Photos by Ralph Freso
The idea that Grand Canyon University business incubator Canyon Ventures is only for Colangelo College of Business students is a misconception.
One of the goals of new IDEA Club president Caleb McCandliss, owner of the Car Chap lip balm holder, is to encourage students from every GCU college to start making products.
“We’re going to have students collaborating,” McCandliss said. “If they want to start a clothing company, we’ll give them all the resources they need to start a clothing company. We want to provide these opportunities and paths for students this year to the point where we’re not talking about creating a business but saying, ‘Hey, go make the product. Go sell it.’ Or, if you’re selling a service, go actually do it, and we’ll help you get there.
“We also want to scale and grow, ” he said. “We believe in inviting all the different colleges on campus because we want a diverse mindset within IDEA Club.”
That mindset is just a part of the partnership that the business college is cultivating with other colleges to enhance innovation and business.
As an engineering major, McCandliss knows the benefits of diversifying a group in which students can collaborate and see different viewpoints.
For Car Chap, McCandliss completes the injection molding, manufacturing and production at the engineering workshops before sending the product to Canyon Ventures for packaging.
“It’s still going strong,” said McCandliss, whose product was listed among the top 45 car accessories by Car and Driver magazine last fall.
Also, the IDEA Club Marketplace generated more than $300,000 in merchandise and food sales during six events in 2023-24. The club is pushing for more vendors from other colleges. The hope is to help fortify the partnerships with GCU’s colleges, said College of Engineering and Technology Dean Paul Lambertson.
“Engineering and technology are intricately tied to an entrepreneurial mindedness,” Lambertson said. “At GCU, our College of Engineering and Technology closely partners with our Colangelo College of Business and the College of Arts and Media.
“Why? Engineering and tech go hand in hand with business, and arts and media have a solid backbone in tech. We all work together, even though what the public may see is a business venture, a cool video game, or an intriguing new engineering innovation. But underneath each of those things – and so many more – are the combination of engineering, technology, business and the arts."
It's a major reason, he said, why there's been a shift from STEM to STEAM, which includes the arts along with science, technology, engineering and math.
This also marks the first semester the College of Engineering and Technology's engineering capstone process will include business majors as part of capstone teams, said Lambertson, adding that his college is attempting to organize a capstone with the College of Arts and Media.
“This is all part of how we (GCU) come together to produce graduates of excellence and character steeped in an entrepreneurial mindset,” Lambertson said.
Tim Kelley, Chair of Entrepreneurship, emphasized how the foundational mission of the IDEA Club is to engage other professions.
“The reality is that’s where people are living and doing businesses, whether it’s education or health care or legal,” Kelley said. “Those are all businesses, and they’re all desperate for innovation. That innovation comes in the framework of entrepreneurship. We want to promote that, encourage it as a mindset as they go through the system all across the university.”
GCU now offers several degrees combining entrepreneurship with, say, engineering management and computer science. And students studying business, entrepreneurship and engineering must take the same early stage entrepreneurship class before separating into their majors. But they will gather together again when they advance to their capstones.
Kelley said it took him and GCU Provost Dr. Randy Gibb five years to build that interconnectedness between colleges. McCandliss, an engineering student leading the IDEA Club, is a perfect example of that collaboration, as is the addition of Lambertson, who has been supportive of all the crossover initiatives.
“I love it,” Kelley said. “The kids have all the spirit in the world. They’re the ones who make it so amazing. I love it.”
GCU Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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