Billionaire to help bankroll ASU student entrepreneurs

Jane Larson
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 20, 2004 12:00 AM

The founder of the Bayliner luxury boat company is giving Arizona State
University $5.4 million to help students start ventures ranging from
non-profit agencies to the next Google.

The gift from John Orin Edson will be used to fund the Edson Student
Entrepreneur Initiative. Any ASU student will be eligible to apply for an
award of up to $20,000 to build prototypes, fund studies or hire experts to
help take an idea from paper to reality. The awards are not loans, so the
money doesn't need to be paid back.

"Here's a way to let them (students) have their own ideas and carry them
through to the development of their own companies," said Jonathan Fink, vice
president of research and economic affairs at ASU on Tuesday night. "And
with the whole idea of homegrown companies, this is a good step to do that."
advertisement

Edson's net worth of an estimated $1 billion ranks him No. 278 on the
latest Forbes 400, Forbes magazine's annual listing of the wealthiest
Americans. He started a small boating company in his garage and, applying
mass-production techniques to what had been a custom industry, turned his
firm into Bayliner Marine Corp. of Everett, Wash., the largest manufacturer
of pleasure and luxury boats.

He sold Bayliner to the Brunswick Corp. in 1986 for $425 million and,
according to Forbes, diversified into real estate, including a large
industrial plot near the Scottsdale Airpark.

Now 72, Edson owns a home in Carefree and enjoys yachting. Former ASU
President Lattie Coor is believed to have developed ASU's relationship with
Edson.

Current ASU President Michael Crow flew to Washington state on a recent
weekend to seal the deal.

Edson made the grant because he has a home in the Valley and a strong belief
in Crow's efforts, ASU Foundation officials said.

"A great deal of our country's strength comes from the many private
businesses that thrive under an individual or limited ownership, providing
the ability to invent, innovate and seek out opportunities," Edson said in a
statement. He said the initiative was designed to encourage bright students
to start their own businesses and provide them with management skills and
business advice.

Only a few universities have ongoing new-venture programs, though many
schools have annual business-plan competitions that award cash prizes. The
Edson program fits in with ASU's push to become more entrepreneurial and
commercialize students' and professors' new ideas.

"Our idea is to capture the spirit of people when they are young, when their
creativity and enthusiasm know no real boundaries and when their flexibility
can lead them to do great things," Crow said.

Edson's gift is to the ASU Foundation. The endowment will provide $200,000 a
year to fund 10 to 15 student teams with awards of $5,000 to $20,000 each.
Student teams also can get free office space in the Brickyard building near
ASU in downtown Tempe, along with introductions to mentors and
entrepreneurs.

Undergraduate, graduate and full- and part-time students at any of ASU's
four campuses are eligible. Any type of business will be considered, ranging
from for-profit high-tech startups to not-for-profit public-sector ventures,
ASU said.

"It will increase interest among students in developing their own ventures
and encourage the formation of an entrepreneurial culture," said Julia
Rosen, director of economic affairs at ASU and director of the Edson
initiative. "And we can see some homegrown ventures creating jobs and
revenue."

Rosen expects the proposed ventures to fall into two categories. Some
students will propose businesses that commercialize a faculty member's
invention and others will bring their own ideas, she said. Who will own the
rights to the idea will depend on the amount of university resources
invested and the outcome of voting on Proposition 102 on technology
transfer, she said.

Information and training sessions will begin Oct. 30.

Students will submit five- to seven-page proposals by Jan. 15, which will be
screened by a committee of academics, industry professionals and
entrepreneurs. Finalists will be interviewed in person, and decisions on
awards will be made by Jan. 31. Payments will be made directly to the
companies that sell products or the professionals who provide services to
the student teams.