LA Tank Encourages Future Entrepreneurs

In April, the LA Tank program wrapped its third successful year by awarding students an opportunity to collaborate and present their ideas to a panel of Loyola alumni entrepreneurs.

The program is structured such that students are grouped into teams and tasked with identifying an existing problem to solve with a new product or idea. At regular check points throughout the product development phase, alumni and volunteers served as guest speakers to deliver workshop-style presentations to the teams of students.

“It’s a program modeled on Jesuit ingenuity,” says Assistant Principal Charles Heintz. “While exposing our students to real-world business concepts, we’re also encouraging them to use the gifts and talents that God has given them to create new business models, solve problems and improve lives.”

What started as a simple idea to give students a jumpstart on their career paths has evolved into a type of thought-laboratory where students can navigate complex life and work environments under the guidance of alumni experts in their fields.

The third season of LA Tank began in January, and 75 students arrived at the first meeting with business ideas in mind. Students met in small groups to share and improve their ideas together. The night ended with the formation of eighteen teams, each having a unique idea to work with. Examples included: Tiny Tracker, a device that keeps track of one’s personal items, and Emergency, a reliable battery that never dies.

Accompanying each team is a Loyola Academy alumnus or alumna who mentors the group along the way. “I hope the students take away at least one point that they had never known,” says alumni mentor Brian Daly ’10, a commercial real estate broker at Transwestern where he specializes in tenant advisory services. “Whether that's how to create a business plan, how to conduct market research regarding their target market or how to work as a team and delegate responsibilities. I hope they take away an important business lesson that they will utilize in their future.”

Before the second workshop, each team tackled a list of tasks. They hosted a team meeting, conducted research, completed problem/solution sheets and assigned roles and responsibilities to team members.

On February 21, LA Tank students had the opportunity to video conference with social entrepreneur William B. McNulty III ’95, who founded Team Rubicon, a disaster relief provider that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams to the scenes of natural disasters. McNulty spoke with the students about how to penetrate a market already saturated with well-known competitors.

A finale event occurred on April 19 and featured the top eight teams: Bridget’s Bananas mentored by Erin Murphy ’00; Cook-My-Kitchen, mentored by Mary Dwyer ’06; Guard Gloves, mentored by Phil Spagnolo ’12; Simple Transition, mentored by Kayla Prince ’06 ; Soteria, mentored by Andreas Safakas ’05; Store Solver, mentored by Brian Daly ‘10; Computer Chic; and MERGE.

The teams presented their business proposals in a format inspired by the reality show Shark Tank, which gives contestants an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of business leaders and field a series of questions.

“Each group had three minutes to explain how their business model was unique and viable, who their target audience was and how they planned to make money,” explains Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Ashley Sanks ’10. “Following the pitches, our judges had the opportunity to ask questions.”

Judges included Loyola Academy Principal Kathryn Baal, PhD; Erin Conroy ’07, CEO and co-founder of Phyt; John Garcia ’99, principal product manager at HARMAN International/ A Samsung Company; Chris Wolf ’97, franchisor of Five Guys; and Erin Casey Wolf ’98, co-franchisor and co-owner of Bella Bridesmaids.

Each business proposal was judged on five criteria: innovation, differentiation, business plan, viability and presentation.

Team Soteria, which proposed the development of a safety feature providing an alternative to driving under the influence, took first place. The team consisted of Michael Kadus ’19, Eli Miller ’19 and Ellen Naughton ’19. Kadus, Miller and Naughton will receive a paid, weeklong internship at some of Chicago’s most innovative businesses. The students will be assigned tasks, participate in meetings and be given resources to expand their business idea.  

 

“I could not be more proud of the Soteria team,” says alumni mentor Andreas Safakas ’05. “Their hard work, passion and commitment to excellence inspired me to give them my all.”

Receiving honorable mentions were teams Bed Burner, a method of getting in shape while lying in bed mentored by Isaiah Raynal ’14; Burst, a healthy beverage alternative for coffee and energy drinks; MERGE, which transfers battery usage to other phones; LetterstoSanta.com, an app that provides an easy way for parents to find the least expensive websites and best shipping methods to fulfill their children’s Christmas lists mentored by Dan Rosa ’91; Safe Wayz, whichensures safety while traveling by foot mentored by Matt Mulroe ’07; Sigma, a decentralized phone provider that allows access to unlimited data without a contract mentored by Thomas Clifford ’06; String Ring, a ring on a string that restricts a shoelace from going out of their original place mentored by Kathleen Servatius ’09; Tiny Tracker, an app linked to a microchip tracker placed in valuable items so that they can be recovered if lost mentored by Dan Kearns ’07; TouCHarge, an elegant, wireless and lightweight portable charger that attaches to the back of a phone mentored by Allister Laurel ’10; and Tune Up, a set of earbuds that charges the phone while users listen to music mentored by Kara Buffalino ’06.

Notably, Morgan Banks ’18 from team Bed Burner was awarded the inaugural Willer Family Accelerator Award, which recognizes the commitment of a student to the program. Banks was chosen for his superior demonstration of the entrepreneurial spirit.

“As a mentor I hope the students took away how difficult it really is to manage a complex project with multiple personalities, opinions, visions and goals. Learning how to balance a team and make everyone work in harmony is an invaluable skill that will be used for years to come,” says Safakas ’05. “Alumni events such as LA Tank are crucial to maintaining the relationship and connection of past students, current and future students. We are all part of the Loyola family and must continue to nourish and support every member of said family.”

For more information about Loyola’s LA Tank program or to get involved, contact Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Ashley Sanks ’10 at 847.920.2466 or asanks@loy.org.