NKU student-run business wins award at national entrepreneurship conference

A team of entrepreneurship students from Northern Kentucky University earned the Best Chapter Business Award at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization National Conference in Chicago last month. The award honors the most creative, unique and successful student-run business among the 400 schools in attendance.
 
Michael Stubbs, Jason Hulett and Paul Kemp presented their student-designed apparel line, Punch Press Threads.
 
“Punch Press Threads came about from an idea of students sharing artistic creations with other students and with members of the community in a more tangible way,” Hulett says. “Gallery shows and art exhibits are great, but we thought T-shirts could go a lot further in helping to develop and strengthen the relationship between students on campus.”
 
From this idea, Stubbs and Hulett decided to create a T-shirt design contest to help promote entrepreneurship in the art community at NKU. After a successful contest, the Punch Press Threads brand was created.
 
Each print is produced in limited quantity to help create an environment of exclusivity. Each garment is packaged with an information card that has a picture of the designer, information about their background and a short description of the meaning of the design, along with a custom-made button that mimics the design.
 
The CEO conference put Punch Press on a bigger stage when they were selected as one of four school finalists to present their business to a panel of judges.
 
“We prepared the week leading up to the conference, on the drive to Chicago and in the hotel room hours before showtime,” Hulett says. “We all rocked the presentation and came home victorious as the 1st Place Best Chapter Business in the Country.”
 
Through teaming up with other students in NKU’s media informatics and marketing departments, Punch Press has been able to spread its reach across the campus community, where many students are eager to support one another's design efforts.
 
“We’ve also received tremendous support and mentorship from our advisors on the faculty,” Hulett says. “NKU provides a great ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs to test and accomplish their goals.”
 
Punch Press is getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to produce their first line of branded apparel and are gearing up for a second design contest to be held in the spring in NKU’s digitorium. To learn more visit their Facebook page. 

By Mike Sarason