The Institute - March 2018 - 11

Chavez says. One is Lvl Up Dojo,
a subscription-based service that
offers online videos to help professional video game players train
for competitions. Another is SCI
Creations, a digital marketing firm
in Chandler, Ariz., that specializes in
data services.
Aspiring founders at the university also learn from each other.
"Entrepreneurship can be a very

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lonely experience," Cho says. That's
why ASU launched the Startup Village, a residential building where
students who want to start their own
businesses can live and network,
share resources, and help each other
solve problems and flesh out ideas.
Professors and recent graduates
often visit the building to act as mentors. There is not a similar program
yet for online students.

OV E R C O M I N G C H A L L E N G E S

The two lecturers note that
students-especially engineering
undergraduates-often are knowledgeable about the technology
they're working on but might not
understand all its potential applications. The program helps students
narrow down what they want the
technology to accomplish. It has
them identify a target audience and

find and interview
potential customers
to learn what they
might want from the
product. Cho and
Chavez refer to the
audience as a cult-a
group of influencers
and experts likely to
use the technology.
After students
identify and consult
with their cult, they
learn how to develop
a prototype and test it,
then create a marketing campaign.
Completing those
steps helps give the
students confidence
to present their
startup to potential
investors, Chavez
says. "It can be a
challenge for entrepreneurs to connect
with investors," he
says, "especially if
they don't live near
a major startup hub,
like Silicon Valley.
"Our students
often come up
through the mud," he
says, explaining that
some start with nothing but money borrowed from friends
and family. And
many must pay off
student loans before
they have capital of
their own to invest.
Therefore, he says, it's
especially important
to develop a product
and a business plan
to impress angel
investors and venture
capital firms early on.
"The engineering school at
ASU emphasizes learning by
doing," Cho says. "Entrepreneurs are often afraid to get
started, because they fear their
idea isn't good enough, or that
they won't be able to get funding. Our students are confident
enough not to have those fears,
because we take them through
every step of the process." ◆

MAR CH 2018 TH E IN STITUTE

11
https://www.lvlupdojo.com/default https://www.scicreations.com/ https://www.scicreations.com/ http://theinstitute.ieee.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Institute - March 2018
