The Entrepreneurship Club at UT Dallas has been shaking things up lately. With new faculty members and classes added to the course catalog, the E Club has pushed the needle of innovation to the max. The club has even persuaded Mark Cuban to come back to UT Dallas to judge the Business Idea Competition this Friday. It’s a pretty big deal, and it’s got a lot of us excited about it — 900 registered guests as of last Wednesday to be exact.
Along with Mark Cuban, there will be three other celebrity judges. I will introduce them to you as well as tell you how the event will go. First, let me inform you about the #CelebJudges:
We’ve got Mark Cuban. Everyone in Dallas knows Mark Cuban; he’s a Dallasite and an entrepreneurial businessman and investor. You’ll remember him as an investor on “Shark Tank,” the reality TV show “The Benefactor,” the owner of the Dallas Mavs basketball team and as a guest on “Dancing with the Stars”! If you’ve been summoned to guest dance on “DWTS,” that’s when you know you’ve made it big.
Second up, we have Swapnil Bora, a JSOM alumnus and past winner of the Business Idea Competition. He was actually on “Shark Tank” with business partner Corey Egan a few years ago when Mark Cuban decided to invest into their company, ilumi, which makes a smart LED light that’s controlled through an app on your phone. That’s how Swapnil, Corey and Mark became business pals, and that’s how we got Cuban to come to campus again. Thanks, Swapnil!
Third #CelebJudge is Eve Mayor, the founder and CEO of Social Media Delivered. She has been ranked by Forbes as the fifth-most influential woman in social media, and her company is one of the most respected in the industry worldwide. Eve is known as @LinkedinQueen for her knowledge in leveraging LinkedIn for sales and recruiting. Watch out, Dr. Dover!
Last but not least, we have Lea Nesbit, who is currently the CEO and co-founder of Natural Dental Implants Inc., makers of the REPLICATE™ Non-surgical Tooth Replacement System, a 100 percent customized solution for single tooth replacement. Before Natural Dental Implants, she co-founded Lingualcare, Inc., a dental technology company that replaced the traditional braces with invisible braces. Lea has also been a mentor at Health Wildcatters for 2½ years now.
Now that I’ve introduced you to the #CelebJudges, I’ll give you a heads up of how the event will go down. Our very own Jeremy Vickers, executive director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will be emceeing the event in the ATEC auditorium, starting at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.
- 8:30 a.m. – Warm Welcome from Jeremy Vickers
- 8:40 a.m. – Intros of #CelebJudges
- 9 a.m.- Undergraduate Finalists (Teams 1-3) will pitch ideas
- 10:15 a.m. – Short Break
- 10:30 a.m. – Graduate Finalists (Teams 1-3) will pitch ideas
- 11:45 a.m. – Break
- Noon – First-, second- and third-place winners are announced!
- 12:30 p.m. – End
The undergraduate awards announcer is Jurgen Arts, VP and CFO Region North America at Ericsson, and the graduate awards announcer is Niyi (John) Olajide, president and CEO of AXXESS, a home health software company. If you’re super pumped about this event like I am, register for your spot to watch an incredible event here.
