Entrepreneurship & Technology News 

A typical college career fair features logos from the top Fortune 500 companies, but at this career fair, the big names weren't even invited. Instead, the Utah Startup Marketplace, recently hosted at Brigham Young University, connected local ventures — many started by BYU students and alumni — with students looking for employment and internships.

Students at Brigham Young University are out to prove there's no need to wait until after graduation to get a big idea off the ground. Many of them had a chance to demonstrate how they're turning ideas into reality at the 2009 Student Entrepreneur of the Year Competition.

Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management is one of the top 25 colleges for students looking to start their own business, according to rankings published by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and many college students wonder how they'll survive in an increasingly competitive job market. But this summer, hundreds of students at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management equipped themselves with skills to get ahead by interning for some of the biggest names in business.

A Brigham Young University professor was honored by his peers as one of the top venture entrepreneurs in Utah — for the second time in three years.

Two teams of Brigham Young University MBA students put their entrepreneurial businesses to the ultimate test as they competed against 38 of the world's top-notch business plans at the 27th annual Global Moot Corp Competition, in Austin, Texas.

The next generation of waterproofing is durable, breathable and environmentally friendly — and it is already here. The patent-pending technology, Hydrapel, can even make a paper towel withstand water absorption. Hydrapel was developed by Xeromax, the first-place winner at the 2009 Brigham Young University Business Plan Competition, taking home the grand prize of $50,000 in cash and in-kind services.

Want to bounce a ball inside your phone? There's an app for that. Two students at Brigham Young University created Awesome Ball, an iPhone application that topped the free app charts and won $10,000 at the inaugural BYU iPhone App Competition.

There weren't any painted faces or fight songs playing, but a rivalry was in the air as teams from the University of Utah joined Brigham Young University at the seventh biannual Omniture Web Analytics Competition. But the cougars triumphed with team ".convert" taking home the grand prize of $10,000 and three plasma TVs.

Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management announced the creation of the Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. The new center is the result of a merger between the Rollins Center for eBusiness and the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship.

Many fans eagerly wait for their favorite artist to announce their next tour, only to be disappointed when no local venues are announced. Two BYU MBA students have come up with an idea to get tickets into the hands of loyal fans.

Two Brigham Young University Master of Information Systems students think they've figured out how to make successful online retailer Overstock.com even more successful, and the judges agreed. Reed Olsen from Salt Lake City and David Wilson from Highland, Utah, took first place at the fall 2008 Omniture Web Analytics Competition winning $10,000 and HDTVs for their project. Olsen and Wilson, who called their team Group X, also won the crowd favorite award.

Innovating a franchise to fit local conditions may actually lead to less growth, shows a new study from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management.

When Kevin Rollins, former CEO of Dell Inc., typed the word "happiness" into Google, he found results like "Happiness for Dummies," "weekend happiness courses" and "happiness through hypnosis." At the 2008 Marriott School Honored Alumni Lecture, Rollins shared with students and faculty his thoughts - not Google's - on how to achieve personal happiness.

Come ride the lift to Silicon Slopes, Utah's high-tech corridor, at the Rollins Center for eBusiness' semiannual eBusiness Day.

While most students at Brigham Young University are focused on midterms and papers, a number are concerned about employees, revenues and business contracts. Each year, student business owners compete for $5,000 and the title of Student Entrepreneur of the Year. Steven Rosenbeck, founder of Garb GameDay Wear, is this year's winner.

Two student businesses from BYU’s Marriott School of Management, Klymit and SchoolTipline, won honors and cash awards at the 25th annual Global Moot Corp Competition — the Super Bowl of business plan competitions. Klymit, creator of a revolutionary insulation system for outdoor gear, won $5,000 as the first runner-up and was also recognized with the Outstanding Written Plan and Outstanding Product awards.

BYU entrepreneurship professor W. Gibb Dyer received a $5,000 grant from the Family Owned Business Institute to study how owning a business affects family relationships. “This is a very exciting research study to be involved in,” Dyer says. “I believe it’s going to have a significant impact in the field of family science.” Beginning May 1, 2008, Dyer and his son Justin will serve one-year FOBI Research Scholar appointments.

Brigham Young University Academic Vice President John Tanner announced the appointment of Gary C. Cornia as the new dean of the Marriott School of Management. Cornia, the Stewart Grow Professor of Public Management, has been serving as director of the school’s George Romney Institute of Public Management since 2004.

In an effort to promote entrepreneurship and raise money for charity, the BYU Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization hosted its 2nd annual Omniture Throwdown — the world’s largest rock, paper, scissors tournament. Last year’s event set a record for the largest tournament of its kind with more than 500 participants.