Developing Ideas, Creating Impact

Taylor’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) seeks to transform lives through purpose-driven innovation and redemptive entrepreneurship by training, mentoring, and equipping students.

Co-curricular experiences such as the annual Trojan Arena provide students with an opportunity to transform ideas into viable ventures while applying the entrepreneurial concepts they learn in the classroom. "Trojan Arena is Taylor University's internal venture pitch competition, where students develop innovative business and nonprofit concepts that address real-world problems," said Dr. Mick Bates, executive director of the center for innovation & entrepreneurship. "Students identify a meaningful need, design a solution, validate market demand or social impact, and communicate their ideas through a concise elevator pitch. Selected teams then advance to present a more comprehensive pitch before a panel of judges, gaining valuable feedback and experience that prepares them to launch future ventures."

The application process includes ideation, creativity, and practice sessions. Once accepted, students present an elevator pitch to a preliminary judge panel. Among those students, five finalists are chosen to lengthen their pitch and move on and present to a diverse panel of successful entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial judges. The finalists compete for cash prizes, with the top three places securing $5,000, $3,000, and $1,000. Five others are chosen to present their elevator pitches and compete for a $1,000 audience choice award. Winners use the prize money to advance their entrepreneurial concepts.

Brick by Brick

Most recent Trojan Arena third place winner Andrew Beaverson, Computer Science-Digital Media senior, presented a product he originally developed for his New Venture Planning class. "My concept was Brickademia, a company that designs LEGO models of iconic buildings and partners with universities and colleges. The structures can be for alumni, students, donors, or campus displays," he shared. This past spring, Beaverson also pitched his concept at the Createur Conference and Pitch Competition and won third place out of 25 teams and took home another $3,000.

"I’ve learned that as long as I put in the time and work, God will open or close the doors. That helps garner peace as I continue to trust that He will either continue to provide opportunities and help me grow or close doors," he reflected.

Brickademia is an active business, and Beaverson is continuing to develop his company.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset

Sport Management graduate Lextin Willis ’26 served as project manager for Trojan Arena this past year, running the program alongside other CIE interns. As a serial entrepreneur, Willis developed several concepts during his time at Taylor. As a freshman, Willis took home first place at Trojan Arena with his CordPuck idea, a storage device that winds up cords efficiently for easy transportation. In that same year, Willis won $3,000 for second place with his CordPuck idea at the Createur Conference and Pitch Competition. He returned to Createur his junior year and presented Unseen Worldwide, which claimed the $4,000 second place prize yet again. A socially conscious business idea he developed with friends Wade Frances ’25 and Brayden Gilbert ’25, Unseen Worldwide is a marketplace that connects companies in struggling international economies with the US consumer. Its goal is restoration and transformation through business.

This past fall, Willis presented his most recent development, Infinity Cup—a sport management competition in which student teams contract players to compete in athletic and business competitions for a $500 top prize. "Infinity Cup brings real-world experience opportunities directly onto campus. Students build and run their own sports organizations—recruiting teammates, securing sponsors, building brands, and marketing their organizations as they compete against one another throughout the eight-week season," he explained. Willis conducted Trojan Cup, the precursor to Infinity Cup, on Taylor University’s campus for two consecutive years, which drew over 150 students.

Innovation for Everyone

Whether it’s preparing students for pitch competitions, bringing field experts to speak with students, or organizing trips to entrepreneurial organizations, the CIE is on mission to develop purpose-driven innovators for the Kingdom. Trojan Arena can be a starting point. As Dr. Bates says, "Creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship are for everyone, not just business students."