Micah Toll – Student Entrepreneur:  Based on what you see in the 5:36 video on Micah, how does his background and training as an undergraduate engineering student influence his entrepreneurial activities (i.e. how is an engineering student like Micah a good fit for an independent business-related activity)?

Micah told us about how he has felt he was an inventor from a young age. By furthering his education and training at Pitt, he is able to hone his skills and create things such as his lightweight, portable building beams. Micah’s invention is a clever and very useful idea. To be utilized, he has to be able to put it on the market and put it to use. By inventing and coming up with new ideas, Micah is constantly attempting to bring new things to the market that haven’t been done before, making him his own independent business capable of creating new areas on the market for whatever he sees fit.

Pitt Business Students as Entrepreneurs:  Now – thinking about how this video/topic could apply to you – how will your background and training as an undergraduate business student influence your entrepreneurial activities (i.e. how is a business student a good fit for an independent business-related activity?)  

Conversely to Micah, I, as a business major, probably won’t be inventing new things. However, after graduating Pitt, I hope to have a well-trained business mind capable of putting anything I deem fit for market production or sales into the world. By understanding local markets and economies, I will be able to find my niche within a business and make the most efficient plan I can to yield the greatest results.

Other Examples Like This?:  So – if you have the opportunity to work with student entrepreneurs like Micah (either as a peer or as their boss/manager one day) – what support would you give them to get them to fully develop their talents/skills?

I would take their products, such as the beams, and provide helpful insight into how they should approach the market in order to capitalize on any ideas they may have. For instance, the class we’re taking now, managing in complex environments, will hopefully shed some insight into just that, and with that knowledge it would tailor especially to Micah’s invention. Specifically with disaster relief, the markets are all over the place and being able to maneuver Micah’s product through, whether It be through figuring out supply, helping with the financials, or negotiating terms in which his product is deployed, would greatly benefit Micah.