Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology & Entrepreneurship @ Carolina

Students find dream jobs

In class, passions fuel business plans

By: Erin Wiltgen, Staff Writer, Daily Tar Heel

For many, childhood and adolescence pass in a blur of hobbies and passionate adventures, activities seeped in a deep-seated excitement and love inherent in a particular pastime.

In UNC professor Elliot McGucken's "Artistic Entrepreneurship and Technology" class, students and teachers work to "make your passion your profession," transforming students' dreams and interests into potential paths for the future.

The unique course allows students interested in fields such as photography, video games, painting, classical music and film production to explore commercial and social ventures in the arts.

They search for and create a plan based in entrepreneurship, which supports and nurtures their individual visions.

"A lot of times school tells you that your dreams aren't important," says McGucken, a physics professor. "But in reality dreams are the best thing you can have."

The class consists of an independent project that includes three presentations, guest lectures and small-group collaboration.

Sophomore Phil Gennett's project is a clothing line, and he is trying to find a manufacturer for his creations.

He also intends to set up a talent agency.

"I want to blow it up into a new sort of entertainment, like American Idol, but also as a social network for opportunities," Gennett says.

Sophomore Ryan Dean is working on multiple projects. He runs a graphic design company called Cellar Door Design. He also has joined with a photographer in the class to create CD booklet artwork for the second album by his band, The Anchor Comes Home.

"What's most helpful is meeting like-minded people," Dean says.

"The best thing about this class is establishing relationships with the other students and collaborating with each other."

Stefan Estrada, graduate student and teaching assistant for the class, shares a similar view.

"The people in this class have ambition and a vision of things they want to accomplish," Estrada says.

"This isn't a class where you get something done and forget about it. It continues to maybe become your career."

Continuing entrepreneurship in the real world is the goal of the new and expanding entrepreneurship program at UNC, says Buck Goldstein, the entrepreneur in residence at the Carolina Entrepreneurship Initiative.

"(The class) is a tiny piece of a much bigger picture," he says.

Goldstein is a key player in the development of the entrepreneurship minor.

"It's making entrepreneurship part of the fabric of the University, and is a groundbreaking first effort in understanding the needs of the artistic community."

Goldstein points out that the word "entrepreneurship" comes from a French word meaning "to take action." He says entrepreneurship is about transforming the ideas into reality and a way of thinking about opportunity - be it in the social, artistic or scientific realm.

"The popular view is that (entrepreneurship) is about business," Goldstein says.

"But our view is that it's about opportunity and how to transform that opportunity into reality."

The new entrepreneurship minor comprises four courses, with specialized classes in each perspective.

In addition to McGucken's class, social entrepreneur Jim Johnson is working toward the social aspect of the entrepreneurship program.

Meanwhile, Holden Thorp, chairman of the chemistry department, is planning a scientific entrepreneurship track.

Although the project has yet to be approved by the administrative board, Thorp says he has high expectations for the class. He plans to cover material such as intellectual property, law and venture finance.

"A lot of our students end up working in small companies," Thorp says. "The better we can prepare them for that environment and for the challenges, the better off they'll be."

Goldstein says classes that focus on the different aspects of entrepreneurship are "another initiative for entrepreneurship and opportunity."

"We give students some tools that will enable them to compete in an increasingly entrepreneurial world."

McGucken also says that entrepreneurship classes give students a broader knowledge base.

"It's an irony that the University requires you to specialize when people typically end up switching jobs five or six times and need to know about a lot of different things," McGucken says.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the class will host a show at Local 506 on Franklin Street.

The show, called "Rocky Raccoon's High Tech Hollywood Hip Hop Hedge Fund Hoedown and Fashion/Art/Photography/Video Games Showdown" will feature musical and spoken-word performances, fashion shows, film and video screenings and displays of visual art and photography.

The show is designed as a networking event and as a benefit for the Music Maker Relief Foundation and three web sites - OSCommerce.com, Joomla.org and Gallery.menalto.com.

The Music Maker foundation works to help pioneers of Southern musical traditions gain recognition and meet their financial needs.

One goal of the show, and the class itself, is "to build new cultural centers," McGucken says.

"The University has been separated artificially," he says.

"This class has naturally collapsed all the barriers between business and art and law, putting all the power in the hands of the creator."


Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology