[This post was originally published September 23, 2014, on LinkedIn by Jeff Holman.]
I always advise students to take every opportunity while they are in school. There are very few professionals out there who will turn down a student when asked for a little help or counsel. But once that student status passes, it can be very difficult to get an audience with those same professionals.
Another huge perk of being a student is the wealth (literally) of opportunities that are available. Entrepreneur.com recent published a list of the graduate programs that offer the largest awards for business plan competitions. You can argue the value of business plans all you want in today’s lean startup economy, but either way you have to admit that these are some impressive amounts.
Personally, I’m very glad to see the University of Utah made this list. I watched some of these programs getting started while I was a student there as an engineering undergrad and later attending law school. And, as expected, the entire professional community has rallied around these programs because, as I said before, everybody wants to help out a student.
Jeff Holman draws from a broad background that spans law, engineering, and business. He is driven to deploy strategic business initiatives that create enterprise value and establish operational efficiencies. Mr. Holman earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Utah and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Brigham Young University. He has practiced patent and intellectual property law in Silicon Valley, built and managed a law firm focused on IP transactions, helped “Shark Tank” inventors with legal and business strategy, and served as general counsel for the leading innovator for consumer electronics waterproofing technology–where he managed engagements with two Fortune 10 customers, provided key legal oversight related to $170 million in equity and debt funding, and oversees global IP strategy. Additionally, Mr. Holman is working with a development team at Intellectual Strategies to launch the first SAAS platform dedicated to IP strategy.