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Entrepreneurship Students Compete for Cash Prizes in Auggie Cup

Posted on January 2, 2025January 2, 2025

On a chilly December afternoon, 14 business and graphic design students brought the heat in Augsburg鈥檚 signature entrepreneurship challenge.听

At stake? Reputation, impact, connections鈥攁nd $30,000 in cash prizes.

The second annual Augsburg Entrepreneurship Cup鈥攂etter known on campus as the Auggie Cup鈥攅ngaged three teams of students in a 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�-style competition judged by local business leaders. Their challenge was to design and pitch a business and marketing plan for a promising new industrial or medical technology.听

鈥淥ne of our basic tenets at Augsburg is that experiential learning leads to critical thinking skills,鈥� said George Dierberger, the Thomas ’72 and Karen Howe Professor for Entrepreneurship and chair of Augsburg’s business administration and economics department. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the Auggie Cup is all about.鈥�

Each team of three or four undergraduates was led by an MBA student coach and assigned to a startup firm with a product on the cusp of commercialization. Ideas were solicited from BETA, a nonprofit early stage accelerator for Minnesota-based technology startups, as well as Augsburg鈥檚 Business Advisory Council. This year鈥檚 projects included AcQtrac鈥檚 non-invasive device to monitor cardiovascular health among pediatric patients, SmartAuger鈥檚 portable ground-penetrating radar system, and CorRen Medical鈥檚 proprietary ultrasound technology to detect and treat peripheral artery disease.听

Over the course of the fall semester, three teams developed and refined a plan to pitch their products to investors, culminating in a competition on December 6. Members of the Business Advisory Council judged each hour-long presentation on the students鈥� assessment of the market opportunity and competitive environment, the marketing plan and original graphic arts elements, a rigorous financial analysis, and the overall quality of the presentation. More than 120 guests鈥攂usiness leaders, alumni, students鈥� families, and Augsburg faculty and staff鈥攁ttended the evening reception and awards ceremony.

The AcQtrac Medical team placed first, with students Jim Schewe, Salma Gelle, Adela Leville, and Kat Chaney sharing a $15,000 prize. The SmartAuger team of Luke Peters, Jakob Mohrlok, Manny Weiss, Nolan Mehle, and Destiny Azonwu won the $10,000 second prize, and the CorRen Medical team of Patrick McMonagle, Danny Ho, Char Waver, Pachia Vang, and Anthonella Laurens took third place and $5,000. The cash prizes were made possible by generous supporters of Augsburg鈥檚 business, innovation, and entrepreneurship programs, including Mike Nathan and Sara Armstrong, Tom 鈥�72 and Karen Howe, Big Stone Capital Group, Modulate Capital, Bill Urseth 鈥�71, and Blaze Credit Union.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 Auggie Cup was an incredible event full of synergy and teamwork,鈥� said Dierberger. 鈥淥ur MBA, undergrad business, and graphic design students all did a stellar job at presenting their ideas to the panel of judges and we are grateful they could be rewarded in a real way for their significant efforts.鈥�

While the Auggie Cup is targeted towards business, entrepreneurship, and graphic design students, plans are underway for a campus-wide competition this spring. Students from any academic discipline will be invited to deliver a 2鈥�3 minute pitch, with the potential for the winning ideas to become full Auggie Cup projects next fall.

Augsburg Innovation Scholars Present to Mayo Clinic Leaders

Posted on March 30, 2023

鈥淲hen we went up there, it was our job to know about everything鈥攖he pros, cons, the disease, all of it,鈥� said Connor Thorsten 鈥�24. 鈥淎s much as public speaking is a fear for a lot of people, we went up with confidence and did a great job.鈥澛�

With a who鈥檚 who of Mayo Clinic licensing managers and innovators in the audience, Thorsten and his teammates鈥擳om Erickson 鈥�24, Lorraine Wongbi 鈥�23, and Lily Yang 鈥�23鈥攚eren鈥檛 just delivering a typical class presentation. Their subject? A challenging biomedical tech transfer project focused on an implantable cardiac med tech device.

The presentation to Mayo Clinic leaders in early March was the culmination of months of study, research, and preparation the students undertook as participants in the . Working at the intersection of science, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, Innovation Scholars brings interdisciplinary teams of outstanding liberal arts students from 12 Minnesota private colleges and universities together to solve real-world problems in real time.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the best opportunities for students that I鈥檝e seen as far as real-world application and being interdisciplinary,鈥� said Jacob Enger, assistant professor of business administration. Enger served as one of two faculty mentors for Augsburg鈥檚 team this year, along with Tim Monko, adjunct instructor in biology. Each group was also paired with an MBA student mentor from Augsburg or the University of St. Thomas.听

Throughout the fall and winter, Augsburg鈥檚 team met weekly or more to research the tech transfer project they were assigned by the Mayo Clinic. (Tech transfer refers to the process of moving from research to application and commercialization.) Bringing expertise in biochemistry, biopsychology, finance/accounting, and physics, they tackled questions like: Is it safe? Is it effective? Is it helpful? What is the potential patient population? Who are the competitors? What is the path to finishing product development and bringing it to market?聽

鈥淭he experience made me more aware of the different moving parts that come into play during the roll-out of an innovation,鈥� said Wongbi. 鈥淚t really put into perspective the heart and dedication of the inventors, as much of the process requires patience.鈥�

In addition to writing a 40-plus page research paper and preparing the content of their presentation, the team practiced and strengthened their presentation skills, from holding a microphone to taking turns fielding questions.听

鈥淭he experience provides such a wide range of areas for students to grow and develop, all with skills they can speak to on a r茅sum茅鈥� said Enger. 鈥淪tudents both collaborate and specialize within their area of expertise, whether science or business.鈥澛�

While confidentiality agreements limit how much they can share about the project, the Augsburg students came away feeling celebratory. Thorsten, a member of Augsburg鈥檚 2023 national champion wrestling squad, credits teamwork for their success in Rochester.听

鈥淚t was one of the best out-of-school, real world experiences I鈥檝e had,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a lot of very hard work鈥攃runch time got very busy鈥攂ut we divided and conquered, and when one of us was struggling, we focused on helping them and vice versa.鈥�

Students can participate in Innovation Scholars for credit or to fulfill their Augsburg Experience requirement. The application for the next cohort will open in the fall. To find out more, reach out to URGO or .听

Augsburg Music Professor Wins Entrepreneurship Prize

Posted on September 29, 2022September 29, 2022

Intrigued by the potential of online education, J. Anthony Allen started a small company in 2018 to provide music instruction via the web. It grew organically at first, with a handful of classes and a few licensing agreements with larger platforms.

Then came the pandemic.听

鈥淚t was really a question of the right place and the right time,鈥� said Allen, an assistant professor of music, media, and management at Augsburg. was already established when the world saw a huge increase in demand for online classes of all kinds in 2020. Today, it serves more than a million students from every corner of the globe.听

Allen entered Punkademic in the prestigious entrepreneurship contest earlier this year. The competition, which is based at the University of Minnesota鈥檚 Carlson School of Business, provides seed funding and support to emerging entrepreneurs from across the state. His goal was to make it past the first round in order to connect with a mentor from the ed tech world.听

Punkademic did make the first cut. And the next one. In September, it was named a semifinalist for the grand prize and took first place in the Education and Training division.听

Allen plans to invest the $25,000 MN Cup award in marketing and general operating infrastructure for the company, which remains a slim operation despite its explosive growth. Punkademic鈥檚 flexible model offers individual class purchases as well as structured courses on a subscription basis. The site鈥檚 most popular offerings include courses on music theory, composition, film scoring, sound design, and ear training.听聽聽聽

Allen sees a clear connection between his 鈥渟ide hustle鈥� and his work at Augsburg, where he teaches classes in music business and technology, runs the music production minor, manages Augsburg鈥檚 recording studio, and serves as interim music department chair.听

鈥淭eaching is a practice. All of this work online has informed my teaching style and abilities,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ere in the music business program we also talk about how all of music is an entrepreneurial act in one way or another.听

鈥淔or me, Punkademic is proof of that concept.鈥澛�

To learn more, or .

(Photo of J. Anthony Allen by Jade Patrick)

Berglund returns to campus to talk about social entrepreneurship

Posted on June 18, 2012

Next week, Finnegans CEO and co-founder Jacquie Berglund ’87 will return to Augsburg to tell the story of her success to prospective Weekend/Evening College and graduate program students as well as alumni.

This presentation, part of Augsburg’s “In the City” admissions events for prospective students, will be held Wednesday, June 27 in Christensen Center with social hour beginning at 5 p.m.

Berglund, who started Finnegans in 2000, said she loves discovering ways to create community wealth, and she never passes on an opportunity to advise others about how to become social entrepreneurs. She attributes her success to a sound business plan, a lot of hard work, and a little Irish luck. Read more of her story, “,” in the Spring 2009 issue of the Augsburg NOW magazine. Continue reading “Berglund returns to campus to talk about social entrepreneurship” →