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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1993)
Students’ marketing strategy pays off By Tiffany Woods For t.M» Oregon IXmy £mm&K3 Tun Robertson was getting frustrated After spending a day at the mall, he couldn't find any unique Christmas gifts So he created his own. Six months later and $1.500 richer. Robertson is on to something good At least four fudges at a recent business plan competition think so. Robertson, a master's student in busi ness, and his business partner, leanine Luteijn, a marketing and management major, entered a business plan for their product in the April 17 New Venture Competition and won first place, taking home $1,500. a plaque arid big plans for the future. Their product, which Robertson says fills a gap in the market, is a simple yet elegantly designed wooden block game called "Tower Strategy,” developed by their company, the Wood Company. Play ers stack the blocks ns high os possible until the tower crashes to the ground. The unique port of the game is that each block is made out of on exotic piece of wood from various countries worldwide. Their business plan was one of four entries in the competition, which was at the University's Lundquist Center for Business Development. Colleges and uni versities in Oregon. Washington and Ida ho entered business plans in the compe tition that were then judged by representatives from the academic and business communities. fudges included Wayne Embree, deputy director of the Oregon Resource and Technology Development Corpora tion; Carl Flipper, executive director of Oregon Enterprise Forum; Mike Francis, a business columnist for The Oregonian-. and Lynn Stevenson, director of the Uni versity Technology Transfer Office. fudging was based on the long-term sales and profit potential of the business, the likelihood of the business' success, and the quality of the presentation and analysis. Robertson and Luteijn's presentation summed up more than 700 hours of research in 20 minutes and was followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer sea sion Their presentation addressed the •telling, distribution and user benefits of their product and also explainer! the bal a nee sheet, income and cash-flow state ments in their business plan Karlin Conklin, director of the Lundquist Center, which also helped organize the competition, said the pre sentation was the pair's strongest asset "The judges were impressed bv their presentation and Tim's ability to answer questions under fire." she said "Presen tation and being able to he persuasive and to think under fire and defend your idea is half of the game." Robertson and Lutei jn's success at the New Venture Competition has quelled some of the initial anxiety that they had aliout their product's success to the mar ket They said the competition gave them hope and was a good wav to shnwi use their talents "This adds tremendous credibility to both leanine s and my talent and to our ability to perform." he said. "It adds cred ibility to our knowledge and the fact that we had support from the business school. This will have a positive effect on what ever Jeanine and I decide to do " Conklin agreed but added that their success will depend on their marketing skills. "If they are excellent marketers, then this company has the potential to be a successful business in the game industry, but it hinges on their skill in marketing." she said. "They have so much passion and are willing to work hard to open the doors to the market, but success will depend on how fast they move and on the next product they bring in." Robertson and Luteijn recognize this and are already making plans for the future. They intend to finish the informa tional booklet about the game, give pre sentations to interested buyers and mar ket the game with the Nature Company. Made in Oregon, Natural Wonders and possibly Nordstrom In addition, they will use $50,000 from investors to finance the start-up of their company. The two also plan to expand the market for the game by creating two other ver sions of the game In addition to the orig inal "Tower Strategy." which includes 15 PN*0 by A*txsr*y fom+t Unlvaraity atudanta Tim flobarlaon and Jaanlna Lutaitn hava auccaaafutty martial ad "Towar Stratagy," which thay hopa will ba In atoraa by Chrtatmaa. different types of wood and sells for $45. they will market the "Tower Strategy Sampler" with 45 types of wood, and the "Tower Strategy Connoisseur." which uses wood that is selected by the con sumer. Robertson and Luteijn also hope to develop on institutional market for their game. They say the game functions as an educational tool because it teaches geog raphy by describing the various countries from which the wood comes "We will provide a booklet that has a picture of the wood, its name, where it comes from, and its uses so that children can play the game and In the meantime, learn about the world." Luteijn said. The two entrepreneurs are excited about their product's future If everything goes as planned, their game will be on the market in time for Christinas. If so. then shoppers looking for unique gifts will not experience the same dilemma that Robertson faced last year. CELEBRATION Continued from Page 1 mg (.atilt Amerii an i uisinn. ini hid ing horchala. a drink consisting of rn «». sugar ami water As part of its observant e ofCinco do Mayo, the group also presented a free slide show Monday evening by Daniel (Kuna, international set rotary and representative of hi Par ti do National de I-a Rnza Unida The group is attempting to edu t ate tlie publtt about the true mean ing of (."into de Mayo because i ommert lali/'alion and the media has distorted many people's view about the day. whit h was original ly designated to recognize the Bat tle ol Pueblo. Rodriguez saul '(lint o de May o is a < ause for i el ebrntiou but it's also a good oppor tunity to edm ate the people." said fames McNu bolus MF.C'ilA Hoortl of Diret tors memlier MRChA will also celebrate (on to de Mayo this weekend by purtu - ipnting in the Oregon Statewide (Ihii ano/a Student Conference at the Monarch Hotel in Portland. The gen eral public is invited to attend the i onferom e. opining Friday at 5 p.m., that will fm.us on Chicuno history and culture For the sis ond consecutive y ear, Adelante Si ilispanii Organization will celebrate the Latin American holiday Saturday with Fiesta Lati na The free event attracted more than 5,000 people last year and this year is expected to attract a crowd of about 10.000. said Joe Rivera, president of the hispantc group The purpose of Fiesta Latina. Rivera said, is to join people togeth er He said his group hop«is to build strong foundations with the com munity. "I don't believe in building bridges because bridges collapse ond there's no foundation." he said. This year s event is scheduled to take place under the Washinglon/Jef lerson Street bridge regardless of the weather. Rivera said The alcohol free event will feature about 30 Latin American food and craft booths. JOIN MOW I COCKTAIL RESEARCH 168 W. 1101 • 683-8101 I Packages A 1 r 1for$4 5 for $15 &V 11 for $25 21 for $40^96 ! 344*2691 1M4 FronMm Bfed. )wtfto7-nanVl«d| This week s Luncheon Specials Nasi Raman $4.75 CHINA BUIE j RESTAUAWTI nyouamn.ua I |«7»«. 1Sttl UPstun Next to UO Bootatore • Take out Avaiiaoie J l^MOVIELANlf^^ ^ CHEAP SEATS! BRING THIS AD IN FOR $1.50 ADMISSION FOR ONE tTUOKNTNMHTI TIGHTWAD TUESDAY Siffi’ara . SIDEKICKS 1F1 It las ass sas) rx 93s _I , WHOUTHEMAN W (135 335 53S| 736 9:36 ADV.OFHVCKFINS “Wl l( 1.00 3:10 630)730 9:40 INDIAN SVMMEi ™* (2.00 406) «:1Q <15 1030 "SP THESANDLOr (1 45 3:45 5:45 ) 7:45 545 INDECENT nOTOSAL 'SF (lOO 3:15 530) 800 1015 SHOWTIMES IN EFFECT FRIDAY 4 30 THRU THURSDAY 5 6 •5 The W%rld The Oregon Daily Emerald is searching for a variety of stud ents and perspectives for its 1993-94 news staff to truly represent and reflect the diversity of the University community Diverse backgrounds, cultures, experiences and opinions make each of us a unique and valu able part of society. Make an impact Applications are now available at the Emerald, Suite 300 EMU. for the following staff positions for the 1993-94 school year «* Editorial Editor » Freelance Editor •» Graph icWPhoto Editor •» Sports Editor. Reporter «* Police Reporter «*• Graphic Artist *> Photo Tech «* Supplementaftitertainment Editor «> Student Activities Editor. Reporter *» Community Editor. Reporter «* Higher Education Editor. Repwter «» Photographer «* Copy Editor «* Staff Columnist Applications must be turned in by Wednesday. May 12, 1993. For more information, call Jake at 34&55II ^Emerald 100 (MU PO U' « H ' t - OH Jit, Ml Tlw Otyon Dmtf tmmU a » equal opportunity emptowi V