The ECenter is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship at UNH. Our goal is to create the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, we are independent of any one college.
January 2021 Newsletter
The Latest Happenings from the ECenter
Welcome
2021… finally!

We had a great end to the fall semester with a high level of student engagement across all of our programs, but especially our idea coaching and i2 Passport Program. Adapting all programs to be virtual (aka Zoom) and maintain some of the excitement and energy is not an easy task. Our amazing facilitators, speakers, and presenters rose to the occasion. Moreover, it’s the students, who spend SO MUCH of their academic day in Zoom-world, that I want to applaud. They demonstrated proven entrepreneurial grit to plow through all of the COVID barriers to embrace and soar with their ideas. Thank you.

As students buried themselves in finals and are recovering in January, the ECenter team is re-focused on finalizing the second semester of programs that will continue to engage and hopefully WOW students—rewarding them for their commitment. It is always fun to build new programs, and as you will read, we are grateful to David E. Shaw ’73, John Shaw, and the Shaw family for their support of the new Shaw Innovation Explorers Program for sophomores that we will launch in the fall 2021. We preach innovation, so it is always good to model what that means and this truly innovative program will do just that!
We welcome Bangor Savings Bank into our growing portfolio of engaged corporate sponsors and thank them for the support of the Student Idea Fund. If you or your company is interested in learning more about how to support, and be in front of, amazing innovative students, please reach out to Travis Thompson, Director of Development (see contact info at the bottom).

As we celebrate the 5th birthday of opening the doors of the ECenter in UNHInnovation’s Madbury Commons wing, we are reminded just how far we have come in a short period of time and pause to thank the thousands of students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, corporations, and entrepreneurs who all engaged and supported us. Not only have students developed problem solving innovation skills as part of their career toolbox, but many have taken their ideas and launched them into revenue generating companies. A special thanks to Peter T. Paul and Marc Sedam for having the original vision of what could be and to the ECenter Advisory Task Force Board for their support, insights, and advice on how to be better and have more impact over the last five years and for the next five years.

Stay healthy and stay curious!
Ian Grant
Executive Director, ECenter
e.center@unh.edu
Students Learn the Skills to
Succeed at Pitch Bootcamp
On November 2nd, the ECenter was joined by Debi Kleiman, author of First Pitch and former Executive Director of Babson College's Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. The enthusiastic group of student participants in the bootcamp came from different levels of entrepreneurship experience. Most shared they were hoping to build on an idea in the future or just learn more about pitching best practices. After all, pitching skills aren't just for pitching ideas, but also for pitching ourselves.
During the bootcamp, Debi shared top pitches from Babson students to show the importance of telling a compelling story in the pitch. The story helps to prove why there's a need and make the need relatable to the listener. Debi also advised that getting interrupted with a question shouldn’t throw off your pitch. After all, questions are exactly what you want from your listener! The pitch is the gateway to further conversation on the idea, and a compelling story that prompts questions is exactly what you’re aiming for.

“I read Debi’s book this past summer and it instantly resonated with me and I knew that UNH students needed to experience the same insights to benefit them in their own pitches, whether for an idea, company, or to promote themselves. Debi and Babson are both some of the gold standards in university entrepreneurship, so we felt honored to be able to host her,” said ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant.

Throughout the bootcamp, Debi took questions from participants (practicing what she preaches). Not surprisingly, some students were curious about pitching virtually. A great tip Debi provided for commanding a virtual pitch is to hide your view of yourself so you aren't tempted to look at yourself when you should be looking at the person to whom you're speaking. Her advice resonated with students, and as participant Ashley Fernald '23 (COLSA) noted, "The bootcamp made me feel a lot more prepared for pitching. Having a reliable framework to build pitches off of is invaluable."

All students who participated in the bootcamp received a copy of Debi book, First Pitch, thanks to ECenter premier sponsor, Bottomline Technologies. Thank you, Bottomline!

If you'd like to watch the Pitch Bootcamp in full, check out our YouTube page.
ECenter Teams Win Big at the
Social Venture Innovation Challenge
The fall 2020 Social Venture Innovation Challenge (SVIC), hosted by the UNH Changemaker Collaborative, was a little different than in years past, but one thing that stayed the same was the success of ECenter teams. Ian Grant, Executive Director of the ECenter and coach of the teams commented, “Another remarkable year of student ideas and we’re fortunate that all of the finalists from UNH were ECenter-based teams. From creative new ideas worked on for only a few months by first year students from the ECenter Idea + Innovation Society, to long-time ideas that have made significant progress, they all show that passion, curiosity, and a willingness to put it all out there can pay off! Very proud!”
 
SVIC introduced a new prize structure this year. Instead of the traditional first place, second place, etc., the categories were: Best Articulated Problem, Most Original Innovation, Most Impact Potential, Most Financially Sustainable Solution, Most Impactful Story to Engage Stakeholders, Best First-Year Student Entry, and Audience Choice Awards (three prizes). Of those nine prizes, a whopping eight went to ECenter-coached teams! Those prizes and teams are:
 
Best Articulated Problem, Most Financially Sustainable Solution, and third place Audience Choice Award went to Scrapp, a free app that combats confusion by using a barcode scanning feature to show you how to correctly recycle common household items. "Scrapp has come a long way since last year's SVIC where we lost well before the finals. Our progress is much to Ian and the ECenter's credit with Ian always setting aside time for us whether it is last minute Q&A prep or hour-long sessions going over business strategies. We truly mean it when we say it is thanks to the hard work Ian has done for us that Scrapp is where it is today," said co-founder Mikey Pasciuto. Congratulations to Mikey Pasciuto '21 (CEPS), Evan Gwynne Davies '20 (CEPS), and Daniel Marek '20 (CEPS). 
 
Most Original Innovation was awarded to Mongo, a sustainable plant-based protein derived from organic mung beans. High in protein and low in calories, Mongo is a tasty alternative to the limited plant based options. Congratulations to Jessica Nelson '21 (Paul College). 
 
Most Impact Potential and first place Audience Choice Award went to HydroPhos Solutions, a service company that utilizes phosphorus filtration technology to extract phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants then resell this phosphorus to fertilizer companies, recycling the nutrients and extending the lifespan of our global food supply. “The ECenter played a pivotal role in our team’s success in the SVIC. We were coached by the ECenter’s leader, Ian Grant, who is incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic on the topic of entrepreneurship. Ian helped us define our business model, identify important research necessary, streamlined our application process to the SVIC, and helped us refine our pitch once we made Finals. Ian continues to coach HydroPhos Solutions into new horizons, including applying the idea in the real-world. Without the ECenter, HydroPhos Solutions would not be where it is today and I am incredibly grateful for the support they have provided since day one,” said co-founder Jason Plant. Congratulations to Jason Plant '23 (Paul College), Daisy Burns '24 (Paul College), Matt Oriente '23 (Paul College), Derek Long '23 (Paul College), and Katie Remeis '23 (Paul College). 
 
Best First-Year Student Entry was awarded to ROOTS, a collaboration website that allows students, staff, and the community to connect with each other and post ideas or solutions to sustainability challenges. Congratulations to Kaitlin Phair '24 (COLSA), Derek Bobbit '24 (Paul College), Ella Dandrade '24 (CEPS), and Janet Ogungbuyi '24 (COLA). Every member of the Roots team is also in the ECenter's Idea & Innovation Society!
 
Second place Audience Choice Award went to MyGreenPlate, an app that will allow users to track the sustainability status of their food consumption habits and offer positive reinforcement for sustainable eating habits. Congratulations to Holly Proulx '21 (CEPS) and Will Bodewes '20 (CEPS). 
 
Congratulations to ECenter-coached finalists Eizent Innovations, MatterVerse, Promised Protection, and SymbioExchange!

A huge thank you to Dr. Fiona Wilson, Faina Buhker, and Cathy Meyer of the Changemaker Collaborative for putting on this great competition year after year, as well as lead sponsors Timberland and Kennebunk Savings.
Student Entrepreneur Spotlight
Alice Wade, of Bedford, NH, is currently a sophomore at UNH majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Alice began her ECenter journey as a freshman in the Idea + Innovation Society, and quickly joined the Makerspace Board of Directors as a student mentor! Read on to learn more about her experience as a student entrepreneur and her start-up company MatterVerse!
What was your background or experience with ideas, innovation & entrepreneurship prior to UNH?
I had been very involved with my high school’s robotics team in lots of roles from the Lead Engineer to the Team Treasurer, and I loved planning out business ideas in my free time. As part of the team, I spearheaded a program to pair robotics team members with students from the Special Education department at our school, introducing them to 3D printing and learning about engineering as a field.
What was your experience as a member of the Idea + Innovation Society?
I didn’t think much when I first applied, but after attending the first few meetings it changed my views about entrepreneurship as a field. I really enjoyed the group discussions tackling each other's business concepts in a way I’d never done before. Even after my freshman year I continued to work with Ian Grant on my company and still do to this day.
 
Can you tell us more about your start-up company MatterVerse?
MatterVerse is a company focused on tackling the methane emitted from cows through feeding them algae which drastically lowers their methane output. Our plan is to build greenhouses that grow this type of algae sustainably, while also taking on another main contributor to global warming, carbon dioxide. We’ve decided to go with a simple proven design in a filter which creates a CO2 concentrated gas from the air. By pumping this gas into enclosed tanks with the algae inside, we can grow it quicker while also reducing the level of CO2 in the air, helping to solve two problems with one solution! I’m currently participating in the Maurice Prize with MatterVerse and I plan to add more team members to cover areas I’m not as familiar with in the future.
 
How did the ECenter help you grow your company?
The most helpful resource when growing my company was definitely the one-on-one coaching with Ian Grant which, as an engineer, helped me greatly in understanding the business side of startups and how to sustainably keep a startup running.
 
What was your experience being coached by the ECenter for competitions & business development?
When I first brought the concept of MatterVerse to Ian, it was more of a casual conversation throwing out ideas to practice working on ideation. But after a few meetings over the summer, Ian introduced me to the Social Venture Innovation Challenge which I later applied to under MatterVerse. Ian helped me greatly in the initial submission, flushing out the idea fully and presenting it in an easy to understand way. After making it to the finals, he helped me practice my presentation which was very valuable as a solo team. Although I did not end up winning a prize this year, I am incredibly thankful to Ian for his help and plan to compete again next year!
 
How did you get involved in the Makerspace? What led you to join the board as a mentor?
I learned about the Makerspace before the fall of my freshman year, and I knew I wanted to become a mentor as soon as I’d heard about the opportunity. As soon as I could, I went there regularly and learned how to train other students on each of the machines. I really love carrying on in teaching others who might be brand new to machinery how to take a scrap piece of plywood and turn it into a laser etched picture of their dog or loads of people who came in around the holidays to 3D print gifts for their families!
 
That’s so great! Our student mentors are definitely the heart (and brain) of the Makerspace. Is there anything else you’d like UNH students to know about the ECenter?
I’d just like to say that no matter your major and no matter your experience, if you have an idea you’re passionate about or just want to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship, the ECenter is a fantastic resource to help you along!
 
I know it’s a long way off, but has the ECenter influenced your prospective career path, and have you considered what you’ll do after UNH?
As a mechanical engineer through and through, I never thought I’d become interested in having my own company, but after all of my time with the wonderful people at the ECenter, I’m now planning to create my own startup. I’d never been very good at presentations and I’d been too nervous to share many of my ideas with others, but after my time at the ECenter, I’ve grown a lot more confident in myself and gained a lot more intuition for business which I never would have gotten in my classes.
 
I plan to continue working with the ECenter on MatterVerse or other company ideas in the future. Post-graduation I’m planning to work in the aerospace industry, hopefully SpaceX, to get industry experience and savings before making my own company.
Shaw Innovation Explorers Launches at
ECenter Thanks to Alum Support
The ECenter is excited to announce the launch of a new program especially for creative and adventurous UNH sophomores, the Shaw Innovative Explorers Program. Thanks to the generosity of David Evans Shaw ’73 (pictured left), CEO of Black Point Group, and his family, this fellowship will kick off in the fall 2021 semester.

“We are honored that David has chosen to launch the Explorers Program at UNH’s ECenter and look forward to his active engagement with students for years to come,” said UNH President James W. Dean, Jr. “Our students will not only benefit from the scholarship support and skill building opportunities of this program but the mentorship and experience of David.”

The UNH sophomores selected for this fellowship will gain a 360-degree understanding of innovation through hands-on, high-impact experiences. The program will provide introductions and engagement with pioneering leaders in areas that include art, music, technology, science/marine, theatre, municipalities, and New Hampshire and New England native industries. Each student selected to participate will receive a $5,000 scholarship and participate in a training workshop in the basics of innovation and start-up development.

“Looking back on my time at UNH I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities I was given,” said Shaw. “While my academic performance wasn’t stellar, my experience strengthened my conviction and capabilities to seek game-changing opportunities through a life of purpose-driven exploration, discovery and curiosity. I learned how important it is to challenge conventional thinking and to ask ‘what does great look like’ in the quest to create exceptional value in the world. I found that attitude, persistence, adventurousness and courage were often the most important qualities for producing great outcomes and a fulfilling life. With this new program we will help students better harness the power of these success factors.”

Shaw abandoned other career plans and plunged into the world of tech entrepreneurship by founding IDEXX Laboratories in 1983. Inspired by entrepreneurship and the game changing science of our times, he has helped to build more than a dozen science-based organizations that generate billions of dollars of annual value to benefit their stakeholders and communities, including the state of Maine. Shaw was an inaugural inductee into the UNH Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2018 based upon his numerous business and social entrepreneurial successes—including IDEXX and Covetrus—as well as his passion to serve and give back to the causes that matter to him, such as the Jackson Laboratory (ME), the National Parks Foundation and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum.

The Shaw Innovative Explorers Program will also include a speaker series that introduces both the Explorers group and the larger university and Seacoast communities to high-profile innovators and pioneers in their fields of expertise. “This is an exciting opportunity for sophomores to gain valuable experience and skills in this year-long program and be able to apply them during their junior and senior years,” said Ian Grant, Executive Director of the ECenter. 
 
While academic standing will be important in applications, more weight will be given to students who have proven in high school and/or their first year at UNH that they are adventurous, curious, creative and/or innovative. Interested students who will have sophomore standing for the fall 2021 semester are eligible; recruitment for the first explorers begins February 1st.
 
If you're interested in learning more about the program, or if you're a current UNH freshman looking to apply for fall 2021, check out ShawExplorers.com.
Virtual i2 Passport Program Awards $12,500
The i2 Passport Program kicked-off its eighth semester on September 20, 2020! While i2 Passport has been a flagship program of the ECenter for a few years now, this is the first semester of the program that has been completely virtual. In light of many students taking classes from home and not going to campus at all, we decided to move everything online so all full-time UNH students could participate.
Daisy Burns '24
In another first, we also invited full-time degree-seeking Durham graduate students to participate and many took us up on the offer! Due to the virtual format, students who have always been online and unable to join in before were able to participate. At the closing ceremony on November 9th, a record number of students qualified for the minimum raffle drawings. Congratulations to the winners!
Jason Plant '23
First prize (tie) of $3,000 each:
  • Daisy Burns '24 (Paul College)
  • Jason Plant '23 (Paul College)
Second prize of $2,000:
  • Jessica Nelson '21 (Paul College)
FirstGen prize of $1,500:
  • Michelle Lee '22 (CEPS)
Runner-up raffle prizes of $1,000 each:
  • Riley Dionne '21 (CHHS)
  • Haley Ott '23 (Paul College)
  • Maria Jacques '23 (Paul College)
Jessica Nelson '21
Commented first-time participant and winner Daisy Burns, "I was introduced to the i2 Passport Program through the Idea & Innovation Society, and the concept of paying off my student loans while learning about entrepreneurship was an opportunity I really couldn't pass up!"

Thank you to the Patten Family Foundation for sponsoring i2 Passport and to our raffle partner, Sea Dog Brewing Co.!
Michelle Lee '22
Internship at Start-ups Program Provides Job Opportunities for Students
Over the past five years of our Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program, we've been hearing from students and start-ups alike that the placements have been so successful that they're resulting in continued internships and job offers. That got us wondering, exactly how many additional opportunities for UNH students are a result of the program? We decided to find out!

We polled every student, most of whom are now UNH alumni. We're excited to report 50% of the internships through the program have lead to further employment with the start-up host!

Hailley Simpson '22 (Paul College) shared, “During my internship at Craic Sauce, I was able to form a valuable relationship with Brian Ruhlmann, the founder. As a result of my marketing work, Brian was able to start branding himself more consistently and gave me the opportunity to continue working with him after the internship. I'm grateful for having this experience!”
Hailley Simpson '22 at Craic Sauce/CraftHotSauce.com
Brian Ruhlmann, the Craic Sauce/CraftHotSauce.com founder, added, "It's been great continuing to work with Hailley because she is building upon some of the design elements that she began in the summer and are able to continue with the rapport and workflow we established over the summer. I'm very impressed with her professionalism and skills which she has gained from lots of experiential learning working with UNH organizations like the ECenter, Voice Z Digital, and Alpha Kappa Psi."

The ECenter's senior program manager and Internship Program lead, Heather MacNeill said, "This is one of my favorite ECenter programs because the positive impact is so profound and wide-reaching. The value of a well-placed internship means so much for the future success of our students. They learn a tremendous amount and gain experience that sets them apart from their peers."
ECenter Celebrates 5th Birthday
Time flies when you're having fun! It's hard to believe the ECenter opened its doors at Madbury Commons five years ago this month. So much has happened in the last five years - thousands of students, alumni, faculty, and staff have used our resources, new experiential learning programs have been created, hundreds of things have been created in the Makerspace, countless hours have been spent idea coaching, and we've never been more energized to keep going.


A handful of our biggest supporters were kind enough to share messages in celebration of our birthday. Make sure to watch until the end for a fun close from Mr. Peter Paul!
“I have several go-to sayings that I use at the ECenter with students. One of them is ‘if you don’t think BIG, you don’t get there’, and in this moment, as we pause to celebrate the 5th birthday of the ECenter opening its doors, it is probably the truest of all. It would have been safe to do traditional programming and follow the model of many universities, but that would have been boring and more importantly not modeled what it means to think big and take chances. The list is long of the appreciation I have for those who supported, challenged, shared, and believed in the vision five years ago. It started with visits to my colleagues at many of the top universities who also think BIG—from BU and MIT, to ASU and Tufts, and many more. We've thrived with amazing guidance and financial support from the ECenter Board of Advisors. The support from UNHInnovation, UNH administration, and the UNH ECenter team of Heather MacNeill and Allison Bell has been invaluable. But, in the end, it has always been, and will always be, about students and their ideas. They are the rock stars we really are celebrating five years later. I have the best job at UNH and helping launch the ECenter is one of my most favorite gigs in my eclectic and passion-filled career. We are just starting to get going!” said Executive Director Ian Grant.
Send Us Your Logo!
The ECenter is looking for logos of UNH alumni businesses to add to our logo wall!

More than 10,000 UNH alumni have founded, co-founded, or run their own companies. The alumni logo wall at the ECenter showcases and celebrates the innovation and entrepreneurship that has been in the DNA of UNH students and alumni since the beginning. It also inspires students visiting the ECenter to see what is possible when you have an idea and take the steps to move it forward into a successful venture.

If you're an alum and you'd like to have your logo added to the wall, please complete the intake form on our website. If you know an alum who might be interested in sharing his/her/their logo, please have them reach out!
Get a Gift Card and Support ECenter Students!
Would you like to enjoy a delicious meal while also supporting ECenter students? Need a Valentine's Day gift?
Or buy the perfect gift for your Wildcat?

ECenter student teams are selling Sea Dog Brewing Company gift cards at a discounted rate for a limited time! All you have to do is go to www.bit.ly/seadog20 and put in promo code: 4YOU15 to save 15% on gift cards! Pick any color code to support a student team. A portion of the proceeds goes to support students in the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program. Thank you so much for your support!
ECenter Annual Impact Report - Request Your Copy!
Our 2019 - 2020 annual Impact Report is out! It's a comprehensive retrospective which includes updates on all our donor-funded programs and stories highlighting what innovative UNH students have been up to lately. We're very proud of everything we accomplished in the 2019 - 2020 academic year, along with the students, and we want to share it with you!

If you'd like to request a copy of the Impact Report, please send us your information in this webform.

Thanks for your interest in the ECenter!
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W.P. Carey Foundation
Interested in being a Corporate Sponsor? Learn more here.
Ian Grant
Executive Director

Ian.Grant@unh.edu
(603) 862-5470
Heather MacNeill
Senior Program Manager

Heather.MacNeill@unh.edu
(603) 862-4959
Allison Bell
Associate Program Manager

Allison.Bell@unh.edu
(603) 862-0349
Travis Thompson
Director of Development

Travis.Thompson@unh.edu
(603) 862-3061