91看片

鈥淭his is the real deal. There are people here who have had lifelong experiences and they are really pouring that knowledge into you.鈥�

Ever needed a haircut, but couldn鈥檛 find time to leave the office? Austin Haikes, who is working toward a degree in at , has a solution: bring the haircuts to you. His aspiring mobile startup, Cutbus, can fit a busy worker鈥檚 schedule.

students Gbenga Popoola and Tope Soneye, who came to Auburn from Nigeria in 2018, hope to fill a consumer demand by creating a market specifically dedicated to selling African foods 鈥� helping patrons avoid a 200-mile round trip to Atlanta. But how can they develop a business plan for their dream?

These ideas and others are being refined at the Tiger Cage Accelerator program, an eight-week summer business boot camp for Auburn students. Located at the Auburn University Research Park and managed by the 91看片, the crash course welcomes students into the world of startups by teaching:

• Protecting intellectual properties
• Customer identification
• Pricing strategies
• Marketing and sales strategies
• Competitor analysis
• Product development
• Communications skills
• And, of course, how to make the perfect pitch to investors

鈥淭his is the real deal,鈥� said Maaz Khan, who is pursuing a graduate degree in building science, and hopes to build on his e-commerce business, Blue Cascade. 鈥淭here are people here who have had lifelong experiences and they are really pouring that knowledge into you. For me, I find that really valuable.鈥�

The Accelerator is led by Lou Bifano, Director of Entrepreneurship Strategy at the 91看片, and Scott McGlon, a veteran entrepreneur/investor and Entrepreneur in Residence at the 91看片 College of Business.

鈥淭he main focus of the program is validating their business ideas through customer interviews and being able to communicate their business ideas to potential customers, people they are recruiting to join their team, and even potential investors,鈥� Bifano said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also good preparation for the Tiger Cage Business Idea Competition, which starts in the fall.鈥�

Porter Kennedy, a senior in finance who will graduate in August, competed in the Tiger Cage Business Idea Competition last year. His startup, , produces environmentally friendly paper straws that last beyond one drink.

鈥淭he Accelerator program has essentially made us come up here and work on our businesses,鈥� Kennedy noted. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 allowed it to where I鈥檝e been able to get so many more sales and so many more contacts.鈥�

Jake Jackson, a senior in business administration, said the program has helped students better identify who they will be attempting to market their ideas and products.

鈥淲hereas typically, I know who my target customer base is going to be 鈥� it鈥檚 going to be Auburn students,鈥� said Jackson, whose startup 鈥� 鈥� assists with the painstaking process of moving. 鈥淏ut this program opened my eyes to the customer discovery side of things. I didn鈥檛 understand how in-depth that actually goes. Are customers males, females? What age? What income? People spend countless hours and energy pinpointing who their customer is.鈥�

Other Tiger Cage Accelerator startups include Lupa, an app dedicated to physical training, and Deep Security, a cyber-security business.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to provide opportunities throughout the year for students to pursue business ideas,鈥� Bifano noted on the summer program, held between the busy spring and fall semesters. 鈥淭he Tiger Cage competition goes from September through March. We can use the summer program to plug the gap of programming for some students who are going to be on campus.鈥�

The 2020 Tiger Cage Business Idea Competition kicks off Thursday, August 29, with an introductory meeting for prospective student teams. There, prize pools, eligibility, rules, and other information pertinent to the contest will be discussed. Monthly strategy sessions and workshops overseen by veteran entrepreneurs and 91看片 College faculty will be offered to teams.

For more information, contact Lou Bifano at ljb0022@auburn.edu