An Unlikely Collaboration: How Duke Fuqua MBAs Turned Fresh Research Into Cash

They say fortune favors the bold. That saying proved true for one group of Duke Fuqua MBAs — in the form of a $22,000 check.

In the U.S. Department of Energy’s “EnergyTech UP” competition in the spring, a group of MBA students took fresh research and turned it into a business plan in a most unique way — one that left a seasoned Fuqua professor of 18 years quite impressed.

FROM RESEARCH TO POTENTIAL REALITY

Last December, Duke Fuqua professor David Brown presented he and his colleague’s research findings, a new paper that highlights a framework that improves the energy use of utilities in uncertain conditions, to the Duke MBA Energy Club. 

His co-author and colleague Jim Smith is now at the Tuck School of Business.

After Brown’s presentation of he and Smith’s research, four students, each earning both an MBA and a Master of Environmental Management degree, approached him. “They asked if they could build a business model around our technology,” he said. 

With Brown and Smith’s support as faculty advisors,  the student team put the pedal to the metal shortly after winter break. 

Focusing on the findings of their research, the students created a plan for implementing technology that would help utility companies become more efficient and reliable, then participated in a regional competition before advancing to pitch their idea nationally to the DOE.

Why is this so unique? “Conducting research is so different from building a commercialization plan for technology emerging from that research,” shares Brown, adding that “this work is quite new – currently working its way through peer review.”

Brown says that when they are innovating their research, it’s not common they would be working with MBA students. 

“Faculty are used to working with PhD students when carrying out research but working with MBA students on a business model for that research – especially when it is so new – is less common,” he says.

PROFESSOR’S TECHNOLOGY, STUDENTS’ PLAN

The secret formula for the win was ​​leveraging the technical expertise of the professors with the students’ entrepreneurial interests and their career experiences to make this into a viable business model. They consulted with industry experts along the way and did their research. 

During the competition, the students describe the technology and how it handles uncertainty in energy systems.

They shared examples of how it could reduce energy burdens, how to scale it if the tools were adopted widely across the US,  the go to market strategy, how to price it appropriately, and a growth plan over the next few years. 

Their success highlights the power of bold thinking and collaboration in advancing both academia and industry, showcasing a forward-thinking approach in business higher ed.

DON’T MISS THE BIG CHANGE COMING TO BUSINESS SCHOOL RESEARCH AND TEACHING