Business students studying for the GMAT–
There are new practice exams available through LearningExpress Library, which is available to you as a USC student. Free registration is required. GMAT related material that is available includes:
You will also find exam prep materials for the GRE and LSAT under the category Graduate School Entrance Exams Preparation. Let us know if you have questions or need assistance!
Springs Business Library has reopened from the holiday break. Here is a listing of our hours for Spring semester.
The Business Library has extended hours on Friday and Saturday this week due to Finals. Check our calendar here for details.
Check out the new website for the Darla Moore School of Business.
globalEDGE™ Database of International Business Statistics (DIBS) is a valuable statistical resource covering more than 5000 variables from over 200 countries, and it is free for academic use (you must register with your USC email address and provide a statement of intended use).
globalEDGE™ is a knowledge web-portal for global business knowledge created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University.
globalEDGE™ has introduced a new Country Comparator Tool that allows users to compare up to 20 countries across a variety of economic indicators (up to 5 at a time), including GDP, inflation, and exports. Data coverage is from 1960-present.
globalEDGE™ is a knowledge web-portal for global business knowledge created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University, and it is free for academic users.
Support Moore School students by attending The Proving Ground Challenge tonight at 6 pm in Lumpkin Auditorium–8th floor of Darla Moore School of Business.
Please note that the MGSC 487/871 Commodity Sourcing Strategy Project guide has now been updated. Additional resources have been added and obsolete resources have been removed. Please do not hesitate to contact a Business Librarian if you need additional help.
When: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 @ 6 pm
Where: Darla Moore School of Business Lumpkin Auditorium (8th Floor)
Details:
Seven student startup teams in The Proving Ground, the University of South Carolina’s entrepreneurial challenge, were selected today (Monday) to compete ‘Shark-Tank’-style Tuesday, Nov. 13, for $40,000 in prizes and startup support.
Now, it’s the campus and community’s turn to participate by providing a full house for the pitch competition, which takes place at 6 p.m. in Lumpkin Auditorium on the eighth floor of the Darla Moore School of Business.
“This is where it gets really exciting, when students put it all on the line to convince a panel of judges why their big idea is the best one and why they should win the prize money and startup support,” said Dean Kress, associate director of the Moore School’s Faber Entrepreneurship Center.
Greg Hilton, executive director at Center for Entrepreneurial and Technological Innovation (CETI), said the role of the audience can be likened to that of fans at Williams Brice Stadium on a Saturday.
“Startups feed off the energy and support of others,” Hilton said. “This is the community’s opportunity to see and influence the next generation of entrepreneurs by creating a high-energy atmosphere for these students as they compete head-to-head.”
Students will vie for prizes in three categories:
• $15,000 SCRA Technology Ventures Prize for the best innovative technology idea for the marketplace
Venture: “Palmetto NanoCare,” a company that makes antimicrobial paints and coatings for the healthcare industry.
Venture: “HuddleHR,” a Columbia-based software startup that develops web and mobile products to help small businesses effectively manage their human capital.
• $10,000 Innovista Innovation Prize for the most innovative approach to a business concept
Venture: “hoVee,” a college campus concept for a network of shared bicycles that students can access for a nominal membership fee.
Venture: “The Photographer Source,” a cloud-based tool for basic photo studio management that enables photographers to run their business from anywhere in the world.
Venture: “MyBuddy,” an Internet-based language resource that pairs Korean students with native English speakers at a lower cost than traditional tutoring.
• $5,000 Maxient Social Impact Prize for the business plan best able to contribute or solve a social or environmental challenge
Venture: “Watsi,” which uses crowd funding to help people fund low-cost, high-impact medical treatments for people in need around the world.
Venture: “Cooking with Carbon Credits,” a company that sells carbon offsets created by the construction of new portable kitchens and reforested plots of land in the Andes. Kondrath, who is currently in Brazil, will compete via Skype.
The Proving Ground pitch competition is based on a concept called “IdeaSlam,” in which each individual or team finalists make a compelling case about a proposed venture to a panel of judges in a five-minute presentation. The students will answer the following: What are you offering (product), who will buy it and why (market), why will you win (competitive advantage), how will you make money (finances) and how will you get this done (management)?
Then, in “Shark Tank”-fashion, the judges will pepper presenters with questions about their idea and award points based on one simple question: “If approached by this team, would you consider investing capital in this venture?”
This year’s judges will be Bill Kirkland, executive director of USC Columbia Technology Incubator and co-founder of 52 Apps; John Hackler, USC alumnus and founder of Spanish Vines; Aaron and Candice Hark, founders of Maxient Technologies; Chase Mizzell, student body vice president; and Doreen Sullivan, founder of Post No Bills.
The Proving Ground marks the third year for USC’s business plan competition, which is held during Global Entrepreneurship Week, an annual observance to unleash new ideas that includes nearly 37,000 events in 115 countries.
This year’s $40,000 in prizes and startup support places USC among the top colleges with business plan competitions. The competition drew entries from students from a variety of disciplines and four USC campuses.
For more information about The Proving Ground pitch competition Nov. 13, visit the website www.uscprovinground.com or email TheProvingGround@sc.edu.
The Proving Ground is presented by the Moore School’s Faber Entrepreneurship Center, USC Innovista and CETi.
2012 Proving Ground participants, hometowns
Palmetto Nanocare
Graduate students Kristen Miller, Irmo, S.C.; Lei Wang, Hubei, China; and Anand Viswanath, Chennai, India.
HuddleHR
Professional MBA student Sean Rankin, Aiken, S.C.
hoVee
Senior business students Steven Kviklys, Marietta, Ga; Brett Bethune, Orangeburg, S.C.; and Chris King, Greenville.
The Photographer Source
International MBA graduate student Rachel Browne, Lexington, S.C.
MyBuddy
IMBA graduate students Ryan Nielsen, Logan, Utah; Hunter Moore, Manning, S.C.; Jamie Weneck, Spartanburg, S.C.; and Syliva Lee, Fairfax, Va.
Watsi
IMBA graduate students Howard Glenn, Greensboro, N.C.; Hall Todd, Spartanburg, S.C.; Caroline Osborne, Augusta, Ga; and Thad Ball, Honaker, Va.
Cooking with Carbon Credits
IMBA student Michael Kondrath, Indianapolis. Kondrath, currently in Brazil, will compete via Skype.
The Proving Ground partners:
The Faber Entrepreneurship Center was established in 1997 following a gift to the Darla Moore School of Business from Tim and Karen Faber, two University of South Carolina graduates and successful entrepreneurs – people with the ideas, the vision and the perseverance to launch the new businesses that form South Carolina’s economic bedrock. Its primary mission is to promote and support student entrepreneurship.
Innovista is a strategic economic development effort that is connecting the University of South Carolina and university-spawned innovations with entrepreneurs, businesses and stakeholders. Innovista’s purpose is to attract, create and grow technology-intensive, knowledge-based companies, resulting in higher paying jobs and substantial economic growth in the Midlands region. Innovista supports the continued renaissance of downtown Columbia as well as the continued growth of USC as a nationally recognized, comprehensive research university.
CETi, the Center for Entrepreneurial and Technological Innovation, is the University of South Carolina’s launchpad for early stage startups. CETi finds, educates, connects and accelerates early stage technology and innovation-based startups centered around the University of South Carolina and Columbia’s entrepreneurial community. CETi is an Innovista Partners Initiative, powered by the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator.
Even though there are no classes for Election Day, Springs Business Library is open for regular hours (8 am – 10 pm). Don’t forget to VOTE!