Student-owned Businesses on Campus
Learning by launching and operating a new venture on campus
Objective
The objective of this initiative is to provide members of the Bentley community practical experience in launching a business—from ideation and operations to growth. The initiative, therefore, encourages students to explore critical areas such as team formation, product and service design, pricing, customer engagement, marketing, and operations.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the initiative is to offer members of the Bentley community the opportunity to develop, launch, and test business ideas through experiential learning. In spite of its name (student-owned businesses), the initiaive remains open to the audience that the E-Hub serves: all members of the Bentley community. The program is designed by the E-Hub and relies on sustained collaboration with Bentley Procurement and Division of Student Affairs. A team of Bentley community members is encouraged to use this initiative to test different ideas such as different business models, different product designs, different pricing strategies and much more by gathering primary data from potential customers and users. The E-Hub will coordinate to provide members of Bentley community access to university resources (such as locations on campus, access to utilities such as electricity, water and internet access) so that the teams may test different ideas as well as launch and grow their ventures (with the goal of eventually transitioning to off-campus operations).
The venture will be wholly owned and operated by one or more members of the Bentley community. Although the primary purpose of the program is experiential learning, it is possible that the venture may generate profit. The teams are not required to share these profits with the E-Hub or the university. The E-Hub encourages the teams to consider donating the profits to a charity of their choice.
Co-Lead with the E-Hub
Engagement Options
Flexible Engagement Options
A venture on campus supported with this initiative can be short-term, occasional setups to more frequent, semester-long operations. The engagement options outlined here are possible anchors along the spectrum from least engagement (short duration, most flexible) to most engagement (long duration, most flexible). If what you are searching for is not specifically listed, please share your desired option with the E-Hub. We will attempt to work with university stakeholders and your team to figure out how we can make it work for your desired option or suggest feasible alternatives. Here are the anchors specified in the spectrum of choices above:
- One-Day Setup: An SBC sets up for a few hours or the whole day - on a single day.
- Weekend Setup: An SBC sets up for a weekend, defined as Friday 8am through Sunday 11pm.
- Week Setup: An SBC sets up for a week, defined as Monday 8am through Sunday 11pm.
- Recurring Days Setup: An SBC sets up for a regular presence every week, such as every Wednesday afternoon.
- Multi-Week Setup: An SBC sets up for 2 to 4 weeks, defined as Monday 8 am through Sunday 11pm of the following week.
- Half-Semester Setup: An SBC sets up for 8 weeks (half the semetser term), from beginning of the term to midway or midway through the end of the semester.
- Special Events Setup: An SBC sets up during an event such as a hockey game or a Falcon weekend or similar.
- Semester-Long Setup: An SBC sets up to operate every day for an entire semester.
To qualify as a venture to be supported by this initiative, your business and the team must meet the following criteria:
- Founded and Operated by Members of the Bentley community: The business must be founded and actively managed by members of the Bentley community.
- Independently Run: The business should be self-managed,
- Revenues, Profits and Losses: The team remains responsible for revenues, profits and losses.
- E-Hub or Bentley Role: The team does not share profits or losses with the university or the E-Hub.
- Experiential Learning: Given the primary goal of the initiative, the E-Hub recommends donating any profits to a charity of your choice.
- Compliance with University Policies: The business must adhere to all university regulations, including campus facilities, health and safety standards.
- Campus Contribution: The business should offer a product, service, or experience that positively contributes to the Bentley community.
- Student Commitment: The team must demonstrate a strong commitment to running and growing the business throughout the program.
The following are potential locations for student-owned businesses (see Pictures here).
| Location | Description | Potential Availability* | Facilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Lab (Lower LaCava) | Located on the lower level just before the entrance to the cafe on left. | Monday to Thursday 11am to 7pm Friday 11am to 3pm | Several adjustable shelves, Two tables with wheels, Chairs, Refrigerator, Electricity, Display screen |
| natural! Storefront(Student Center) | Located on the second floor at the top of the stairs in the natural! (storefront only). | Monday to Friday 6pm to 8pm | Tables, Chairs, Access to Electricity |
| Across DD(Student Center) | Located on the lower level near the main entrance, across from Dunkin Donuts. | Monday to Sunday 8am to 10pm | Tables, Chairs, Potential Access to Electricity |
| Third Floor (Smith) | Located on the third floor of Smith alongside the staircase going down. | Monday to Friday 8am to 10pm | Tables, Chairs, No access to Electricity |
| Other | Additional locations (e.g. Bentey Arena) may be identified and added here. | Depends on the location |
Notes:
- The availability for all locations is subject to reservations that may be made by other entities within Bentley for their operations.
- After your application to the program is approved, the E-Hub will work with you to find the time at the location of your choice.
- It is expected that each operating location is left exactly as you found it when you arrived, free of any mess left behind.
Application
- A member of the Bentley community member or a team made of Bentley community members may apply for access to the initiative by describing the business, preferred location(s), preferred engagement (length of use), and other details.
Approval
- Approval of requests will be done by a committee made up of: a representative from the E-Hub (nominated by the E-hub Director), a representative from Academic Affairs (nominated by the VP of Student Affairs), a representative from Procurement (nominated by Associate VP, Procurement and Campus Services), a representative from the Faculty Council of the E-Hub, a representative from the Legal Counsel (nominated by the General Counsel), and a representative from the student community (invited by the E-Hub).
- The committee reserves the right to request further details, suggest amendments and refinements, approve or deny an application from the student/student team. The decision of the committee is final. The student/student team may re-apply.
Sunset
- As a part of the application process, the student/student team will need to specify how they will wind down the business operations, including any details necessary for ensuring that the locations being used are left without the need for clean-up.
Seed Funding
- The E-Hub will be able to provide seed funding (max $500) to supplement the funding brought to the venture by the student team.
- This seed funding does not result in any equity in the business for the E-Hub nor does it require any future ownership or return of funds.
- This seed funding does not represent a prize. It represents the commitment from the E-Hub to support this initiative.
- Accepting the seed funding will require that students/student teams to submit reports showing appropriate expenses.
Revenues, Profits and Losses
- The revenues and profits from the SBC (or any losses they may incur) remain the responsibility of the students/student teams.
- While not a requirement of this program, it is recommended that each business consider donating their profits to a charity.
Interplay with the E-Hub Incubator
- The SBC initiative is deigned primarily as a vehicle for experiential learning.
- You may use the SBC opportunity as a precursor to participating in the the E-Hub Incubator Program in the following year.
- You may use the SBC opportunity based on feedback from the judges after participating in the the E-Hub Incubator Program.
The following represent important guidelines for SBC that reflect its status as an approved entity operating on the Bentley campus:
- Your SBC cannot use the Bentley University logo
- Your SBC cannot use the Bentley University name
- Your SBC cannot run aggressive advertising
- Your SBC cannot conduct business from a residence hall
- Your SBC cannot use personal locking mechanisms for a location that has been assigned to you
- Your SBC cannot use Bentley email lists
- Your SBC cannot use Bentley university address as the mailing address
- Your SBC must prominently display a sign to indicate support from the E-Hub SBC initiative at all times
- The E-Hub is responsible for providing this sign.