Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Sawyer Sparks's quest to develop a gluten-free beer didn't launch a microbrewery business. Instead, a kitchen mishap yielded a product the Bloomfield, Indiana native never expected - Soy-Yer Dough. Soy-Yer Dough is a fragrant, gluten-free alternative to Play-Doh. Soy-yer Dough (formerly known as Soy-Doh) is a non-toxic, non-allergenic modeling compound that is safe for children and parents who cannot play or touch wheat products. For children who are allergic to soy, there is a soy-free option as well.

Purdue graduates Kristeen Hudson and Brain Paplaski founded MissionMatchUp during their Certificate Program experience. Now renamed MissionMixUp, a social networking site for people interested in mission trips and a resource website that aids in the planning, publicity, and fundraising of mission trips. Their goal is to link three key groups of people, the participants, sponsoring organizations (like churches or other non-profits), and financial supporters. Sponsoring organizations also can use the site to recruit participants and monitor fund raising efforts. The database is searchable by individual names, trip locations, and dates. In 2009, MissionMixUp won first place in the Purdue University Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition.

Write to College is a partnership that was founded by Purdue graduate, Michael Bauer to help students earn higher scores on the SAT and ACT's toughest new section: writing. Because the section was added just a few years ago many traditional preparation methods have struggled to get students ready. Write to College’s resident expert, University of California Irvine writing  instructor Emily Brauer Rogers, feels that practice is the key to developing the writing skills necessary to earn a higher score on the exam.  Her guide, “The SAT/ACT Writing Playbook” is distributed free of charge through the company’s website and teaches the fundamentals of writing a perfect essay. Students then have the opportunity to complete a writing analysis and set up a customized preparation plan using essay reviews, private tutoring, and other services with Write to College that will earn the student the score they desire.

Purdue student Matthew Maxwell founded Generation Lawns & Landscaping in 2009. Generation Lawns and Landscaping partners local youth with trained landscaping professionals to impart timeless work ethics and business skills. Using premium mowers and tools, our employees shape your lawn into something you can truly be proud of. By teaching tangible skills - such as operating and maintaining machinery and working with their hands in the dirt; combined with intellectual proficiency - like balancing accounts, proper communication skills, and lasting work habits, the experience with Generation Lawns and Landscaping will last a life time.

The Digital Literacy Contest was launched in 2007 by Purdue alumnus Daniel Poynter and three other Purdue students. The contest is designed for participants to compete, find and evaluate information online. The contest has been used by nine universities and continues to expand. From this contest Daniel and his partners created the Digital Democracy Contest. The contest employs existing online tools to help young people explore complex data sets and engage with them in meaningful ways. Working in teams, students compete against each other as they navigate online government information and work together to develop future versions of the game.

Recent Purdue graduates Michael Pastko and Arthur Nisnevich developed Coupious a mobile phone app that gives you coupons and deals for businesses around your geographic location. Instead of clipping a paper coupon, the customer selects the coupon from their mobile device and has it scanned by the vendor. The application utilizes GPS technology, which automatically determines where the user is located and finds coupons for retailers in that area. The application is available at the iPhone App Store.