a password protected online environment so only the participants invited by the teacher or program coordinator are able to see and interact with the platform.
On top of this, there are a number of engagement functions that can be enabled in a session of Peaqs that drive peer-reviewing and instant feedback. Most unique is the stock market engine that lends
gamification to the process of peer-reviewing as students are invited to act as investors and make trading decisions based on which projects they find to be performing better than others. This functionality is quite popular for running pitch competitions as judges and outside mentors can get onboard and provide feedback in a fun and competitive way – they can also just leave written comments behind in the commenting function.
Peaqs was designed in Copenhagen, Denmark and saw its first beta-release in late 2018 where it quickly found an integration with 3 Danish business and technical universities. In 2019, Peaqs was a finalist at the Nordic Edtech Awards. Today Peaqs is live across 4 continents and is expanding into other subjects of teaching that stand to benefit from its unique approach to drive a learning process. For more information, click here: https://peaqs.com. |
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Sigma Nu Tau Mission
"To promote, recognize, honor, and reward academic excellence in entrepreneurship and to encourage and recognize the practice of principled entrepreneurship."
4 types of membership:
Student, Faculty, Entrepreneur, Honorary
Current Chapters:
2009
#1 - SUNY Plattsburgh - Founding Chapter
2011
#2 - Kent State University
#3 - Belmont University
#4 - California State University - San Bernardino
#5 - Clarkson University
2012
#6 - High Point University
#7 - Claflin University
#8 - Suffolk University
#9 - Middle Tennessee State University
#10 - Baruch College
#11 - John F. Kennedy University
#12 - Rowan University
#13 - Illinois Institute of Technology
2013
#14 - University of Baltimore
#15 - New York Institute of Technology
2014
#16 - George Washington University
#17 - Husson University
2015
#18 - York College of Pennsylvania
#19 - University of Iowa
2016
#20 - North Central College
2017
#21 - University of Scranton
#22 - Harding University
#23 - Western New England University
#24 - Morgan State University
2018
#25 - St. Edward's University
#26 - Azusa Pacific University
2019
#27 - Pennsylvania State University
#28 - Ashford University
#29 - Sierra Nevada College
#30 - Rollins College
#31 - East Carolina University
2020
#32 - Virginia Union University
#33 - Susquehanna University
#34 - University of South Florida (forthcoming)
#35 - Iona College (forthcoming)
Your school could be the next new chapter!
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December 2020
Issue 47
Editor:
Dr. Nancy J. Church
Associate Editors:
Ninti Bernardez-Mauvais
Scott Sagala
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Click the above button to donate! We accept all major U.S. credit & debit cards.
Sigma Nu Tau is celebrating its 11th Anniversary during the 2020-2021 academic year! Please consider making an anniversary donation of $11 or $20.09
in support of our scholarship program! Other levels of giving include:
"Presidents Society" $1,000-$2008.99
or
"Founders Society"
$2009.00 or more
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