Growing an innovative business idea to help people around the world has never been easier. That’s due to the Social Venture Competition and the Social Venture Academy — two Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance programs specifically designed to guide students in making a positive impact.
“We work with ideas that are going to solve a problem in the world,” says Liz Fukui, the SVC director. “We’re fulfilling the motto of the center to do good better.”
This year the Social Venture Competition expanded so students enter one of three categories — best idea, best product or service, and best venture — at any time of the year. Whenever the team is ready to compete, the Ballard Center will compile a judging panel.
Students now compete against themselves rather than one another. As long as the team’s plan is viable, then a cash prize of up to $18,000 is granted. However, the Ballard Center will continue to hold an annual event where all teams accepted in the past year are in the running for an audience choice award.
“Because students were finishing at different times in the semesters, we decided to modify the competition in several ways,” Fukui says. “Now it’s more effective overall.”
For students who want more help, the Social Venture Academy is the best resource to make an idea a reality. The academy is a program with a curriculum designed to map out and test social venture ideas in a classroom setting. Students can join the program at any time.
“Some students have good social concepts to help others but poor business plans,” says Brittany Bird, SVA director. “In the academy, they can work through issues to create strong ventures that will succeed. We are the support structure helping them every step of the way.”
In the Social Venture Academy, students work through three phases based on the competition categories: develop the idea, design the product or service, and launch the venture. They set timelines and goals with academy navigators who advise the team. The program also helps students connect with industry experts.
After working with the academy, students are prepared with the tools to launch their business. To test ideas, academy members can enter their tested social ventures in a variety of competitions.
Warren Price, a graduate student studying youth and family recreation, is an academy success story. His idea blossomed into the registered nonprofit Freedom’s Families, an organization that offers recreational therapy to veterans and their families. He recommends the program to anyone attracted to creating a business model.
“I knew where I wanted to go but didn’t have a clue how to get there,” Price says. “The Social Venture Academy provided a map to my destination. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the program.”
Students interested in joining the Social Venture Academy or entering the Social Venture Competition should visit the Ballard Center in 360 TNRB.
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Miriam Shumway