Software giant Intuit collaborates with Marshall University for Shark Tank-style event.
Software giant Intuit collaborates with Marshall University for A select group of Marshall University students and faculty members were awarded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity recently. They were selected to participate in the Design for Delight (D4D) Innovation Challenge during the spring semester. As part of the event, the chosen individuals were separated into teams of eight and given the chance to work with Innovation Experts from Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks©and TurboTax©, to devise solutions for some of the actual problems facing West Virginia by using Intuit’s D4D process. In April, each of the teams presented their work to a panel of esteemed judges, including Intuit CEO Brad Smith, actress and activist Jennifer Garner and former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, in an exciting Shark Tank-style event on the Huntington campus.
The idea behind the Innovation Challenge stemmed from conversations between Marshall University President Dr. Jerome Gilbert and Intuit CEO and Marshall alum Brad Smith.
“Last year I brought a group of Intuit leaders to The Greenbrier for some meetings, and we also spent time in Huntington and toured the Marshall campus,” Smith explained. “The trip really opened our eyes to the challenges facing the state — providing better educational opportunities, battling substance abuse and creating technology jobs for the future. We came away inspired by the words of Bob Simpson, then dean of the Lewis College of Business, who said: ‘We have the passion, the heart and the talent, but we don’t have the access.’ We were motivated to find a way to use our resources and skills at Intuit to help make a difference.”
Simpson and Dr. Ben Eng, assistant professor of marketing, collaborated with Intuit Corporate Responsibility Specialist and Marshall graduate Isabelle “Izzy” Rogner to relate Gilbert and Smith’s vision. The result was the D4D Innovation Challenge, based on Intuit’s principles of the same name.
“The goal was to put something together that was more experiential than, say, a lecture or presentation. We wanted to build relationships between Marshall and the people at Intuit,” Eng explained. “Dean Simpson and I collaborated with Izzy, but she was the driving force behind developing D4D and bringing it to Marshall. Because of her background at Marshall and her current role at Intuit, she knew the needs and resources of both organizations. And because of her leadership, ingenuity and work ethic, she developed and executed a perfectly customized program for us.”
Each of the colleges on the Marshall University campus was able to recommend six undergraduate students and two faculty members for a team.
“There was a buzz in the air from the very first moment this was announced,” Simpson said.
The teams attended a two-day “boot camp” in March, where Intuit Innovation Experts trained them in the D4D principles, including 1) deep customer empathy, 2) go broad to go narrow and 3) rapid experimentation with customers.
“Coming back this year, my goal was to share the innovative secrets, tips and tricks that we use day in and day out at Intuit with some of the bright, young minds at Marshall,” Smith said. “We wanted to do our best to empower the best and brightest minds at Marshall to tackle the very real problems facing West Virginia.”
Once the boot camp was complete, the teams were given a six-week period to develop their ideas on how to help solve the following problems facing the Mountain State: education for youth, substance abuse and bringing technology to West Virginia. The Innovation Experts served as mentors throughout this period.
“It was a pretty immersive process,” Simpson said. “For a company to come in and make that kind of investment, it was incredible.”
On April 26, the teams presented their solutions at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center in front of an audience and panel of judges.
“The teams were given an awful lot of room to do what they wanted, and it obviously worked. They followed through,” Simpson said. “I should no longer be surprised by the breadth of our students’ talent, but I was sitting there in awe during all of the presentations.”
“This was more than an academic exercise. We wanted to make it fun, entertaining and memorable,” Smith said. “So we borrowed a page from a hit television show and had the teams present their ideas Shark Tank-style, with the winners getting a chance to come to Silicon Valley and continue their work. And who could ask for better judges than people with deep ties and commitment to West Virginia — Jennifer Garner and Chad Pennington?”
In the end, three teams were chosen as being furthest along in the development of their ideas.
The finalists included: 42 Peaks, composed of Marshall students Mary Day, Aniruddhsingh Rathore, Justin Hurt, Deena Dahshan, Hunter Barclay and Liz Adams, and faculty members Dr. Jonathan Day-Brown and Dr. Ralph McKinney, who created an app that could be used to connect people with substance abuse-related resources such as support groups, real-time video mentors and community events; 7 Degrees, made up of Marshall students Mike Waldeck, Lauren McComas, Shah Hassan, Devin Gragg and Allison Cook, and faculty members Dr. Cong Pu and Sara Davis, who were inspired to invent a subscription-type box filled with STEM-related activities and devices for school districts that could be financially supported by companies in the science and technology industries; and Appalachian Action, which included Marshall students Morgan Whitt, Corey Tornes, Evan Robinson, Rowan Robinson and Katie Cowie, and faculty members Olen York and Dr. Kristen Lillvis, who developed a virtual reality “experience” designed to warn high school students about the dangers of substance abuse, specifically prescription pain medication.
“I think it’s important for people to know that this was extracurricular,” Eng noted. “It took place a week before finals, and the students received no credit whatsoever. They did it solely for the experience, and I think it was because of that, this intrinsic motivation, that the event did so well. The feedback I got was incredible. For the students it was a career-defining, even a life-defining moment. They had never been a part of anything like this. It was the most rewarding experience.”
Simpson echoed Eng’s sentiments on the event’s impact.
“This was a once-in-a-generation experience,” Simpson said. “I challenge you to find something this spectacular and this engaging on this many levels.”
To reward their efforts, the three selected teams spent two days in Silicon Valley and San Diego receiving additional coaching from the Intuit D4D team on their ideas, and touring other top technology companies such as Google and Facebook.
“Hopefully, they’ll bring that spirit of innovation with them back to West Virginia to inspire others,” Smith said. “West Virginians do have the passion, the heart and the talent to make a dent in the universe and bring great change to this state. There’s so much opportunity here and you don’t have to go elsewhere to pursue your dreams. We came here to bring inspiration to these students. We left being inspired by them.”
And the winners are …
7 DEGREES
Educating The Youth of West Virginia
Winning team 7 Degrees invented a subscription-type box filled with STEM-related activities and devices for school districts that would be financially supported by companies in the science and technology industries.
APPALACHIAN ACTION
Bringing Technology to West Virginia
Appalachian Action won with a virtual reality “experience” designed to warn high school students about the dangers of substance abuse, specifically prescription pain medication.
42 PEAKS
Combating Substance Abuse in West Virginia
The winning team of 42 Peaks created an app that could be used to connect people with substance abuse-related resources such as support groups, real-time video mentors and community events.
Dawn Nolan is a freelance writer living in Huntington, West Virginia.
Photos: (Top) Intuit CEO Brad Smith, actress and activist Jennifer Garner and former Marshall and NFL quarterback Chad Pennington were judges for the Design for Delight event held on Marshall’s Huntington campus. Photo by Rick Haye. (Second from top) Winning teams flew to California this summer for an immersion experience at Silicon Valley tech companies. Photo courtesy of Intuit. (Third from top) Brad Smith acknowledges President Jerome Gilbert before the Design for Delight Innovation Challenge presentation. Photo by Rick Haye. (Fourth from top) Intuit Corporate Responsibility Specialist Isabelle “Izzy” Rogner is a Marshall graduate and former MU student body vice president. She was the driving force behind developing the D4D competition and bringing it to Marshall. With her is College of Business faculty member Dr. Ben Eng. Photo by Rick Haye. (Fifth from top) The three winning teams spent two days in Silicon Valley and San Diego receiving additional coaching from the Intuit D4D team on their ideas, and touring other top technology companies such as Google and Facebook. Photo courtesy of Intuit.
Photos of winning teams by Rick Haye.