WKU News

Learning the steps to take a product from the idea stage to the market is one of the goals for the student business team Custom Classroom.

Custom Classroom is one of 16 student business teams showcasing its ideas during the inaugural TOP IDEAS Entrepreneurship Challenge Trade Show, which will be held Friday, November 1, from 12 – 3 pm in the Downing Student Union on WKU’s campus. TOP IDEAS is sponsored by WKU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI).

“The purpose of the TOP IDEAS Entrepreneurship Challenge is to give a public outlet to student business ideas,” said Dr. Whitney Peake, Director of the CEI. “This is a wonderful opportunity for students to be able to share their venture concepts and receive feedback.”

Trade Show attendees will be able to interact with the student entrepreneurs at their stations, hold prototypes, listen to elevator pitch competitions, and vote for their favorite business ideas.

Business ideas range from medical devices to food trucks and apps to subscription services.

Custom Classroom is a service that provides customized classroom decorations for K-12 teachers through a quarterly subscription. Teachers select from a variety of themes, colors, and ideas and then they receive customized bulletin board items, decals, worksheets, etc. all based on the selected concept.

The Custom Classroom team is comprised of Nicholas Brock, Finance major from Independence, Ky.; Maggie Chaplin, Economics major from Lexington; Haley Cooper, Strategic Marketing major from Bowling Green; and Alea Luckett, Accounting major from Louisville.

The team received a wealth of information from Brock’s mother, who is a teacher.

“We are able to take into consideration what teachers deal with and how we could help them,” Cooper said. “We refined a previous idea with this new information and came up with Custom Classroom.”

Even if they don’t win the competition, the experience gained is just as important.

“The four of us are all in separate majors and want to go into different fields when we graduate. We all want to gain more information and make as many connections as possible,” Cooper said.

For more information about the TOP IDEAS Entrepreneurship Challenge Trade Show, visit: wku.edu/cei