Spring 2008 issue of Terry Magazine - (Page 50)

terr ymemo Management Department Terry’s new business plan guru By Matt Waldman (AB ’96) hris Hanks (BBA ’90) was born to be an entrepreneur. As a Terry risk management student, he hawked t-shirts and operated a floral delivery service to fund his college education. Then, after a stint in the risk management field, he started a CD store that he sold, followed by ventures in e-commerce, exports, and a publishing firm devoted to entrepreneurship in the southeast, all which he still owns. C Hanks (at right) had a successful risk management career at major companies such as Coca-Cola Enterprises, but gave it up to focus on entrepreneurial endeavors. He was a full-time instructor at Georgia State before returning to Terry. Given his experience in the marketplace, Hanks is well-equipped to succeed longtime management professor Charles Hofer as Terry’s new business plan guru and mentor to MBA students. “We’re going to be national champions of the business plan competition and I’m focused on winning for several reasons. For starters, it helps students monetize all the hard work they do in class,” says Hanks of the $100,000 grand prize awarded to the annual winner of the Moot Corp competition. “Two, it’s recognition for being the best at entrepreneurship and I want UGA and Terry to retain that recognition. Terry already has a strong track record and I want to elevate it with the help of my network of entrepreneurs. It will also give students a head start on launching their businesses.” 50 • Spring 2008 A self-described nerd about entrepreneurship, Hanks’ risk management career at Coca Cola Enterprises, Syntex Corp., and Alcon Laboratories was going well, but he found it personally unfulfilling. So, the Augusta native opened a CD store in his hometown and hasn’t looked back since. In the process, Hanks developed an unrelenting passion for small business that he began sharing with Georgia State students as a guest speaker. Student and faculty demands for his appearances ultimately led to a full-time position at GSU, so he brings that college teaching experience to Terry. “The unique thing about Chris is that he comes from the background of being an entrepreneur. He knows exactly what an investor wants to see,” says Charles Spencer, a former student of Hanks at GSU and a recent winner of the New Venture Competition at Wharton’s 34th annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Conference. Spencer’s company, ThinkLive!Inc, which specializes in manufacturing cutting-edge DJ/Producer hardware and software for the music industry, earned $10,000 as the prize-winning business plan — a plan Hanks helped Spencer create. “He tells you, ‘If you go through these steps, you are going to have something others want to fund,’” says Spencer. “He brings successful entrepreneurs to class and you get to see living testimonials. By the end of class, you’ll either have a great plan or be on the road to having a great plan.” Hanks’ battle plan at Terry is to team up with OpenSpan COO Rob Bearden in a joint project with the college’s management and MIS departments to create the Terry Technology Startup Competition. Open to all UGA students, the competition will give contestants the opportunity to learn about developing a technology business idea and converting their idea into a business plan. Student teams will be judged by a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at the Terry Executive Center in Atlanta. The best idea and top business plan will win $500 and $1500, respectively. “His passion for entrepreneurship is contagious,” says Seth Mason, who owned a Spanish-language newspaper with distribution throughout the southeast prior to enrolling in Terry’s MBA program. “He has rekindled the entrepreneurial spirit within me.” “One of the coolest things about being an entrepreneur is that you’re writing down what your life will look like in one year, five years, and seven years from now,” says Hanks, who notes that many small business owners value having control over the quality of life versus the impetus to get rich. Hanks intends to instill this same can-do spirit in his students. “I have a strong track record,” he says matter-of-factly. “The last class I taught in business planning, I had a panel of entrepreneurs and Angel Investors to judge them. Four people on that panel were former students of mine who had all won business plan competitions prior to running their own businesses. They are all getting paid for doing what they love to do. I love that. To me, that’s validation.” ■ Terry College of KeNt haNNoN BuSineSS

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Terry School of Business - Spring 2008

Terry School of Business - Spring 2008 Contents Quick Bites Research & Innovation Gatherings Best CEO in America An Unlikely Rock Star Fire & Flavor Beyond the Bench Terry Memo Economic Scorekeeper Class Notes

Terry School of Business - Spring 2008

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