September 26, 2016
Rachel Librach
Failing doesn’t always have to be negative.
For one student, failing to start a business twice led to the success of a company he hopes will benefit the education system for students and teachers.
On Oct. 26, the Modern Engineering Society will host their first significant speaker event, which will focus on starting and maintaining a business as a college student.
Event speaker Israel Lucero, PPCC sophomore engineering major and CEO of Bahuka, an app that matches students with instructors based on their learning style, wants to encourage students to pursue their ideas.
In Bahuka, students and teachers can take an assessment to determine their learning or teaching style, so students can search for and choose a professor they believe they’ll learn best from.
Lucero and three other PPCC students are working together to expand their business to colleges such as UCCS and CU Denver. Over 1,400 students and professors use the app and take the assessments, which students and teachers can download the app from the Google Play store.
Lucero, who has a background in business and marketing, previously started two small businesses that didn’t succeed.
After reflecting on his past business experiences, Lucero said he feels more prepared for the future.
“I feel like I’ve really grown a lot as far as my business mentality and just planning overall. It was a lot of fumble this, learn what you did there and then growing on that,” said Lucero.
The app, created 10 months ago, started as a class project, but later evolved into something more, according to Lucero.
“I couldn’t walk ten feet on campus without hearing people complain about their classroom dynamic, their teachers and the way they taught,” he said.
Mike Harrington, president of the Modern Engineering Society, hopes the event will encourage students to pursue their ideas.
“It’s OK to have a good idea and run with it. Some of the biggest companies in (the U.S.) were started in a garage or in a dorm room and there’s no reason we can’t do that here,” said Harrington.
Harrington started the club last fall. He hopes the club will bridge the gap between education and industry while giving students the opportunity to build experience in the workplace.
Students will be able to speak with Lucero after the event if interested in the Bahuka app.
Lucero said that by using assessments to identify how people teach and learn, he could develop a database for teachers and students.
Coming from a business and marketing background, Lucero was cautious about entering into the technical world.
Lucero said that he has always been entrepreneurially inclined and looks for problems and ways to solve them. But it doesn’t take a genius to be an entrepreneur, said Lucero.
“I always say it’s kind of like the extension cord across the room and everybody in the office that just walks over it. One or two people trip, but nobody really does anything about it,” he said.
“That guy who thought to move the extension cord is an entrepreneur. And there’s nothing special about him. The only thing is finding something that sparks your passion.”