Tag: T-REx

Traditionally, setting up a catering event required extensive planning to find a caterer, keep the menu under budget, and hope people end up liking the food. Time To Cater is a game-changing service that takes all the headaches out of catering event. A company simply needs to make a request with as much detail as they deem necessary, and Time To Cater will do the rest.

Students in the CELect Entrepreneurship Course held at the T-REx startup accelerator are sharing their team projects this semester on the Olin Blog.

It’s time to talk about Time To Cater. Ed Spinaio and Gary Hilligoss founded Time To Cater in 2011 after experiencing the pain and frustration of having to plan countless catering events for work.

Time To Cater successfully manages catered events by utilizing their nationwide network of top quality caterers. An event planner comes to the Time To Cater website and through a simple online order form, communicates their food preferences and desired price points. From there Time To Cater works to find the perfect caterer for the event and arranges a custom menu for the client. On the day of the event, the client will receive a fully catered meal all within their set budget, without any of the usual planning hassles.

This is just the beginning for Time To Cater. The company is constantly expanding to new markets and further improving their process to make catered events even simpler. With these goals in mind, Time To Cater has partnered with a group of four undergraduate Olin seniors through the CELect Entrepreneurial program at the Olin Business School.

Through this partnership, the Olin team will spend approximately two months working to create new ways to expand and improve the company. Ultimately, the team hopes to provide Time To Cater with new ways to increase revenue and improve their business operations.

The project will include a written report containing in depth market research, competitive analysis and the team’s overall recommendations. The project will then culminate with a formal presentation to the owners, students, and local business leaders at the downtown T-REX Entrepreneurial Incubator.

The Olin team is very excited to the have the opportunity as undergrads to consult with a local company, applying the skills they have learned so far in their studies. This experience will give the students a chance to gain valuable real-world experience, as well as a taste of consulting.

Time To Cater is also optimistic about the partnership as it enables them to gain a fresh outlook on their current business. Furthermore, this relationship allows Time To Cater to help give back to the local community by helping students learn through experience.

The Olin team is well underway in working to find new and innovative solutions for Time To Cater. Both groups are equally excited and enthusiastic about their ongoing partnership together.

Post By:  Branden Wachtel, Spencer Hobson, Lance Stukaloff, and Adam Kurtz – BSBA ’14 Candidates

Working with entrepreneurs in the CEL Entrepreneur Consulting Team (CELect) Course has been an incredibly valuable learning experience, and has helped engage me in concrete opportunities to develop as a professional. By locating the course at T-REx, (a startup incubator located in the The Railway Exchange Building) Washington University has developed one of its first connections in recent history with downtown St. Louis, which is an intangible but very valuable relationship for the university.

The importance of this development was first brought to my attention about a month ago.  During a discussion with a non-profit leader in the city, I came to realize that in the eyes of many, Washington University has done little to engage with the St. Louis community outside of the University City or Clayton area. With other universities such as St. Louis University involving itself more in the city, and a growing population of young people entering St. Louis, it seems like the perfect time for Wash U to act as a positive force for innovation and sustainable development. The new CELect class is a spring board for a stronger future commitment to downtown St. Louis and to the growing entrepreneurial community in the city.

Now the question is, what is the incentive for the University?

I think the value-add for Wash U is based in the idea of “brain drain”. High quality universities such as Wash U and SLU attract thousands of brilliant youth to St. Louis every year, yet a very small number of these students stay in St. Louis after graduation. I would argue that this occurs, in part, because students are not exposed to the professional or entrepreneurial opportunities available to them within the city. With low costs of living and a great social atmosphere, a young graduate could affordably play a crucial and rewarding role in redeveloping the economy here in St. Louis.

With more direct connections between Wash U, the city of St. Louis, and the bourgeoning tech, biotech, business, and social venture industries, students will more easily realize the opportunities around them. This would create a stronger local alumni network, and create a community of reciprocity within the city.

I am excited to be a part of a course attempting to break this divide, and I hope to see the CELect course and Wash U further leverage the incredible resource of T-REx, as well as Downtown St. Louis as a whole.

-Micajah Dudley is a senior studying International Business. He consulted for Observable Networks, an IT security company and winner of an Arch Grant.

Students will travel downtown to T-REx, home to entrepreneurial startups in the historic Railway Exchange building for the new MGT550X course. The experimental elective is a collaboration between Olin and Wash U’s engineering and law schools. Students will work in consulting teams with companies on projects ranging from marketing to revenue modeling.

Companies participating in the inaugural semester include:

• Food Essentials
• Makaboo
• MedPreps
• IDC Projects
• Tunsespeak
• Observable Networks
• BusyEvent
• Graematter

Read more about the course in Olin News.