at the University of Utah
Eccles School MBA becomes a published author through Get Seeded
A 3-minute pitch can change the path of your entrepreneurial dreams. It did just that for University of Utah MBA Class of 2017 student Scott Hoopes.
Hoopes, a Southern Utah native, dreamed of publishing a children’s book. His book was a Microsoft Word document resting idly on his desktop for five years. His plans were continually decelerated until his Masters of Business Administration studies began in 2015 and he found Get Seeded, a monthly seed-grant program through the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. As of this week, you will find Hoopes’ children’s book in all Deseret News bookstores, various Costco locations, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads.com.
An easy application through the Get Seeded program website put Scott’s dreams in front of judges in November 2015. He was then selected to pitch at the monthly Get Seeded Pitch Screening and Selection event. In his presentation, he requested funding for an illustrator to bring his manuscript to life. Hoopes pitch was selected to receive $500, enabling him to find a qualified illustrator, Mar Fandos. Hoopes’ first book copy was launched here at the David Eccles School of Business.
A strong cohesive MBA cohort assisted in Hoopes’ efforts to publish. Hoopes received advice and help from his classmates as well as assistance from MBA alumni with marketing backgrounds.
“Get Seeded is an excellent program to help students get their ideas off the ground,” says Hoopes, “Many entrepreneurs, especially students, have great ideas but don’t have the funds to test their ideas with prototypes and more thorough customer validation.”
Looking into the future, Hoopes plans on releasing a series of books – one new book per year. It’s a big goal, but Hoopes’ expressed, “If it wasn’t for Get Seeded I wouldn’t have been able to do this project and it would still just be a Word document sitting on my computer.”
Doers, risk-takers, makers, and dreamers all find their place at the David Eccles School of Business. And we are happy to know that authors do too.
Find Hoopes’ children’s book, Joseph’s First Prayer, in stores and online now.
