77 Idea Quest spotlights Laker entrepreneurs

For 25 years, the DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the Seidman College of Business has dedicated its mission to supporting and elevating the small business aspirations of Lakers and community members. 

The center celebrated its silver anniversary in a fitting manner, giving the next generation of Laker entrepreneurs their moment to pitch their enterprising ideas on March 27 at the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. 

Shorouq Almallah, the center’s director, quoted from a poem by novelist and poet Wendell Berry about planting sequoia trees to illustrate CEI’s mission.

“We often encourage our students to do something bigger and greater than themselves, but this poem reminds us they don't have to do it alone — they are part of an ecosystem and community,” Almallah said. “The main crop is the entire forest that others have helped us plant, and that's what CEI is and does as I reflect on 25 years. I always say we're small and mighty, we're planting small sequoias, but one day they're going to become giants.”

Rylan Bernhardt’s idea, ScriptLock, which would provide secure and transparent rights management for playwrights and screenwriters to preserve their intellectual property, was awarded third place by the judges.

Diana Lawson, dean of the Seidman College of Business, said it was encouraging to see students from a variety of backgrounds participating in 77 Idea Quest.

“This is about our students,” Lawson said. “They’re the innovators, the problem solvers, the creators, and they’ve created some great ideas for businesses.”