Students receive $2,000 and entrepreneurial experience at Kohawk Startup
The room burst into cheer and applause to mark the end of the third annual Kohawk Startup — in a Zoom room of course. Coe College students let out a sigh of relief and smiled in triumph after presenting their business models to a panel of judges. They worked hard for this moment over the last four weeks after splitting into teams to research and create their own startup. Kohawk Startup is a C3: Creativity, Careers, Community series of workshops and mentorships with local business professionals. It typically includes a weekend of hands-on entrepreneurial experience in partnership with NewBoCo. This year’s event lasted a full month to accommodate the virtual setting.
“Kohawk Startup is designed to help students get exposed to entrepreneurship. It's about starting something and then finding the resources you need to advance it into reality. Students come away realizing that if the ideal job for them doesn't exist, they can create it themselves. But most importantly, they learn more about themselves as they seek out opportunities to make an impact in this world,” said NewBoCo Chief Relationship Officer and Coe Entrepreneur-in-Residence David Tominsky ’98.
The first place prize of $1,000 and an opportunity to participate in the Iowa Startup Accelerator program was awarded to team Renewable Waste, a home-pickup composting service. Pizza Lab, a farm-to-pizza experience, took second place with a prize of $500, as well as the Audience Choice prize of $250. The third place $250 prize went to Simply Living, an online platform connecting students to social and professional opportunities. In addition to cash prizes, the three winning teams have exclusive access to legal and marketing services to jumpstart their business models.
“It’s a very valuable experience for students. Regardless if they win or lose, they come out the other side with new skills. It provides students the opportunity to meet and interact with other professionals for more tangible and impactful conversations on entrepreneurship practices. C3 created Kohawk Startup to further our effort to make our connections their connections,” said Executive Director of External Partnerships and Annual Giving and Co-Director of C3: Creativity, Careers, Community Barb Tupper ’89.
Tominsky’s own connection to Coe is a driving force in lesson planning for student success. The flexibility and resources Coe provided tapped into a passion that led to a career.
“Coe made it possible and helped me understand that I didn't need to narrow my perspective. Today, I'm a chief relationship officer for NewBoCo because I realized the most important skill I have is an interest in helping people make meaningful connections and define their own success,” Tominsky added.
As Coe’s entrepreneur-in-residence, Tominsky is available to all Coe students for consultations and startup advising. C3 is a branch within the Office of Advancement, optimizing student career and community engagement opportunities through a network of 4,000 alumni living in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridor. This fostered connection with alumni offers students thousands of opportunities and is one of the reasons why Coe has been ranked among The Princeton Review’s Top 25 Best Schools for Internships in the nation three years in a row.
To learn more about this year's event and watch the final presentation, go to www.alumni.coe.edu/kohawkstartup20.