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Former ENTR200 Student’s “Story”
Posted on September 28th, 2009 33 comments
This blog is from Beth Carroll who has personal insight into the subject. Thanks Beth!. Hank
ENTR student Sawyer Sparks will be on ABC’s Shark Tank tomorrow evening, Tuesday September 29th at 8 p.m. to pitch one of his products: Sawyer Dough! http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1573569.html All current (and former) ENTR200 students are invited to view.
Sawyer, a senior in Agriculture at Purdue, was in the first ENTR 200 class I taught in the Fall of 2007. Already an entrepreneur with a couple of products under his belt, at the age of 19, Sawyer had the ability to recognize a problem and figure out a way to solve it. He did that first while in high school with his development of a peanut butter alternative made from sunflower seeds for kids with peanut allergies. Sawyer has also figured out a way to use sunflower oil as an alternative bio-fuel. One day while Sawyer was driving on a slippery winter road he crashed into another vehicle. Thankfully no on was hurt. But, while standing on the roadside waiting for the police to arrive, instead of worrying about what his parents would say and how much his insurance rate was going to increase, Sawyer instead wondered how this accident might have been prevented. As a result, he figured out how to create asphalt using sunflower oil, on which ice doesn’t form. Sawyer’s not a scientist; he’ll be the first to tell you that. But he is a clever guy who sees opportunity in every problem he encounters, and then he figures out a way to create a product solve that problem.
While in my ENTR 200 class I was talking about niche’ markets and how new products are being developed for people like me who have Celiac disease, an intolerance for gluten in wheat, barley, rye and oats. Sawyer heard me say that I couldn’t drink beer or play with Play Doh, my daughter’s favorite thing to play with, because they both contained gluten. This “weak tie” relationship between Sawyer and myself inspired him and another student in the class, Ankit Gupta, to try to create a gluten free beer made from soy. Neither Ankit or Sawyer were 21, but luckily they knew some people who were, so they could taste the beer for them. Apparently it tasted awful. Instead of giving up, tenacious Sawyer instead decided to pursue the play dough problem and Sawyer Dough was born.
Will Sawyer convince these sharks to invest their dough in his dough? Tune in on Tuesday and cheer on your fellow ENTR student. See video below for a ENTR200 class interview with Sawyer. Beth
Late breaking news: Sawyer made today’s Journal & Courier – here. Hank
33 responses to “Former ENTR200 Student’s “Story””
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Christopher Perry September 28th, 2009 at 06:36
My wife’s cousin has that same disease, they can’t even boil noodles in the house. I never thought of the fact Play Dough would be an issue. Never hurts to make money at something that solves your own problems though so i wish Sawyer the best of luck.
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Karlis Jansons September 28th, 2009 at 08:28
It’s amazing to continually read about achievements from people who haven taken ENTR classes. The program is relatively new, but there have been so many success stories that resulted from people taking these classes.
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Mayura Davda September 28th, 2009 at 08:45
That’s a very inspiring story!
Makes me wanna tread on a similar road to success and innovation too. And I’m sure I’ll be benefitted from the Certificate of Entrepreneurship and Innovation that I’ve enrolled myself in. Thanks, Hank! -
Brent McClean September 28th, 2009 at 08:47
I’ll be rooting for Sawyer tomorrow! Always good to hear exciting ideas.
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There are always inspiring stories. I do appreciate Sawyer because he sees opportunity in every problem he encounters. That’s great!
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Jake Vanhooser September 28th, 2009 at 09:52
That’s really awesome for him! I hope that when I come up with an idea it has the same amount of potential that his ideas have had. Just to be able to be on that show is a great opportunity.
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Alex Lewis September 28th, 2009 at 10:51
It’s amazing to see how Sawyer has come up with solutions to multiple problems that he has encountered himself or seen through the course of his life. I hope that his idea for Sawyer Dough is a success. Sawyer’s story is a great inspiration for all ENTR students.
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Theresa Reinhart September 28th, 2009 at 10:54
Wow. This guy truly is inspiring. I can’t believe he has had so many successful ideas at such a young age. I know that if that would have been me in the car wreck, a fender bender or not, I would have been freaking out instead of turning it into a possible business opportunity. We can all learn from him and I wish him all the best of luck!
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Katelyne Moody September 28th, 2009 at 11:00
See this is the kind of opportunity spotting that I lack! Maybe it’s lack of creativity! I am 100% an inside the box thinker!
I really do hope all goes well with Sawyer Dough because I have run into a lot more people lately with Celiac Disease, and I know play dough is a childhood necessity! No child should grow up with having play dough!
–Katelyne–
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Zacheriah Ruggles September 28th, 2009 at 11:29
The pavement idea is really good! If the roads where made of a material that would not allow ice to form on them, it would make winter driving a breeze compared to what it is now. The dough idea is also something that is simple but very offers something special to many people.
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Christina Jacobs September 28th, 2009 at 12:56
How neat! This guy certainly doesn’t give up.
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Greg Forney September 28th, 2009 at 13:23
I didn’t realize that the gluten in play doh was to too much for people with Celiac disease.
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Nick Brenneke September 28th, 2009 at 16:06
This is great to see a Purdue grad (and former ENTR student) make it to this show. While I have never personally seen it, I heard about it from one of my classmates. I’ll be sure to tune in to see how he does. Another great problem-solution business idea.
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Marisa Strupp September 28th, 2009 at 16:20
This is a very inspiring story. It confirms what a great opportunity to get an Entrepreneurship Certificate is. I know the hard will will pay off in the future, and I can already see it has for someone.
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Michael Mullen September 28th, 2009 at 16:34
That’s inspiring! This makes me feel a lot more confident in my choice to do this learning community. I wish him the best of luck!
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Jenna York September 28th, 2009 at 16:35
Wow. Hats off to Sawyer! This guy is such an inspiration to all aspiring entrepreneurs!
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Jennifer Cook September 28th, 2009 at 18:34
Thats such a cool idea. I wish him luck tomorrow!
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Amber Illig September 28th, 2009 at 19:36
I’ll be watching him pitch his idea tomorrow! He inspires me to be on the most extreme lookout when I’m facing an obstacle.
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hank you should bring him in to talk to us.
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Good luck to him. I think his ideas are very good, and I can see a food company that produces alternatives for those with allergies to be rewarding. It’s cool to know that he was where I am today and is now doing quite well for himself
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Lyndsey S. September 28th, 2009 at 20:24
This should be exciting to watch! I find it so amazing that all of these people that have taken entrepreneurship courses here at Purdue have had such success! The wealth of inspiration continues!
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Caroline Stephenson September 28th, 2009 at 20:29
He is definitely someone I wish I was more like. I have trouble seeing the solution instead of just focusing on the problem. But it seems to really be working for him, especially being an entrepreneur.
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Zhiheng Liu September 28th, 2009 at 20:59
Gluten intolerant is somewhat a big issue now, you can find a gluten free product for everything in the supermarket. I just haven’t heard of gluten free beer, what a great opportunity!
Well, good luck Sawyer, and good for you, Hank~
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Mark Minissale September 28th, 2009 at 22:18
That is pretty cool seeing the kids from the past in your classes seeing what they have been all this time, and seeing how much impact you had on them
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Clement Mak September 28th, 2009 at 23:32
I was not sure whether i wanted to continue with the ENTR certificate program untill i read this blog. Now i feel good to be in this great program. I also want to wish Sawyer good luck.
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Paul Kweon September 29th, 2009 at 00:00
I didn’t know you cannot drink beer Hank, but anyways, Sawyer’s creativity and his creations are highly commendable. I’ll cheer for him in front of the TV.
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Sree Harsha Uddandam September 29th, 2009 at 08:35
As many people said that it is an inspiring story, I have to say it too.
This in some way may go for the Entrepreneurship certificate. -
Leah Keough September 29th, 2009 at 12:57
It pays to think about everyday situations that need a solution! It will be interesting to tune in tonight, and hear his pitch.
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It’s a very inspiring story. I think I should start observing and looking for opportunities and thinking of problems during my daily life.
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Andrew Rodriguez September 30th, 2009 at 00:22
Its really amazing that this student has been able to accomplish all that he has. He has a true knack for entrepreneurship and innovation. He will for sure go very far, and do great things with his outstanding talents [and hopefully share some of his earnings with Hank].
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I feel proud that I am a part of a university which bears students with such caliber. This guy seems to be a sharp innovator and with the problems solving skills he posses, he is sure to go a long way in life.
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Rohan Thakkar October 1st, 2009 at 11:52
Wow that just shows us what can happen at this school, good job to Sawyer.
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Sung Jae October 2nd, 2009 at 14:16
Wow, this person Sawyer sparks is very innovative and smart. To come up with ideas to use sunflower oil as an alternative bio fuel is a very hard idea. But I don’t understand how strong and efficient it can be when creating asphalt that is made of using sunflower oil. Wouldn’t he need lots of sunflowers to change into biofules? He needs to make lots of bio fuels fast, otherwise he would lose opportunity and trend in the market. But according to what he said, he seems to be successful extracting b20 and b100 oil. I hope he can expand his market and beat his competitors.
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