New MBAs Battle for Customers (Video)

Teams Go from Zero to Grand Opening in Two Weeks

Orientation starts with a shock for incoming full-time MBA students looking for traditional lectures at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Instead of talking about business, orientation leaders divide students into teams and tell them to start one.

The rules are simple. Teams have two weeks to turn $150 of real money into an enterprise ready for faculty and staff customers at the annual Smith Marketplace. Each shopper has only $25 in “Smith Bucks” to spend, so teams must get creative to win business.

At the end of the day, the startup with the most revenue wins. Additional prizes include the Brand Equity Award for marketing excellence and the Entrepreneurship Award for business innovation. Smith School Dean Alex Triantis said the MBA program starts with an experiential learning activity to set the tone for the next two years.

“Standing in front of a class and lecturing every day is not enough,” he said. “A new generation already has grown up learning in different ways. To stay relevant, business schools must transform themselves from knowledge dispensaries into innovation hubs using a variety of teaching methods.”

Marketplace contestants included Cirque de l’Terp, a French-themed carnival; Teenage Mutant Ninja Terrapins (TMNT), a manufacturer of felt ninja masks in University of Maryland colors; and Bark ’N’ Bone, a pet interaction zone that connects customers with cute, costumed dogs. The startup that collected the most Smith bucks was Mug Shots, which sold beer steins decorated with hand-stenciled silhouettes of Smith School leaders.

“There is no better way to learn about a business than doing it yourself,” said Ryan Smith, MBA ’16, co-founder of Terps and Crafts. “We learned a whole lot about each other working as a team.”

Molley Hardin, MBA ’16, co-founder of TMNT, said the marketplace also taught budgeting , sales and time management skills. “We were really thrown into it very quickly,” she said. “That’s part of the whole experience here.”

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