News & Events

  • Dr. Amat named South Florida Business Journal 'Top 40 under 40' professionals
    07/19/2011 - 11:21am

    Susan Amat (BLA ’01, MBA ’04, PhD ’08), executive director and co-founder of The Launch Pad and a lecturer at the School of Business Administration, has been named among South Florida’s best and brightest professionals by the South Florida Business Journal on its 2011 40 Under 40 Awards list. Amat and the other award winners were honored at a luncheon in Fort Lauderdale on July 28.




    According to the Journal, the honorees are “business leaders all under the age of 40 who have achieved impressive career success and contributed to their community.” The finalists were selected from nearly 300 nominees whose names were submitted to the paper. The selection criteria comprised nominees’ positions within their organizations, responsibilities, career accomplishments and community service.

    Prior to her positions at UM, Amat ventured into the music business as a concert promoter at age 15. A serial entrepreneur, she started and ran a successful record label, developing a television show which aired on the E! Network and the first CD-ROM magazine, and was a consultant to media outlets, record labels, and retail stores on marketing and strategy issues. She then moved on to the health care sector, creating products focusing on health monitoring and preventing childhood obesity. In addition to heading up The Launch Pad, Amat teaches courses in strategy, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior at the School of Business.

    Congratulations to Dr. Susan Amat!

  • PBS Nightly Business Report: Young Entrepreneurship
    05/31/2011 - 9:12am

    The Launch Pad was featured on PBS's 'Nightly Business Report' on Monday, May 30 as a resource and promoter of young entrepreneurship. 

  • Launch Pad entrepreneurs on 'Nightly Business Report'
    05/27/2011 - 11:40am

    The Launch Pad to be featured on PBS 'Nightly Business Report' airing Memorial Day

     

    Tune in and set your DVR to Nightly Business Report on Monday, May 30th at 7:00pm for a special report on young entrepreneurship. The Memorial Day segment will be featuring two Launch Pad entrepreneurs: Fabiana Claure and William Villaverde, co-founders of the Superior Academy of Music, set to open in August featuring both individualized instruction and music theory and musicianship courses taught by graduate level performers; and Jay Hirschfeld, founder and artist, and Trevor Cowan, business partner, of Chiral Apparel, which has a patent-pending process for creating garments and fabrics printed with high-dynamic range ultra-high resolution images. Hosted by Tom Hudson, this program explores the world of entrepreneurship among kids, teens and recent college graduates.

     
     
    Follow @UMLaunchPad and @bizrpt on Twitter! Use hashtag #TLPonNBR to join the conversation Monday evening during the broadcast!
     
    Cable Providers PBS Channel:
    Atlantic Broadband Miami - WPBT 2
    AT&T U-Verse Miami - WPBT 2, 1002
    Comcast Miami - WPBT 2
     
    Satellite Providers PBS Channel:
    DirecTV Miami/Fort Lauderdale - WPBT 2, 979
    Dish Network Miami/Fort Lauderdale - WPBT 2, 8836
  • Startup Weekend Miami: 54-hours to launch
    05/24/2011 - 3:53pm

    Startup Weekend Miami: 54-hours to launch!

    Startup Weekend Miami, May 20-22, helped entrepreneurs in South Florida launch 12 new startups - and we hope to see them continue to grow beyond the scope of the weekend insanity! After 54-hours of work, from idea to business concept, 12 teams presented to the judges panel on Sunday evening. With just 5 minutes to get the idea across, the winning entrepreneurs were the creators of Startup Funding Network. SFN is a members-only crowd-funding platform that connects "people with ideas" to "people with money who wants to fund their ideas". Entrepreneurs can pitch there ideas and investors can decide which ideas and investors can decide which ideas to fund. A proprietary system handles the transaction and creates a social network whereby the entrepreneur is held accountable to the investor via reporting and the investor is held accountable to the entrepreneur via money, experience and knowledge. Investors will look for the ideas that most interest them and make "milestone" investments to these entrepreneurs by bidding on all or part of the requested amount.
    Runner-up honors were given to storisto.com, an online marketplace for news stories, and TheDailyStork.com, pregnancy education for the male population.
     
    Thanks to all our speakers, judges, and sponsors: Grasshopper Group, MiamiShared, MicroConf 2011, and Socialated for donating prizes; Clarabelle's Cupcakes, Dog Eat Dog truck, Firedog Energy Drink, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Offerdahl's Cafe, PopChips, Power Pizza, and Sushi Maki for feeding the entrepreneurs; and Android SoFla, Refresh SoFl, SFTA, South Florida PHP, Startup Digest Miami, and WITI South Florida for supporting!
     
    See photos from the weekend and check out our new space in the Facebook album.
  • Launch Pad entrepreneur wins 'People's Pick' in The Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge
    05/18/2011 - 9:59am

    WHO WON THE PEOPLE’S PICK?

     

    Creating a custom gift that keeps on giving

    For the fifth year, we asked readers for their choices in the Business Plan Challenge. This year, with 9,206 votes cast in the contest, businesses founded by women led the pack.
     
    On the Community Track, it was neck-and-neck for much of the week, but on the last day Words to Live By, with 1,341 votes, squeezed out the win over PopsyCakes, the gourmet cupcake on a pretzel stick company founded by Jessica Cervantes. BloqUV, the fashion line of UV-protection sportswear by Corina Biton, had a strong showing as No. 3.
     
    Words to Live By offers hand-made, custom books for milestone occasions
     
    Read the full story in The Miami Herald here.
  • Dr. Susan Amat named South Florida 'Top 20 under 40' by The Miami Herald
    05/09/2011 - 1:36pm

     

    Congratulations to Dr. Susan Amat, executive director of The Launch Pad, recognized by The Miami Herald as on of the top 20 leaders under age 40 in South Florida.

    The Miami Herald’s 2011 class of 20 emerging business leaders under the age 40 are a diverse group of entrepreneurs, artists, nonprofit directors and corporate executives from Miami-Dade and Broward counties. They are creating jobs, building housing for the homeless, improving standards in their chosen fields. They are inspiring the next generation with their passion for making things happen, regardless of hurdles in the path.

    It seems an odd twist of fate that Susan Amat, a Miami native, spends her days on a college campus. At age 15, Amat dropped out of high school to start a concert promotions company. That business took her to New York and Los Angeles and evolved over the next 10 years into a record label, a TV show and a CD-ROM magazine.

    Amat eventually realized having a college degree would open doors. “I now know that dropping out was not a good idea. But it prepared me to say that to young people,” she explains. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami, she went on to get an MBA and doctorate in strategic entrepreneurship.

    Today, she’s known as the energy behind University of Miami’s Launch Pad, a coaching center that has launched dozens of student and alumni entrepreneurs and has become a model for other universities. In addition, The Launch Pad has hosted more than 300 free, public events to educate and nurture young business owners. “There’s nothing in it for us,’’ she says. “We’re not taking a piece of their business. It’s 100 percent about them. As soon as that changes, the program is done.”

    Quote: “You never know who is going to walk through door with what kind of idea. Instead of looking for a job, I’m teaching young people that creating your own is powerful, especially in these times.”

    via The Miami Herald