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