A new 10-week business series allows students building their first businesses to bounce ideas off of local executives and gain real-world experience. As these developing ideas progress, the Incubator Project will continue to provide the students with general guidance, with the ultimate goal of launching profitable enterprises.

The Incubator has been in development for the past year in conjunction with the San Jose State University business department. This quarter marks its first trial at De Anza.

Students interested in starting businesses in childcare, healthcare and home maintenance are encouraged to apply. Applications for the spring series can be submitted until March 27.

Plans call for the Incubator to grow, eventually handling 12 entrepreneurs-in-training at once in a new facility. This building would provide computers, office supplies and machines to the students, as well as large classrooms to handle guest speakers and one-day business seminars.

The program has raised $90,000 in college money as well as private funding.

Each week, a different Silicon Valley executive leads the class and shares his unique business perspective.

At a recent Wednesday night class, Chuck Berghoff, president and CEO of Summit Microelectronics, led a discussion on writing an effective business plan. Before taking over Summit Microelectronics two years ago, Berghoff worked with venture capitalists in Palo Alto to determine which new business plans were worth investigating. Over the course of two hours, the four incubating entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to ask Berghoff any question having to do with his experiences and to receive expert advice.

“This interface is priceless,” said Program Director Tesha McCord Poe. “It gives these students the opportunity to speak with professionals that they wouldn’t normally be able to.”

After the 10-week course is complete, each entrepreneur will present his or her business plan to the Incubator advisory board for review. They will continue with a year of mentoring with a professional who will help them polish the idea and get it off the ground.

McCord Poe is optimistic about the program’s potential.

program’s potential. “The goal of this project is to start real businesses that will become profitable and sustainable,” she said. “[This project] is not an academic exercise by any means, but rather will serve as a resource for students as they launch viable businesses.”

One such student is Raymond Ong, who planned on producing children’s safety products after seeing a need with his one-year-old son. “I wanted to childproof my house, but all of the products that I saw in the stores were either overpriced or [inadequate],” he said.

Being resourceful, he decided to create safety products that his son could really use. One of the most promising of these includes “Baby Bumpers” – foam cushions that can be set around sharp table corners and doors to shield children beginning to walk.

Ong’s plans include creating a complete line of affordable and safe products for children under five. He sees the project as a valuable forum.

“The Incubator’s greatest strength is its safe and relaxed environment. We [students] are in the same boat, and we’re given an opportunity to openly express our ideas. The project gives structure to what we need to do and gives us a kick in the pants to get working on it,” Ong said.

Ong’s concern is that competitors will swoop into his budding market and copy his designs. When the other entrepreneurs echoed similar sentiments, Berghoff gave an overview of intellectual property protections, and how the students might apply for them.

After class, McCord Poe commended her students on a great session. “You’re really getting better in presenting your business ideas,” she said. “Each week, I feel like you are developing these ideas more and more.”

Entrepreneurs enter the program in varying stages, she said. “Some enter the program with a clear idea of what they want to produce and how they’re going to do it. For those students, the Incubator gives them an opportunity to tie up loose ends and think of things that they might have missed the first time around. Other students enter the program with an idea and not much more. For them, we will help them through every aspect of the planning process.”

At the end of the 10 weeks, entrepreneurs may decide that their business ideas aren’t economically feasible. This too, is a success, says McCord Poe, as the students will have made an educated decision based upon their experiences in the program.

When asked about the school’s motivation for creating the Incubator, McCord Poe replied, “The school is trying to increase interest in entrepreneurship in students. In the past, De Anza has been very committed to small business programs with students, and the Incubator serves as an extension of that commitment.”

There is an economic development side to this project as well. “There is a lot of synergy [that occurs] between students and their community. This effort goes way beyond those four people. It reaches out into the community and creates jobs, increases the tax base and provides affordable services for families in the community.”

INTERESTED?

Introductory sessions will be held for the new series on March 18 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in AT204 and on

March 27 from 6-7 p.m. For more information, contact Tesha McCord Poe at [email protected].