Our Stories

Business Patterns for the Fashion World

Venezuelan fashion designer Anielis Raas Lozada, an Innovation Management MBA student, once had a dream to run a hip, little clothing shop in a cool city. Now, she seeks to launch a sustainability-focused clothing line. Raas points out three main problems within the fashion industry that she’d like to address: how the industry portrays women, the environmental impact of the supply chain and the treatment of workers at the manufacturing sites.

Read Her Story

It Gets Real: Mental health anti-stigma campaign receives $60K in funds

When it comes to what success looks like for the non-profit Dam Worth It, it’s not measured in dollars; it's measured in lives saved. Fortunately, this is not Nathan Braaten's first trip to the rodeo; he's iterated business concepts with OSU Launch Academy support and worked with the Advantage Accelerator on multiple occasions. Now he has major funding from the Pac-12 to help students and athletes face their mental health issues, and raise community awareness to end the stigma associated with mental health.

Read His Story

 “The Terminator” among the angels

An Honors College graduate, a veteran Oregon State Investment Group officer and health care sector analyst, a 2018 outstanding senior honoree from the finance program, a double major in international finance and mathematical economics — and now an analyst of early stage, entrepreneurial ventures. Chiara Marzi’s internships at the Advantage Accelerator earned her a deep understanding of the startup space — and a pretty fierce nickname.

Read Her Story

Student startup takes makerspace on the road

Here’s the idea: Build a mobile makerspace — a transportable trailer consisting of small-scale fabrication and design tools that teach kids about entrepreneurship and collaborative problem solving. Take this new makerspace around Oregon, encouraging rural, minority and other youth to tinker and invent. Spark their creativity. Help them develop new skills in innovation.

Read The Story

InnovationX Calls for All OSU Innovators to “Join the Club”

To face the challenges of getting a business off the ground, students need knowledge, confidence, resources — and entrepreneurial skills. InnovationX has a strategy to put these pieces together and train students of all majors to become successful business owners. By creating access to networks, mentors, training and resources, InnovationX is a comprehensive center that helps passionate, innovative students from across OSU pursue their ideas.

Read The Story