Northern Michigan University’s introduction to entrepreneurship class tasks students with starting new businesses, the proceeds of which are donated to local charitable organizations.
Students participating in an introduction to entrepreneurship class at Northern Michigan University are tasked with creating businesses from the ground up, with a short deadline, in order to gain experience especially in the marketing, management, finance, and accounting elements of the process. After the class ends, the businesses are shuttered, and the profits of their operations are donated to nonprofits in the area. One of the businesses started in the last semester, for example, was Verdant Vessels, a passive clay pot irrigation system friendly to the environment, which earned $195 and then donated those funds to the Northern Michigan University Food Pantry.
The idea for the organization of the program came from Sergiy Blackwood who graduated in May, and won the Innovation in Technology Award at the Celebration of Student Scholarship in April. He came up with the idea while in his social entrepreneurship class, taught by Corinne Bodeman, which itself partners with the international nonprofit Global Brigades to link students up with small businesses in need of help in developing countries.
Blackwood’s group teamed up with a woman from Honduras named Maria, who is part of a family-owned clay pottery business. At the start of the partnership, Maria was largely selling her products from a storefront, as well as participating in trade shows. The team and Maria conducted several meetings with the staff of Global Brigades, in large part to focus on how Maria’s business could reach new customers, and explore the possibility of selling her wares online.
In an article posted on Northern Michigan University’s website, Blackwood was quoted about the partnership, saying, “I wanted to think as far outside the box as possible to come up with something that could help Maria stand out from the surrounding, often homogenous competition. I set out to do some independent research into unique uses for clay pottery and came across the first mention of this irrigation method in a 2001 scientific journal article that explored its remarkable effectiveness. I didn't invent the technology; it's actually an ancient technique used thousands of years ago but largely forgotten.”
He then went on to note that the system is one of the most water efficient irrigation systems in operation in the world, and is as much as ten times more efficient than traditional surface irrigation, and as much as four times more effective than the more common modern drip systems.
Blackwood explained how the system works, saying, “It uses a buried, unglazed, porous clay pot that's filled with water. The water gradually diffuses through the pot's walls based on the surrounding plants' needs, creating a passive, self-regulating irrigation system. This setup can be further enhanced by connecting the pots to a larger water reservoir elevated above ground, which allows for a gravity-fed drip system and reduces how often the pots need to be refilled.”
At the end of the semester, Blackwood pitched his idea to Maria who expressed excitement and interest in the novel and utility based product. She noted that selling her wares in this way would make her family’s pottery stand out from others in the marketplace, which is highly saturated. Blackwood does not know, however, if she adopted his idea or not.
Along with promoting his idea to Maria, which may entirely transform her business, Blackwood also started collaborating with people of other academic disciplines at Northern Michigan University. Brian Kakas, who is a ceramics professor, is working with Blackwood to introduce his irrigation idea to local businesses as well. Blackwood then teamed up with students from Bodeman’s introduction to entrepreneurship class to to start the company, Verdant Vessels, which utilized his research. Student Adam Hop was part of the team that developed the business, and won $4,500 in Northern Michigan University’s Innovation Week Big Pitch Contest.
Hop talked about the business, saying, “The system is designed for the U.P. specifically, where sandy soil is a problem for most home gardeners. This passive irrigation method allows for our plants to be watered more effectively and can save time and money. Verdant Vessels were sphere-shaped pots with spouts on top that would stick out of the ground once you buried them. Once you put them in the ground, you fill them with water and it slowly seeps out of the pots because they've been fire-blasted to the point they were porous. You would then refill the pots every one to two days based on weather conditions and other events.”
Other businesses that came out of last semester’s class were University Detail car detailing enterprise, which raised $284 for Little Brothers/Friends of the Elderly; Nutri-paws organic and healthy dog treats, which raised $305 for Room at the Inn; Sprout Box, a gardening and planting box, which raised $572 for BOTIQA; and NMU Campus Couture affordable jewelry, which raised $706 for Delta Animal Shelter.
More information about Northern Michigan University can be found at the school’s website here.