Mays MBA student Joan Morrison was interested in pioneering a new business frontier. She already had a master’s in mechanical engineering when she decided to return to school for an MBA with the goal of becoming a consultant in the field of renewable energy technologies. There was just one problem: She couldn’t get an internship.
She had no prior experience in business, so most companies were not interested in her application. She didn’t get many interviews, and the interviews she did land didn’t turn into job offers.
Morrison was stuck in this catch-22 until she started putting “AiB” on her resume. AiB, or Texas Aggies in Business, is a new not-for-profit company affiliated with A&M that is run primarily by Mays MBA students.
“I put AiB on my resume in about January, and it was 180 degree difference,” said Morrison. “After I put AiB on my resume, every single internship I applied for, I was given an offer. It may be a coincidence, but I attribute it all to AiB and the experiences I’ve had.”
A Place to Start
AiB grew out of the Mays Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE). Small businesses often contacted CNVE with projects–such as business plans and financial modeling–they were interested in having students work on for a discounted rate. There were so many projects available CNVE couldn’t answer every request, and the Center’s executive committee started to think, could this be it’s own business?
Scotti
“One of the things we have been trying to do for years is foster an entrepreneurship education for students and to give them a hands-on education as applies to starting and running a company,” said CNVE Advisory Council member Chris Scotti. “We wanted to get students some practical knowledge.” As CNVE is funded solely by sponsors, the council also saw this as an opportunity to create a line of revenue for the center.
From this idea sprang AiB Consulting (the main branch of the three businesses that comprise AiB), which was launched in the fall of 2006. AiB Consulting is run entirely by MBA students under the guidance of Scotti, who was recently hired as general manager for AiB.
Now, Scotti is helping to organize the launch of two more areas of the business: AggieCareers, a job-hunting website devoted entirely to current and former Texas A&M students; and AiB Properties, which will purchase, manage, and, ultimately sell rental real estate.
Big Business
Morrison has had a variety of experiences working with AiB Consulting as its coordinator for external relations. “I’m the first line of contact a business has with us,” she said. “We haven’t actually done any advertising yet. All of our clients have come via word of mouth.”
The good word seems to be spreading. “We have so much business we have to turn some away. We started with our first client in September (of 2006), and by November, we were turning potential projects down because we didn’t have enough staffing to do them,” said Morrison.
Twelve MBA students currently run AiB. They are paid employees, working about 20 hours per week, doing the real work of running a company, from hiring to payroll. Projects have included creating business plans, conducting market surveys, website analysis, brand management, advertising evaluation, and venture capital surveys. A project can require 50-700 hours, at a rate of $40/hour. Their average project requires 150-250 hours.
This work by these students is valuable to the community as well as their own résumés. AiB Consulting is collaborating with Research Valley Partnership, a local initiative for small businesses. The partnership provides advice and mentoring to local business owners about a broad spectrum of issues, from securing financing to hiring employees.
“If a company or individual comes in and needs help with a business plan, then we can step in and write it for them or help them write it themselves,” said Morrison. “And the projects that we do really utilize the stuff we’re learning in our classes. You’re not just reading a book or taking a test, you’re actually applying it to projects. When you come out of the program, you can say to a potential employer, ‘yes, I’ve used that information and here’s what the outcome was.’”
Onward and Upward
Thanks to her AiB experience, Morrison landed a stellar internship this past summer, working with Global Renewable Resources in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She is planning to graduate in December 2007 with her MBA, then possibly stay until May to earn a specialization in international business.
Whatever her decision, her future looks bright. “I have two full time offers already from clients of AiB for when I graduate in December. They’ve been so satisfied with the work that they’ve basically told me ‘when you’re done, there’s a place for you here at my company.’”
The future of AiB is equally brilliant, as they prepare to launch AggieCareers and AiB Properties.
According to Scotti, AggieCareers will be a vastly marketable service. “There is a big value in connecting with the right employees. There are a lot of people that like to hire Aggies…I have heard from several companies that they would gladly pay for an exclusive service to have access to Aggies.”
Employers would pay to have their listings posted on aggiecareers.com. Students and alumni would create free profiles including their résumés and cover letters. They would then be able to apply for jobs via the Internet. AggieCareers will employ students from across campus in the areas of sales, customer service, and human resources.
“It will be a great opportunity for those students to network with potential employers, especially the HR students,” said Scotti.
AiB Properties is a very different venture. Currently, they are raising $250,000 to $500,000, which will be the seed money to purchase several properties. Students will research and propose acquisitions to an investment board. Once approved, students will go through the process of purchasing the properties and managing them–including finding renters, collecting rent, and maintaining the property–eventually selling the property for a profit, which they can reinvest in more brick and mortar.
The Future’s so Bright…
Scruggs
Richard Scruggs, director of CNVE and president of AiB, has a master vision that extends far beyond the launch of these new divisions.
“I think that A&M has always been a place where people receive a really strong, practical education…the future that I see for AiB is that it will enhance that education by expanding to where we offer students from many different colleges a chance to be involved in a real working business during their time in school,” said Scruggs.
For example, he envisions that AiB could build houses, calling upon the talents of students from the MBA, construction, and architecture programs. Once built, AiB Properties could manage each house and eventually sell it. The goal would be for the students to see the project through from concept to product, learning to work within a budget and on a timeline.
Another example Scruggs envisions would be for AiB to license technology created at A&M. Students would be involved in the whole process, from deciding which technology has the most commercial appeal to designing the business plan, helping raise the capital and actually launching the company.
“I think that this program is unique among college campuses, certainly in this region,” said Scruggs. “We have a chance to really create a point of differentiation for A&M… I’m hoping that one day when we recruit high school students or potential MBA students, we’ll say, ‘come to A&M, be a part of this program! You’ll learn a lot in our classrooms, and you’ll have a chance to put what you’re learning into practice while you’re still here.’”
For more information, please contact Chris Scotti at chris@chrisscotti.com or at (979) 574-3642.
