Excellence in Action
Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship
Crummer’s Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship provides a variety of practical experiences to promote successful entrepreneurship. Its mission is to educate and connect students and entrepreneurs for advanced entrepreneurial thought and action.
Meet Frank
Crummer Student Shares Entrepreneurial Journey
Xinrun “Frank” Zhuang ’18 ’20MBA reflects on his entrepreneurial journey upon completion of the Early Advantage MBA program.
Crummer Venture Plan Competition
The Orlando Region's Largest Business Plan Competition
The annual competition, hosted by Crummer every year since 2012, is Central Florida’s largest, most prestigious, and comprehensive business plan and pitch competition for startups. Open to all regionally headquartered startups, the annual competition is where teams battle for funding, exposure, and mentorship in front of the region’s top entrepreneurs, leaders, and venture capitalists. Participants compete for prize money before multiple distinguished judges panels, all of whom are successful investors and entrepreneurs. The competition continues to serve as the platform for Central Florida startup companies to gain exposure and funding.
Of the 34 companies that have been finalists for the competition since 2012, two of our past 1st place winners were successfully acquired in 2020 and 27 are still in business today. Together, they have generated over $55 million in revenue, raised over $36 million in investment capital, and employ over 374 people.
Kismet Technologies Wins $50,000 Grand Prize at the 2023 Crummer Rollins Venture Plan Competition
The Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College has announced that Kismet Technologies, its revolutionary nontechnology – NanoRad – provides non-stop bacteria and virus protection for weeks and even months depending on the formulation; as a disinfectant or coating for medical devices, its applications for clean surfaces are endless, is the 2023 winner of its annual Crummer Venture Plan Competition, Central Florida’s largest and most comprehensive business plan and pitch competition for start-ups. Kismet will receive $50,000 in prize money. In total, the competition finalists vied for their share of a total prize package valued over $150,000.
Selected from over 80 submitted proposals and 16 semi-finalists, the finalists along with Kismet included 2nd place Soarce, a company that turns a novel seaweed formula into leathers and fibers that brands from sports apparel to automotive can use to meet their sustainable product goals without compromising on performance; and 3rd place Meta Humans, a company that is fostering the innate curiosity of children to help them achieve their own personal best destiny through its educational centers.
Entrepreneurial Growth Series
This workshop series provided by the Crummer Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship at Rollins College—Central Florida’s premier education and networking resource for growth-stage entrepreneurship—offers you the opportunity to expand your skills to help you shape and drive your business towards accelerated growth. Taught by experts and successful entrepreneurs, the series covers a wide range of topics from sales and operations to negotiation and marketing. These workshops are designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools that you will be able to immediately apply to your business. Offered in an a la carte format, we encourage you to choose the sessions most relevant to you and your needs.
Student Programming
The Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship connects students with advanced entrepreneurial thought leaders across a wide variety of industries through program opportunities, coaching and mentoring that build lasting, valuable relationships.
Crummer Mentor Program
The Crummer Mentor Program affords every Crummer student who has completed their core curriculum, access to a mentor who is a leader of an entrepreneurial venture, a family business, or a corporate enterprise, with the intention of creating effective dialog and interaction that accelerates the professional development of the student. The program is a Student Success initiative and offered through a collaborative effort between the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, the Center for Leadership Development, and Alumni Relations.
Entrepreneurial Courses
The Crummer curriculum contains a host of entrepreneurial-focused courses that are designed to prepare students for entrepreneurial ventures and for leading entrepreneurial teams.
Student Organizations
Students organizations enable entrepreneurial-minded MBA students the opportunities to learn, develop skills, and build their networks outside of the classroom. Student organizations that work closely with the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship include the Crummer Entrepreneurship Association, Rollins Moving Services, and Net Impact.
Statewide Collegiate Venture Plan Competition
The Statewide Collegiate Venture Plan Competition is a joint-venture initiative between the Florida Venture Forum and universities and colleges within the state who promote new venture creation on their campuses and in their communities. The CFAE is a founding participant in this event which engages students from all regions of Florida, providing a showcase opportunity for the top student team that participates in the Crummer Rollins Venture Plan Competition.
Elevator Pitch Competition
The Elevator Pitch Competition is only open to Rollins students. Participants present a 90-second pitch for a new venture idea in front of a panel of judges comprised of experienced investors and entrepreneurs. The Elevator Pitch Competition, held during Global Entrepreneurship Week, provides an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on the viability of a new idea and challenges participants to expand on their ideas for future participation in the Crummer Rollins Venture Plan Competition. The Elevator Pitch Competition awards a pool of cash prizes.
Resources for Entrepreneurs
The Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship assists growth-stage entrepreneurs with work space options, interns, and consulting project partners.
To receive notifications about relevant programs for you, please complete our brief Entrepreneur Engagement Survey.
Co.World Coworking Winter Park
Co.World offers an upscale shared work space in the heart of Winter Park, Florida across the street from the train station and just one block from Park Avenue. The space includes both private offices and individual desks in our open area, and both shared conference rooms and casual meeting areas. Co.World membership includes second stage startups, remote workers, and established small businesses. Co.World also hosts educational events and meetups for members and supporters. A satellite location of the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship is also housed at Co.World, and the space is available to select Rollins and Crummer students.
About Us
Vision: To be a catalyst and thought leader in the acceleration of successful entrepreneurship.
Mission: The mission of the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College is to develop global business leaders and innovators through a high quality, integrated, experiential education that prepares them to add significant value to their organizations and communities.
Board of Advisors
Since the founding of the CFAE, we have worked diligently to bring together a world class group of entrepreneurial minds to serve as faculty members, administrators, and advisors. The success we have enjoyed to date is a direct result of their invaluable contributions.