Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2020

Innovation is alive at Cedarville. Just attend any homecoming, and you’ll see engineering students developing better ways to cross Cedar Lake in their cardboard canoes (without getting soaked). Or visit Cedar Care Village Pharmacy where professional students not only dispense medicine, but are patient- centered, frontline healthcare providers. Program Stimulates Faith-Based Startups Accelerating Cedarville KYLE PETERSON ’96 This fall, inventive Cedarville students presented, or "pitched," proposals to a panel of judges for feedback on the viability of unique business startup ideas. These "pitch" competitions were held in November and January. The events drew hundreds of spectators, and the top proposals were awarded cash prizes. The School of Business Administration (SBA) Advisory Council had been meeting to discuss ways to grow and expand Cedarville's business program. Dick Blanc '82, a former managing partner at Accenture and member of the council, suggested the idea of a business accelerator. In 2018, Blanc and SBA Dean Jeff Haymond formulated a plan for adding an accelerator into the SBA curriculum. As part of this new initiative, Blanc announced in chapel on September 19, 2019, that Cedarville was taking steps to become the hub for faith-based entrepreneurship in the Midwest with the inception of the Beyond Accelerator Program, one of the first of its kind for a Christian university. DEFINING ACCELERATOR A business accelerator is a program that gives developing companies access to mentors, investors, and other support to help them become stable, independent, and thriving businesses. An accelerator program can last from two to six months. The goal is for companies to emerge ready to run on their own, poised to claim a share of their target markets. Companies that enroll in accelerators are usually fledgling enterprises that have moved beyond the earliest stages of getting established and desire to speed up growth in response to market demand. Accelerators, true to their name, quickly bring attention to aspects of the business that can be improved and hopefully accelerate growth. Instructors and subject matter experts provide insight toward these 20 | Cedarville Magazine