VictorSultana.com

After a day like today, the only thing I could do was listen to Ice Cube’s Today Was a Good Day
and realize this is the kind of day he was talking about (haha).

Today my team and I, Grand Valley’s roller hockey team, won the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey Championship. It was such a great feeling to be handed the championship trophy by the league commissioner as our captain in honor and recognition of all of our hard work for the past year. It was an even better feeling to put MSU away 3 times, a division I team. An even better feeling to know some of the mild bottlenecks that stood in our way didn’t change a thing (losing 3 of our players for the championship game).

It was nice to see hard work pay off. Now we’re headed to Feasterville, Pennsylvania for the National Championship.

A lot has stayed the same and much has changed. With only half a semester left, my thoughts are all over the place and my work ethic in shambles. In hopes to correctly assign my To-Do’s and my ‘Want’ To-Do’s, I took time this weekend to construct a decently sized whiteboard in my Tremont room. We’ll see if it is successful.

Last week, another very successful GVSU Idea Pitch Competition (4th Annual) was put on by the university’s chapter of The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Katie Racey earned 1st place this year with her pitch regarding an innovative way to redesign and relocate insulin pumps for individuals with diabetes. Congratulations to all participants!

I also attended an AimWest event on sustainability last week, which featured a panel of three local businessmen who are leading this regions efforts; Bruce Thomson, Clinton Boyd and Dan Blackledge. Understanding, continuing, and advancing Michigan’s sustainable technology will be what turns our economy around. As a state, we need to use what we know, and we are a leader in this area and must run with it. Fast Company rated Grand Rapids as America’s Greenest City.

GVSU roller hockey practices have also began in these last few weeks. The team is making a lot of progress and the caliber of players has greatly increased. We are expecting both teams, A and B, to improve upon last year’s records. The teams will be coached by Bob Fisher and Stephen Harford, both team alumni. Close friend, Tony Switkowski, will also be playing again this year. Check out the team website and also let me know if your interested in sponsoring the team.

As of April 24th, I finished the Winter semester of 2008 and was free to enjoy my summer. As of yesterday, I was back in class for the Spring semester. Only 6 more classes.

Lets catch-up on some news, starting with the oldest.

1) Grand Valley’s Business Plan Competition, which I’ve talked about before, received a slew of press after the event. Here is one example from the West Michigan Business Review.

2.) My second cousin, Jake Long, was drafted 1st overall in this years NFL draft. He signed a 5-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.

3.) I have again decided to work for Byrne Electrical Specialists, Inc. all summer as the Marketing Intern. Before re-joining Bynre, I also considered YoParts.com and the Grand Rapids Community Media Center.

4.) This past Monday, I attended ‘Celebrating Entrepreneurship in West Michigan‘, an event hosted by GVSU and sponsored by the Grand Angels and U of M’s Ross School of Business. The event featured two keynote speakers, Ricky Snyder of Ardesta Ventures and Ravi Mohan of Shasta Ventures, as well as two panel discussions; Family Business and Start-Up. Never have I ever seen so much money walking around, considering there were over 20 venture capitalists in the room. The conference taught me a great amount about how venture capital works; how a venture is started, how the business model works, and potentially how to make a deal (get the money!). Other, more than noteworthy, organizations in attendance included the WMSTI, MI-SBTDC, EDF Ventures, and RPM Ventures.