Entrepreneurship Students Land Another Internship

The four Hawken teams analyzed why the caffeinated drink is over-indexing in supermarkets and under-indexing in gas stations, each coming to valid conclusions. Perhaps the most convincing explanation came down to consumer behavior. Students found that consumers at gas stations and convenience stores are less likely to browse or try new products because they overwhelmingly know what they want to purchase before entering the store, while consumers in grocery stores are more inclined to browse and try a new product. Additionally, teams offered explanations involving how the product is marketed, placed, branded, and more.

"The work the students did was amazing. Especially Team Eat Grit's side-by-side hypothesis test," said Rome. "We're thrilled to have the students on board and look forward to working out the details” of continuing the students’ work.

The money from the internship will go directly to the winning team comprised of Annie Gries '14, Will Mascaro '14, Amanda Trau '14, and Alex Stotter '14 pictured with Hawken graduate and Avitae Board member Peter Rome '77, and AnnMarie Dowd also of Avitae, who along with CEO Tapan Shah via Skype, judged the presentations.

Team Eat Grits’ $2500 award brings the total for paid internships since the inception of the HawkENtrepreneurs program to $10,000.