cycleWood Versus Silicon Solar

cycleWood has made it to the semifinals of the CleanTech Open.  One of last year's teams also made it, Silicon Solar Solutions.  We are going head-to-head in the semifinal round.  The top three from each region are selected to move forward.  We are both in the South Central Region along with eleven other teams.  Douglas Hutchings, CEO of Silicon Solar, has a hunch we might both get through to the finals in San Jose.  That would be great for the state and the University.

The entrepreneurship program at the University of Arkansas is developing a reputation of producing real start-ups.  With each coming year the enthusiasm generated by past year's teams creates a sense an expectation and sense of responsibility to carry on the tradition that's been building the past few years.  The meetings for next year's teams have already begun.  Every year Dr. Reeves gets previous team members to come back to share their experience.  The continuity of the program is one of its strengths.  So if you think you may be an entrepreneur, take a look at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business MBA program.

Competition Season Ends

We made it back stateside this past Friday.  I've gotten over the jetlag.  My sole focus is now on building cycleWood.  This should be great news for investors out there.  They've been ready for us to be off the "show circuit" for some time.  School is finished and now so are the competitions.  The only other one that we've applied to is the CleanTech Open which wouldn't be til this Fall.  That would be a different competition as we would compete as a post-graduate team.

So let me tell you about London, first off don't forget to bring your walking shoes.  If you want to see London the best way, in my opinion, is on foot.  You can venture into the old cobblestone alleyways and explore the rich history and character of the city.  Stop at a neighborhood pub and enjoy a nice draft at cellar temperature.  It's not so bad, but I do prefer an ice cold beer.  They do have those as well.  There are bridges, cathedrals, towers, and museums to see.  We explored as much as we could in the spare time we had.  We crossed the Millennium Bridge, Tower Bridge, and also London Bridge.  We stopped at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral.  And we ventured into the Tate Modern, Science, and British Museums.

We had a great time in London, but now it's time to focus.  Good ideas are a dime a dozen.  If you have a good idea, chances are someone else has probably had that idea.  The odds of having a truly unique idea are not that great.  What makes a start-up successful is execution.  There are many talented people who can put together a great plan, but being able to execute that plan is a different story.  cycleWood has a great business plan, but there are unforeseeable hurdles that we must overcome.  It's how we face these challenges that separates us from the rest.  We recognize these hurdles and do what we can to get beyond them.  However, there are times when the hurdle is a wall that, despite our best efforts, is not ready to be broken through.  We try to be as clear as possible to any investor that we have a great team and we have a great plan, but there are still risks.  There is no such thing as guaranteed success, ask Lebron James.

Crossing the Pond to London

cycleWood is heading to London this afternoon for the LES competition.  We are one of six finalists.  The competition is this Saturday.  It's only Kevin and myself headed to this one.  We've never presented with just two before so this should be interesting.  One of us is also going to give the elevator pitch.  This should be interesting considering we've never done it.  It's always been Pree or Jack.  Luckily it's not for a prize, it's just to introduce our idea to the audience.

We'll be in London for a total of eight days.  The competition is only one day.  The rest of the time will be spent at the LES Conference which is supposed to be a great networking opportunity.  We'll be taking advantage of that for sure.  We were also invited to a black tie affair by a friend we met while in Canada at the Stu Clarke Investor Competition.  It'll be good to see him again.  We got tuxes and shiny shoes for the event.  Should be fantastic.

Aside from that we plan on seeing a good bit of London while we're there.  The hotel we are staying at is right by Westminster Abbey.   I bet the souvenirs from the royal wedding will be on sale.  We'll pick up a few to bring home. 

This should be a very fun trip.  Our adviser, Dr. Reeves, is also coming.   I'll make sure to take plenty of pics.  Look for them in the next few days.

GSB Summer Social

The GSB Summer Social is coming up Friday, June 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Powerhouse.  If you are thinking of applying for the MBA, MMBA, or MAcc program at the Walton College of Business you should try to attend.  It's a great way to network and meet some people who will work with you and who have been there.  Some professors will be there, as well as staff and administrators.  So if you have any questions or wondered who was on the other end of the telephone or email here's your chance.  Talking with current and former students will give you a feel for what the program is about.  You can also get a first hand perspective of the pros and cons of the program.  Besides all that, there's plenty of food and drinks too.  It's a good time to be enjoyed by all.  If you do go out there, make sure to say hi to Rebel and tell her I sent you.

Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Competition Results

Well we went out to Las Vegas and we did alright.  We walked away with more money than we came with.  That's always good especially in Las Vegas.  Arkansas did well overall.  In the undergrad division John Brown University swept the competition taking 1st, 2nd, and also the elevator pitch.  Congratulations to Craftistas for taking 1st and Agricultural Food Systems for taking 2nd and also winning the elevator pitch.

cycleWood took 2nd in the graduate division and also won the elevator pitch.  While we would have liked to win it all, the competition was tough.  However, we remain undefeated in elevator pitch competitions. 

Next Thursday we are headed out to London, England.  It should be a very exciting trip.  This will be the final competition for a while.  We have applied to the CleanTech Open, but won't find out if we made it to the semifinals for a little while. 

We are pushing forward with the business.  There are some hurdles we'll have to overcome as we scale up the production process.  This morning I spoke with a supply chain company to see if they could help us in our endeavors.  They do a lot of work for McDonalds and have quite a few connections that could be very helpful.  We have some momentum now and we want to keep that going.  Wish us luck!

Vegas!

cycleWood is headed to Vegas tomorrow for the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Governor's Cup.  We'll be competing against teams from Nevada, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  The other Arkansas team is our fellow team, TiFiber.  There are six teams for each division, undergraduate and graduate.  First place is a $25,000 cash prize.

Next week we'll be headed to London for the Licensing Executive Society competition.  We'll be over there for eight days.  This competition focuses on our intellectual property (IP).  I've never been to Europe so this will be first trip across the Atlantic.  I'm sure there will be plenty to see.  I will definitely be posting some pics from that trip.

We have also decided to enter the CleanTech Open.  This is a competition that focuses on green technologies.  There are regional competitions and a final competition.  Silicon Solar Solutions won this competition last year and said that it was a great experience.

On another note, the weather around here has been very unstable lately.  Last night the severe weather included heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes.  A large tornado touched down in Joplin, MO tearing the town apart.  So far, 89 deaths have been confirmed from that tornado.  This has certainly been one of the worst, if not the worst, weather year I can remember.

Commencement

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. I finished up my MBA, took my last test for a while. Commencement was yesterday. It was bittersweet. I'm glad to be finished with my MBA, but I'll miss the wonderful people I've gotten to know the last year and a half. Below are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

As one chapter closes, another one begins. We'll be starting up cycleWood Solutions in the coming months. There's still plenty of due diligence to be done. It's exciting and scary at the same time. We are in the current issue of Fortune. It's their Fortune 500 issue.

While this marks the end of my MBA, I will continue to blog to keep you updated on how we are doing.  Stay tuned, there's still plenty to come.