Advance your education in this tech-forward space. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
The Launch Lab at the University of Rhode Island is helping students turn their creativity and passion into concrete entrepreneurial ideas.
The lab started five years ago as a way to commercialize the technology that is being developed at URI. Deedee Chatham, the director of entrepreneurship, innovation and undergraduate research at the University, said that students were owed more entrepreneurial opportunities, which is part of the reason why the lab was created.
“We’re a state university,” Chatham said. “We should have really rich entrepreneurial resources here.”
The organization works closely with URI’s College of Business and professors often bring their classes into the Launch Lab, but all students, regardless of major, are encouraged to come and share their ideas. The Launch Lab only received a physical classroom two years ago — room 104 in the Robert L. Carothers Library. Chatham said that it was important for it to be in the library so that all students could feel it was their own.
Gina Miranda graduated from URI with a bachelor’s degree in health studies and a minor in leadership studies in May 2020 and is currently the Launch Lab’s Program Coordinator, who helps students when they come in with ideas.
First, students share their ideas and Miranda assesses how developed the business concept is. Students will then discuss how to manufacture the product. Next, Miranda helps students research businesses to work with and potential customers. Miranda also recommends various Launch Lab events to help flesh out ideas and receive audience feedback.
“It’s up to them really, [as to] how they move forward,” said Miranda.“My emphasis is that we exist and that we’re here and that we want to be here to help, so then they’re the ones who take that and move forward.”
Greyson Ebneter, sophomore finance and marketing major and leadership studies minor, is the Launch Lab’s director of outreach. Ebneter was recommended to the Launch Lab his freshman year by his academic advisor when clubs and organizations had limited opportunities due to the pandemic.
“I ended up really falling in love with what we do here and what the mission of this organization is: to really implement within the student body that it’s their innovative brains and their ideas that are going to introduce us all, as a world, as a society, to what our future is,” said Ebneter.
He joined when business majors Andrew Bikash and Ben Grossman were creating their own app, “Kanu,” which showed him how helpful Launch Lab can be in aiding business ideas. Kanu is a secure peer-to-peer marketplace where students get entrepreneurial experience by learning and sharing their ideas, services, and products and earning money while doing so.
Ebneter even used the app to aid him in a business project for his marketing class.
“[Kanu] was very eye-opening to see all the things that maybe you didn’t think of, so definitely a really good way to learn [entrepreneurship], especially in an early stage,” Ebneter said.
All three said that the Launch Lab is important for URI students because student ideas are important. Ebneter said that not enough students spend enough time exploring their potential, and Launch Lab helps give them resources, support, and even just someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of.
“If you want to explore an idea come here,” Chatham said.
The next Launch Lab events are Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. where guest speaker Phil Parisi will speak about how to make money off of YouTube, and Feb. 16th at 3 p.m. where professor Peg Boyd will talk about developing skills for identifying and fixing entrepreneurial problems.