{"id":66988,"date":"2024-09-17T12:53:32","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T16:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=66988"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:53:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T16:53:34","slug":"wilson-college-students-get-leg-up-on-building-a-business-designing-products-in-immersive-summer-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/09\/wilson-college-students-get-leg-up-on-building-a-business-designing-products-in-immersive-summer-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilson College Students Get Leg-up on Building a Business, Designing Products in Immersive Summer Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did you spend your summer break?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a question that\u2019s been asked frequently in recent weeks as the fall semester at NC State got underway \u2014 no doubt evoking responses about summer jobs, internships and trips to far-flung destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For two students in the Wilson College of Textiles, though, summer 2024 brought uniquely immersive access to one of the most innovative spaces on Centennial Campus \u2014 and a crash course in building a business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wilson College of Textiles Summer Innovation Program offered students an experiential dive into the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, from making a product to forming a business plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Annie
Annie Hoyt (left) and Julia Handley (right) debuted their designs at industry show Techtextil. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Julia<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural edition of the program came to life this summer in the Prototype Lab, the innovation hub that will serve as a key component of the fledgling Flex Factory<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home to 3D printers and a wide range of cutting and sewing equipment, it\u2019s a space meant for fostering precisely the type of entrepreneurship offered in this program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vision was a program, in the Flex Factory, specifically to support student entrepreneurship \u2014 and specifically, for student entrepreneurship in the textile realm,\u201d explains laboratory manager Bailey Knight, who headed up the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the program works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Knight, along with faculty and staff, selected participants from a pool of applicants who had pitched innovative concepts the Prototype Lab could support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, the Flex Factory team selected students who pitched unique concepts the lab and its experts could feasibly turn into a real-life, physical product. But they were also on the lookout for a business plan with real potential \u2014 one the student could workshop over the two-month immersion, under the guidance of specifically-selected technical and entrepreneurial coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, students spent the summer developing both their physical product and business plan, honing individualized day-to-day goals in close consultation with faculty, staff and graduate student coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cOur students learn so many great things in their classes at the college, and in this program,\u201d Knight explains, noting that a key part of the program called on students to register their own LLC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose are some really great things they can apply to this 100% real-world scenario,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A valuable hands-on opportunity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Student participants came away with a true, real-world sense of what it would take to get a textiles-based startup off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a really interesting way for me to kind of \u2018play it out,\u2019 and see how I would start: how you would even go about creating a product, and then creating a business around your product,\u201d says Julia Handley, a rising junior in the Wilson College\u2019s fashion design<\/a> program, whose business called Handley Design saw her create an all-new leather handbag concept meant to last a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But her takeaways from the program may have comparable longevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom finding your clientele, to building a platform and all the financial aspects,\u201d Handley says. \u201cI think it was really beneficial because I didn\u2019t really understand the underworkings of it all before this summer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Behind the scenes for Julia’s Handley Designs prototype.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Annie Hoyt, a rising senior in the fashion development and product management<\/a> program, focused on growing her four-year-old company. Deni, a startup, sells adjustable garments that can stay with the wearer for years, in the interest of sustainability \u2014 and helping the consumer money in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what really piqued my interest was the opportunity to work with people who are very knowledgeable and very skilled at what they do,\u201d Hoyt says, noting the allure of the program\u2019s extensive access to the Prototype Lab\u2019s high-tech equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe opportunity to learn new skills and work with a bunch of equipment you would never usually work within one space \u2013 the 3-D printers, the cutters, the sewing machines, the knitting equipment,\u201d Hoyt adds. \u201cIt\u2019s just a really great asset to the college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fostering entrepreneurship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, expanding the capacity to support these types of projects is a key goal of the Prototype Lab and the larger Flex Factory, itself poised for a multi-million dollar buildout early next year, says Wilson College of Textiles Dean David Hinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One of the aspects of NC State that makes me most proud is that our university ranks second nationally for research commercialization among public universities. Part of that impact is due to the remarkable entrepreneurial focus of our students, staff and faculty,\u201d Hinks says. \u201cIn the Wilson College of Textiles, we have seen a rapid rise in student entrepreneurship in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a culture of entrepreneurship Knight hopes to support in future summers, too, by continuing this summer innovation program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Incredible success,\u201d Knight says of the program\u2019s inaugural run. \u201cWhat made it so successful was, of course the resources, the space where they could work on their projects and the machines they could access and the software they were able to use, all within the Prototype Lab and some other facilities within the college but also, most importantly, it\u2019s because of our people that made it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n